Ben Hawes }{ Central

[ricdix]

Good news! Thanks to the City, Sterett Crane and KyMBA trail construction has resumed. The jail crew and city are clearing corridor and volunteers Scott Leach and Cris Smith are cutting in trail with a mini-x.

Production will rise to another level next week when Alex Stewart of Spectrum Trail Designs returns to town. By working together we'll get our best bang for our buck. The plan is the same as his last visit which proved to be very successful. We'll have a crew working in the am and another crew wrapping things up later in the afternoon when most of us get off work.

Unless we raise more money.... its possible that this could be Alex's last visit so let's make the most of it. Come out and lend a hand if you can!

Volunteers needed Monday afternoon/evening and anytime on Tuesday and Wednesday. Come when you can. Leave when you need to. Also, bring your bike to pack in the new and check out what's already completed.

Call me and I'll let you know what section we're working on. More than likely it will be the section near the end of Medley Road.

Thanks,
Richard Dixon
244-0567 cell

[smackgilbson]

Richard, I plan on coming over tuesday or wednesday after work I'll give you a shout.

[ricdix]

Fantastic week of trail building. With local volunteers Cris and Scott making the initial cut with the mini-x and Alex Stewart sculpting the spills with the Ditch Witch, together they churned out more trail than our finishing crews could handle. (that's a good thing) Of course Alex going above and beyond with 12 hour shifts really helped us get to get back on track. For now we have enough hand finish work to keep us busy for awhile.
We also had a nice showing of volunteers for the week. We even had some volunteers from Bowling Green and "smackgilbson" from Eville come lend a hand.
Soon we'll have a nice little out and back connected to the main parking area. Its going to be a really fun trail. Cant wait! Thanks for all the work. You guys are awesome!

[daniel240]

Nice work guys! I can't wait to ride it.

[ricdix]

We'll be connected to the main parking on lot on HWY 60 by this afternoon. Currently 4ish miles of purpose built single-track with one small zig and zag onto some double track to avoid the short section currently under construction. Makes for an 8 mile out and back for now with a few miles of double track if want more.
We need your tread on the new to help pack it in. (when its dry not wet)
Hats off to all involved. Our volunteers are learning a lot and getting better with every work day.

[Tim]

Really wanna get over that way, is the trail head the same rudy mine area ?

[ricdix]

Yes Tim. The Rudy Mines parking lot next to Overstreet Road off HWY 60 West.
If your standing at the Kiosk there's a tool shed at your 2:00. You can enter the trail just behind the shed. There are some temporary home grown trail markers to help show the way. Permanent markers to come in the future once its officially open.
Oh ya... was told its closer to 3.5 miles ready for traffic not 4 as previously mentioned.

[ricdix]

In case you haven’t heard….. Brecks is hosting a fundraiser for the Ben Hawes trail project on 8/20. They will be raffling a new bike and selling burgers for lunch… everyone has to eat. Might as well eat there and show your support. Also free swag and a group ride. More detail below.

brecksbikeshop.com/

Ready to ride your mountain bike but tired of long drives to hit the trail?
Then help us help the Kentucky Mountain Bike Association finish the multi-use trail at Ben Hawes Park in Owensboro, Ky., during a fundraiser at the Owensboro shop on Saturday, August 20.
We will be raffling a mountain bike valued at $775 that Cannondale has graciously donated to the cause, with the proceeds benefiting the KYMBA Ben Hawes trail project. We’ll have several other surprises during the fundraising event, and a HUGE sale inside the store.
The Ben Hawes trail will be around 8 miles long once completed and will attract mountain bikers and other outdoor enthusiasts from around the region. More than 3 miles have already been completed, thanks to the City of Owensboro, Daviess County Detention Center work crews and a corps of volunteers from the cycling community. A tremendous amount of time and resources have already gone into the trail project– and they need our help to finish the job!
After the Fundraiser and Sale at Brick’s Bicycle Shop in Owensboro, Ky., we’ll all head to Ben Hawes for a HUGE ride in a show of support for the mountain biking community of western Kentucky! It will be a great time!

[ricdix]

Guys,

Are you ready for some more sweat single-track? Stupid question….. of course you are!
Thanks to the generosity and support from our local community, KyMBA successfully raised enough funds to bring Alex Stewart of Spectrum Trail Designs back to town.
The game plan is the same as the last visit. To maximize our dollars, local volunteers have prepared the corridor and our machine operators (Scott and Cris) are roughing in the first pass.
Alex will be here to sculpt trail on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of next week.
The Jail Crew will assist Alex in the mornings and we’ll need your help in the afternoon/evenings.
Remember, the more volunteer help we have with the hand/finish work, the more Alex can utilize his talents on the machine.
I know we’re all very busy so feel free to come as often or as little as you like.
Looking forward to building more purpose built, sustainable, fun and flowy trail. And if all goes well, connecting the loop!

Thanks,
Richard Dixon
852-3747 home
313-0599 cell

kymba.org/bowlinggreen/

www.spectrumtraildesign.com/

[daniel240]

That is great news!

[ricdix]

Due to inclement weather, we’ve decided to postpone the start of trail construction by one day. This decision was made thanks to the 3+ inches of rainfall received over the weekend with more predicted in Tuesdays forecast.
Alex will work Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of this week. (And don’t worry…. He’s already checking his schedule for a return trip)
Again, no need to show up on Tuesday. We’ll need all the help we can get Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon/evening.

[bballr4567]

How is the trail coming? Might head out there this weekend if the forecast holds up!

[ricdix]

The loop will be connected when Alex returns during the first week of November. Meanwhile you can by-pass the section of trail under construction by taking the double track around or do an out and back when you reach the trail closed sign. Reference map on Kiosk.
Once connected, we'll start a new trail segment that will convert the out and back into a loop. This will create a double stack loop trail system. A shorter one and a longer one.
Enjoy!
Richard

[ricdix]

Hey guys,
Good news! Alex will be back at Hawes next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The Jail Crew will help in the mornings. We'll need your help finishing trail and packing the tread each afternoon. As always the more help we have the more we accomplish.
If you haven't been on the trail in the last week or so, hopefully you can visit the trail this weekend. The site lines are improving and the trail is maturing. The fall conditions make it the best time of the year. Good stuff.
Also, due to the shorter days and daylight saving this will be our last multi-day trail building blitz during the week. Help us make the most of it!
Hope to see you next week. Come when you can, leave when you need to.
Thanks,
Richard

[ricdix]

Good news. The northern loop is CONNECTED! It’s not 100% compete but it is fully connected. The “Closed Trail” signs have been removed and its ready for traffic. There’s still a lot of tweaking and shaping that needs to be done before its considered fully complete. Meanwhile, we need traffic to help smooth in and pack the tread. (once it dries out of course)
Many thanks to all Involved - We had the JC working in the morning and we had another solid 7-8 KyMBA Volunteers working in the afternoon. We also had our first trail runner show up to help out. It’s very cool to see other user groups lend a hand. And another big thanks to Alex for doing his thing. Funny, every time we open a new segment I think it’s going to be my favorite piece of trail. Also, big thanks to the large group that showed up after work to help pack in the new segment of trail.
Over the course of the last few months a small but dedicated, consistent and reliable trail crew has emerged. Major props to Blake, Johnny, Mike, Nick, and Scott. These guys have logged a significant amount of volunteers hours and represent the core of a much larger volunteer group. And thanks again to our community and the individuals that financially supported the project in the form of Grants or fundraisers. We appreciate all and we couldn’t have accomplished this without you.
Next up will be design layout and construction of a segment of trail that will convert the out and back into a loop. This will create a double stack loop single-track trail system. One short loop and one longer loop.
We’ll keep you posted.
Thanks,
Richard