Saskatchewan Trails Get a Facelift

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew visits Regina, site of 2005 Canada Games.

Just doggin' it! The tireless crew of 17 people and 7 dogs takes a quick break to pose for a group shot.
Members of Tread the Thunder Mountain Bike Club in Manitoba demonstrate how to lay out trail using pin flags and a clinometer.
While trailbuilding may not be your claim to fame, it might be your ticket to getting in the local paper. Here a Leader-Post reporter takes photos of the layout session.
The re-route is taking shape! This bench cut will replace a highly eroded and dangerous piece of singletrack on the edge of Wascana Creek.
Can you spot the old trail? Volunteers worked hard to disguise and reclaim the old trail corridor.
Donna looks back on what is only the start of our second project of the day. This major re-route will provide a longer and more enjoyable climb out of the valley.
"Live and die by the shovel." These are words of wisdom from Louis, Olympia Cycle's trailbuilding fanatic. Olympia Cycle is an IMBA-affiliated shop located in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In early August 2003, Regina, Saskatchewan was celebrating its 100-year anniversary. But this wasn't all the city was celebrating. Regina had just been chosen as the site for the 2005 Canada Summer Games.

The Canada Games is a national multi-sport competition for Canadian youth. Mountain biking has been a major event at the competition since 1989, motivating many Canadian athletes to get involved in the sport. Just like the Olympics, event preparation starts early - not only for the athletes, but also for the hosts. With only a year and a half to go, the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew was called in by the Saskatchewan Cycling Association to help make the Wascana Trails race-ready.

The Wascana trail system is a small trail network just outside Regina. A spaghetti plate of unmarked singletrack in a steep river valley, it's a popular destination for hikers and bikers alike.

When Mark Schmidt and Lora Woolner of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew came to town, a fantastic group of 20 eager IMBA Trailbuilding School participants arrived to learn all they could about building trails that last. After a half day in the classroom and a few hours laying out trail, the crew was ready to put their backs into bench-cutting. What was supposed to be a short demonstration project by the creek turned into a full day of trailwork on two separate projects. The crew refused to lay down a tool until the new re-route out of the valley was well on its way to completion.

Not only was the trailbuilding successful on this Victoria-Day weekend, but IMBA also signed on a new rep: Randy Schenk will be spreading the IMBA-love throughout rural Manitoba.

For more on the local mountain biking scene in Regina and throughout Canada, check out Shut up and Ride - a fantastic website put together by local riders.