Know anyone who would like updates on trail building, info, news and such regarding Southern Indiana MTB'ing???
please pass this link on
simtb.proboards.com ............
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Hello- Ben Blitch, his lady Jen, and dog Odie stayed at Harmonie from Tuesday to Friday evening last week, and spent the weekend at Brown County for the work weekend.
Ben was impressed with Harmonie's potential, and the potential for 'dirt' opportunities in the city of Evansville.... He will be putting together a written assessment of the Harmonie facility with some ideas for future expansion.
Ben learned a lot about internal happenings of IN State Parks and $ issues, and had a good discussion with the Harmonie Assistant Park Manager. Ben is interested in helping in any way the cause for MTB, particularly in Indiana because Indiana agencies (parks, govt) are much more progressive than in other places, and HMBA is highly active and has a good working relationship with state agencies (thank you Paul Arlinghaus and the HMBA board. You rock).... Whether there is something for Ben to gain or not, he's a go to guy and will go the extra mile for creating a better cycling world.
Ben noted: Harmonie has the potential for a wide area draw, and potential to create as much buzz as other top level trails in the HMBA/Spectrum LLC portfolio. Of course we don't have the elevation change to play with as other parks do but 120 feet is still enough to generate fun.....
The park as good amenities, but there are a few additions needed to compliment the park as a "destination" trail.... Those items are.....
More mileage: A 'destination' trail needs a probable 20 miles of singletrack.... sure HMBA will be back to do an Advanced section, but the mileage on this will only be another 3-5 miles depending on layout and Paohka and Ohka ditch crossings.
From camp to trail: currently, if someone was to camp and head to the trail, they would either need to ride from the campground, or pack up a vehicle and head to the trail head. There is a possibility, if the terrain is appropriate, for a campground connector on foot path trails 2 and 4, more mileage coule be added instantaneously, all the while serving as a multi use double track trail. Essentially this type of trail would be a true 'beginner' trail (maybe... we'll see how #4 trail grade percentages pan out).
Added features/facilities:
Ben noted that many destination trails have added features, in any combination such as short track races, and what he specializes in- pump tracks, skills, free ride, and dirt jumps. Additionally some destination or standout trails fuse elements of All MTN/DH into the trail for added flair, of course with optional elements for safety reasons.
Could there be an integration of this into the Advanced trail? You bet.
Volunteer Base, and or a collective MTB group with similar goals, and the drive to carry out those goals: The single biggest hurdle is the active volunteer base. We have few. Additions to the park are indeed dependent on simple us. We are the maintainers of the trails, we are the builders, we are the proposers of plans to the park and they grant us permission.
We have a ton of acreage and free reign to some extent to design and imagine our dream. although RTP grant funded the project, and HMBA/Spectrum built it- it is not their trail. It is the parks trail, and they look at it as our trail.
Our trail. We are free to build upon what was laid and advance the status of our area feature trail. And again, the best part- Harmonie is all for it, as long as we submit a plan.
Ben also talked to Chastity about obtaining an RTP grant sspecifically for Harmonie State Park, where the Park would be able to contract out, obtain materials, and such as needed. Very much a potential, again very dependent on the volunteer base.
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It appears that Ben had some very productive interactions with the HMBA Leadership up at Brown County, and without a doubt, such a working relationship is very beneficial across the board.
At any rate- If Ben is ever back this way- please please take the opportunity to learn from him. You will learn something completely valuable and life changing within 30 seconds.
You can follow one of the best builders of all things MTB in the nation at
benblitch.blogspot.comHave a productive and safe week;
-Kyle
