Written by Juntu Oberg, NWTA Board Member
After spending the summer of 2022 observing the launch of our successful mountain bike skills camps at Gateway Green, our Lead Trail Steward, Tim Copeman, noticed that the skills area in the park needed an upgrade. He wanted the skills area to be more utilized, and found it lacked the functionality as a space for riders to progress their skills. He presented these ideas to refresh the entire skills area to the NWTA Leadership Team, which ultimately led to the newly opened refurbishment.
Gateway Green’s mountain bike skills area opened in 2016 during the “Dirt Lab – Phase 1” construction. It was intended for bike skills progression, and since completion, this area has been used by riders of all ages and abilities year-round in all weather conditions.
Sparked by Tim’s ideas, NWTA was awarded a International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) grant to help jumpstart this revamp project. Partnering with Portland Parks & Recreation (PP&R), NWTA hired Sasquatch Trails to help guide & manage the project. Along with PP&R, community partners Stacy & Witbeck, PBS Engineering and Trimet all donated additional time and materials needed to help complete the project within budget. Further, NWTA volunteers spent over 1000 hours hand-shaping the dirt to reopen the area.
Due to the popularity of the park, improving drainage was a priority. This project also added quality dirt, and the new layout drastically enhanced the sustainability to facilitate better year-round riding. It also increased the flow of the lines in the area and now allows for proper and safe bike skills progression.
During this 15-week project, we saw delays and challenges due to the low-elevation snowstorms and the incessant late-season rain we received. In the end, the group reconstructed the area to accommodate the following lines:
- Two Tigers: Dual Slalom Course
- Green Olive: (Beginner) Green Line
- Maverick: (Intermediate/Advanced) Blue Line
- Dark Side: (Expert only) Double Black Line
We want to thank the following individuals who volunteered their time and shared their expertise to lead this project:
Tim Copeman – NWTA Project Liaison, Lead Trail Steward, and Volunteer Coordinator
Project leads KC Badger, Brian Barnhart & Travis Sergi for volunteering countless hours and sharing their expertise and talents to help us build out this project.
In total, over 80 volunteers came out to help us. While this is NOT a complete list (we apologize if we missed you!), we would like to give a BIG THANK YOU to everyone involved.
Nathan Frechen, James Hawkins, Chris Morse, Mark Rainha, Ryan Barrett, Max Bryan, Shawn Sterren, Brad Tibbet, Merrick, Kreil, Isaiah Palmer, Adam Treadwell, Aryei Levenson, Sam Buros, Paul Williams, Jay Baird, Dave Pierson, Luis Flores, Ruandy Albisurez, Salulo, Josh Ross, Stanton Luoma, Lucas Robinson, Kygan Dao, Jake, Johnny V, John Oldham, Kent Anderson, Will Heiberg, Roger Joys, Jim Leisser, Matt Wong, Kyle Phillips, Jesse Bruya, Rick Gale, the Olivares family, Jered & Duncan Bogli, Terri D, Joe Sahsa, Matt Busby, Chad, Eric, Mono Olivera, Jon & Arrow Humpries, May, Eric, Brandon, Anthony Levendra, Ian Ferguson, Wanda Solano, Aaron Blew, Daniel Burwen, Jen & Conner Blew, Adam Bates, Billy Cartee, Sonny Tamez, Jesse Broderick, Jay Herber, Adrian Black, D Johnson, Duncan Parks, Damon Richardson, Merrick Shawe, Aric & Dre Rist, Andy Maniguez, Autumn Mohr, Ryan Blackmon, Devin Fellen, James Dickinson and Ross Swanson.
NWTA truly appreciates the amount of support we received from the community, and we look forward to enjoying this area for years to come.
Photos by Ruandy Albisurez.
Are you interested in getting involved? Have questions? Email [email protected]
@portlandparks
@imba_us
@stacyandwitbeck
@trimet
@pbsusainc
@trailsasquatch