Earle Couper
Record Staff
Grassroot efforts at the community level have earned Cumberland's mountain biking trails a reputation as some of the best in Canada, if not the world.
Volunteers perform regular maintenance on the forest trails, keeping them in prime shape for the many races that are run at the venue.
While Comox Valley Mountain Biking (cvmtb.com) is an excellent source of information on the sport, the United Riders of Cumberland (unitedridersofcumberland.com) is the voice of mountain biking in the Valley, according to one of the group's original founders and board member Jeremy Grasby.
Grasby says UROC works with the Village of Cumberland, the two private landowners of the forest land (Hancock Timber Management and TimberWest), and the Cumberland Community Forest Society (CCFS) to advocate on behalf of mountain bikers.
Grasby said mountain bikers enjoy the co-operative relationship they have with Hancock and TimberWest. He says both groups consult with UROC before they harvest and are interested in seeing the trails repaired when the logging work is done.
"The ultimate plan is to have a land use agreement in place with the village and the two private landowners. It's an ongoing process," Grasby said.
"UROC works with the forest society on a management plan just established for that area. We're one of the stakeholders and we've been holding monthly meetings for the past few months.
"As far as trail maintenance goes we have a very active group inside of UROC," he added. "Another group, the River Rats, are very active. They're always out there ... every day just shawzamming the trails. It really showed in our (recent) cross-country race. (They were) putting dirt where it needed to be and bridges where they needed to go."
Grasby said it is great to have so much volunteer help, and those who want more information can check UROC's trail maintenance page on Facebook.
However, he emphasized the best way to get involved is to financially support the forest society.
"That's a great way to be involved. They have monthly donations. That helps them buy more land, which provides more mountain biking in Cumberland.
Ultimately the best way to manage it (the forest land) is to own it."
He notes the non-profit UROC supports the CCFS through a variety of fundraisers, including their Fall Classic which last year collected $1,000 for the society.
UROC, with support from local bike shops such as Dodge City Cycle also works with the Cumberland Community School Society to provide a kids' club at the elementary school, where the two groups help reduce UROC membership fees from $47 to $15.
Noting the CCSS provides bikes to those who need them, Grasby says a group of about 25 to 30 students gets together and goes riding for a couple of hours every Thursday.
sports@comoxvalleyrecord.com