2022 Accomplishments
DEAR TRAILS, TDU HAS YOUR BACK
INTRODUCTION
First and foremost… Thank you for supporting TDU’s vision for creating thoughtful and engagingly innovative trail experiences through TDU’s collaborative, hands-on community stewardship model.
It’s the high fives, fist bumps, comments, and your on-trail rally spirit that keeps this pursuit alive and charging ahead now three years down the trail.
Before we start the New Year and embark into the future, let’s look back into the rear view mirror to help inform our next pursuits and to celebrate our short-list of wins.
NOTABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS
• Obtained 501c3 Non-profit designation.
• Became a One Percent For The Planet environmental partner.
• TDU hosted 4 Community Stewardship Events on Jackass Ridge culminating in a 1,000+ hour volunteer labor submission to the United States Forest Service from over 200 volunteer participants.
• TDU hosted a stewardship collaboration with Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship on Badenaugh Canyon Trail rallying 40+ TDU Trail Force members to help finish-up and ride-in a summer long resurrection effort led by Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship on an awesome historic trail.
• TDU hosted the Biketown movie premiere at Alibi Ale Works (standing room only) rallying over 300 community members and stakeholders behind TDU’s vision for creating positive outcomes for mountain biking in Truckee among our fabled and forgotten, close-to-home MTB trail networks.
• TDU attended the two-day National E-bike Summit and subsequent Breakout Sessions to learn more about Ebike access in the Tahoe National Forest and to help discern an inclusive forward path for the MTB user group in the Tahoe region.
• TDU submitted two public documents to state entities requesting public comment. In one letter, TDU took a stance in support of case-specific trail design and in opposition to developing new generalized, forest-wide trail building standards. These standards could have been potentially damaging to the mountain bike communities ability to cultivate unique, site-specific trail experiences (generic vanilla ice cream... no thanks, we want innovative and flavorful peanut butter shred blast). Hats off to Bicyclists Of Nevada City (BONC) for leading this initiative and involving TDU and a big thanks go out to USFS for welcoming the MTB communities position.
• TDU is incredibly grateful to have collaborated with long standing community trail builders in Truckee. Through this pursuit, TDU has helped create innovative trail experiences that have inspired thousands of riders, other trail builders, trail organizations, and several land managers to roll from a different line. One that’s accessible from our doors, cafes, and workplaces without putting another car on the road. A line that woops, rallies, and pops in effortless style right back to the future. This inspiration has helped realize the potential of community trail building paying it forward through hands on stewardship and sweat equity. ALL OF WHAT TDU DOES CREATES A SENSE OF PRIDE IN BELONGING within the outdoor space cultivating environmental stewards authentically. The sense of pride we aim to cultivate centers around altruism and give-back through shreddy-good-times that elevate community mind-set and collaboration.
• TDU rebooted Donkey Town Trail (aka: Jackass Ridge) from top to bottom for a strong early season opener and TDU continued to maintain the trail and improve trail features to better fulfill the potential rad factor throughout dryer summer months all the way thru to close out. Big thanks to the Coldstream Canyon Crew for leading the boots on ground effort and for stepping up as crew leaders at all TDU events.
• TDU's iterative approach to trail refinement is helping make the seamless flow and rhythm of Donkey Town Trail aka: Jackass Ridge stand out in the NorCal Region. Donkey Town Trail aka: Jackass Ridge has become known as one of NorCal's finest flow trails with a cool story all its own as featured in Freehub Magazine’s article titled “Time Flies”.
• TDU's crew leaders worked throughout the week and TDU hosted several volunteer weekend work days generating as many as 50 participants from TDU's 500+member Volunteer Trail Force. This made for a very successful season of hands-on stewardship.
• TDU added irrigation holding tanks with water pumps and 300 hundred feet of hose and collaborated with USFS to bring water and better dirt to the trail to improve riding conditions in dryer months making the trail more sustainable throughout the season.
• TDU connected for person-to-person meetings with land managers and representatives to establish future collaborations and communication with entities including CA State Parks, Sierra Pacific Industries, Tahoe Donner, and Truckee Donner Land Trust. TDU is excited to see relations expanding and we look forward to evolving TDU’s community based stewardship model into other complimentary trail networks and riding communities in Truckee and within collaborations beyond Truckee borders.
Over-and-out,
Matt Chappell
Founding Member/Board President