Southern Mountain Bike Summit in Johnson City, TN

REGISTRATION WILL BE OPEN SOON! PLEASE SAVE THE DATE!

Join SORBA’s volunteers, land managers, advocates, and members in Johnson City, TN, May 15 – 18 for the 2019 Southern Mountain Bike Summit. Workshops, presentations, panels, networking, socials, bike riding, and lots of fun will be had by all. Johnson City and SORBA Tri-Cities are hosting the summit. Participants will have access to a host of awesome local trails, breweries, shops and restaurants, which are all within walking/biking distance from the host hotel, the Carnegie Hotel.

The Southern Mountain Bike Summit is a not-to-be-missed event. Nowhere else will you see such a passionate group of mountain bikers in the Southeast meet and work together to create better trail opportunities for all. And, you get to ride your bike on the finest trails in the Southeast!

Special thanks to Tri-Cities SORBA and Johnson City for hosting this Summit!

Summit Location – Carnegie Hotel, 1216 W. State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City, TN 37604

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, May 15

Chainsaw Certification for Sawyer B – Bucking Only – Instructors, Chuck Ramsey and Jim Holland – The Sawyer B – Bucking only is a two-day course designed to train volunteers to safely and effectively clear downed trees. Participants will learn to independently buck and limb any size material in moderately complex situations. Just as a prospective driver does not go to the local DMV expecting to learn how to drive, prospective sawyers are expected to be comfortable with chainsaw use and to have basic chainsaw maintenance/troubleshooting skills before certification and must have a current CPR/First Aid Certification.

Trail Crew Leader Training Course – Instructor, Walt Bready The Trail Crew Leader training course is a two‐day course for any volunteer that wants to learn the basic technical trail work skills to lead a crew. It will cover natural surface trail design, construction, maintenance and crew leader training. The focus is long term sustainability that can reduce overall maintenance needs and user impacts on natural resources. Trail crew leaders should have a strong commitment to building sustainable trails and get satisfaction out of helping others have a good time while doing good work.

Thursday, May 16

Women’s Trail Maintenance & Construction Course – Instructor, Valerie Naylor – The Trail Maintenance & Construction Course is a one-day course geared towards women. Basic sustainable trail planning, design, construction & maintenance. 2-3 hours of indoor instruction, 3-4 hours outdoor instruction.
Chainsaw Certification for Sawyer B – Bucking Only – 2nd day
Trail Crew Leader Training Course – 2nd day

Friday, May 17. Land Manager Day – Advocates and land managers are welcome to attend a series of sessions geared for the land manager. Coffee reception, lunch, group ride and evening social are included.

Lunch with Chris Bernhardt. Chris is the Principal with C2 Recreation Consulting and former Director of Field Programs for IMBA. Chris who has worked on major trail development projects from China to Switzerland (not to mention Coldwater Mountain in Anniston Alabama), will share his knowledge of current trends in trail building and design.

Sessions will include

Johnson City, A Success Story – Learn from SORBA Tri-Cities, local land managers, property owner, bike shops, IMBA Trail Solutions worked together to create an awesome place to ride!

Managing Bicycle Speed on Multi-Use Trails, Valerie Naylor, Trails Specialist

The Power of Trails and Trends in Outdoor Recreation: Your park, mountain biking and the bottom line.

Portland Oregon’s Off-Road Cycling Master Plan: The surprising challenges for mountain biking in a cycling paradise!

Tour of Tannery Knob Bike Park and the Latest Trail Building Techniques

Group Ride

Evening Social

Saturday, May 18. Advocates Day – Land managers, SORBA chapter representatives and advocates are welcome to attend sessions geared for our advocates. Coffee reception, lunch, group ride and evening social are included.

Sessions will include

SORBA Board of Directors Meeting for chapter representatives
National Trails Strategy & 10 Year Trail Challenge – Chris Sporl, Director of Recreation, Wilderness, Heritage and Partnerships/Volunteer Resources, USFS Region 8
Thinking Strategically Panel Discussion including the MTB Market Analysis – Deb Caffin, Trails Program Leader, USFS Region 8, Jill Van Winkle – Portland OR Parks & Rec,
Working with your Local Government Officials
IMBA is in the House – David Wiens, Patrick Kell and Anthony Duncan: Updates on IMBA and chapter support.
Chapter 101: For new chapter leaders.
Bike Patrol Training – Kelly Pruitt, SORBA Woodstock
Group Ride
Evening Social
All programs, clinics and sessions are designed to meet the increasing demand from our chapters, land managers and mountain bike communities for developing and maintaining more trails close to home!

Lodging

Host Hotel – Carnegie Hotel, 1216 W State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City 37604 423-979-6400 * Special rate of $130 + tax. The summit meeting and sessions will be here. Clinics will be on another location. Easily accessible to downtown and Tannery Knob Bike Park.

Other hotels – Hampton Inn, 508 N State of Franklin Rd, Johnson City 37604, 423-929-8000 Quality Inn, 1900 Roan St, Johnson City, TN 37601 423-928-9600 Fairfield Inn, 3078 Hamilton Pl, Johnson City, TN 37604 423-900-8640

Camping – Woodsmoke Campground, 215 Woodsmoke Dr, Unicoi, TN 37692 423-743-2116 (20 minutes) Camp Stonefly, 200 Blevins Rd, Johnson City, TN 37601 704-301-4080 (15 minutes) Warriors’ Path State Park, 490 Hemlock Rd, Kingsport, TN 37663 Reservations (30 minutes) 12-mile MTB Trail

Registration Fees – We are working on that now!