For mountain bikers across the Northern Hemisphere, there’s another reason to hit refresh on that weather app. Spring can’t be too far away now, and we’re helping trail associations gear up for trail maintenance and their next big projects with a whole slew of new bling. From trusty tools to new ways to bring in cash, we’re proud to help the folks who make trails happen.
Here in Michigan, trail crews are already putting trail days on the calendar and putting out the word to members to join them for trail maintenance, repairs, and to get work started on expanding their trail network. It takes a lot of organization, effort, and planning to get folks into the woods to tackle the issues that don’t just make trails unsustainable, but even potentially dangerous to trail users.
To help, we’ve been designing a number of products that trail associations can trust, which lets them focus on getting things done. We’ve put together a few of the most useful products we’ve pumped up to help you get the ball rolling once the snow melts and the trails thaw.
Custom MTB Trail Markers - These stainless steel and fully customizable signs don’t just look cool, which they do. Instead, they serve as a really useful bridge between the real world and Strava. While you can totally use these to mark trails themselves, we’ve found in our neck of the woods that these are especially useful in giving Strava segments a real-life starting point. It’s not about KOM hunting; these are very helpful in helping riders connect different trails together, find new places to explore, and even help with safety by offering reference points that they can bring up on a phone and relay to anyone else.
They also provide a really cool way to build a brand. There’s a whole world of merchandise potential for trails looking to add their personality to the name of trails, segments, and work to show value to members. See some of our favorite names here.
Rescue Box - When we designed these, we had no idea just how much they would be used. As a trial run, we put three boxes on the Vasa Singletrack here in Traverse City. We strategically placed them at high-traffic intersections of the 14 mile trail, with one at the trailhead. The very first day, we received a thank-you note. Since then, there’s hardly a week that goes by that we don’t a text, email, or message from some rider who stopped to use one of the tools tucked away in the box. That’s impressive, but that’s just the folks we hear from! We now realize that these Rescue Boxes do a lot to enhance safety and bail folks out from a bad day. Check out all the tools and first aid kits we crammed inside them here.
Trail Post Marker - Simple is beautiful. These are a simple idea that solve a lot of problems. Designed to fit on a 4x4, trail associations can maintain color-coordinated trail systems by panting the post and putting the marker over top, leaving the color visible through a cut-out logo. They don’t fade, they don’t fall off, they don’t get pointed the wrong way. Darn good idea, huh? Order up yours, and let us know what numbers you need, here.