'Amazing' volunteers keep local mountain biking club on track

They are not the easiest guys to find.

Volunteer trail builders with the Simcoe County Mountain Bike Club (SCMBC) feel as at home in deep in the region's forest as they do on their neighbourhood streets.

Ahead of a meeting with a reporter, none of them parked in the parking lot of the bike trail off Bass Lake Sideroad East between Oro-Medonte Lines 7 and 8. They all went down a service road in their four-wheel-drive vehicles and hiked from there with lumber, saws, hammers and nails to rebuild one of the oldest bridges on the oldest trail.

Having celebrated its 10th anniversary last year, the non-profit SCMBC has grown to about 1,000 members who ride on more than 170 kilometres of purpose-built, single-track trails.

"That's a lot of members for a club hidden in the bush," joked Shawn Pilon, director of operations for Oro West.

"We build all the trails by hand," he added, noting they are all maintained by volunteers year-round.

In the summer and fall, they do all the leaf blowing to clear the track of leaves and twigs. In the winter, they have four drivable snow groomers that allow for fat biking on sections of the trail during that season.

"It takes a lot. It almost feels like a full-time job, but these guys are amazing," said Mike Dumont, director of operation for Oro East.

While there was scant snowfall over the winter, when there was snow, volunteer Scott Weiler worked for four-and-a-half hours on the groomer one night.

"It was awesome. Without him, you wouldn't be able to cycle through the thick snow," said Dumont.

"It's fully maintained," added Pilon.

Trails extend east to Orillia and Severn, with the Silver Creek and Slessor trails, and include Oro-Medonte, Springwater, Midland and even Christian Island.

"Oro is the hub and the biggest area by far. It all connects here," Pilon said over the sound of cordless drills screwing in new boards across a stream. "This is the oldest trail and it has a bunch of bridges."

Dumont recently completed a chainsaw safety course along with 20 new volunteers. The trails run through the Simcoe County Forest and its rules dictate volunteers must be able to operate chainsaws safely when clearing fallen trees over the trails, which, after a storm, can be a big job.

Maintaining the trails costs money, but the club has about 20 sponsors including bike shops across the county. For the recent bridge rebuild, Breen's Lumber donated the wood. The County of Simcoe dictates wood used has to have been harvested within its land.

"This wood is from this forest," said Dumont.

One of the new pieces of equipment the club recently obtained, with the help of sponsor The Crank and Sprocket Bicycle Co. of Orillia, is an electric fat bike.

"It's heavy to carry this stuff and it's time consuming," Pilon said

In addition, a volunteer may need to cycle a long way to get to the place of work, do the work and then get back, so it's also a safety measure.

Through club president Blake Fick, the SCMBC is making new partnerships. It has secured a partnership with Hardwood Ski and Bike for a combined membership that offers SCMBC members a place to use the washroom or fix their bikes, and Hardwood members get greater trail access.

The club also has a partnership with Horseshoe Resort, as it is the only cycling area offering a chairlift to the top of the hill. The partnership involves discounts for SCMBC members to get a pass at Horseshoe.

Also, the club is working with the County of Simcoe to expand the trail network.

"We have a free lease agreement with the county," Pilon said. "We work with the foresters. They give us a new tract of land and we walk it together and flag it, and they tell us what areas to avoid, but they are on board."

The benefit is the tourism draw for the entire region.

"We offer destination riding. It complements Hardwood and Horseshoe. You can bike every day and tour around," said Pilon.

Dumont added people travel to the region to ride during their vacations, and they stay in local hotels.

"Many people have multiple bikes — fat bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes," he said.

What the club needs is more volunteers. There are about 60 currently, but that's spread out over a large geographical area.

"We'd like to say there is more volunteers than there is bikers, but that's not the case," Dumont said. "The goal is to get more volunteers out."

One of the club's new members and volunteers is Dave Bonham, who moved from Oakville and took up mountain biking last summer.

"I wanted a change of lifestyle and to be outdoors more, so we moved up to Sugarbush and the trails are just out the door. You can't beat it," he said.

A membership for the SCMBC and its trails alone is $50 a year and $10 for youth. Details on partnership pricing with Hardwood Ski and Bike are available by contacting the facility. More information about downhill mountain biking is available from Horseshoe Resort.