You can help maintain it
at a work party this Saturday.
(Photo © Jonathan Maus)
The Forest Park Conservancy (formerly known as Friends of Forest Park) has asked the Portland United Mountain Pedalers (PUMP) to formally adopt the Firelane 5 singletrack.
The trail, a rare piece of singletrack in the 5,000+ acre park, was completed in late summer of 2006 and was the first mountain bike trail added to the park in nearly 20 years.
Back in June, members of PUMP and other advocates led a ride through Forest Park with bureaucrats and policymakers to share a knobby-tired perspective on the park’s future.
PUMP’s Shanti Ware, who’s part of an ad-hoc committee of user groups recently created by the Conservancy (more on what they’re up to later), sent a message to the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association (OBRA) email list saying a process to formally adopt the trail (which must be OK’d by Portland Parks) has already begun.
Ware wrote that the gesture by the Conservancy is an important step, “This may seem like a small thing, but it is not.”
Now, PUMP volunteers want to show the Conservancy and the City that mountain bikers can be valuable, working partners in maintaining this (and other) trails.
To that end, they’ve scheduled a Firelane 5 Trail Party for this Saturday. Baumann says a trail work event is, “our opportunity to show that mountain bikers not only care, but act. A good turn out is imperative to our future aspirations in Forest Park.”
Here are details on the work party:
- Firelane 5 Trail Party
Saturday, November 3rd
9am – 1:00 pm
Meet at Bottom of Saltzman Rd off Hwy 30
Bring gloves, wet weather gear, water
Directions: From Portland drive out Highway 30 and make a left on Saltzman Road. Drive to the gate. If you are riding your bike just ride to the bottom of Fire Lane 5.