tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20333394503359947662024-03-13T15:36:52.832-07:00self-sponsored cyclingchancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.comBlogger299125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-53873608111160437062014-10-03T07:33:00.001-07:002014-10-03T07:38:38.375-07:002014 come and gone<div class="MsoNormal">
Well well well, here we are! Where the hell have I been? Haha
good question! I have been all over the place; it has been another crazy
year. Building, working, and traveling.
I went to Germany for a wedding and spent a good amount of my free time out at
the park for the second year in a row!<o:p></o:p></div>
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As you would already know, we won the Bell Built Grant but
that was only a fraction of the craziness this year. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The year started out on a positive note. Everyone was super
jacked, ready to get building because we won the bell grant and we were finally
going to get our dirt jumps! That was the main reason we started the park to
begin with! However we had to do some good faith building to ease the city into
it a little bit. Now they seem to be fully on board !<o:p></o:p></div>
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Spring came about right on time, we started to build out
there in May and then the monsoon season began! Totally messed us up and put us
about a month behind where we wanted to be. We were constantly battling erosion
because the vegetation had not yet grown in. We had to constantly cleanup silt
from the bike path at the bottom of the hill. We had hoped to officially open
the season on June 1<sup>st</sup>.
However the grand opening wasn’t until June 26<sup>th</sup>. With a
solid push from al the volunteer help and a couple large build days, one
sponsored by Freewheel bike shop, we made the grand opening day. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We got pretty lucky because we decided to spend a good chunk
of our budget and purchase this awesome new product this year called Dust
Shield by Soil Loc. It is a soil additive that hardens the soil through binding
the particles. It was a great addition. It not only controlled erosion, it
hardened the surface which made the track faster but it also sped up the drying
process so that we could get the park open quicker after rainfalls. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Once July came most of the rain had quit and we were able to
get the park pretty much dialed in and all treated with Dust Shield and sat
back and watched the park grow with popularity. It was super impressive to see
how many people of all walks of life started to come out and enjoy the park and
we only had 2 of the 6 sections of the park open! It was just so cool! <o:p></o:p></div>
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During this time we were in the process of working with IMBA
to organize the build out of the Bell Built Grant. We were going to use the
money to build a world class dirt jump area and man did we ever. We had a
meeting with Alex Harrington and Randy Spangler to discuss our desires and come
up with a general lay out but the real magic started to happen when we found
out we were working with Flow Ride Concepts. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I started talking with Shea about 2 weeks before they showed
up on site and from the minute they showed up on site I knew that it was going
to be a great build! Just super nice, genuinely awesome people! I told them don’t
be shy and build what you would want to ride. The crew told them we wanted
awesome jumps that other areas would envious of and that we like the trail
feel! Boom that is what they gave us! <o:p></o:p></div>
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In less than 2 weeks, with a solid volunteer effort, they
knocked out 3 bad ass lines. The intent was to provide beginner, intermediate and
advanced but we got more of a beginner, advanced and expert but it’s all good
because we still have room to build a 4<sup>th</sup> line between the beginner
and advanced line. It will make for some super sick transfer lines. I think
that Flow Ride would have been all about building that but we just ran out of
time, money and dirt this year. However for the people looking for progression
we definitely have that. We have beginner level pump tracks to get you flowing,
then beginner level dj’s to get you off the ground, followed by an intermediate
level 4x course that will really get you use to speed and get you airborne !
Then when you feel up to it you can start to learn to fly on our advanced dirt
jump line and send it to the moon on the expert line! This jump line is the
largest set of public dirt jumps in the state that I’m aware of! <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqp2p3RnvAuq_VFuy7T_N8gmZID0B_XLwTjS4B7n49OPtUvriDoGw3eqzyfB_AQJzSkdaYwwslsP16bbOBPxDMc4ACRA9t-g9NPTlIKebtVtCSWuQN0b8Va03nbsZld9YzAcvLuZ10K_s/s1600/last+day.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqp2p3RnvAuq_VFuy7T_N8gmZID0B_XLwTjS4B7n49OPtUvriDoGw3eqzyfB_AQJzSkdaYwwslsP16bbOBPxDMc4ACRA9t-g9NPTlIKebtVtCSWuQN0b8Va03nbsZld9YzAcvLuZ10K_s/s1600/last+day.JPG" height="320" width="319" /></a></div>
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It was a killer season over all, it was filled with ups and
downs but over all I’m super stoked to have been part of it! The bike park is
now in a better place thanks to all of our amazing volunteers, Flow Ride
Concepts and the killer support we get from the community, the City of Cottage
Grove and the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists!<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/J_mlWSB5wvU/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/J_mlWSB5wvU&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/J_mlWSB5wvU&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
<br /></div>
Vimeo video <a href="http://vimeo.com/106682442">HERE</a><br />
<br />
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Please consider supporting this grassroots effort by coming
out and lending a hand, if you don’t have time you can make a tax deductible
donation by clicking the link: <a href="http://www.razoo.com/story/Cottagegrovebikepark">http://www.razoo.com/story/Cottagegrovebikepark</a><o:p></o:p></div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-2336379667746049052014-04-23T06:32:00.001-07:002014-04-23T06:32:22.016-07:00Please Vote <div class="MsoNormal">
If you haven't heard <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cottage-Grove-Bike-Park/596908407004866">Cottage Grove Bike Park</a> is a finalist for a $33,000 grant from Bell Bike Helmets. This grant would be used to build a world class dirt jump plaza at the park and help bring it 1 step closer to completion. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
If you haven’t already voted and shared please take a moment
to place your vote for Cottage Grove Bike Park! Anyone can vote and it doesn't
matter if you ride a bike or not or where you are from. If you support safe
recreational opportunities for the youth, please vote for our project!<br />
<a href="http://www.bellhelmets.com/bellbuilt/" target="_blank">http://www.bellhelmets.com/bellbuilt/</a><br />
We are currently in second place! We need your help! Spread the word! Do this
for Minnesota!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Voting is now LIVE at <a href="http://bit.ly/BELLBUILT">Bell
Built</a> and we need your support to win ⅓ of this $100,000 grant!<o:p></o:p></div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="square">
<li class="MsoNormal">Go to <a href="http://bit.ly/BELLBUILT">Bell Built</a><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Select <b>Cottage
Grove Bike Park</b><o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Enter
the info required to make your vote official<o:p></o:p></li>
<li class="MsoNormal">Remember
to confirm your vote! You will receive an email from Bell that will
contain a confirmation link. You must click this link to make your vote
count!<o:p></o:p></li>
</ul>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Send this email to friends, family members and co-workers<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Share the attached image on Facebook (#BellBuilt,
#CottageGroveBikePark)<br />
Tweet about your vote (@BellBikeHelmets, @MORCmtb, #VoteCGBP)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</div>
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<br />
To learn more about this opportunity, please see our <a href="http://bit.ly/BellBuiltPress">Press Release</a><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Cheers!</div>
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-85482644413015435712014-04-02T08:47:00.002-07:002014-04-02T08:47:59.718-07:00voting site Well the voting site is up and running. The video should be up and going this week. Our voting window isn't until April 21st through May 4th but it's time to get the stoke up!<br />
<br />
Check out the site, share it and all that good stuff!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bellhelmets.com/bellbuilt/cottage-grove-bike-park">http://www.bellhelmets.com/bellbuilt/cottage-grove-bike-park</a><br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun4NmHHi_j7fO2v8hyphenhyphenq_4EUdHrjrCvMFBXkWG4x9Y8yi0nWSuIplSWdlYQ7QGzIVbn9JOxoHULINOu-K2iQz5MbIhttUrSoToWXmGp44gnHiSIYVNC4uXBflKBb5QEt-gun88n6KIxHE/s1600/2014_BellBuilt_Facebook_WallPost_CottageGrove.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiun4NmHHi_j7fO2v8hyphenhyphenq_4EUdHrjrCvMFBXkWG4x9Y8yi0nWSuIplSWdlYQ7QGzIVbn9JOxoHULINOu-K2iQz5MbIhttUrSoToWXmGp44gnHiSIYVNC4uXBflKBb5QEt-gun88n6KIxHE/s1600/2014_BellBuilt_Facebook_WallPost_CottageGrove.jpg" height="400" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-21516591731480573392014-03-10T07:39:00.001-07:002014-03-10T07:40:41.038-07:00Cottage Grove Bike Park is a Bell Grant Finalist! <div class="MsoNormal">
I'm super stoked that CGBP has been selected as a finalist
for the IMBA-Bell Built Grant, but this isn’t a sure thing, they haven't won
anything yet and it will most definitely be a very difficult win! <o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
We will need everyone’s support when the time
comes! Voting for our project will begin April 21st!<br />
<br />
The other finalists will be announced soon. We know Andres Bike Park just outside
of Chicago has also been selected. The region is large as you can see. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmyOXAb4I-tZWaFVMfRljuwJPw9rt-QGzGo4jasiO-vRbDBtodh45mvoA7p71BTdV9cTazlIRct7wsZVqr4Vz7Zn67BtikzePWyhTGdPdI9nX9Thq3ruBtDaKiA8XbmQkoJCvRjiirL4/s1600/BellBuilt_2014_InfoGraphic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGmyOXAb4I-tZWaFVMfRljuwJPw9rt-QGzGo4jasiO-vRbDBtodh45mvoA7p71BTdV9cTazlIRct7wsZVqr4Vz7Zn67BtikzePWyhTGdPdI9nX9Thq3ruBtDaKiA8XbmQkoJCvRjiirL4/s1600/BellBuilt_2014_InfoGraphic.jpg" height="320" width="252" /></a></div>
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The voting will be handled a little different this year....
there are 3 regions, West, Central and East. We are obviously in the central
region.<br />
<br />
There are 4 finalists for each region, so a total of 12 finalists.<br />
<br />
There will be a winner from each region this year. It doesn't matter the
category that your project is in, as long as it falls into either DH/Gravity,
Flow or Bike Park, we are in the Bike Park category. Our grant would be used to
build a world class dirt jump section in the Cottage Grove Bike Park.<br />
<br />
Because of the new voting format there could potentially be 3 bike parks
winning or any combination of the categories. The only thing that matters this
time around is that your project receives the most votes in your region during
your voting period!<br />
<br />
This is where we will need your help, your friends, families, acquaintances and
colleagues help! We want to be the project with the most votes at the end of
our voting period!<br />
<br />
There are 3 separate voting times, one for each region:<br />
• April 7 through April 20, 2014: West Coast Regional Finalists<br />
• April 21 through May 4, 2014: Central Regional Finalists<br />
• May 5 through May 18, 2014: East Coast Regional Finalists<br />
<br />
We will keep you posted as we progress through the process.<br />
<br />
Thanks!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-37539279824814672752013-11-22T04:40:00.002-08:002013-11-22T04:40:57.193-08:00The season<div class="MsoNormal">
These last few weeks since our long fall set in have brought
mixed feelings. I feel like: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
1. We were robbed; this season was odd and slightly rough
because we had such weird weather later winter, wet long spring, short summer
and now a long wet, cool fall. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
2. A sigh of relief the season is over, I can relax. This
season was one hell of a ride. It was very taxing emotionally, physically and
mentally. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. Slightly bummed, wishing I could ride more enjoy what I
helped create. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
4. Excitement, a group of us has made the 1 hour trip south
3 times to Bluff Valley Camp Ground to ride Over the Top Skate Park and it has
been awesome! It is arguably the best skate park for bikes within 2 hours of
the metro that is open to the public and reasonably priced. It is only $10 buck
to ride all day and the ramps are dialed and big enough to be enjoyed on a
bike. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I was younger we would dabble in the skate park when
the BMX track or our secret jumps, tiny now that I look back on them, were too
wet. I enjoyed it but didn't find that much interest in the park and street
riding scene back then. I am going to put that on the lack of exposure and the
lack of a mentor. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
There wasn't a huge BMX scene where I grew up in SD and all
of those that were involved were mostly BMX racers. Tons of talented riders but
not really into the freeride scene, I will also put some of the lack of
interest on the environment or lack there off. It was pretty flat where I grew
up so there wasn't a lot of great street riding option and the skate park was
small and pretty much designed for skateboards, with no consideration for
bikes. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Mover forward 12 years I have all the interest in the world
to ride all forms of freeride BMX and MTB and the opportunities are more but
still limited. Most of the outdoor skate parks are small and antiquated and the
indoor riding options are few and far between. If I had the money I would
probably join the Fantasy Factory but I can’t afford $100 a month at this time,
maybe someday before I’m too old to really enjoy it I will. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So as I mentioned earlier a group of us have been going to
Over the Top (OTT) for that last few weeks. The place is great. It makes me
feel like a kid again. I forget all my worries as soon as I enter the doors and
all I’m focused on is riding, hanging with friends and enjoying myself. I have
been there 4 times so far and each time I can see a huge improvement over the
last. I become more confident and smoother after each session. The ramps appear
less intimidating and I am slowly conquering all the features. I am currently
working on airing out quarter pipes and riding the spines smoothly and
consistently. </div>
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<br /></div>
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My goal this winter is to be able to flow around the entire
park confidently and shred smoothly on all the ramps and features. After I have
gotten to the point that I can really ride the park I will begin adding to my
bag of tricks. There is a group of us that is planning on making a guys riding
trip out to CO next summer to ride concrete parks and some of the dirt parks
and I want to be confident when I’m out there so I can make the most of the
trip and have fun. Plus I don’t want to look like that guy! You know the one
crappy rider that is just hanging out, haha. Needless to say most the guys I
will be going with will be on 20 inch bikes and are dead rippers! I will be on
a 26 inch bike and I’m a quality rider working on getting my dead ripper
status! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Keep it real! </div>
<br />
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<br /></div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-83300783608725552482013-11-20T05:20:00.002-08:002013-11-20T05:20:55.467-08:00The Recap<div class="MsoNormal">
Well hello everyone,</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I know that I have been on one major hiatus this last few
months but man my life has been busy! I had a lot on my plate with all the
building and what not involved with Cottage Grove Bike Park but a lot of cool
stuff has come of it. I have made some new friends and met more people. We have
been able to do some pretty impressive stuff in a matter of a few months. It
has now been about a year since the project began with a 30 minute conversation
with Zac Docktor, followed by a series of meetings and then hours and hours of
fund raising followed by hours and hours and hours of building, then a Party at
the Park and then more building, then the IMBA Advanced Trail Building School
and that is pretty much it! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We have completed 2 of the planned 6 sections, the 4 x
course, a downhill BMX track built for 4 riders wide instead of 8, and the Pump
Tracks. Next spring we will build the beginner skills track. This is a short
track designed with the youngest riders in mind, strider bikes and the likes.
After we complete this we will begin to build the dirt jump section of the
park. That will be our large undertaking for the season… It should be a good
time! We have a pretty solid crew that is passionate about riding and dedicated
to build the most bad ass riding area in the state! I know we can do it! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This park has truly been a testament to what a community
both bike and residential can do when they see the potential in a park. I have
personally invested about 1000 hours since last fall when the process started
but this summer we had approximately 3000 volunteer hours, which is absolutely
crazy because that equals what all of the rest of the MORC organization
produced in the season at 10+ other trails. We also raise some where north of
$20,000 to help fund the project and swept the MORC awards. Mike Mullany won
trail builder of the year, Adam Buck won volunteer of the year, the City of
Cottage Grove won land manager of the year, Rumpca Excavation won sponsor of
the year and I won the president’s award! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was truly an inspiring year on all fronts and we are
looking forward to some more epicness in the future. The project is expected to
be completed by Fall of 2015. We are currently in the process of writing some
grants and if we are awarded the grant money, it will truly take the park the
next level. We are hoping to hire a professional company to come in and build
the mountain bike skills course and the Slope Style course, if everything goes
as planned, those will be built in the spring/summer of 2015. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
On top of building more stuff next spring/summer we will
make the park look like a true park. The city will be adding a hang out area,
signage and enclosing the park with split rail fencing. We will continue to
educate the community and the users about proper etiquette as we had a lot of
miss use this summer. We were constantly fixing ruts in the riding surface as
riders were not listening to the closed signs and riding it wet. We hope that
with fences and a designated entrance that will have signage and the ability to
close when wet or under construction that people will get the drift a little
better and stay out of the park when wet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Now that the building season is over and the outdoor riding
season has come and gone most think it would be time to hang the bike up and
call it a year or get out a fat bike and hit the snow trails, well I’m doing
neither. I have found this little gem of an indoor skate park in Zumbrota
Falls, MN about 1 hour south of CG. The
name is Over the Top Skate Park located at the Bluff Valley Camp Ground and the
only thing I could ask for would be for it to be closer to home but we have
already made 3 trips and plan to make many more but more to come on those trips
in future blogs! </div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
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Keep it real! </div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-70633381648179532062013-11-19T07:27:00.002-08:002013-11-20T05:13:58.519-08:00Vandalism at the Cottage Grove Bike Park<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the volunteer trail workers stopped by the park
yesterday afternoon and noticed that some of the fencing that was put in place
a few weeks ago to close the park for the season was taken down. Upon further
inspection they noticed that approximately 85% of the fencing had been cut, tore
down, knocked down or the post had been pulled out of the ground and thrown to
the side.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There were plenty of foot prints and tire tracks all over
the park. This act has caused multiple hundreds of dollars worth of damage to
the materials that were already installed and multiple volunteer hours to
install it. There will be additional fencing and signage installed, this
however will cut into next year’s funding to continue the building of the park
and will most likely delay the official opening of the park. It is important to
understand that the park is closed to protect it during the freeze and thaw
cycles. Riding when wet or soft causes severe damage and requires the
volunteers to spend their time repairing other peoples VANDALISM! That is what
it is, destruction of City property!<o:p></o:p></div>
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There has been a police report filed and both the city and
the police force will be increasing patrols of the area. No one should be in
the bike park area riding their bikes. It is 100% closed and if caught you
could be subject to a Trespassing ticket.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Please be respectful, when the park is closed and you ride
it you are causing damage and breaking the law!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We are asking all residents, especially those that live
around the park to keep a closer eye on the park and if you see anyone out
there please notify the police.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thank you!</div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneIucaYfUMK6tQNfBknoAd-xiWErd7G1Yd2nyaPr9lYO9-Ljl3clz0Mbmxh_d1WiK50UqWQOjZKPz_eDXWWm8tCYqAniWmjff1o9kKhuODqGjcNxkxft2zC9rlLbzDGqmRh2MduCUWNQ/s1600/IMG_20131118_160442_688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjneIucaYfUMK6tQNfBknoAd-xiWErd7G1Yd2nyaPr9lYO9-Ljl3clz0Mbmxh_d1WiK50UqWQOjZKPz_eDXWWm8tCYqAniWmjff1o9kKhuODqGjcNxkxft2zC9rlLbzDGqmRh2MduCUWNQ/s400/IMG_20131118_160442_688.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #fafafa; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">some more pictures <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.717962918232747.1073741836.596908407004866&type=1&comment_id=7554025&offset=0&total_comments=3&notif_t=photo_album_comment">here </a></span>chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-49436036869474425582013-08-12T06:06:00.004-07:002013-08-12T06:10:07.954-07:00The build continues! <div class="MsoNormal">
We had a great build weekend! 32 hours of manual labor later
we are 90% complete with the 4x track! Mike, Buck and I put in some serious
time this weekend along with some help from a hand full of others! </div>
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We are about 5 loader buckets and 3 hours of work short of
completing the park! We had a nice group of neighbor hood kids out helping us
Sunday, it was great to see the future of our sport lending a hand and they loved
it! They did probably love the reward of riding better but hey take what you
can, right? haha. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mP8m-B0sfJ3yQh6FoB__hXTXXQdcCa-4bZ_1igBUn8425LJb4UtADrb-R1saQpN5s8VVhlupBhahvbqQJTY6u5wXknMhu3rzwiTEuGiaAHUnlTrcraNXlbt2nN-L4GFCQbVz0DJysow/s1600/cg+kids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8mP8m-B0sfJ3yQh6FoB__hXTXXQdcCa-4bZ_1igBUn8425LJb4UtADrb-R1saQpN5s8VVhlupBhahvbqQJTY6u5wXknMhu3rzwiTEuGiaAHUnlTrcraNXlbt2nN-L4GFCQbVz0DJysow/s640/cg+kids.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Once the rain gardens are in place and the extra dirt that
is dug out added to the back side of the starting hill and side slope of some
of the jumps and berms we should be dang near done with the 4x track and can
start to focus on the jump lines!</div>
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We are moving along nicely with only minor set backs from
the weather. Our next build day is Saturday August 24th! </div>
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Hope to see you out there. Remember the park is still closed
to the public as it is a construction site so if you want to ride it you have
to come to a build day and work so you can "test" the track! </div>
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Keep it real,</div>
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Chance </div>
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-16427208331633885062013-08-05T08:15:00.002-07:002013-08-05T08:15:34.572-07:00Raising money!Hey ya'll how is life treating you?<br />
<br />
Well it is sure keeping me busy! We have been hard at the bike park and will continue to keep on rocking it out.<br />
Keep up to date with the parks happenings on Facebook at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cottage-Grove-Bike-Park/596908407004866">https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cottage-Grove-Bike-Park/596908407004866</a><br />
<br />
here is a glimpse of what we have done<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OryOWQoN9jjfMPwlXW1aWZ1vAugWcFoBIhPoTEOLvxhhS8Ei72J5EGprVqn7pzD-pNm-GKLvVpdzTrXQ6VKul1RioXjmqNLaXxAA96jJ0tCUmxupaU8er-V-wHnHtO-vccwnJLZBEFY/s1600/cover+cg+bp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-OryOWQoN9jjfMPwlXW1aWZ1vAugWcFoBIhPoTEOLvxhhS8Ei72J5EGprVqn7pzD-pNm-GKLvVpdzTrXQ6VKul1RioXjmqNLaXxAA96jJ0tCUmxupaU8er-V-wHnHtO-vccwnJLZBEFY/s1600/cover+cg+bp.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
We are also having a big fundraiser in the park on 9/14/2013. The local Cottage Grove Lion's Club is going to help us out by throwing a party in the park for us!<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1375990429292993/">https://www.facebook.com/events/1375990429292993/</a><br />
<br />
So come out and help us out!<br />
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Right now we are in the process of obtaining silent auction
items to be auctioned off. If you own a business, work at a business or know someone
that owns/works at a business that would be willing to donate a product or
service to the silent auction please let us know by August 30th. You can send me an email at cglasford(at)gmail.com! </div>
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Thank you so
much for all your support!</div>
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Keep it real! </div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-2252962435797170482013-07-18T05:09:00.002-07:002013-07-18T05:09:59.633-07:004XWell I must be a terrible blogger. It has been a long time since I've been on here... but dang I have been busy! My crew and I were giving a blank slate, a budget and some big ass equipment and man we have been in sandbox mode this last couple weeks. Most of the change coming from 7/11/2013- 7/17/2013.<br />
<br />
This is what we started with:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKIDb94N1puPC4hLudJgOuZKmTJYcRvr6MUZyx5pDH_5en_sSJ0HEDoAbtMxCcqNclVslxK5g0lcPztIN-3yFnefHuxcFEoaon9AWzCdy4eSm5GY1Pjl53FxVNcOZH4u0FBM3hgnyOxE/s1600/cg+phase+1.4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrKIDb94N1puPC4hLudJgOuZKmTJYcRvr6MUZyx5pDH_5en_sSJ0HEDoAbtMxCcqNclVslxK5g0lcPztIN-3yFnefHuxcFEoaon9AWzCdy4eSm5GY1Pjl53FxVNcOZH4u0FBM3hgnyOxE/s320/cg+phase+1.4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDURf-watLs9AtccTeZjnnIfVlWa3S_lqvxdkj_VYCHa3U6QD5qRrTbw7RuIORa4S8NJWiriXO32T80TlBWcY8r3oZ-Ks6Jm2YvUs2QOtnMeMfbU4w9VXm_YoYrTqOYY5vk4nYHuNW8AE/s1600/CG+phase+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDURf-watLs9AtccTeZjnnIfVlWa3S_lqvxdkj_VYCHa3U6QD5qRrTbw7RuIORa4S8NJWiriXO32T80TlBWcY8r3oZ-Ks6Jm2YvUs2QOtnMeMfbU4w9VXm_YoYrTqOYY5vk4nYHuNW8AE/s320/CG+phase+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CC2o6Er4sDFEvRD4B2VG649qSyfYQQpoEK_gBLVkKqtFxIvK-maut0XtP1cLSmiyemJaAsmImbT9Z3H29NxKDQu3lsX0ODyUcINxRHkzZNNmua7E5YGrWqDN7cjIWBBsatKzH8mMGqw/s1600/cg+phase+1.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0CC2o6Er4sDFEvRD4B2VG649qSyfYQQpoEK_gBLVkKqtFxIvK-maut0XtP1cLSmiyemJaAsmImbT9Z3H29NxKDQu3lsX0ODyUcINxRHkzZNNmua7E5YGrWqDN7cjIWBBsatKzH8mMGqw/s320/cg+phase+1.2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTp0vg9nLFz_ftNMyczbjWiTTprPoLSxhuzC2ZL83w6VcwO76agUXq1tu8ihqWA0036nY1qHNZ_Nsa3n56t7tURJJwGqIoAiX-RDx67jE_gDiQ5rq6ZIB6Wu0sGfhTnOlRVOmhNwtq9xM/s1600/cg+phase+1.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTp0vg9nLFz_ftNMyczbjWiTTprPoLSxhuzC2ZL83w6VcwO76agUXq1tu8ihqWA0036nY1qHNZ_Nsa3n56t7tURJJwGqIoAiX-RDx67jE_gDiQ5rq6ZIB6Wu0sGfhTnOlRVOmhNwtq9xM/s320/cg+phase+1.3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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This is what we have as of last night: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DsodgEjQGObMIAOmcfpcdwW_uvzp13OGi5aP5NOcmVemiyGfcOSvNdzkeS77YarFIcYDKSBqmHz4224h3d6LFB5EfdtQce6af8pQezciBYfXV0DbipNK_YYy2umknjrmVsMW0145xeo/s1600/cg+phase+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-DsodgEjQGObMIAOmcfpcdwW_uvzp13OGi5aP5NOcmVemiyGfcOSvNdzkeS77YarFIcYDKSBqmHz4224h3d6LFB5EfdtQce6af8pQezciBYfXV0DbipNK_YYy2umknjrmVsMW0145xeo/s320/cg+phase+2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kdj7RWSGWUT9PL2oHuTlZ-AG8KkOoyRaG34nZ7mPt_Nd8ZGNLnfipmFSqjARd0sesFz2EZHl4_yDsWJ_Skff4N75SkYbsgYologdqgaDm2CnLapiX_oeQ7W6hnJeISEPvUqqRUP3q_I/s1600/cg+phase+2.1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9kdj7RWSGWUT9PL2oHuTlZ-AG8KkOoyRaG34nZ7mPt_Nd8ZGNLnfipmFSqjARd0sesFz2EZHl4_yDsWJ_Skff4N75SkYbsgYologdqgaDm2CnLapiX_oeQ7W6hnJeISEPvUqqRUP3q_I/s320/cg+phase+2.1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRyDSXcZn0bi7OwTaLIstgf_u3cVbNqPsyQAkdlBnIhwRdMGyObPEOl4wRE3T76iiMobyOGcfBNMWlqwKyLtlh4PhvFAQbFw7snDldt121T4lPV4rVdAOSRU9ij8aQzGv9Cf91TImpl8/s1600/cg+phase+2.2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXRyDSXcZn0bi7OwTaLIstgf_u3cVbNqPsyQAkdlBnIhwRdMGyObPEOl4wRE3T76iiMobyOGcfBNMWlqwKyLtlh4PhvFAQbFw7snDldt121T4lPV4rVdAOSRU9ij8aQzGv9Cf91TImpl8/s320/cg+phase+2.2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy2gCj8Ek4mdKylYKU4rES7fJGLugiwpZNFEnxKAmRMQ__C0Avq36qr563IdhB25zrZzbbTweNDoBsrajEOhRew3KayFsD4zJLFeRGK7CDIL2ibVR5HSd4PyoqKVgUHLw_lN3D6_6IDY/s1600/cg+phase+2.3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWy2gCj8Ek4mdKylYKU4rES7fJGLugiwpZNFEnxKAmRMQ__C0Avq36qr563IdhB25zrZzbbTweNDoBsrajEOhRew3KayFsD4zJLFeRGK7CDIL2ibVR5HSd4PyoqKVgUHLw_lN3D6_6IDY/s320/cg+phase+2.3.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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As you can see we have been busy. We have sculpted the hill and moved about 4000 cubic yards of material around and are not quite done with the 4x course. We also have the main line of the slope style course roughed in. We wil continue to work on the project through out the summer. This will be a down weekend but we will pick back up next weekend and will have a tracked skid steer to add to our tools. That will make short work of the features. Rumpca Excavating will continue to bring material and the city will continue to place piles for us and we will continue to make magic! </div>
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Huge thanks to Rumpca Excavating, the crew from the City; Joe, Noah and Josh, and a really, really big thanks to my awesome crew! Aaron (my dad), Mike, Nick and Buck! We really made some great progress this last week! As well a big thanks to MORC for all the support! </div>
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Come check it out! </div>
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Keep it real! </div>
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<br />chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-46859512502973855252013-06-24T05:13:00.003-07:002013-06-24T05:17:33.398-07:00Still Spots Available! <div class="MsoNormal">
Weather looks like it is going to play nice for Thursday's
ride clinic. Hopefully the trails won't be closed but either way there will be
lots of valuable information to absorb and skills to learn. There are still
spots available so please check it out. If you have questions post up and we
will try to answer.<br />
<br />
Hope to see you out there!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://morcmtb.org/wp/morc-mountain-bike-skills-development-clinic/">http://morcmtb.org/wp/morc-mountain-bike-skills-development-clinic/</a></div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-9948075736777409472013-06-13T10:26:00.001-07:002013-06-13T10:28:02.413-07:00Register now: MORC Mountain Bike Skills Development Clinics<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">There will be two
opportunities to get yourself on the fast track to becoming a better rider this
summer. Come on out to Carver Lake for an affordable evening clinic on June
27th or July 25th. You'll leave with new skills, confidence and drills to
keep you improving all season.<br />
<br />
Full details and registration can be found here:<br />
</span></b><a href="http://morcmtb.org/wp/morc-mountain-bike-skills-development-clinic/">http://morcmtb.org/wp/morc-mountain-bike-skills-development-clinic/</a><b><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-38219026743847756362013-05-06T06:45:00.001-07:002013-05-06T06:45:53.105-07:00Be There or Be Square! <br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Hello Everyone,</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">This coming Saturday will be the first major build day at the
Eagan Bike Park, the newest addition to the MORC riding facilities. The park is
currently about 80% complete after all the hard work from the volunteers last
year. The original group of volunteers approached MORC and asked if MORC would
like to partner with the City and help take this Bike Park to the next level
and fulfill its true potential.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The answer was “Yes” and now is the time to act! There will be a
Mini-Excavator, Skid Steer and gas plate compactor on site to speed up the
building, but a majority of the work will still need to be done by hand. Please
come help make the first bike park in the Metro area a success! Dress for trail
work, wear closed toed shoes and bring gloves.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">We are not sure if the water will be turned on, on site by this
Saturday. The weather has pushed the City to their limit in trying to get
things together, so please bring 5 gallon buckets, watering cans and pump
sprayers if you have them. Hopefully we won’t need to use them. If you have any
hand tools, please bring them along. We need additional tools like steel rakes,
flat and spade shovels, hand tampers and rouge hoes. Oh and don’t forget your
bike! This weekend is the big Eagan city soccer tournament so get there early
if you want to park in the parking lots. There is a parking lot right by the
skate park off of Diffley Road and another on the other side off of Lexington
Avenue. If the lots are full there is street parking but you will have to park
a few blocks off and ride your bike in. So if you brought things just drop them
off, go park and ride up!</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Make sure to check in with one of the guys in the bright orange
shirts to sign the volunteer waiver. We will be providing lunch, pizza from
Little Caesar’s and will have water on site but it would probably be best to
bring a jug of water for yourself, hydration is important!</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">The address is 4201 Lexington Avenue South, Eagan, MN, look for
a large white water tower follow the road back to a parking lot by the skate
park and then follow the bike path towards the trees and look for the blue MORC
tent and feather flags.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Please post up if you are going to be able to attend and help
out so that we can get an idea of the amount of hand tools, water, food, etc.
to have on hand.</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-size: 11.5pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;">Thank you! Hope to see you all there!</span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-223983712092412012013-04-17T05:54:00.001-07:002013-04-17T05:54:29.371-07:00Long time coming.....<br />
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Hey everyone, </div>
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Sorry it has been such a long time coming I have been a
busy man trying to balance work, home and play can get pretty hectic and this
awful spring isn’t lessening my stress levels any. I have 3 major bike park
projects to complete this summer and I was hoping to start working on them this
coming weekend but there is no way that is going to happen. The snow isn’t 100%
gone yet, the frost isn’t out of the ground and nothing is near dry enough to
put bike tires on it. </div>
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I’m guessing the single track won’t open till the first
weekend of June, maybe memorial Day weekend if we are lucky but we will need
Mother Nature to wake the F up and realize it is actually spring and our
average highs should be near 60 not 40 and we should have lows near 40 and not
20! That would help a lot. We will see what the next few weeks bring. I know
that there is some rain in the forecast, that will help bring the frost out and
close to 60 predicted for next weekend so thing might be looking up. </div>
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Eagan Bike Park is close to finished, this year we will
finish out the jump lines and tune up the pump tracks and that will be good for
that park. Maple Plain is getting a complete rebuilt. I am excited to do that
park. It will be kind of small. Smaller then Eagan but it will be nice for that
community. I am most excited about Cottage Grove, one it is in my home town and
two it is going to be huge! Big jumps, probably the biggest set in MN, at least
legal, non-private jumps. It will have the only 4cross(4x) track in the Upper Mid-West
that I know of. </div>
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The Task Force and myself our now hitting the streets hard
to obtain sponsors, we spoke with Rumpca Excavations out of CG last night. It
sounds like they are on board. We are just sorting out what they will be
helping us with. </div>
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Should be an exciting summer! I can’t wait! Stay tuned! </div>
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<br /></div>
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Keep it real! </div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-80193908716694041712013-03-29T05:28:00.000-07:002013-03-29T05:28:15.863-07:00Over The Top Skate ParkIt should really be called a bike park since there wasn't a single skate boarder there and to be honest the ramps were built for BMX and pretty dang large. I met up with my buddies, Jed, Thor and Griff for a little evening session about 2 weeks ago. The Over the Top Bike Park is in Zumbro Falls, MN located at the Bluff Valley Camp Ground, about 1.5 hours south of the cities. It isn't the easiest place to find but totally worth the trip if you have the itch to ride your bike in the winter or on one of those rainy weekends this summer. It is not for beginners. The park is tight and has pretty large ramps. The over all size of the park is pretty small but still a great time.<br />
<br />
I took these pictures from Griff's blog:<br />
http://mountainbikegeezer.com/posts/my-first-trip-to-over-the-tops-indoor-bmx-park-humbling-rewarding/<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rJenBzWW53Lsl0ziVHDduLrN4mVZ4pAeeEb4YF_Uc1mLzEZhJJGwScUqQZWWlbwhDouhukQNnFC4T8vmFkRUJyzE1PSeTOOf_mG5QifQ8yx5an6r4Ts9RcaF7yCt8BeB3s1KzX74u5A/s1600/overthetopskatepark.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6rJenBzWW53Lsl0ziVHDduLrN4mVZ4pAeeEb4YF_Uc1mLzEZhJJGwScUqQZWWlbwhDouhukQNnFC4T8vmFkRUJyzE1PSeTOOf_mG5QifQ8yx5an6r4Ts9RcaF7yCt8BeB3s1KzX74u5A/s320/overthetopskatepark.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZeFa3blng9vpJA9sJY8PQqyAsLz4k92C6QlN8T-uB6kQlO4lYrsaUOBGnECfjva60Qvfi9jMMflX8ockkB-ZzQYcl_EPAWqVpsATFJphdvbNys6Sc2UCG_Scn3AHDjXjDsGVBdLiPI0/s1600/ottbp-whip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbZeFa3blng9vpJA9sJY8PQqyAsLz4k92C6QlN8T-uB6kQlO4lYrsaUOBGnECfjva60Qvfi9jMMflX8ockkB-ZzQYcl_EPAWqVpsATFJphdvbNys6Sc2UCG_Scn3AHDjXjDsGVBdLiPI0/s320/ottbp-whip.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
We rode for about 3 hours and then headed home right before the big winter storm blew in. I had a great time, met some great people there and learned a few things like a foot jam whip. I couldn't land it on the wedge ramp but I will keep working on it!<br />
Check out Over the Top Skate Park here on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/overthetopskateparkmn?fref=ts<br />
<br />
Keep it real!chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-62603931253375274712013-03-29T05:22:00.001-07:002013-03-29T05:28:46.970-07:00A little more pressHere is another great article from Emily Buss from the South Washington County Bulletin<br />
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<a href="http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/22496/">http://www.swcbulletin.com/event/article/id/22496/</a><br />
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I rode my bike over the future bike park yesterday. The goal was to establish the best rout. No need for that because about 2 blocks from my house I can get on a bike path and it takes me right to the park on a nice rolly trail that winds through prairie. Yesterday I was really wet and kind of out of breath when I arrived. Those hills are tough on a single speed 24 inch BMX bike. The ride was 10-15 minutes. I know right, I am out of shape but I'm hoping that if I ride my bike there and back every time I go to do work or ride I will be in killer shape! I guess I need to step up the cardio or bike time. I like bike time... I will need to start riding more and this weather is totally helping me with the motivation to do so!<br />
<br />
Keep it real!chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-80934936820611902162013-03-21T04:57:00.003-07:002013-03-21T04:59:20.846-07:00It's official!<br />
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Alright! Cheers, time to celebrate! The City Council and
Mayor approved the park in its entirety last night. We will now begin the
fundraising aspect of the project. We will need to raise money for rental
equipment as well as materials so that we can build the skills area! </div>
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If you can’t tell I’m really excited and thankful for the
help and support of Zac Dockter, the task force and Reed Smidt from MORC. All
of our hard work finally paid off! This project is going to be huge and is
going to be a great attraction for the City of Cottage Grove.</div>
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Besides raising money we will be raising awareness, creating
a Facebook page and hopefully a buzz throughout the riding community. This park
will be the second of its kind in the metro and the state of MN. I know there
are other projects in the works right now so there may be potentially 4 total
bike parks in the metro and a few others around the state by the end of the
summer but from the plans I’ve seen none of them will be on the same level as
this park. </div>
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Now Mother Nature needs to speed up the spring season to get
rid of this snow. Before we can get in and start working the city will need to
come in a clear the area in preparation for their prairie restoration project,
which will give us a clean slate to start working. </div>
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Stay tuned for more information on when this project will
begin. If you have any leads for potential sponsors please let me know.</div>
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Keep it real! </div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-21698790043292224122013-03-20T06:51:00.000-07:002013-03-20T13:32:23.448-07:00Approval MeetingHey everyone. If you have time tonight around 730pm and would like to show your support for the potential bike park in Cottage Grove, please come to the City Council Meeting tonight at the Cottage Grove city hall. I will be presenting and the City Council will be making a decision on the project. I hope we have reason to celebrate!<br />
<br />
Here are a couple news articles about the up coming project:<br />
<br />
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_22807595/cottage-grove-gets-rolling-bicycling-projects<br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
http://mobile.swcbulletin.com/page/article/id/22471/#.UUn1AH1NSKk.facebook<br />
<br />
Keep it real!<br />
<br />chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-3370242516017119832013-03-15T05:36:00.001-07:002013-03-15T05:36:39.334-07:00One more to goHey ya'll we got the news that myself and the Task Force will need to do one more presentation! This time is the big show, we will be in front of the City Council on 3/20/2013. I'm not going to lie I'm a little nervous at this time because this is kind of the make or break point in this plan. I really really hope that they have been following along and have seen all the great energy that surrounds this idea. Not only from myself and the task force but from the MORC member, all of the people that attended the meeting on 3/11/2013 and the media attention we are getting. Griff featured the park in a <a href="http://mountainbikegeezer.com/posts/cottage-grove-considers-a-bike-park/">blog post </a>, Bob Shaw called last week to do an interview for the Pioneer Press that will be in this Sunday's paper so keep your eye's out for that, also Emily Buss from the South Washington County Bulletin called on Wednesday and stated that she will be putting an article out about the project in the Bulletin on 3/20/2013 so please check that out too! Also there has been a lot of buzz on Facebook about it on multiple pages! If you have some time, come show your support at the City Council meeting on 3/20/2013 at 7pm at the Cottage Grove City Hall.<br />
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Keep it real!chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-75021943099452098412013-03-12T05:40:00.000-07:002013-03-12T07:51:11.554-07:00Ok next step please<br />
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The meeting went great! I am honestly not sure it could have
gone any better without someone stepping up to sponsor the bike park. <o:p></o:p></div>
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All the people that attended were a little hesitant at first
but after we explained the project and were the funding was coming from and who
would be taking care of the property after it was built they were all excited
and on board! A couple actually decided to speak in front of the Park Board and
put in a good word. The park board was unanimous in voting yes for it and
making a recommendation to pass it through to the City Council and they also
had nice things to say about the Task Force and MORC about how passionate and
dedicated we are! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I want to thank all the people that attended; it was a
decent crowd about 10 people not related to the task force or MORC board. It
went better than expected, to be honest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thank you to the task force for all your hard work, nice
speech Chris Braaten, Tara Steele and Griff Wiggle. You could see the
excitement in the Park Boards faces when the people were talking about how
excited they were for this project. Thanks to Tara Steele for putting together
our short video and Trevor Crawford for all the Auto Cad and google earth image
work! Thanks to the MORC board and especially Reed for all their support! As well as my wonderful wife Kelly for supporting me and putting up with me having meetings and doing work for things like this all the time. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I'm really excited about this. I think this will be a great
park offering all sorts of different things for all type of riders and all
skill levels.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I spoke with one of the council members and she was all
about this so I hope it is all smooth sailing at the next city council meeting.
I am not sure if they can sneak it in the 3/20 meeting or if it will have to
wait till the 4/3 meeting but we should get the final word soon!<o:p></o:p></div>
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With that please let me know if you know of any one or
business that might be interested in being a donor. That is our next step is to
put together our donor/sponsor packet and hit the streets to find some funding
for the parts of the park the city cannot fund at this time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Thanks again!</div>
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From the top to the bottom:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Return line<o:p></o:p></div>
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4x (aka mountain cross) track<o:p></o:p></div>
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Advanced jump line (AKA slope style course)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Beginner/int jump line<o:p></o:p></div>
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MTB skills area<o:p></o:p></div>
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To the right are the pump tracks and tot track</div>
chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-89783626762314079452013-03-06T10:55:00.001-08:002013-03-06T11:03:41.575-08:00Let's try this again!<br />
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It is go time! The voting is up and working. If you have
previously voted it was reset about 10 minutes ago so please go revote! Every
vote counts and we only get 1 vote per person! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Spread the word and support the mid-west, Elm Creek Bike
Park in Champlin MN, Over Flow DH trail in Copper Harbor and Flow Trail in
Brown County IN <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/BellBikeHelmets">https://www.facebook.com/BellBikeHelmets</a></b><br />
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-89169569057751416982013-03-05T07:30:00.007-08:002013-03-05T07:31:38.848-08:00Your Help is Needed! <br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Today is the day! Voting begins for the Bell Built Grant finalists
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">at:www.facebook.com/BellBikeHelmets<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Vote for the Elm Creek Bike Park project and make it happen!!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">And while you're at it keep our Midwest neighbors in mind and vote
for Copper Harbor, MI (DH <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">category) and Brown County, IN (flow trail category) as well!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">Thank you & good luck to all!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-39847650575623624502013-02-28T12:55:00.001-08:002013-02-28T12:55:26.412-08:00DH has arrivedHey everyone, the long time anticipation for DH is over! I'm proud to announce the first true lift access riding area in Minnesota! Spirit Mountain in Duluth, MN has officially claimed the prize! They will be officially opening for business on Thursday May 23 at 4 pm. I hope that there are huge crowds up there to show them that the hype is for real hear and that investing in the mountain is a great idea and hopefully they will expand. I have heard rumors that they are planning on it and have committed a decent amount of money for a budget to add additional trails to the mountain this summer but only time will tell at this point. They do however have two trails they will be opening with. A green level trail called "Candy Land" and a blue level trail called "Smorgasboard<span style="color: #003300; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i>." </i></b></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #003300; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span>
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #003300; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Candyland</span></em></strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> is a 1.5 mile beginner/ intermediate level downhill flow trail featuring large berms, medium and small sized table tops, and hip jumps. All features on Candyland are roll-able, making it an ideal trail to learn on, and perfect for gravity-based mountain biking skills.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<strong style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="color: #003300; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Smorgasbord</span></em></strong><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px;"> is a 1 mile intermediate level freeride/ downhill mountain bike trail featuring large berms, medium size jumps, a drop, and rock gardens. Several features on Smorgasbord are mandatory, including small 3-4 foot gaps, and a 5-foot drop.</span><br />
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If you would like more information please check out Spirit Mountains website:<br />
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http://spiritmt.com/adventure-park/mountain-biking/index.html<br />
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I also highly recommend that you go to their facebook page:<br />
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https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spirit-Mountain/169923041393?fref=ts<br />
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and like the page and post up how amp'd you are to have lift access riding in MN!<br />
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Looks like a great season of Mid-West riding to come!<br />
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Keep it real!<br />
<br />chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-68283878403899022052013-02-25T06:15:00.001-08:002013-02-25T06:15:08.662-08:00Cottage Grove Bike Park Informational Meeting <b id="internal-source-marker_0.12308097607456148" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">For Immediate Release</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Informational Meeting To Discuss and Review the Proposed Cottage Grove Bike Park</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cottage Grove, Minnesota- February 25, 2013 - </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">On March 11, 2013 at 6:00 p.m. at the Cottage Grove City Hall (12800 Ravine Parkway South) there will be an informational meeting about the proposed bike park at West Draw Park (</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">7050 Meadow Grass Ave)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">. This information meeting is open to all Cottage Grove residents and anyone interested in learning more about the bike park project. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">At the meeting we will reveal the proposed design, discuss the chosen park location and address any questions and concerns about the design, park location and project details. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Immediately following this informational meeting will be a Park Commission Board meeting at the Cottage Grove City Hall Council Chambers at 7:00 p.m. The Park Commission meeting will also be open to anyone that would like to attend. The Park Commission will be voting to approve or reject the proposed bike park project. Your support is welcomed and encouraged at both the information and Park Commission meetings. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We hope to see you there showing your support for this new and exciting park amenity that will add to the community and overall parks system of the City of Cottage Grove. </span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">This project is supported by the Minnesota Off-Road Cyclists (MORC). MORC began as the North Central Mountain Bike Group (NCMBG) under the umbrella of the Minnesota Coalition of Bicyclists in 1994. March 1998 marked the official name change to MORC as its known today. The membership has grown to over 800 members today. In 2012, The Board of Directors made a decision to advocate for other riding opportunities beyond cross country off-road cycling trails in the Twin Cities. MORC Gravity was established in November 2012 to help advocate and bring more gravity based riding, including bike parks, to the Twin Cities Metro area.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Contact:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chance Glasford - Cottage Grove Bike Park Task Force Lead, MORC Board Member</span><br /><a href="mailto:cglasford@gmail.com"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">cglasford@gmail.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ph:</span><span style="color: red; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">605-216-5676</span><br /><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: 15px; font-weight: bold; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">### </span></b>chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2033339450335994766.post-4472392192835995132013-02-19T05:01:00.002-08:002013-02-19T05:02:25.023-08:00Attention all Mid-West rippers! <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
Elm Creek Bike Park, located in Champlin MN,
is a Bell Built Grant Finalist in the Bike Park category and Copper
Harbor, MI is a finalist in the Gravity Trail category. This is super awesome
and a great oportunity for the Mid-West to not only get some bad ass trails but
get some major national exposure to our incredible trails we have.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">The
super cool thing about this is that there are only 12 finalists total in the
nation. The 3 categories are Flow Trail, Gravity Trail and Pump Track/Bike
Park...online voting starting March 5. Bell and IMBA will be selecting one
winner from each category and be sending out one of their Trail Solutions crews
to design and build the winner a trail/bike park.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">If
you want to see a kickass Bike Park and a world class gravity trail built right
here in the Mid-West then we need your support, the support of your friends and
the support of all the mountain bikers in Minnesota & the Midwest!! Watch
for more information over the next couple weeks and we'll let you know what you
can do to help. Spread the word & let's get a bike park built at Elm Creek
and a gravity trail in Copper Harbor, MI!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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chancehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01030027345936464567noreply@blogger.com1