News
Cypress Upper Lands Working Group
The District of West Vancouver is asking people what they value about the Upper Lands, that large, undeveloped block of land above the highway. All 6,265 acres, all the way out to Horseshoe Bay.
The Upper Lands Working Group is reviewing policies and programs outlined in the 2001 Upper Lands Study and the District’s Official Community Plan. The review will help to determine what lands should be protected, what lands can be developed, uses of public land, and appropriate forms of development.
Last year the Working Group heard from stakeholders and stewardship groups, including the NSMBA and a representative of the Cypress trail builders. Now they want to hear from the general public. This means you!
There are three Open Houses scheduled for public input. At the Community Centre each evening will have two interactive workshops, so come out, grab a clicker and have your vote counted!
Wednesday, February 26
4:30 – 7:30 P.M.
Gleneagles Club House
6190 Marine Drive
Thursday, February 27
4 – 8:30 P.M.
West Vancouver Community Centre
Interactive workshops at 5 and 7p.m.
Tuesday, March 4
4 – 8:30 P.M.
West Vancouver Community Centre
Interactive workshops at 5 and 7p.m.
2014 TAP Adoptions Open!
2014 Trails Adoptions are open!
Find out how it works here.
New trails up for adoption include Forever After, High School League Trail, Sticks & Stones, Dempsey and Roadside Attraction. These, and many others, need your helping hands.
Be part of the good work in 2014!
To adopt a trail on the Shore, email TAP@nsmba.ca
Metro Vancouver sanctions two trails on Mt. Seymour
Discussions between the NSMBA and Metro Vancouver have resulted in the trails "Lola" and "Cambodia" being officially recognized by the land manager. Both of these trails are rated as expert (double black diamond) and are recommended for only the most experienced and skilled riders to ride at their own risk.
Bridle Path Revitalization – Reroute Completed by Shore Corps
The Shore Corps completed a significant re-route on the Bridle Path on Sat Oct 26th. Part of the MEC funded Bridle Path Revitalization, the first portion of the reroute began in April 20th of this year by the Spring Academy grads.
The Shore Corps are graduates from the Builders Academy who have attended the theory session and the field practical session. The reroute will improve sustainability and user experience while bringing this section of the Bridle Path in line with the green ranking of difficulty.
Forever After
The NSMBA is proud to announce the new trail on Seymour is named "Forever After".
The name is a combination in tribute to the Trails Forever Fund, from which funding was derived to complete the project, and the utilization of existing portions of Aftertaste.
The name was submitted by past NSMBA Director Rhonna Gurevich, and bested over 100 other name submissions.
Thank you to those who contributed to the Trails Forever Fund to make this project possible.
Please read more…
High School League Trail Project – Phase 2 starting mid-July
The NSMBA and Metro Vancouver are pleased to announce the completion of Phase 1 of the North Shore High School League trail project thanks to funding from Deloitte. The second phase of the project has received funding and work will begin mid-July. We would like to thank all those who donated to the Trails Forever Campaign, which has allowed us to move forward with Phase 2 which will complete this project, fulfilling the goals of creating an encouraging opportunity for our community youth, the North Shore High School League and individuals new to the sport of mountain biking.
The goal of the project is to create a directional, beginner level trail loop in the Hyannis area. As a beginner loop, the course will be a shared community asset and welcome addition to a challenging trail network.
Boogieman Trail Day April 27th
Public Trail Day on Boogieman this April 27th thanks to BMO Bank of Montreal. 9am Old Buck.
2013 TAP Adoptions Now Open
AGM 2012 Recap
Thursday 29th November was the night. The NSMBA’s Annual General Meeting took place at Jaycee House, North Vancouver. Our intention this year was to join our AGM and our end-of-season party together; seeing as our AGMs are already social affairs, it made sense to crank out the powerpoint slides and the tunes on the same night!
With that said, we were extremely impressed with the turnout for this year’s AGM with well over 80 people in attendance, all eager to hear of the past year’s progress and learn about next year's plans. We would also be voting in our new directors to the board – but more on that later.
All photos: Norma Ibarra LaPiro Photography
NSMBA Trails Forever Campaign
We're very pleased to announce the Trails Forever campaign. A generous donor has offered to match donations to the NSMBA up to $15,000. That means, if you donate $50, your donation will be matched and the NSMBA will receive $100. 2012 was a great year for the NSMBA but please donate today and let's make sure that 2013 is another great year!
CBC Closed for the Winter
The CBC trail on Mt. Seymour is now officially closed until the Spring of 2013. The Cove and Okanagan Springs are working hard to reconstruct rotted structures and correct drainage issues with significant ground work through the TAP program. Work will continue pending weather conditions. This week there is a forecast of a cumulative 200+mm of rain.
The NSMBA asks the community for their understanding and support that in order for the new work to continue, and to give the dirt a chance to bed in, riders need to stay off the trail in the wet season.
Click here for a detailed explanation why CBC is closed in the winter.
NSMBA Presents TAP at IMBA World Summit
On October 11th, the NSMBA presented the North Shore Trail Adoption Plan to an International Delegation at the IMBA World Summit. A total of 350 delegates from around the world joined together to share ideas towards sustainable solutions for the sport. Mathew Bond, NSMBA President, and Mark Wood, NSMBA Program Manager, presented our story of success here on the Shore. The TAP program has grown exponentially in the past two years, now involving 23 Adopters who are doing major restorative projects on 19 trails. "Today we represent not just the NSMBA, but the hundreds of volunteers who are driving TAP forward," said Wood when addressing the delegation.
Mathew Bond & Mark Wood in Santa Fe New Mexico.
The Summit also provided an opportunity for the NSMBA to learn from other groups and build upon their current successes. "We need to take things to the next level," says Bond. Attending sessions on Relationship Building with Land Managers, Coalition Development, Sustainable Building, Community Involvement and many other significant and pertinent topics, the NSMBA has once again reinvested in itself to continue building on the already significant momentum within the organization.
The NSMBA would like to thank Chad & Deanne Lazuruk, IMBA Canada Trail Care crew for their support to drive the NSMBA to present at the Summit. The NSMBA would also like to thank IMBA Canada for their continued support and all of the volunteers and supporters who make TAP happen.
VIDEO: NSMBA Presentation to DNV Council
VIDEO of the council presentation on Monday September 17th when the NSMBA's Mark Wood & Mathew Bond present "A Community Driven Model for Sustainable Trail Maintenance". Simply click on the 'film' icon in red after opening the link below. Section 2 has many friends of the NSMBA voicing their support, plus some other interesting presentations. The NSMBA Presentation and ensuing dialogue with Council can be seen by viewing section 5. Thank you again to everyone who came out to support our efforts and to the DNV Council for considerate dialogue on our proposal. Special thanks goes out to Ben Campbell-Barry and Phil Bradshaw for their expertise and dedication to seeing through the completion of the Business Case. The NSMBA is pleased to see that Council has asked the DNV Financial Department and Staff to assess the proposal.
http://www.dnv.org/upload/documents/Council_Agendas_Minutes/120917RC_AGN.htm
TAP Mid Season Progress Report
TAP 2012 Mid Season Update
Arc’teryx gets down to business on the massive Dreamweaver reroute. Trail building never looked so good.
Entering the second half of the year, the NSMBA Trail Adoption Plan has hit full stride. Already this year, a tremendous amount of work has been completed with TAP collectively accounting for a total of 40 trail days to date. An army of community driven volunteers have taken up the charge with shovels, pulaskis, Macleods and mattocks, led by 15 TAP Builders. Never before have the trails on the North Shore seen such a concentrated amount of work in such a short period.
Celebration on Fromme on June 23rd – Ladies Only 20th Anniversary
On June 23rd, we gathered in the sunshine at the water towers on Fromme to celebrate the 20th year anniversary of Ladies Only. Nearly 100 riders gathered to pay homage to the first free ride trail that started it all way back in ’92, built by the burly Digger, Todd Fiander.
Someone was bound to go in the drink! photo Scott Robarts
Read the rest of the story and check out the photos…