Goldstream Sports Fairbanks Alaska

We finished cutting about 4 additional km of ski trail today. It will be a blast but we do need another foot of snow before we will have it dialed with the grader and tracksetter. We should have a detailed map with accurate distances by Ski Fest. For now it is passable on rock skis but very bumpy with lots of sticks. Back Country skis would be best now, race skis when we have enough snow will work great. Thanks to Tyson, Kai and Lorien for  all their hard work.  Joel

Ski Trail work day Saturday Oct 24th at 11 am. We will be clearing trail that Tyson and I have marked out this week. We will be brushing with chain saws and a brush mower. We have 4 Km flagged that needs clearing. some of it is on existing trail that needs clean up and some is though birch that just needs some dead fall cleared. We also have some areas of small dense spruce that will be the most work. When completed and we have good snow cover we will have about 8 km of trail with a set classic track. Bring work gloves, if you have a chainsaw that you can bring the would be great.

This came in from a Fairbanks Cycle Club member, and I’m reposting it here for reference

Here’s good news for the cycling community statewide. However, do not assume this is a slam dunk. Perhaps a few of you will take note and let your leggies know of your interest in this bill. Letters to the editor are also advised.

HB 132 Bicycle Program, sponsored by a bipartisan team. Rep. Seaton (R-Homer)and Rep. Gruenberg (D-Anchorage)

HB132 would authorize municipalities and nonprofit organizations to sponsor programs encouraging the safe use of bicycles as an alternative or supplement to motor vehicles.

It would amend the duties of the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development to include the administration of state funds appropriated for these types of programs and would allow state and federal aid allocated for highways to be used to support bicycle paths. The bill was referred to TRA and FIN committees.

See the bill language and more details here:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?bill=HB%20132&session=26

This was posted in Bicycle Retailer’s Blog earlier this week

DENVER, CO (BRAIN)—When President Barack Obama signed off on the $787 billion economic stimulus package earlier this week, bicycle advocacy groups such as Bikes Belong were still trying to figure out what it all meant.

What it could mean is $700-$900 million in extra spending on bicycle-related projects. “This is very good news for bicycling,” said Tim Blumenthal, executive director at Bikes Belong. But then added, “If we play our cards right.”

Much of the stimulus money dedicated to transportation will be handed over to each state’s department of transportation, according to Blumenthal. Loosely translated: These state officials aren’t obligated to build bike lanes and bike paths with this newfound money. In fact, they’re much more apt to fund highway projects with the stimulus money—with the thought that it puts more people to work.

“New bike projects put lots of people to work,” Blumenthal said. “This is where people that care about bicycling can get involved.” Blumenthal added that bicyclists should get in contact with their local politicians and state officials to confront this very matter.

Not only can these bike projects be funded through transportation funds, but also through the energy efficiency and schools part of the stimulus package, with programs such as Safe Routes to School, Blumenthal said.

“The money we get [from the stimulus package] could be about a year’s worth of federal funding,” Blumenthal said.

For more on this story with additional insight from Blumenthal, be sure to read the March 15 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

—Jason Norman

from Bicycle Retailer

We are planning a weekend of trail building training. IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) and Alaska Trails will be running the training in Fairbanks in mid May.  The details are being finalized and will be posted as soon as available.  The training will cover sustainable trail building, layout and constructsion. This is valuable information for any user group. When trails are build to sustainable standards they require little maintainense down the road and provide a long term, high quality trails systems.