The Revelstoke Cycling Association has applied for funding to extend and upgrade the classic Frisby Ridge mountain biking trail.
Daryl Ross, who heads up the RCA’s cross-country committee, said the club has applied for $173,000 in funding from the Columbia Basin Trust’s new $9 million recreation infrastructure grant program to extend the trail 7.5-kilometres along the ridge, and provide a link from the Frisby Ridge parking lot to the Ultimate Frisby downhill trail.
They’ll also use some of the money to repair the damage done to the trail during last year’s wet September, when heavy rain and heavy use turned the trail into a long mud bog.
“It’s a two to three year project,” Ross said, adding year one would involve repairing the trail and year's two and three would involve extending it, should funding be approved.
The RCA hosted its annual members night last Tuesday, Apr. 12, where it showcased plans for the year. There isn’t much in the way of new trail building planned this summer. The club built a new trail called Sloe Grin on Mt. Macpherson last fall and they are looking at other short connector trails this year.
“The majority of our focus is trying to do long-term planning for Macpherson and the Revelstoke region in general,” said Ross.
He said the RCA already has 18 kilometres of approved trails laid out on Macpherson. They will be walking those routes to see which ones they want to build, and eyeing new ones.
“A lot of the lines are a little dated,” he said. “We will walk them and prioritize based on value.”
The club has also applied to build a new trail on Mount Cartier, though Ross said construction on that is several years off.
Over on Boulder Mountain, Revelstoke's downhill biking mecca, two new trails were built late last year. The first, Rooster, is a windy jump trail, and the second is Man Quads, a connector trail that links the southern portion of Boulder to the main parking area.
Danielle Backman, who heads the downhill committee, said their focus this year is to fix drainage issues on those trails. “If we have the funding we will build Upper Tall Timber, which is on the map,” she said. “We’re looking at bigger funding sources to build the upper section of the jump trail next year.”
The RCA has a full slate of road, cross-country and downhill races this year. New this summer will be a two-race cyclocross series. They will also be hosting regular maintenance days, starting with a weekend of work on Apr. 30 & May 1 to build a short connector trail from the Griffith Creek parking lot to the new Sloe Grin trail on Macpherson.
In related news, Emcon Services, the highway maintenance contractor for the Revelstoke area, is building a 10-car parking lot at the Mount Cartier trailhead, free of charge.