Team GROC on behalf of the American Diabetes Association would like to thank the following generous donors
Special thanks to team coordinator Stephen Ricketts Who helped raised over $13,865
Sidco Filter Corporation OLA Consulting Engineers PFS Inc KBE Building Corp. Bliss Fasman Inc. Sirena Hamel In Memory of Camille Sabath Kristin Rorapaugh Mr. Scott Likly CDI inc. Mr. Mark Dunn Michael and Kathleen Yates Russell Schwartzbeck Dawn Gunn Home Properties Elaine Spaull Frank Schwartzman Kathleen DeLuca Scott R. King In Memory of Mary & Camille Sabath
Christina Debski Richard Williams Brooke Thackray Scott Chapin Michael Piramoon Douglas Crane Susan J. Avery Todd Lewis Kammy Eisenberg Henry Solorzano Madeline Blais Herb Eisenberg EJ rosipayla Adam Reitz Robert Weetman Mary Lee Ame Bascomb Sonia Sabath Towpath Bike Shop Amiels
Pilot Program for Tryon and West Bay Officially Begins
Thursday, May 12, a big day!
After 5 long years of working on shared-use trails within the Monroe County parks, we have finally begun the 18 month pilot program for Tryon and West Bay Parks. GROC Trail Crew and volunteers have put in thousands of hours in these parks to get them ready for the pilot program.
We are grateful to the county for working so hard along side the volunteers to create the opportunity for a great experience for shared-use trails. The county has done a great job developing terrific parking areas, trail signage, and maps to ensure that everyone who walks, jogs, bikes, snowshoes and cross country skis will have a great experience in these parks.
Thursday, May 12, is a very big day for those who have been working to see shared-use trails in our local parks, I personally want to thank the hundreds of volunteers and support from other like-minded groups.
Well done to everyone - Maps and Trail details coming soon!
Winter and snow came so quickly in December that our trail work and great riding conditions ended abruptly, but we did have a great run all the way into December. We wanted to take a few minutes to thank the community for a really great year. This was a big year for our area as we will be starting officially the first legal mountain biking in Monroe County Parks this spring. We are so proud and thankful of all the work being done by the community on the trails in West Bay Park, and Tryon Park. The county has been so incredibly supportive and the new trails in West Bay are very impressive.
GROC Trail Crew and GROC National Mountain Bike Patrol deserve a big thank you as we had 20 to 30 people consistently showing up for trail workdays Saturday after Saturday at Bay Park West (BPW)and Tryon, but as an organization we put in over 3,430 hours in 14 different parks. The best thing was that people came from all over and even many who are not mountain bikers (yet). If you are interested and not yet signed up for volunteer work, please go to mygroc.com/trailcrew to register. While you are there check out the work being done, shown in the photo gallery.
GROC Trail Crew will be resuming work in the spring to complete in order to get the 2 parks (BPW and Tryon) open for the 18-month Trial Period.
West Bay is very close to complete and even the blazing and Map are finalized. But there will be more trail work to complete, such as benching. And the M. C. Parks Department will be completing the trail head signage.
Tryon Park is still in need of some work to complete several projects that will help eliminate various areas on some trails which are unsustainable. Tryon also needs to be blazed, the final map completed and the trail head signage to be completed by the County.
In addition to beginning the 18-month trial period allowing off-road cycling in these two parks, GROC is already starting to plan for 2011 with the annual events of the Fat Tire Festival in July 16th and the Burning Bike Festival in September 16-th- 18th. Of course, GROC does much, much more, including participation at the ADK Outdoor Expo held in May each year, Single Track Academy program teaching youngsters mtn biking, community service such as the Monroe County Pick Up the Parks event each year (started by GROC, now involving many organizations), National Mountain Bike Patrol’s thousands of hours keeping our trails safe and trail maintenance work days at all the parks that have off-road cycling.
The excitement certainty is that each year will offer more opportunities to increase access to great trail riding for us all!
A Guide for Attracting Bicyclists to New York’s Canal Communities
Bicycling is popular.
Bicycling is the second most common form of outdoor recreation in the U.S., according to a study by the Outdoor Foundation, with 60 million Americans enjoying the activity.
More Americans bicycle than golf, ski and play tennis combined.
In 2008, all of these cyclists took more than 2.6 billion bike outings, averaging 62 outings per bicyclist.
American consumers purchase 19 million bicycles each year, 20%more than cars and trucks combined and 25 times more than boats.
Bicyclists Bring Business A Guide for Attracting Bicycle Tourists To New York’s Canal Communities
The great treat while cycling across New York was that I got a firsthand glimpse of many towns and villages which were, prior to the trip, simply a name on a Thruway exit sign. What I discovered was that there are many, many small communities along or near the
Canal which are rich in historical significance and beauty.
— Erie Canalway Trail end-to-end rider, 2009
Bicyclists represent potential customers who can bring revenue into your community.
Development of this guide was a collaborative effort by Parks & Trails New York, the New York State Canal Corporation and the Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor.
As we all have been putting in our time and effort on these great new trails, I wanted to share with you what your time is worth to the county and our community. So far, in 2010 we have recorded over 1,600 volunteer hours and over 1, 355 GROC National Mountain Bike Patrol hours within our local parks. GROC helps manage and coordinate volunteer work days and a significant number are from our board / committee members at Dryer Road Park, Ontario County Park, Dryer Road, Ellison Park, Ganondagan, Ontario County Park, Stid Hill, Tryon Park, West Bay Park, Whiting Road, and YMCA Camp Arrowhead.
Our efforts in the last few months have been focused on the Ellison Park area and working with the Monroe County Parks Department to open the first legal shared-use mountain bike trails in Monroe County in Tryon and West Bay Park. This effort has been amazing with large numbers of volunteers coming out Saturday after Saturday to build about 5 miles of new trail in West Bay Park and make much needed repairs and re-routes in Tryon Park to create sustainable shared-use trails and improve the safety.
The best thing has been the involvement of people who live around the park coming out and getting involved. They are enjoying the new trails and are having a hand in building them. This kind of community involvement creates stewards of our local parks who will feel some ownership and pride in the trails they have helped build. This is exactly the reason that GROC has been fighting so hard to bring shared-use trails to our area. By opening our parks to a wider user group, while educating and practicing environmentally friendly trail building and safety practices we will have many more people out to take care of and enjoy our wonderful park lands.
So whats your time worth? According to the Corporation for National and Community Service, “Research Brief: Volunteering in America Research Highlights” (2010) NY, the average value of a volunteer hour is between $25 to $28 an hour, and the national average is $20.85. (http://www.independentsector.org/volunteer_time)
Doing the math GROC and its volunteers have have committed over $61,611.75 in 2010 to the Monroe County and surrounding parks.
With all of the cuts to programs and the need for volunteers in all areas, we are glad to see that our parks are getting support from the local community members. GROC's efforts combined with other like organizations are responsible for providing the much needed labor to maintain and manage these great public lands.
Meetup Group for off-road cyclists If you are looking to make new friends and not ride the trails alone, whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or expert, you will find great people to ride with.
