New Sled for HMBA

Check out this beauty....‘Tis the season of generosity!! Thanks to Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. HMBA is the proud new owner of a snowmobile! We are blown away by this generous donation and can’t thank CNRL enough. Huge shout out to you guys! You can be sure Mike Langford will be enjoying a little one on one time with this bad boy and our trails!! 

HMBA Spotlight: Beth - Vice President

Beth Blackman- HMBA Vice President

Beth joined the HMBA board early Summer 2019 after Casey (HMBA secretary) suggested it might be fun! Turns out...it is! She also joined because she wants to have a part in promoting and improving biking in Hinton. Beth was born and raised in Hinton, moved away for 8 years then came back two years ago because it’s just too good here! She’s been on a mountain bike for about 8 years and prefers XC/Enduro riding...but a good DH trip is always a blast as well! (So basically all riding). Her favourite people to ride with are her husband (pictured) and sister in law. She also loves going to ladies ride because of the diverse group of women who attend and how awesome they are! Beth is also an RN at the Hinton Hospital (along with Casey) and when they’re both on shift it can be distracting because biking comes up a lot. Don’t worry, not distracting enough not to save your life! Right now she is presently on mat leave with her 5.5 month old daughter and teaching her the love of mountain biking already. If you ever see a wild lady around town with a baby in a bike trailer you can be sure it’ll be Beth 👶 🚲

HMBA Spotlight: Suzanne - Operations

Suzanne Stevenson- HMBA Operations

Suzanne joined the HMBA board in the spring of 2019. She’s in charge of Operations because of the amazing legacy for bringing top tier trails to Hinton. Suzanne is super detail oriented and is doing a lot of behind the scenes work to get trails built! She’s also been very involved with community stakeholders in regards to promoting and advocating for trail maintenance and building. She is passionate about helping our trail system be the best that it can be! In the next five years she hopes to facilitate meaningful volunteer opportunities and keep everyone stoked on the riding out our back door. She started biking as a child, and prefers any trail that goes downhill. Her favourite group ride starts at the bike park and ends in a beer. She’s also great at creating stoke in new riders and supporting them in their journey. Looking to strike up a conversation? Ask her about her hydroponic garden 😀

HMBA Spotlight: Mike - Director at Large / Winter Coordinator

Mike Langford- HMBA Director/Winter Coordinator

Mike has been on the HMBA board for three years. He moved to Hinton in 2006 from the flatlands of Saskatchewan. He’s been on a bike for a long time but really started focussing on it when he moved to Hinton. Before that he was an avid snowmobile racer! With this interest still close at heart, Mike is our Winter specialist. With this season fast approaching it’s a good thing we have him on hand! Before officially joining the board he was our ‘Winter coordinator’ for a couple years. XC and enduro are Mike’s jam but he loves to sneak away for some much loved DH riding trips. Mike sure loves competition because he enters any race he can! If you creep his Instagram you’ll see all of his winnings 👌🏻 when he’s not slaying at competitions you’ll find he is one of our most committed trail guardians. He enjoys keeping our trails in great condition so newcomers can have a good experience when they check out our trails. Mike loves to ride his bike with anyone who enjoys a good climb up and a rip down!! If you ever see a guy clearing trees on the trail...might be Mike, say hello!

HMBA Spotlight: Casey - Secretary

Casey MacKay- HMBA Secretary

Casey has been part of the the board for about a year and a half. She joined because of her love for biking and to have a voice for future trails and plans. Grant writing has become one of her major tasks and her hard work is paying off! Can’t wait for new trails. Casey has been living in Hinton for 6 years and started mountain biking 5 years ago. Her favourite way to get out on her bike is DH/enduro and she’s is reallllly good at it 😊. When she’s not working as an RN at the Hinton Hospital, you’ll find Casey on Flowmaster or Rock Band a lot of the time. If you’re ever feeling lonely she’ll never hesitate to include you on a ride no matter your skill level! She just loves seeing people out on bikes. However, one of her favourite people to ride with is her husband 🥰 Casey travels the world just to experience new and exciting mountain biking and her picture was taken on one of these trips. If you can ever catch her on the trail 💨 be sure to say hello!

HMBA Spotlight: Julie - Treasurer

Julie Duval-HMBA Treasurer

Julie started mountain biking in 1998 when she moved to Hinton. Her 21 years (...and counting!) of living in Hinton makes her a valuable member of the board. Julie is very knowledgeable about a lot of things! She has been on the HMBA board since November 2011 and has circulated through a number of roles but ended up back being Treasurer. You’ll be sure to find Julie at the Monday night ladies ride! She often leads the group and does an amazing job at it with her calm and inclusive approach. Julie loves single track trail rides best but likes to spice it up with features and skills park sessions. The person she loves to ride with most is her daughter, Gabrielle, as she loves to share what a great experience riding is with her. Apart from mountain biking, Julie enjoys pottery and quilting! If you ever see her on the trail be sure to say hello. You’ll leave with a new friend for sure!
🚲 📷 photo taken on the way up Mount Hero, an IMBA Epic Trail in Carcross, Yukon.

HMBA receives donation from Talisman Logging

A huge thanks to Talisman Logging of Hinton for their generous donation to HMBA! We couldn’t operate without the considerate giving from folks like this 😊 #thankyou #bikehinton #hmba #talismanlogging #myhinton #biking#mtb

NAPA Auto Parts Donates Brush Saw

A great big ‘thank you’ to Napa Auto Parts in Hinton for donating this awesome brush saw! The beauty holding the saw is HMBA director of operations Suzanne Stevenson. Suzanne is so happy with the new saw and tells us she plans to keep our trails clear and open with this new tool. Thanks again Napa! #donations #napaautoparts #bikehinton #grateful #happytrails

Pembina Pipeline Corp donates to HMBA

A huge thank you to Pembina Pipeline Corp. who has donated $15,000 to the Hinton Mountain Bike Association. Today, Clint Walker presented a cheque to Suzanne, HMBA Operations. HMBA is currently fundraising and applying for grants to expand the trail system on the Bighorn Ridge.

Trail building on the Bighorn Ridge started in 2018. Find out more here!

Visitors can view Hinton Bike Park conditions online!

Morad Communications Ltd. has donated equipment and their time in helping (and a HUGE help at that!) HMBA get setup with a Bike Park Camera. The camera points towards the Skills Area and is meant to show what current bike park conditions are at. The web link below also shows current weather conditions and sunrise/sunset conditions - to help visitors plan their visit.

We are also limited by sunlight -> our power source! No sunlight = no power = camera is off.

HMBA Attends Bike Tourism Symposium in Whistler

Two members of HMBA executive have been busy at the Mountain Bike Tourism Symposium in Whistler, BC!! Today they’ve been learning about ideas for a sustainable future in mountain biking. Looking forward to learning how we can apply this in Hinton!

Bighorn Ridge Project Updates

Fall Group Rides - Info

Wednesday Group Rides

NEW! Wednesday Group Rides will continue with the 7:00pm start time into October (maybe later!). However, with diminishing daylight hours, we highly recommend that you bring bike lights for the ride.

Monday Ladies Group Rides

Monday Ladies Group Rides will start earlier in September. September 2nd and 9th, start time will be 6:30pm. If there is interest, September 16 and 23rd will start at 6:00pm.

HMBA Receives Community Grant for Bighorn Ridge Project

The Hinton Mountain Bike Association has been approved for $1,000 from the Town of Hinton's Community Grant Program! HMBA is currently fundraising and applying to various grants to build an additional trail on the Bighorn Ridge next summer!

Donation from Secure Energy!

The HMBA accepted a donation of $1,500 from Secure Energy to be put towards the Bighorn Ridge project. Check out http://www.bikehinton.com/bighorn for more information. A big THANK YOU to Secure Energy for their support!!

Poor Air Quality in Hinton

Air Quality around Hinton is poor today and likely tomorrow too. You may want to postpone any planned biking or other outdoor actvities, especially if there are people at risk in your group!

Check this website for updates, or download the app from "AQHI Canada" to get the latest status updates. http://airquality.alberta.ca/map/

Call for volunteers

Hinton Bike Park Deadfall Cleanup

Over the past winter, a lot of deadfall was cut along Jodoin’s Journey and the Pembina Sprockids Trail at the Hinton Bike Park last winter. We are looking for volunteers to help carry out the cut and stacked deadfall.

Date and times: Friday May 24th at 10:00am or Saturday May 25th at 10:00am.

If a minimum of 3 volunteers are available for one or both of those days, the work should take approximately 1 hour to complete.

If you are available to help out, please contact Bill or Maureen at 780-865-3346 so they have an idea of how many to expect. 

Please dress for the weather and wear appropriate footwear :) Bring work gloves if you have them!

Trails and Bike Park Not Ready Yet

It’s Spring Thaw conditions at the Hinton Bike Park. Some extra signage and tape are in place to remind users to stay out of the park until conditions improve... a lot. If your tires or footprints leave a trace - move to a dryer place 🙂. Town trails? Paved trails? Thanks for everyone’s cooperation in keeping this Hinton gem in tip top shape. Spread the word!

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