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Remember your first mountain bike?  Those big tubes, 21 gears, and that cast-iron frame?  Born of cutting edge, NASA technology (thicker tires and flat handle bars) it allowed you to break away from the road, onto the dirt, and into the sport that you love today. That bike helped you learn switchbacks, weight transfer, and how poorly your body bounced on packed dirt.  It taught the reward of a hard-fought climb, and the thrill of a ripping descent.  You learned together-and worked those trails like one body. But as the years went on, you may have found that disc brakes, rear shocks, and lighter frames took your riding to new levels-ones that you just couldn't reach with your old bike.  Maybe it just didn't seem like as much fun as your new bike.   So it slowly moved further back in the garage.  But you never stopped using what you learned together.  Remember our first website?  That flashy 1998 technology that offered you all the Washington State mountain biking info your AOL dial up could handle?  Well we learned a lot there too.  Visitors to the Evergreen site may have noticed a big change this past weekend-and now we're pleased to officially announce the new  Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance page! After 16 years of duct-taping-and-crazy-gluing the previous site, we're excited to take what we've learned and launch the new go-to-resource for Washington State mountain bikers. The new site not only looks sweet, but it also brings a ton of new features and loads of behind-the-scenes functionality to help us better serve our community.   We've kept much of the old site structure but have added in a blog for articles and releases, updated information pages, integrated it with our Trail Guide, and even included social media feeds so you can follow pictures and activities--plus much more.  It's a very exciting time to be a member of Evergreen, and we're glad you support us as we deliver on our commitment to better riding around the state.  As we continue to grow, we always appreciate those who've helped us get there.  Maarten van Dantzich, who kept the previous site going as long as it did, as well as Pavel Dolezel, who spent endless hours building the site you see now--were indispensable (as were countless others).   As the old site takes it's place further back in the garage (so far back you cant see it) and as Evergreen moves forward, we'll continue to use what we've learned together to serve Washington mountain biking for years to come.  Interested in volunteering your time to improve the site? Please contact us!  Notice a bug or a need for functionality?  Contact the webmaster.

What can mountain biker's learn from the Douglas Adams book The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?  That a towel can be the most massively useful thing you can have.  Trail courtesy is incredibly important for Washington bikers to continue to gain access to more trail.  Few people mind sharing the trail with a courteous rider.  But yielding to hikers, ascending riders, and horses is only part of it--etiquette also extends to the most visible places--like the trailhead. We're all eager to jump out of the car and get on some singletrack, but it's important to remember that there are other people around who may not share that sense of urgency.   So when you quickly drop trou to throw on your bike shorts, clear out your sinuses on the asphalt, or relieve yourself in a not-so-private area, it might make other users think twice about wanting to sharing trails with you. So when you're heading out with your bike remember you're a steward of the trails you ride.  And that people are watching.  So use the outhouse.  Suit up when you leave the office.  Or just remember to take a page out of Douglas Adam's book and just bring a towel.   We have an opportunity to continue building great trails with our land partners in Washington--all it takes is strong advocacy, respect, and courtesy.  

Duthie Hill Park offers mountain bikers a variety of trails and many different riding challenges, but thanks to King County Parks one challenge will soon be a thing of the past--parking.   The popularity of Duthie can mean difficulty finding a space, so earlier this year King County Parks broke ground on a new lot in July and it plans to complete it this coming November. The new parking lot, located at the corner of Duthie Hill and Issaquah Fall City Road, will provide an additional 74 stalls, a small plaza and gathering area, and trailer space for events.  With an off-road connector to the service gate, the lot  will further ease congestion and allow park users better access to trails.  Duthie's continued growth in popularity illustrates the beneficial relationship between Evergreen and King County Parks.  With more projects on the horizon and the clear benefits of partnerships with county government, mountain bikers across the state have much to look forward to in Washington's future.

Last Saturday was one of the biggest yearly events at King County Duthie Hill Park - Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day! With so many kids eager to enjoy a sunny Saturday on two wheels, Evergreen exceeded its estimations and had nearly 300 participants in attendance! Registration opened at 9:30am with a steady stream of kids and parents until just before lunch when big groups of smiling riders rolled in! "It's my favorite day to ride Duthie!" said a young rider with her parents at the registration table. "It is," said Mom "this is our second year and she loves it."  Other families happened to be riding Duthie and came to join in the festivities--and some parents dropped by wishing they'd brought their kids for the fun! Evergreen instructors spent the morning running free skills clinics and guided group rides for younger pedalers, while parents watched or took the opportunity to get a few laps around Duthie in. Kids also tested their skill at the timed Pump Track Challenge and then tested their luck at the huge end-of-day raffle! Thanks go out to the volunteers, instructors, and businesses that came out to support the day, with 529 Garage offering free bike registration, Giant Bicycles working on bike tune ups, Gregg's Cycles' BBQ lunch, and great shwag (including a new bike from Dirt Merchant!) for the raffle.  If you missed this year you missed the best one yet!  So mark October 3rd on your calendar for next year and plan on bringing the family in 2015!