Bikes Belong Awards $50,000 in Grants

Bikes Belong awarded six grants to organizations in Alabama, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Virginia, and Texas. Several mountain bike projects will each get a US$10,000 boost from the awards.

Birmingham Urban Mountain Pedalers (BUMP) will help build the Lake Trail in Oak Mountain State Park, Alabama. BUMP will connect two sections of singletrack that are currently linked by a roadway while creating a three-mile mountain-bike loop specifically for beginners.

Page Valley Cycling Club will build a pump track and trails for new mountain bikers in the town of Shenandoah. The path and pump track will provide the first natural-surface riding in Page County, Virginia.

The Great Houston Off-Road Bicycling Association will use its award to expand the trail network at Double Lake Recreation Area. Shortly after receiving an award last year, Hurricane Ike destroyed nearly 2,000 volunteer-hours worth of trail, so the group spend the first grant rebuilding the trails instead of expanding the trail system. This grant will enable the group to proceed with the expansion.

Other recipients include the Peoples Advocacy for Trails, Hawaii (PATH) which will work toward more active, sustainable transportation in Hawaii; the City of Ellsworth, Maine, which will connect sections of the Ellsworth Rail Trail and link to the 86-mile Downeast Sunrise Trail; and the Brooklyn Greenway Initiative, which will work with the New York City Department of Transportation to develop a comprehensive plan for the 14-mile Brooklyn Waterfront Greenway.

(Additional editorial assistance from Susan Westemeyer)