New Jamestown map from Rock Solid!
Check out the latest Jamestown Trail map from our friends at Rock Solid! The highlighted area (bottom left) is the location for the skills area we hope to build this fall via the raising of $50,000 by 4/15/23. The stoke level is high – thanks for everyone’s support. Don’t forget the open house opportunity on 3/25/23!
Jamestown Update March 2023
Tour the property on March 25th at 9am! Unique opportunity for a guided tour of the Jamestown Trail property. Check out our many awesome ravines and walk portion(s) of the flagged trail. The trail head address is adjacent to an electrical substation; park in the road (parking is legal) and meet in the open area adjacent to the substation. Printed maps will be available. You won’t be disappointed – see you there! RSVP on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/events/180260951422979
Over the winter we’ve made some exciting progress and have some awesome news to share!
1. We have been in discussions with RockSolid Trail Contracting, a premier trail builder known for their work in Bentonville & Copper Harbor, to build the Jamestown trail. RockSolid was contracted to come onsite in early December for pre-build design planning. We will be sharing the RockSolid Jamestown detailed plan will be shared in the very near future.
2. Through incredible support from the community and valuable partners, we have raised $154,000 to date, 20% of the funding required to build the full RockSolid Jamestown design. The trail team is excited to announce our intentions to bring RockSolid Trail Contracting onsite this fall to begin construction of a connector trail from the parking lot to a skills area that will be unique to west Michigan. WE NEED YOUR HELP to raise an additional $50,000 by April 15th 2023 to secure RockSolid’s construction crews for this fall. The initial work will showcase the unique terrain and give both our riders and potential donors a taste of what to expect for the entire loop.
3. We are going to be hosting a site walk for the community / potential funding partners at the site on March 25th at 9am. This will be a short walk into the property with some show and tell of the area of the skills park and what types of features will be included with the build. We will also show visitors the incredible scenery, vistas, and potential of this property with the goal to increase awareness for fundraising opportunities. Details of this event will be posted at ridememba.com and on our FB page.
4. Help us raise an additional $50,000 by April 15th to make the work this fall a reality – let’s get this built! Contributions can be made to the ridememba.com/donate, designating the Jamestown project or contacting us directly at jamestown@ridememba.com. Know someone, an organization or a company that might help us reach our $50,000 goal? If so, please reach out to us! Thanks in advance for your support to build this amazing trail system!
2022/23 Winter Trails Report
While this winter hasn’t been as long and snowy as we’d like, it did give us some solid conditions for fat biking! A huge shout out to the volunteer groomers for building multiple bases (the hard part) and working with what we were given. Riley (grooming sponsored by Team Velo; thanks!), Mosquito Creek, & Owasippe all had perfect conditions at one point or another.
Another shout out for all the folks who purchased grooming stickers this winter! The financial support keeps the machines running and the stickers remind all the volunteers how much their work is appreciated. Stickers are still available for purchase here!
Prep those snow dances for later this year!
The trail in Jamestown Fundraising Progress Report!
Thanks to some incredible partners we have made some exciting progress in the past 6 weeks! We are happy to report that we have raised 25% of our total fundraising goal and 50% to a phase 1 build! If we can raise the remaining amount for the phase 1 build there is a chance we can see trail this year, but we need your help!
Winter trail report farewell 2022
And just like that, another Spring is here! Winter 2022 brought lots of snow, great temps, plenty of sun, and some really, really, rrreeeaaallly good riding throughout the MEMBA system!
Winter trail report: 3/4/22
Hopefully you found some of the good conditions that were around last weekend because it’s looking like we’ve reached the end! If you want to get out on the ice, today’s likely your last chance. The good news is that 50s this weekend should be a nice kickstart to making our way to spring riding! We’ll be back in freeze/thaw territory which means fragile trails, so please take care and we’ll all be kicking up dirt in no time!
Tonight’s final Friday Night Lights ride at Owasippe has been cancelled. We’re grateful to have at least gotten one in this year and look forward to trying again next year! Are you interested in Friday night rides throughout the rest of the year (at any trails)? Let us know!
Winter trail report: 2/25/22
Last weekend’s bits of snow ended up making (some) trails surprisingly rideable! The mixture of sun, upper-freezing temps, and some more snow late this week should make for a decent weekend of trail conditions (at least at Owasippe)! Keep in mind there’s likely still plenty of ice despite what you see; ride accordingly.
Winter trail report: 2/18/22
Say it ain’t so! Wednesday’s warmth and rain really went to work on all the trails, causing the cancellation of the Friday Night Lights ride at Owasippe and postponement of our Winter Trail Celebration at Riley on Saturday 😔 Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more details as we will definitely not be skipping the opportunity to celebrate all of the groomers’ hard work, whether there’s snow on the trails or not!
Hot off the presses! New Jamestown Trail Plans Unveiled, Fundraising Efforts Begin – $500K Target
Our newsletter went out this morning, detailing fundraising efforts for the trail in Jamestown! Check it out along with the attached official press release; more details at thetrailinjamestown.com!
Winter trail report: 2/11/22
Hard to say how the trails are handling last night’s peculiar weather, but safe to say today’s not the day to hit the trails while temps are in the upper 30s! We’ll get out and groom tonight ahead of the refreeze to clean things before the weekend where we can (Riley, MC, & Owasippe confirmed). The conditions below are how things were running as of Thursday.
Next Friday (2/18) is Owasippe Friday Night Lights followed by our Winter Trail Celebration at Riley on Saturday (2/19) from 10am-noon! Let’s celebrate winter trails and grooming. MEMBA volunteers, groomers and board members will be on hand with cocoa and cookies eager to meet with folks who are using the trail. Be sure to stop by and say hello before or after your bike, ski or snowshoe!