Our shuttle fundraiser, an interview with Brent Sullivan, and a little Sandy info.
Sandy Ridge Info
The Sandy Ridge Trail System is built and maintained through a partnership with the BLM, IMBA and the Northwest Trail Alliance.
Each year, nearly 700 hours of volunteer time is spent ensuring that the 17+ miles of trail stay in prime, loamy shape.
In 2018, bike counters on the trails recorded more than 120,000 trips! That’s a lot of wear and tear on the trails! How can you help keep them open and awesome?
Join or renew your NWTA membership! The bigger our membership numbers, the more grants and sponsorships we can bring in to fund improvements and maintenance!
Join us at the Sandy Ridge Shuttle Fundraiser on July 13!
Join a Dig Day! The next one at Sandy is on June 9 (and it’s the grand opening of our newest trail, Johnny Royale!)
Spread the word! A lot of new folks don’t know what goes into making Sandy Ridge open and accessible. Help us spread the word!
Sandy Ridge Shuttle Fundraiser
It’s back & better than ever!
This is your chance to catch a ride to the top… over and over again! In between laps, hang out at our base camp, catch your breath, and replenish your energy stores. We’ll have food available for purchase from Ant Farm Cafe and a no-host beer garden courtesy of Mt Hood Brewing.
We’ll also have demo bikes available from at least five of your favorite bike manufacturers. This is your chance to see how that bike you’ve been eyeing handles our newest trail, Johnny Royale (opening June 9th, PLEASE stay off the trail until then).
When: Saturday, July 13, 9am-4pm
Where: Sandy Ridge Trailhead
Why: Because it’s super fun! But also, this is a huge fundraiser for us, with all proceeds going to fund trail improvements at Sandy Ridge. Get your tickets HERE!
Please note: Current NWTA members get a $15 discount on adult tickets.
Join or renew your membership as a sustaining member (auto renewing) before our next member meeting (May 28th) for a chance to win passes to Mountain Bike Oregon, Timberline Bike Park, and so much more!
Shuttle tickets are almost gone, so don’t miss your chance. Tickets are available by pre-sale only. There will be no day-of ticket availability. Sorry, we can’t offer refunds for this fundraising event.
Meet Sandy Ridge LST Brent Sullivan
Planning and managing all the work that goes into keeping Sandy Ridge running smoothly is hard work, but NWTA volunteer Brent Sullivan makes it all look easy. Brent is the Local Stewardship Team (LST) Lead for Sandy Ridge. If you’ve been at a work party there, you’ve probably met him! We had a chance to catch up with Brent and ask him a few questions about being an LST and his involvement with NWTA.
What bike(s) do you ride?
Santa Cruz Chameleon 27.5 plus and Intense Carbine 29
How long have you been mountain biking?
I bought my first mountain bike in 1990 but really started mountain biking in 1992-93.
What’s your favorite trail?
If I had to pick at Sandy Ridge, Upper-Lower Hide & Seek. But I don’t have a specific favorite trail, it depends on whom I’m riding with, conditions, my mood…I pretty much like them all.
What’s your day job?
Civil Engineer/Project Manager
What trails are you lead on?
Everything at SRT, but I have a bunch of dedicated crew leads that have been helping me out for several years on trail work days.
How many days a year do you work on those trails?
I normally try to have two trail work days in the spring/early summer and two in the fall/winter. I also spend several days per year cutting out downed trees from the trail system. Other than that I will do some maintenance work as it’s needed or for events like the shuttle day.
How long have you been doing trail work?
At Sandy, I started volunteering a year or so after the trail system opened. Then started helping out Tom Slovak, the previous SRT trail steward for NWTA, organize and run the trail work days in 2015. In 2016-2017, I started leading the trail work days as the lead volunteer. Previously when we lived in Bellingham, WA, I spent several years building trails at Galbraith Mt., so had done quite a bit of trail building work prior to working at SRT.
What’s the most rewarding part?
I would say three things:
One, definitely the people you get the opportunity to meet and work with. Over the years I’ve met some great folks who have become good friends on/off the trail.
Second, you get a chance to build and maintain trails that literally thousands of fellow riders get to use and enjoy. When I hear people talk about SRT and how much they enjoy riding the trails, I get a lot of satisfaction knowing I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of that.
Third, I’ve been able to get my wife and boys involved in the trail work days and that’s been not only a huge help but also fun to see them figure out what they enjoy volunteering at, and I get to spend time with them doing something I really enjoy.
What’s the most frustrating part of being the LST lead?
I would say the planning and logistics since that’s not my favorite part. And the weather – it’s really frustrating to plan a work day with 40-50 volunteers and have it pour down rain so you can’t get all the things done you had planned.
If you see Brent up on the trails, be sure to give him a HUGE thank you. Without all of his hard work and dedication, Sandy Ridge would not be what it is.
How did you first get Involved?
Initially with trail building, it was because I wanted new trails to ride and wanted to build the type/style of trail I liked riding.
For NWTA, I was new to Portland and wanted to meet new people to ride with and develop more trails to ride close to where I live.
Why should someone join NWTA?
I would say it takes a village to make all of this happen. The trails don’t build/maintain themselves, land managers (normally) don’t just decide to build trails without people advocating for them. You don’t get grants, sponsorships, etc. without people putting in the time and effort to get them. In short, if you like riding a mountain bike on trails, you need to be a part of the process – it’s not just trail building, it’s the organizing, advocacy, fund raising, etc. There’s a place for anyone to fit in and make a contribution… you just need to figure what that is.
Join or renew your NWTA membership today! You’ll be helping to keep Sandy Ridge open and accessible AND you’ll get an entry into IMBA’s drawing for a new Pivot bike AND, if you become a sustaining member, you’ll get an entry into NWTA’s membership raffle at our May 28 member meeting!