Cheers! That's right folks! Today we received approval from the US Army Corp of Engineers (USACOE) to start building the Taylor Randahl Memorial Trails at Olde Rope Mill Park in Woodstock. The City of Woodstock, working with the http://greenprintsalliance.org , has secured $150K in funding to build out the proposed 10 mile trail system. The plans were submitted via the City of Woodstock and the COE has finally cleared the first trail of the project and signed off for us to start! This first trail, 5.2 miles in length, will be build out as a race course trail. Not only do you get everyday riding, but will allow race events to be held locally and more often with better location/amenities. This will be the first of 4 separate loop trails totaling 10 miles overall. Once this is built out over the next two years, we will work to connect this trail system to Blankets Creek to give you a 30 mile interconnected urban trail system. We are exciting to start this project and the wait is finally over.

The first work party will be held on Feb 20th from 9am - 1pm at Olde Rope Mill Park in Woodstock. Bring your gas blowers and lopers if you have them. We will be clearing off the ground and clipping back trees to make room for the machines to start cutting the trailbed.

Join us this Monday night at Summits Wayside Tavern on Eagle Drive (across from Etowah High School) @ 7pm for more information on this and other great things coming.

Now is the time when we need you the most. Come help us build out what will become one of the most legendary urban trail systems in the Southeast.

Thanks for your support!

Jay Wilkes
President - SORBA Woodstock

February's Chapter meeting will be located at the Summits Wayside Tavern this coming Monday (2/8/10) @ 7pm. Summits is located on Eagle Drive across from Etowah High School. Directions are here.

We will be talking about the Rope Mill project which is expected to start construction IN TWO WEEKS!!!

Also, we may have a surprise visit from Commissioner Karen Bosch to talk about the 5 acre land acquistion next door to Blankets for expanded amenities!

Hope to see you there.

As you know, the terrain at Blankets has a lot of sun/shade areas. The shady coves are still frozen today. They will become a mess if the trail is opened.  We are still stuck in this cycle of heavy cold rains and cold temps. When the sun does get out to dry it, nightly temps fall below freezing. It's a no win situation.

Please respect the closed gate. There are only a handful of volunteers and we are trying to work on a new 2 mile Expert trail across the creek as well as a nice extended downhill on Dragon's trail (inspired by Dupont's Ridgeline trail) and we can't do that when folks are jumping the gate rutting out the existing trail. Our time will have to get diverted there to fix it. Please help out and pass the message to call the hotline/check website before showing up and stay off!

Thanks for your support,

Jay Wilkes

We will be having a work party tomorrow starting at 9am. Meet at Blankets Creek trailhead.

Now the big wait starts. This long freeze stretch we just had is finally coming to an end (fingers crossed). They say this has been the longest extended cold snap since the 1880s. Crazy I tell you. With the temps going back into the 40s, the big long dry out is going to take time. I predict it is going to take a couple of weeks to dethaw and dry out.

Please be patient. Riding these trails when they are drying out from a deep freeze will severely damage them. We have a long list of cool trail projects in the pipeline for 2010. Please don't ruin it for us by making us fix the existing trails instead of building new ones.

We all want to ride too...

Thanks for your support,

Jay Wilkes

President - SORBA Woodstock

I love snow days. You get them what...every 5 years here in ATL? This snow day we just had was perfect. When do you have the rare opportunity to have a completed frozen trail system with a fresh dusting of snow.

Once in a lifetime show. The snow contrast on the hillside of Blankets Creek is something you see on a postcard. But yet it still reminds you of home.

Come get your ride on if you can brave the 21 deg temps. The trail will be closed starting Monday and we have the feeling that this thawing out is going to take weeks on closure.

Come brave this one, it's a ride weekend you will be talking about for a lifetime.

OK...according to Dave, the "re-newed" Trail Director for Blankets Creek, we have to have a chapter meeting at Pure.

OK Dave...I give. I actually love Pure.

Anyway, our January Chapter meeting will be this Monday, 1/11 from 7pm - 9pm at Pure.

Pure Taqueria is located in the heart of Downtown Woodstock. Next to Canyon Burgers and across for Outspokin Bicycles.

If you still don't know where that is take 575 north from ATL. Get off at Towne Lake Parkway (Exit #8) and take a right. Go a mile until you hit downtown Woodstock. Pure is right across the railroad tracks next to Morgan's ACE Hardware.

We will be talking about how much stuff we have going on this year. 2010 is destined to be a full year of projects.

And no Dave. We will not be sitting on the Rooftop Deck. ;)

First up is the lap counts for the 3 main trails. 

 *Trails Closed: 10 Days in September, 13 Days in October, and 3 Days in November

Now we have the combined lap counts for the 3 main trails

 *Trails Closed: 10 Days in September, 13 Days in October, and 3 Days in November

Last we have the trail head counter which counts each time an object moves by the donation box

*These are the raw counts of clicks as people pass the donation box, our rule of thumb is to divide the number by 2 as this will account for entering and exiting the trail