| The RAT gets fatter ...
It's hot out there these days. Maybe too hot to hit the trails on your bike? Well, how about hitting the trails and swinging a Pulaski?
This Ridgway Area Trail system is expanding, with five new miles being added, and there are a few different opportunities to help out in this effort. Next week, on August 14 and 15, the RAT chapter of the Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Association is hosting trail-building volunteer days. Work begins each day around 5:30 p.m. and stretches about three hours. Trail crew leaders will be on hand to instruct volunteers on how best to construct portions of the new trails.
"How it works is, you come and you've got to bring some gloves, clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, bring a backpack of water and some snacks," explained Crystal Merrill, a RAT committee member. "We provide all the tools, and we go over a brief overview of tool usage and what trail we're going to be working on."
We covered the RAT expansion this week, detailing what these new five miles of trails will bring to the overall system. Merrill explained that much of the expansion is focused on constructing alternative routes to heavily trafficked trails, such as the Big Cheese, and to also construct portions of trail specifically suited to adaptive riders.
"The original RAT system — like most trail systems around the country — we're not necessarily built with adaptive riders in mind," she said. "So, we are looking at ways that we can make those trails more usable for people on adaptive bikes. And while, you know, that's not a large mileage system, we want to start that process, because there aren't many options on the entire Western Slope."
You can read this week's coverage of the trail expansion here: The RAT's getting fatter — New trails are coming to Ridgway, with a focus on accessibility and alternate routes.
And if you've jumped into this newsletter earlier in the afternoon today (August 8), you might be able to make it out tonight for RAT's second volunteer trail-building session this week. For more information on how to volunteer with RAT, visit www.copmoba.org/copmoba-event/rat-trail-construction.
If you prefer to pitch in a little closer to Montrose, the Montrose Uncompahgre Trails chapter of COPMOBA is also holding two upcoming trail work days on Monday, August 12 and Wednesday, August 28; work on these days will take place from 5:30 to 8 p.m., with volunteers meeting at Buzzard Gulch trailhead on Monday and the Electric Hills trailhead August 28. More information can be found atwww.copmoba.org.
Have a Good One,
Jeremy Morrison, managing editor
jeremy.morrison@montrosepress.com
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