VIMFF - Best of Mountain Biking

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association is bringing back the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival (VIMFF) - Best of Mountain Biking.

We will be hosting the movies on the afternoon of Oct. 3rd at Boston Pizza in Hinton. This event will take place on the lounge side, so you must be 18 years old to attend.   Event begins at 1pm.

Tickets are $30 each and include entry to the movies, pizza buffet and one free bevvie.  Limited number of tickets available.

Tickets are available at Boston Pizza, Vicious Cycle Hinton or from one of the Executive Board members (Shawn, Julie, Marie-Soleil, Jenn, or Stacey).

Thank you to Boston Pizza (Hinton) for sponsoring this event!!  All event proceeds will go to HMBA.

Happy Creek Project Completed!

A year ago in September, the Hinton Mountain Bike Association was awarded $30,000 from Hinton's 2014 Participatory Budget.  The grant was used to revitalize Hinton's amazing signature trail, Happy Creek, which needed some major work done on two large sections of boardwalks.  This project not only benefited mountain bikers, but runners, walkers, hikers, and visitors alike! 

Hoots Inc. was contracted for this project.  Crews were onsite by mid-August and by early September, the work was done!  The construction was done with sustainability in mind with the goal of durability and longer lifespan.

For those familiar with Happy Creek Trail - this new upgrade will be well received! 

Thank you to all trail users in the weeks during construction.  Your patience and understanding were appreciated!

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Before...

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Rebuilding, 1st phase

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Rebuilding, 2nd phase

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After!  Boardwalk 1 

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After!  Boardwalk 2

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Boardwalk repair area indicated in green.  (2011 map)

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This project supported by:

Happy Creek Trail Project: September 1st

Happy Creek Project update: boardwalks should be done by the end of Tuesday or Wednesday this week (September 1st or 2nd). The load of lumber in the photo shows you just how much was needed!

2015 Beaver Bike Fest Recap

Oxburger Studios continues to create awesome recaps of the annual Beaver Bike Fest.  Check it out!

Past recaps:

2014 Beaver Bike Fest

2013 Beaver Bike Fest

Fixit Bike Repair Station Now at Hinton Bike Park

Handy Repair Station

Daniel Duval of Assante Wealth Management generously donated a Dero Fixit Bike Repair Station to the Hinton Mountain Bike Association to be installed at the Hinton Bike Park.  Daniel, a HMBA member for many years, also volunteered his time towards the installation of the stand.    This repair station is Hinton's second - the first one was installed earlier this year by the Town of Hinton and is located at the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre.  10 minutes after the installation was complete, Daniel witnessed someone needing some quick repairs on their bike and was glad to see the station was put to good use!

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Site Preparations:

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West Riddge Sand & Gravel donated the concrete for the pad.

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Hoots Inc. framed and formed the cement pad.

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Installation:

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End Result:

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A thumbs up for this great addition to the Hinton Bike Park!  

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Available Tools:

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Tool List: 

Philips and flat head screwdrivers; 2.5, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8mm, Allen wrenches; Headset wrench; Pedal wrench; 8, 9, 10, 11mm box wrenches and 2 Tire levers.  Air Pump for tires.

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Hinton Bike Park Fixit Stand made possible by:

2015 Beaver Bike Fest Results!

Results!

Here are the final results for the 6th Annual Beaver Bike Fest.  A funtastic weekend!!

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Everett and Kira won the Overall Beaver awards for male and female categories respectively.

Thank you to all our wonderful volunteers  and supporters!!!

Happy Creek Trail Project - August 26th

Happy Creek Trail Project progress.  Posted by Jay Hoots on facebook, August 26, 2015.

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August 26, 2015

Pictures from earlier dates:

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May 18, 2015

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August 19, 2015

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August 25, 2015

Happy Creek Trail Project - August 25th

Happy Creek Trail Project progress.  Posted by Jay Hoots on facebook, August 25, 2015.

NOTICE: Happy Creek Boardwalk Repair Underway

Notice to All Trail Users in the Happy Creek Trail System

Please be advised that a section on the East side of the Happy Creek Trail is undergoing trail construction until approximately September 4th, 2015.   Progress reports will be posted on our website (www.bikehinton.com) and on facebook.  During this time, we ask that all trail users enjoy alternate routes on our trail systems and avoid passing through the construction zone, as that may cause more harm (i.e. trail widening and/or work interruptions).  Thank you for your understanding and patience!!

Trail Under Construction

Jay Hoots and crew are working on the Happy Creek Trail boardwalk repair - a 2014 Hinton Participatory Budget project.  See green markings on the map below for area affected by this work.  The trail section is found on Happy Creek Trail - East side, just past the Fast Trax intersection when going South.  There are two long sections of boardwalk that have deteriorated beyond repair over the years and will be replaced with a new structure.  The crew will be accessing the site via motorized quad/bike - but have taken precautions to minimize their impact.  A lot of lumber and materials need to go in and out of the site.

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Boardwalk repair area indicated in green.  (2011 map)

Background

Last September, the Hinton Mountain Bike Association had submitted a proposal for Hinton's Participatory Budget.  Hinton's amazing signature trail, Happy Creek, needed some major work done on all the bridges and wood features. This is not just a project that will benefit the mountain bikers, but it will benefit runners, walkers, hikers, and visitors who enjoy using this great trail!  In October, Hinton residents decided to award $30,000 towards the Happy Creek project!  

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This caution sign was posted at both ends of the boardwalks to advise all recreational users during the summer of 2015.

Photo credit: Sarah Burns taken in Fall 2014.

Feedback

If you have any questions, comments or even great feedback about this project, please contact us via email at info@bikehinton.com

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This project supported by:

Community Contributions

Jay Hoots and his hardworking crew arrived early this week to give some TLC to the Hinton Bike Park and to start getting ready to work on the Happy Creek Trail boardwalk repair - a 2014 Hinton Participatory Budget project.   A special thanks to a few key individuals who have greatly contributed their own time this past week: Shawn Lee (our very own HMBA president!), Brayden Langford (a super keen HMBA Youth Coordinator), and Shawn Cripps who has been a longtime HMBA contributor!

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A new and different kind of technical feature was added to the Skills Area on Wednesday.  A special thanks to Summit Machining & Welding, Napa (cables/hardware), Alstar Oilfield (paint) and Shawn Cripps for building it!

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Cement was poured on Thursday for a small cement pad that will be home to a Fix-It station for the Hinton Bike Park.  Thanks to West Ridge Sand & Gravel for the donation of the cement!

The HMBA also values all the Hinton businesses who contribute in so many ways to our mountain biking community !   Your support is greatly appreciated!!  Below are businesses who have contributed to the work done this week.

Bike Park Prep and More

This week, work is being done by Jay Hoots & crew at the Hinton Bike Park and on Happy Creek Trail East (boardwalk sections).  As work progresses throughout the week, you may see piles of dirt or flagging tape in some areas.  These sites will be temporarily closed until maintenance is complete - so we thank you for your continued patience throughout this important work!

If venturing out on or near Happy Creek Trail, you may hear a moto bike nearby.  Please rest assured that this moto bike is setup to leave as minimal a disturbance as possible and is used to help transport material in and out of the area.  As you can imagine, the two boardwalks add up to a lot of lumber!  This particular project is funded by the Hinton Participatory Budget in the amount of $30,000 which HMBA was awarded in Fall of 2014.   Thank you Hinton!!!

New Re-route on Gulley Trail

On August 8, 2015, the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew (aka Justin Truelove) came out to teach us trail building techniques on how to build and maintain our trails.  The first day consisted of a 3-hour classroom session followed by an afternoon of putting our skills to work!  The builders-in-training tackled a trail re-route on Gully Trail where it joins with the North access to Stinger, within the Hinton Bike Park.  The re-route allows better flow and easier access to Stinger.

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Justin and Kevin selected a site for the re-route and flagged the new proposed trail.

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14 HMBA members attended the full day of training.

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New trail built and old trail section reclaimed!

6th Annual Beaver Bike Fest Around the Corner!

The 6th Annual Beaver Bike Fest is happening August 22nd and 23rd, 2015!  

For event details and schedule, visit the 2015 BBF page.

Online registration is open -  Please save time by registering before the big day!

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IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew Coming to Hinton August 8th

The IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew is coming to Hinton on August 8th and 9th!!   This is a great opportunity for ALL trail users to contribute to our awesome local trails. Learn about trail building and maintenance techniques to help sustain our trails for all to enjoy for years to come! 

Directed by the Canadian office of the international Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and sponsored by Parks Canada, the IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew travels across the country in a Subaru Outback, giving workshops to IMBA-affiliate clubs, Parks Canada sites, and other land managers. The two-person team of professional trail builders educates Canadians on how to build and maintain sustainable trails, manage volunteers, and develop trails as community resources.

The IMBA Trail Building School is a half-day of classroom education followed by several hours of building new trail, rerouting and reclaiming old trail or adding new features to an existing trail. The goal of a TCC visit is education, not to build as much trail as possible. And remember: Sustainable trails don't mean sanitized trails!

Is the Trail Care Crew program only for mountain bikers and cycling clubs? No! The principals of sustainable trail design apply to all trails and all trail users, no matter if you are a hiker, a trail runner, or a mountain biker. We invite all members of the community to our events to learn something new, and meet fellow members of the trail
community!

Half-day classroom session on August 8th, 9:00 am to 12:00pm at the People's Center at the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre.

Other locations and times to be determined - stay tuned!!

You must pre-register for this training:

Tool Locker for HMBA Youth

Shawn Cripps once again donated time and resources to HMBA, installing a tool locker on the Hinton Bike Park seacan. This allows HMBA's youth committee to access tools for bike park maintenance whenever they want.  Big thanks to Jay Hore and Alstar Oilfield Contractors for painting the locker (and another feature to be installed soon!). It takes a solid community to make awesome things like this happen! Thanks!

Summer Day Camp Will Visit the Bike Park

Each year, the Town of Hinton's Summer Day Camp visits the Hinton Bike Park. Each year, we ask any available members to come out and be a Bike God or Goddess for a day and share their passion for biking.

This year, its on Friday, July 24th. Discovery Camp will be there all day, so feel free to stop in at any time. The Camp will be on trails, jumps, skills area, and pump tracks. The Camp appreciates anyone who is willing to share their passion, knowledge, and skills. 

Our reward will be a $250 honorarium to HMBA, which will go towards something awesome, as always. 

It would be great to see some of our teen riders out, sharing their knowledge and passion for biking with the younger ones.

HMBA Finds a President!

Please welcome HMBA's new president!!!

Shawn Lee brings a ton of experience from other clubs, racing, hardcore bmx'er and all around exposure to the scene. Shawn will also oversee bike park operations - allowing our trails guru, Kevin Myles, to focus primarily on trails coordination.

Thanks Shawn!!!

Parking options for Hinton Bike Park visitors

Welcome to Alberta's Mountain Bike Mecca!  As summer unfolds, many locals and visitors alike are expected at the Hinton Bike Park!    The Hinton Mountain Bike Association would like to remind everyone to park safely in designated areas - not on Robb Road, an active haul road.  

Currently, the parking overflows onto the active gravel haul road which has the potential to create dangerous encounters.  This can be a safety issue for both patrons of the park and the active transportation along the road.  Logging trucks are present all the time and can't stop as fast as they wish.   Large dust clouds, flying gravel and steep grading of the road are also concerns.

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Parking along Robb Road is discouraged.

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Parking Options

It is not uncommon for the parking lot a the bike park to be full!  Below are multiple options to suit most everyone!

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If parking across from the cemetary, please use the crosswalk at Mountain Street.   All parking locations are close to Hinton's town trails which all connect to the Hinton Bike Park.

Bringing the whole family?   Why not park at the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre on Switzer Drive.  There is trail access nearby and many different options sure to please all family members: a library, swimming pool, skateboard park, playgrounds, spray park, ball diamonds, climbing wall, courts and arenas.

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Inventory of Directional Trail Maps

HMBA needs your assistance!!

Our 1ft x 1ft directional trail signs (see images below) are out of date and need to be updated/replaced.  However, we need to know how many are out there, or need to be out there - and WHERE they are.  YOU can help by participating in a member-sourced inventory.  Using your smartphones and linking to this form via your web browser (with GPS enabled), enter the info at the location of existing directional signs - or at locations where you think there should really be one! Unfortunately, we cannot put them everywhere ($$), so select the most optimal locations. THANK YOU!!

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Bike Park and Happy Creek Trails are priorities at this time.

About the form

Note: please click on the 'get GPS location' button a few times until the accuracy is within 5-10m.  Thanks!!