General

Planning Open House Recap

On Saturday, September 30th, NWTA hosted its first Open House at Chris King. Dozens of members showed up and were able to interact with NWTA leadership at one of our 16 stations. Each station was dedicated to a key aspect of the organization, led by one of our dedicated super-volunteers. Our team shared great conversations … Read More

Vote at 10/24 meeting to improve NWTA elections process

The NWTA has grown tremendously in the past few years, and that has highlighted some challenges with the way we elect our board members. We are proposing changes to our board election process in order to create a more open equitable system, and bring more members into the elections process by increasing access and convenience. … Read More

Adults Beginner Ride at Rocky Point Recap

Written by participant Troy Mesa Rode on the beginner-guided ride at Rocky Point on September 10 with Elaine. It was amazing. Weather was perfect. Elaine taught us some basics about testing our bikes for safety, and after demonstrating that we had basic bike skills, we hit the trails. We started off toward Andyland, a “green” cross … Read More

2023 NWTA LEADERSHIP RETREAT

By Jered Bogli, NWTA Board President The NWTA Board of Directors and staff carved out some time to spend the weekend of September 15-17 planning for the next year. We’ve been running full gas all year and it was great to spend some quality time together as a team. We found a cost effective out … Read More

St. Helens International Festival of Trails 2023

Over 50 dedicated volunteers joined Northwest Trail Alliance for the St. Helens International Festival of Trails (SHIFT) August 18-20. This annual NWTA tradition brings together volunteers of all ages for trail work on trail systems in the Mt. St. Helens District of the Gifford-Pinchot National Forest.   Saturday’s work party required a quick change in plans, … Read More

RIVER CITY BIKES women-led ride SERIES AT Stub Stewart Recap

Written by Isabella Taylor of River City Bikes On the last Saturday of August, River City Bicycles and NWTA teamed up for the second year in a row to begin our Women-Led summer ride series. Partnering with NWTA to host these rides has truly been the most wonderful experience. It’s expanded the rider participation compared … Read More

NWTA Kids Oak Street Summer Camps Recap

Aug. 14-17, 2023 at Laurelhurst Park Portland’s coolest new bike camp for kids took place during the hottest week of the year!  By Elaine Bothe, Coach The week’s weather forecast was in the low 100s but the deep shade on SE Oak Street between SE 37th Ave. and Cesar Chavez Blvd. was refreshingly cool as … Read More

River City Bikes Trailhead Meetup Series at Klootchy Creek

On Sunday, August 13 around 30 riders gathered on an uncharacteristically hot day at the Coast for an intermediate social ride at Klootchy Creek. (Manzanita clocked in at 103 degrees, just to give it some perspective!) Needless to say, everyone loved being in the trees! The riders split into smaller groups, with one starting at … Read More

Adults Beginner Ride at Cascade Locks EasyCLIMB, July 16, 2023

Contributed by Carey Booth I enjoyed the free NWTA class at Easy Climb Trail in Cascade Locks on Sunday, July 16, 2023, with Elaine Bothe. We had bike safety checks and went over the safety ABCs for air, brakes, chain, and crank, etc. My bike is an early 90s Giant brand with no suspension, which … Read More

Big Gay Pride Rallycat Ride!

By Derek Kidd Every June the rainbow flags come out, and without fail, the questions of Pride’s relevance soon follows. Inevitably, we hear “Why do we still need to showcase Pride, isn’t the LGBTQ+ community well-represented enough?”, “Nobody cares if you’re gay, so just stay quiet about it.” or, my favorite, “Where’s my parade?” again … Read More