Talisman Logging Continues to support HMBA with generous annual donations!

Robert Doorenbos, owner of Talisman Logging, likes to keep it simple.  He simply rides - Every. Single. Day.  Chances are you have seen him out on the trails, all winter and summer long, ''logging'' up his hours on the bike, pun intended :) Thank you Robert for giving back to what you enjoy.  HMBA will use your contributions towards the maintenance and expenses of winter grooming!  Thanks to your donations of the past two years, HMBA was able to purchase it's own winter sled!!

HMBA Recipient of Hinton Community Grant Program Funding

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association was one of the successful applicants for the Spring 2016 intake of the Hinton Community Grant Program.    The grant will be used for parking lot upgrades which includes the installation of a light standard at the Hinton Bike Park parking lot to provide a safer area for riders in twilight hours.   During the winter months, HMBA has expanded the use of its trails and purchased grooming equipment that will be stored in a second seacan, which is also part of the funding request. 

Three local Hinton businesses have committed in-kind labour and materials towards this project.  These include Caylor Contracting, Ascendant Renewable Energy and Ever Enterprises.

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Kevin Myles, HMBA's Trail Coordinator, is stoked about the grant and the work being done to make the Hinton Bike Park even more awesome!

Maureen Harper, HMBA's Director at Large, has been very busy preparing the parking lot and Skills Area in preparation of the light standard and the additional seacan.  Her focus is one of of beautification, making the Hinton Bike Park more welcoming and appealing to all visitors.

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Holly and Karyn were very busy painting all the bike racks.

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Gabby and Ellen made good work on clearing Stinger - make sure this relatively new trail is on your to-do list!

On Saturday, April 7th, about a dozen volunteers worked all morning by removing and piling brush, painting, clearing, stone removal and establishing a short foot path behind the parking lot.  Maureen thanks her volunteers' efforts and commented that "one volunteer is worth 3 employees - that is how hard these volunteers worked!"

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Rocks, rocks and more rocks.  Julie and Gabrielle rocked it!

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Workers from the Town of Hinton will be in and out of the park to remove many of the wood piles generated that sunny morning.    HMBA thanks all it`s bike park visitors for their patience as the work is being done.

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Repsol Bench

The Repsol sponsored bench at the Hinton Bike Park is now completed! Thank you again Repsol for supporting the Hinton Mountain Bike Association!! 
 

Phil's Mad Skills Clinics

Lean basic riding skills!  Great for beginners or those looking for a skills refresher!  Geared to all levels of riders.

WHEN:  (3 clinics available)

• CLINIC 1: (1 day) A Saturday-only clinic on May 7 (10am - 2pm) for those who want a quick all in one day!
• CLINIC 2: (2 days) Tuesday May 10 and Thursday May 12 (6:30pm - 8:30pm)
• CLINIC 3: (2 days) Monday May 16 and Wednesday May 18 (6:30pm - 8:30pm)

COST: $20 **Must be HMBA Member

WHERE:  St Gregory School, south field and some on trails.

Looking to have at least 4 people for a clinic to run.

Participants can message Philip Mark on facebook or contact him by completing this form:

Click here to register!

New Form

Discounted HMBA Apparel Available at AGM

Great news folks! HMBA apparel will be on sale at the AGM. All apparel will be discounted. Freestyle Jerseys (was $70, now $50), Turbo-T Jerseys (was $45, now $30), Yellow 2015 BBF shirts (was $25, now $10), all other cotton Tshirts (was $10, now $5), and socks (was $15/pr, now $5/pr)

Limited sizes available:
Unisex Sugoi Freestyle Jerseys (3/4 sleeve): XS, S, M and XL
Men's Sugoi Turbo-T Jerseys: XS, S and M (great for youth!!)
Women's Sugoi Turbo-T Jerseys: S, M and L
Sock Guy Socks: still have some in S/M (6) and lots in X/XL (15)
Yellow BBF shirts: Mediums only (fits a bit big)
BBF shirts: mostly larger sizes. 1 cute 2T left.

Help HMBA clear out inventory! All proceeds go back into supporting HMBA's operations and initiatives!

HMBA AGM:  Thursday April 21st.  Doors open at 6:30pm.  Come get your memberships!

Check out the photos and see how our apparel are stylin' all year round!

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Spring Cleaning

Work Bees

With the warm spring weather quickly drying up our biking playgrounds, a few work bees have been put in motion starting this Tuesday April 12th, from 5:30pm until dusk.  The work bee will continue on Wednesday and Thursday as well.   So if you have some time to spare this week, come on out to the Hinton Bike Park, pick up a broom or a rake and lend a hand!  There will be lots of different tasks.

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No matter how small...

Tree Falling

On Tuesday, April 12, Wade Forester will be falling dangerous trees at the Hinton Bike Park. Please either avoid the Park or give a lot of distance for Wade to work. Big thanks in advance to Wade and his skilled labour volunteer hours!

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Flagged tree for falling.

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Photo credit: S.Pelley, HMBA facebook group.   Local member contributing many volly hours on our trails!

Spring Vollies

THANKS!!! to all the volunteers who have worked hard this past week picking garbage off trails, clearing deadfall and getting the other Hinton area trails ready for riding.

HMBA Trails 101

In an effort to manage an inventory of sustainable trails in our area, HMBA has outlined some key steps that are needed before new trails, or re-routes to existing trails, are built.  There is also concern that, although more trails would be super cool to add to our existing trail systems, they do increase the amount of trails HMBA's volunteers have to maintain!!

If enthusiastic trail builders would like to build an authorized trail:

1. The idea needs to be presented at an HMBA board meeting.  Contact us at info@bikehinton.com to find out when the next meeting will occur.   Trail suggestions/ideas are compared against the existing Trail Master Plan and approved by the HMBA Board.
2. If accepted, HMBA will help the builders apply for a TFA (Temporary Field Authorization) with the Alberta Government on the condition that the builders agree to provide maintenance on the trail in the future. 
3. Any trail within the Town of Hinton town boundary also requires approval.
4. For re-routes, previous areas have to be reclaimed, blocked off and returned to it's natural state.
5. HMBA has various tools that can be loaned out to members for approved trail building initiatives.

These steps ensure that renegade building does not become a liability for HMBA and that the responsibility for maintenance does not fall back on HMBA to expend resources and energy on a potentially poorly built trail. We are aware that certain illegal trails have been grandfathered in the HMBA systems but moving forward, there is a process in place that will be followed.  In extreme cases, renegade building may be reported to the ESRD and the Town of Hinton.

Update on Jack's

Last November, students and instructors from the NAIT Forest Technology Program began a harvest project around the Jack’s Trail System, specifically Christine’s Cutline Cruise and Dan’s Deadly Downhill. They had contacted HMBA as part of the formal notification process for groups/interests in the area, a process managed by the Province to minimize conflicts on the land base.

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The NAIT project is clearly visible from .Christine's Cutline Cruise".  They did a great job of removing debris from the trail. It's a little wet but good overall (see header photo)

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Note the harvest block (yellow) indicated on the above map. Even though the project occured over winter, trails were buffered up to 30 meters and caution signage was placed. NAIT will also inspect trails for any unlikely debris.

Did you know that the NAIT Forestry Program performs a “Cache Percott–Give Back”? Upon completion of their field camps, 30 students cleaned-up around the Cache Percott Forest, removing general garbage i.e. dumped couches, washing machines, garden detritus, household garbage etc.   AWESOME!!, thanks NAIT!

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BIG THANKS! to whoever cut all the downed trees over winter. There's a few new ones down but overall Jack's is riding great and surprisingly dry.

AGM April 21st

AGM Announcement

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association Annual General Meeting will be held Thursday, April 21st at Lakeview Inn & Suites.  Doors open at 6:30pm.  AGM will start at 7:15pm.

2016 HMBA Memberships will be available for purchase.

• Individual Memberships:  $25
• Family Memberships:  $75

Memberships can be purchased ahead of time from our online shop.  Pick up your 2016 membership cards and stickers at the AGM!  If you are unable to attend our AGM, the membership cards and stickers will be mailed out to you after April 21st.

HMBA Apparel will also be available for purchase at the AGM.

New this year: Smaller-sized 'member' stickers!!

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Great door prizes!!  Including a Trek run bike donated by Vicious for our youngest members.

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Thank you to our sponsors for the great AGM door prizes!

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Thank you to Lakeview Inn & Suites for donating the use of their meeting room for our AGM!

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Thank you to The Hinton Voice and Ouiprint for designing and printing our AGM posters!

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And saving the best for last, a great BIG thank you to all our membership card discount sponsors!!

Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest wins 2nd in 2016 Entrepreneurship Challenge

Canmore, AB – The Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest, a developing mega event that will bring Alberta’s booming mountain bike industry to Canmore won second place at last night’s Travel Alberta’s 2016 Growing Rural Tourism Conference’s Entrepreneurship Challenge in Camrose.

Owner/Operator Wanda Bogdane explained, “This is an important accomplishment for the Fest. We’ve had amazing support so far, but an event of this magnitude requires seed money to develop. Having mentorship will also be helpful to move the project into execution at the standard we want.”

Rancho Relaxo Resort of Rocky Mountain House took the first place win and Discovery Wildlife Park of Innisfail won third place. Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism tweeted “Congrats to ‪@TaimiSoil‪@wandabogdane ‪@DiscoveryWild-winners of the 2016 Entrepreneurship Challenge, presented at GRT.‪#ABtourism”

 The Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest

The Fest will be a buzz of activities over a multi-day period at the end of June (2017) and will include:

• Demo-licious Days: “This is where mountain bikers will come to sample the tastiest bikes of the season,” explained Bogdane.
• The Plaid Goat Jump Jam where jumpers of all ages and abilities will come to strut their stuff and put on a great show
• A craft beer tent and great coffee to quench attendees’ thirst 
• Coaching clinics with the best coaches from around the region
• Group rides to make sure festival takers get their “ride-on” and awesome activities hosted by local bike shops
• Partnerships with “for fun” existing mountain bike races
• Trail care days involving local and regional trail builders and designers, with support from the International Mountain Bike Association
• A kids activity area with a pump track and make your own park dirt pit
• Vendors galore showcasing the newest bike goods, food, jewellery, bike art and more

“The Fest will build on the Town of Canmore’s Bike Fest, held in previous years and will add in the regional piece to create an inclusive, for-fun celebration of mountain biking culture for the bike industry and its passion people from around the province,” said Bogdane. “Mountain bike tourists who love to travel to ride will be a big part of the mix too.”

A regional approach to mountain biking is new for Alberta, but common across North America and the world. “The Fest can help fill this gap and will create a new mechanism for our beautiful province to further diversify our tourism economy,” explained Bogdane. “The Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest will bring together mountain bike alliances, destination marketing organizations, coaches, clubs and industry so all of the great mountain bike experiences in the region can be found in one mammoth package.”

The Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest is seeking sponsors and partners for individual components and the festival as a whole. “There are a ton of different ways to be involved, and we’ve had interest from the bike industry and non-industry companies who want to reach the core demographic of a loyal affluent group mostly aged 35-55. However, with something of this scale, we’ll continue to build out our sponsorship program over the next year,” said Bogdane.

For more information contact:

Wanda Bogdane

403-609-7127

wanda@aspire2achieve.ca   

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Background on the Growing Rural Tourism Conference

 The 2016 conference featured the second installment of the Entrepreneurship Challenge, a competition to help operators develop new tourism experiences. Ten finalists presented their business plans to industry experts and received feedback during the conference on Feb 23.

The top three winners were announced and received cash prizes and one year of mentoring to assist in the development of their products. The winners included:

·       1st place: Rancho Relaxo Resort, Rocky Mountain House

·       2nd place: Canadian Rockies Mountain Bike Fest, Canmore

·       3rd place: Discovery Wildlife Park, Innisfail

“Tourism is an important industry in our province—and a key factor in diversifying Alberta’s economy. The Growing Rural Tourism Conference develops and supports tourism experiences that are off the beaten path, bringing economic benefits to rural communities. Innovation and the expansion of travel experiences in Alberta will facilitate the growth of our burgeoning tourism industry.”

Ricardo Miranda, Minister of Culture and Tourism

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism is committed to expanding the tourism industry and maximizing the opportunities tourism creates in every region of the province. Working with industry partners the goal is to grow tourism in Alberta to a $10.3 billion industry by 2020.

Links:

http://www.alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=4025464652ABC-A253-BECE-AAD346EB3BA41FDB#.Vst9HEACA1A.twitter

Photos for the winners can be found at: https://www.flickr.com/photos/albertaculture/sets/72157664276965799

 Media inquiries:

·       Beryl Cullum 780-644-5588Communications Director, Culture and Tourism

·       Chuck Erman 780-672-3640General Manager, Camrose Regional Exhibition

Repsol Sponsoring a Bench at Hinton Bike Park

Repsol Oil & Gas Canada Inc., formerly Talisman Energy Inc., has contributed $5,000 towards the sponsorship of a bench at the Hinton Bike Park!    THANK YOUR REPSOL!!

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Julie Duval, HMBA VP, accepting the cheque from Jesse Kirillo of Repsol.

During the summer of 2014, benches were built, stained and varnished and otherwise prepped for sponsorship branding – a creative way for the HMBA to raise funds for future projects. 

Cash contributions of $5,000 can mean a unique sponsorship opportunity and be showcased within the Hinton Bike Park on one of these benches.  More details...

Winter Fat Bike Demo & Skills Challenge

FAT BIKE DEMO & SKILLS CHALLENGE

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Wondering what all the fat bike excitement is about? Join HMBA at Maxwell and take one out for a spin. Try your skills at an obstacle course and earn fat biking bragging rights.

This event is part of the Hinton Winter Magic Festival.   There will be a fire pit & music also!

Event run by Hinton Mountain Bike Association
Where: Maxwell Lake
Time: Sunday, February 7th, 1-4pm

A post-demo ride is planned after the event (after 4pm) as well.

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Many participated in the fun teamed race in the 2015 winter event.

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Fat biking is definitely worth trying and so much fun!!

ALSO ON SAME DAY/PLACE:

LANTERN FESTIVAL 

Join us for an evening skate around Maxwell Lake where student decorated Lantern Bags will light your way.
Event run by YRAF & Maxwell Lake Skating Society
Where: Maxwell Lake
Time: 5-8pm

Talisman Energy Investing in Our Communities

Talisman Energy, one of HMBA's Double-Black Diamond Supporters, and their employees, continue to support and invest in our community.   Their ongoing support have helped towards initiatives such as building and maintaining the Hinton Bike Park, and supporting HMBA's Sprockids programming.

Through their "Investing in Our Communities (IOC) program",  Talisman Energy recognizes their employees/retirees actively engaged with community organizations in which they live and work.

Two Hinton residents, Colin Hanington and Cody Begon, have recently selected the Hinton Mountain Associations for their generous contributions.

Colin and Cody - THANK YOU for your continued support!!!  And thank you Talsiman Energy for Investing in Our Community!

Shawn, HMBA President (left),  accepting the donation from Talisman employee, Colin Hanington (right). 

Photo taken in 2014.  Cody Begon has been actively involved as a coach with Sprockids and has made numerous annual contributions to HMBA through his employer's Investing in Our Communities Program.

So, what have you been up to, HMBA?

Glad you asked!  Members of the Hinton Mountain Bike Association, or HMBA (we like to pronounce it has 'him-bah'), have had a busy year!  Below are some of the highlights for 2015.

IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew.  

In August, 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.

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Happy Creek boardwalk was revitilalized

At the end of August, the Hinton Participatory Budget Grant (2014) 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! 

Another successful Beaver Bike Fest event!

Another fantastic fun-filled weekend led by the yellow brigade of volunteers!  So great to see kids of all ages having fun!

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Shawn Lee steps up as the club's new president!

Shawn brings a ton of experience from other clubs, racing, hardcore bmx'er and all around exposure to the scene.

Stacey steps down from the Board

It was very hard for HMBA to lose Stacey when she stepped down from her position as Director at Large.  Her energy, enthusiasm and love of all things mountain biking have helped HMBA soar to new heights and adventures!

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Fixit station installed at the Hinton Bike Park.

Daniel Duval of Assante Wealth Management generously donated a Dero Fixit Bike Repair Station to the Hinton Mountain Bike Association, now installed at the Hinton Bike Park.  The Fixit 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. 

New skills feature in the Skills Area.  

Dubbed Cripps' Canyon during the Beaver Bike Fest, but named 'Baja Canyon' by it's builder, Shawn Cripps, this new feature has added some fun challenges to the Skills Area!  Shawn has also helped build the shed for storing our fuel and a tool shed that is accessible to our youth.

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Another awesome Oxburger creation

For several years in a row, Oxburger Studios has created awesome videos of our signature event.  Many treasured moments are captured!

Sprockids

Sprockids had an amazing but busy year!  Close to 100, YES, ONE HUNDRED, kids were registered for the 10-week program.  

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Group Rides

Group rides continue to be a great way to meet other riders.  There were so many new faces this year - we can't wait to see you all again next summer!!

On-going trail maintenance

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Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring - there is always some kind of trail maintenance that needs to be done.  HMBA relies on member volunteers to help keep our trails in tip top shape!

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Re-route on Halloween Connector

Small changes, big impact!  A re-route on Halloween Connector improved flow on this great trail.  Another re-route occured on Gulley Trail in the Bike Park - part of the IMBA Trail Care Course in August.

New EVOC backpack for our tool-totting Trails Guru!

You can't imagine how happy our Trails Coordinator was to receive such an awesome and handy pack!  This pack was donated by EVOC and is built to carry various large tools while riding a bike.  HMBA was very lucky to receive such a generous gift!

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EVOC rep

Thanks for sharing in some of our best moments of 2015!   Ride On!

HMBA Gains New Board Member

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association would like to welcome Maureen Harper to the Board as the new Director at Large!

Maureen has always been, and continues to be, a great advocate for HMBA!  She is quick to volunteer and you will often find her leading a ladies' group on our Monday nights or doing trail maintenance when riding our trails.

Welcome aboard, Maureen! 

-HMBA Board Members

Great winter riding conditions!

The groomed winter trails continue to be in great riding condition! Get out and get active! 

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Winter signage has been posted up on our winter trails.  There are even a few extra trails that have been broken-in with fat bikes to create fun alternatives until the next big snowfall!  Vigilante and Happy Creek can be included in your fun winter adventures.

Check out our Winter Trails page for more information about winter trail grooming and a winter trail map.

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Year round biking and recreation

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association (HMBA) will be grooming select trails in the Hinton area (West of Happy Creek) for non-motorized activities such as cross country skiing, snowshoeing, bicycling, hiking, dog walking and trail running.

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A specialized groomer, the same type used by nordic centres, is towed behind a small snowmobile .  The groomer is 30 inches (76 cm) wide, ideal for creating winter trails for our non-motorized recreationalists.  

Grooming is a slow process, the snowmobile runs approximately 5 kms/hr towing the groomer as it rolls and packs the trail down.  

Once groomed, it will take a few hours to harden before it is ready for use.  Grooming will be done mostly at night when there are less trail users.  This will give a better chance for the snow on the trail to set.

Visit our Winter Trails page for more info and the latest groomer report!

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Winter Grooming is 100% run by HMBA Volunteers!!

SUPPORT HMBA - BECOME A MEMBER!

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LIST OF TRAILS THAT WILL BE GROOMED

• Just Get There

• The J

• EZ

• Ranger

• GS

• Halloween

• Halloween Connector

• Cleo's

 

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Signage that will be posted on the winter trails. Click to enlarge.

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Map showing trails that will be groomed over the winter. Click on image to enlarge

Stay Active! Try Disc Golf

What's up?

A group of Hintonites are looking into the potential of setting up a Disc Golf course here in Hinton.   A 'drop in' event is planned for this Saturday, October 17th! 

What is Disc Golf??

Disc Golf is becoming more and more popular, especially in areas already popular with other outdoor recreation such as mountain biking and nordic skiing.   Whistler, for example, has a very popular course. Never played? No prob's... its easy to figure out and then practice makes perfect.... People will be present at the drop in on Saturday to teach you and you don't need to bring anything but good spirits...and maybe some water...

Come try it out!

Drop by anytime on Saturday the 17th between 3:00pm and 5:00pm  at the Hinton Bike Park.  You will be given a course map and some discs with instructions.

Where to park

If the Hinton Bike Park parking lot is full, PLEASE do not park on Robb Road.  You can park along Eaton Road, east of the Mountain Street/Robb Road intersection.  Once parked, follow the town trails (west side of Robb Road) .  Head south and you will end up at the Bike Park in just a few minutes!