Gwinnett Area Trail Riders: G.A.T.R. | A Chapter of S.O.R.B.A » James Carrington

National Trails Day Photos

James Carrington — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:19:26 +0000

National Trails Day 2010

Work Parties at Harbins Park – 6.5 more miles on MB5

James Carrington — Fri, 07 May 2010 00:26:46 +0000

Time: 9am – noon (with lunch provided and group ride after)

Saturday May 15
Saturday May 22
Saturday May 29
- Saturday June 05 – National Trails Day @ Yellow River Park
Saturday June 26
Saturday July 10
Saturday July 17
Saturday August 14
Saturday August 28
Saturday September 04
Saturday September 11
Saturday September 18

Lunch will be provided, bring a good pair of close toe shoes or boots, a pair of gloves, eye protection/sunglasses, plenty of water and some snacks.

Also don’t forget to bring your bike gear if you want to partake in a group ride of the trails afterward.

We will have professional crew leaders with us from Steele & Associates, so if you don’t know how to build trail, then come learn! :)

It goes without saying that the more volunteers we can get at these work parties, the quicker we can start riding MB5.

Please consider printing out this flyer and posting it at your local shop, park, business, church etc.

Click here for a Map of MB5 and the Progress

Night Ride at Tribble Mill this Friday followed by beer and mexican!

James Carrington — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 19:20:37 +0000

Our third night ride of 2010 will be at Tribble Mill this Friday. Please be there ready to ride in the playground parking lot at 7pm, or 8pm for the second sweep. Registration is required for this event. Related posts:

Ring in the Spring Festival at Chicopee Woods MTB Trails

James Carrington — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 18:46:11 +0000

There will also be a free swap meet area that you can drop off anything bike related you’d like to sell and a vendors midway.

The festival starts at 10 AM and will wind down around 3 PM. The cost is $10 for SORBA/IMBA members or non SORBA/IMBA members can register on site for annual SORBA/IMBA membership ($30 individual / $50 family) and attend the festival for FREE! Entry fee includes lunch, swap meet entry and a Discovery Ride map which includes chances to win some cool SWAG!

Please visit their website for more information

Ride & Day Trip to Jack Rabbit Trails, this Sunday is canceled

James Carrington — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 14:25:08 +0000

This ride is canceled due to the weather forecast for Sunday, which is calling for showers all day.

These trails are smooth, fast and beginner friendly; perfect for Singlespeeds! Be ready to ride at 10:30a.m.
We will be joined by folks from Gainesville SORBA, and Atlanta SORBA.
We will have a social after the ride at the trailhead. Plans are to grill some brats and enjoy the afternoon. Please bring something to contribute like cookies, chips, etc. Bring your own drinks and a cup to put it in.

Check this post for updates. Plans may change if rain is likely.

If you want to car pool, either start a thread on the forum, or post comments at the bottom of this page.

Visit the following link for a map of the trail system. http://www.sabacycling.com/jackrabbit-trail-map.pdf

Visit http://www.sabacycling.com/ for information about Jack Rabbit Mtn. Bike Trails.

Work Party at Tribble Mill, this Saturday

James Carrington — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:34:52 +0000

We will be having a work party on:

Saturday March 27th — 10 am-3 pm

Click here for more information on the work plans

Come help out!

Please bring a good strong pair of boots, gloves, wear long sleeves and sunglasses/eye protection, food and plenty of water to stay hydrated.

If you would like to come help out on the trails, please do so during the times posted above. Any questions can be directed to our President, James Carrington via the contacts page on this website.

We will meet in the parking lot down by the playground. Enter the park, at the first stop sign make a right, go down the hill, over the bridge and you’re there.

If you arrive late and people are already in the woods, then to find us, leave your car in the parking lot, walk back over the bridge, walk about a quarter of the way back up the hill and hop into the woods on your left. Then just follow any trail in an uphill direction parallel to the road you just came off of, you’ll see us, that’s where we a are working.

Sign up for GATR’s IMBA Bike Patrol Class in April

James Carrington — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 12:32:57 +0000

Class Schedule

2010 Class #2
April 03, 9.00am-5.30pm
Full day, First aid, CPR, bike repair and bike patrol
Location: Yellow River Park

If you need First Aid and CPR, the cost of the class will be $30

Sign up now: places are limited to 15 people per class

Sign up form:

[contact-form]

More information on IMBA Bike Patrol

Tribble Mill Trail Work 2010

James Carrington — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 21:58:12 +0000

The main goal of our proposal is to improve the existing trail system around the area known as Taco Stand, using a number of small reroutes, some pieces of hand built new trail, and full rehabilitation of any old, unused trail.

What we are ultimately aiming for here is better use of the natural contours of the land, with diversion away from the major water and erosion problem areas – resulting in a more safe, sustainable, and easily maintained trail system.

We are also proposing a more linear trail system here that provides easier navigation for beginners and less conflict with the existing ‘runner specific’ trail. And to top all of this off, we’re aiming for a moderate increase to the bike trail mileage, and a trail that has a much better flow and fun factor!

We are currently working through the approval process with Gwinnett County. As soon as everything is approved we will announce work party volunteer days here on the website.

Please see below here for a visual guide to the proposal.

Download a PDF of the proposed trail work

Apalachee Cycle Jersey’s

James Carrington — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 16:08:21 +0000

Click here for the Apalachee Cycle Website

GATR Night Ride Program

James Carrington — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 17:34:12 +0000

In partnership with GCPR, GATR has formalized a night riding program in the following Gwinnett County Parks: Yellow River Park, and Tribble Mill Park.

Some key things to note about this new program is that it is a trial between GCPR and GATR. It’s up to us to show the county that there is in fact a demand from the Gwinnett community for night riding in Gwinnett County Parks. Therefore it is up to us to make sure we have a big turn out of people for these rides. So please go ahead and register for all 4 rides with Activity Code: LPGY14003 today! Or choose specific rides from the links below. If all goes well with this trial program, we stand a good chance of negotiating a more frequent night riding program next season.

Night riding is currently not allowed in Gwinnett County Parks. Only through these official sanctioned events will you be able to legally ride your bicycle at night in the park.

GATR has official ride leaders who are registered with the county – these ride leaders will carry cell phones, keep the groups together and help to ensure the safety of all riders.
This event is covered under our IMBA-SORBA insurance
Extra instructors and ride leaders will be provided for 1st time or ‘newbie’ night riders
Please arrive 1/2 hour early for gear check and quick info session and assigning of guides
Ready to Ride (RTR) at 6pm, and 7pm for second wave of riders (latecomers)
Anyone NOT pre-registered will not be able to take part in this event (this will be enforced by the parks representative present at the event)
70% of all revenue from fees comes back to our club, the remaining 30% goes to the park – so it’s a win for everyone!

All participants MUST pre-register for the rides. The cost is $4 per ride, or $12 for all 4 rides.

Don’t forget to check the “Enroll?” box before “Add to Cart” (if you do not check the box, it will not add to the Shopping cart).

To register for all four rides as a DISCOUNTED package (Activity Code: LPGY14003)
To register for FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26th at Tribble Mill Park (Activity Code: GCAA14001)
To register for FRIDAY, MARCH 26th at Yellow River Park (Activity Code: LPGY14001)
To register for FRIDAY, APRIL 2nd at Tribble Mill Park (Activity Code: GCAA14002)
To register for FRIDAY, APRIL 30th at Yellow River (Activity Code: LPGY14002)

Click Here to register, then either login or create an account with the website, then use the activity codes listed above to find the events you wish to register for.

We seem to still be having issues with the Gwinnett County website, so if you still need to register for the upcoming night rides (the first
being this Friday at Tribble Mill), then you can actually call Rhodes
Jordan Park and register over the phone. The number is 770.822.5414

Also, if you live outside of Gwinnett County, the price of all 4 rides
is actually $18, not $12. If you think the website is charging you the
wrong amount, then i would advise you to use the telephone
registration instead and speak to a human. :)

Mountain bike night ride-SORBA night ride rules apply-rider must have head and tail lights attached to person. Ride is for beginner to experienced.

A note from our President:

Hi everyone, I just wanted to chime in here and point out a few things about these rides.

Some of you may be asking yourself, why do i now have to pay for these rides?, and why are half of the rides in April, when it is now that we need them, not when the clocks go forward and the nights get lighter?

Well, let me first say that this new night ride ‘program’ is a trial setup between GATR and Gwinnett County. Traditionally night riding in Gwinnett County parks has been strictly forbidden, except for a small handful of sanctioned GATR rides like we’ve had in the past. In the future we want you guys to be able to have more night rides than just a handful each year. We want you to be able to night ride every week during the winter months – wouldn’t that be great?!

As part of our efforts towards making night riding more widely accepted by the county (and with a little inspiration from our good neighbors over at RAMBO) we’ve come up with a new way of having the night rides setup that better meets the needs of the county, AND fosters a more collaborative and formal relationship between the bike club and the local government.

Right now we have four rides lined up, one in February, one in March, AND two in April. Now we know that when the April rides come around the nights will be starting to get lighter, and this doesn’t really do us a whole lot of good in the immediate short term when we really need it. All i can say is that for now, these are the cards we have been dealt, and we intend on playing the best game we can!

The ball is in our court now guys, if we can collectively as a group, prove to the parks people that there is in fact a high demand for night riding in Gwinnett County, then we stand a much better chance of getting more regular night rides on the calendar when the 2010/2011 night riding season begins.

In more basic terms, the more of us that register for these rides, the better chance we have of establishing night riding in Gwinnett County Parks as a more regular activity.

Please help us to make this happen and register today for all 4 rides – it’s only $12!

All the rides will also be followed by an after ride social at a local bar/restaurant.

Thank you for your continued support,

James Carrington
President, GATR