Blog

Mountain biking is about adaptability; as riders we embrace changes in weather, light conditions, and terrain. On some days we’re served up miles of hero dirt—on others, swamped trails send us on to new routes. We understand that part of outdoor recreation is the varying conditions—and that’s part of the fun.

Last week, Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance partnered with Friends of Cheasty Greenspace to take part in an exciting project through the City of Seattle Parks and Recreation Department.  The project aimed to connect diverse, underserved youth to nature by engaging them in a six-week summer employment program. Focused on urban forest restoration and community leadership development, the project selected 10 teenage applicants from the area to take part through the Rainier Vista Environmental Leadership Institute.  

What could you do in 5 years?  In 1931 the Bureau of Reclamation spent 5 years building the Hoover Dam.  Evergreen hasn’t had its eye on building a dam, but we did see a state in need of more— and better--mountain biking.  So we’ve spent the past 5 years delivering great new trails and developing a highly effective advocacy program.   This past legislative session Evergreen put itself to the biggest test yet—getting legislative funding for critical trail projects—and we were successful beyond our wildest expectations.  The result marks a breakout event for Washington mountain biking with over 60 miles of new trail (that's 4 Tiger mountains!) funded. We’d call that 5 years well spent.

It’s no secret that it’s been a great year for mountain biking in Washington. Evergreen is delivering new trails (watch your email for a BIG announcement coming soon), more classes, stronger advocacy, and even broader vision. To continue to expand on these successes requires more great staff, and that’s why Evergreen has created a NEW position of Operations Manager to keep things running smoothly; this is an important leadership role at an exciting time!