For Episode 176 we have Mike Gehard, Mike is the current president of SORBA Chattanooga. If you’ve been following along for a while, you’ve heard several guests talk about Walden’s Ridge in Chattanooga, now you’ll get the full story on mountain biking in Chattanooga along with the fact that SORBA Chattanooga is currently looking to hire their first Executive Director. Mike Also provides a bunch of insight he has learned through volunteering and working with organizations.

Topics Include:

• Why Chattanooga, TN
• How Mike found Chattanooga
• Why Mike got involved with SORBA Chattanooga
• 2024 PTBA Conference as a presenter and an attendee
• Walden’s Ridge
• Shuttles and not the kind that you find at Bike Parks
• Building features on public trails and how many feature rich trails should be built on public lands
• Other Chattanooga Trail Systems
• IMBA – Trail Accelerator Grants
• SORBA Chattanooga is hiring and Executive Director and Why
• The benefits of being a SORBA Member Organization
• Giving back to your local trail organization
• What Mike looks for in a Trail Community
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

SORBA Chattanooga: https://www.sorbachattanooga.org/

Walden’s Ridge: https://www.waldensridgepark.com/

SORBA Main: https://sorba.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Loam Pass Affiliate Link: https://www.loampass.com?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=track&utm_campaign=traileaffect

Loam Pass – Free Pass Protection Code: TAPOD

Trail One Components 20% off Coupon Code: trailpod

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/?ref=XavfBrRJfk4VOh

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 175 we have Glen Jacobs back for Round 2 on Trail EAffect. Glen first appeared on episode 125, if you haven’t listened to the first conversation with Glen, I highly recommend it as, episode 125 will provide some context for this conversation.

Glen is easily one of the most prolific visionaries in Trail Building. Glen Co-founded WorldTrail with Dylan Jeffries 20 years ago. They have since gone on to plan, design and build some of best mountain bike destinations on the Planet.

The overarching theme to this conversation is Glen’s desire to share the knowledge that he, and his team have learned over many years.

This conversation goes quite a bit longer than normal and I need to point out that mid conversation Glen lost power at his place so he pivoted from his computer to his phone to continue the conversation, then back to his computer once the power was restored. Glen is truly a world class human, and we are all very fortunate to have Glen as a professional in our trail community!

Topics Include:

• 2024 PTBA Conference
  • Key Note Speaker and Lifetime Achievement Award Winner
• 2023 Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
  • Shaun Palmer and Rob Warner
• Specialized Soil Searching
  • The progression of Mountain Bikes
• The Quark Knuckle
  • How Many Quark Knuckles have been put on one trail?
  • Many Shapes and Sizes of the Quark Knuckle
• Blue Derby Tasmania and why it’s so popular and successful
• Mountain Biking is just beginning
• Listener Question from Mike Gehard – President of SORBA Chattanooga – When Creating Trail Communities, the Top 3 Things for including everybody into Trails
• More Quark Knuckle Talk
• The need to verbalize and share knowledge
• Losing Power mid conversation…
• From the 90’s (Mountain Biking)
• Validating Trail Builders / Standards for Building and Trails
• The importance of Trail Design and the details that WorldTrail Employs during Trail Design
• The ARM – Adjustable Rock Matting
• WorldTrail Tools
• The size of WorldTrail
• Sharing Knowledge and Training Staff within WorldTrail
• Building World Class Trail Destinations
• Future Trail Conferences
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

WorldTrail: https://world-trail.com/

Specialized Soil Searching with Glen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juxlm5dorLU

Blue Derby: https://ridebluederby.com.au/

Glen Jacobs – The Elder Statesman of Trails: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YF9-vwN3sPQ

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Loam Pass Affiliate Link: https://www.loampass.com?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=track&utm_campaign=traileaffect

Loam Pass – Free Pass Protection Code: TAPOD

Trail One Components 20% off Coupon Code: trailpod

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/?ref=XavfBrRJfk4VOh

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

Daniel Sapp – President of Pisgah Area SORBA / Trail Advocacy 174

For Episode 174 we have Daniel Sapp, Daniel is the current president of Pisgah Area SORBA, co-founder of The Backslope as well as colleague to the infamous Seth Alvo of Berm Peak. Prior to this Daniel was a journalist for Pinkbike, among other publications and Daniel has spent most his adult in various roles in the trail and mountain bike world. Ultimately Daniel provides his take on the importance of Mountain Bike Trail Advocacy.

Stay tuned to the end as we close this one out with a Mike Levy story involving a bad decision!

Topics Include:

• How Daniel got into Mountain Biking
• Daniel and Higher Education
• Traveling and landing jobs within the mountain bike world
• Not being afraid to walk your bike…
• The transition from Pinkbike into Advocacy
• Starting The Backslope
• 2023 North Carolina and the Year of the Trail Campaign
• Rails to Trails Trails and their role in the trail world
• Pisgah Area SORBA, and where Daniel started getting involved there
  • The growth of Pisgah Area SORBA
  • Hiring Staff
  • Cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service
  • Backcountry Horsemen of Pisgah
  • Rebuilding Trails in Pisgah National Forest
• A deep dive on infighting within mountain bikers (a discussion that had to happen at some point)
• The Butter Gap reroute / rebuild
• The Article – Without Trails we don’t need Mountain Bikes
• How can we bring more positive awareness around trail advocacy?
• What are the ingredients that Daniel thinks make a great trail community
• Getting involved with your local trail organization
• Bike Parks
• Closing Comments
• Bonus Content – Mike Levy…
• And a whole lot more!

Trail EAffect Show Links:

The Backslope: https://www.thebackslope.com/

Pisgah Area SORBA: https://www.pisgahareasorba.org/

Year of the Trail / The Great Trails State NC: https://greattrailsnc.com/

Backcountry Horsemen of Pisgah Movie https://youtu.be/3qPsMTQwW1E?si=RDFvxXQnfwt4KQB4

Without Trails We Don’t Need Mountain Bikes: https://bermpeak.substack.com/p/without-trails-we-dont-need-mountain

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Loam Pass Affiliate Link: https://www.loampass.com?utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=track&utm_campaign=traileaffect

Loam Pass – Free Pass Protection Code: TAPOD

Trail One Components 20% off Coupon Code: trailpod

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/?ref=XavfBrRJfk4VOh

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services