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IMBA Canada’s trail care crew hits the highway

IMBA Canada Trail Care Crew visit Banff National Park (photo: IMBA Canada)
IMBA Canada trail care crew visit Banff National Park. (Photo: IMBA Canada)

For the sixth season running, the International Mountain Bike Association’s trail care crew have hit the road this week, starting a cross-Canada tour intended to share a little trail love—and impart more than a little knowledge.

Driving in an IMBA-branded Subaru Outback, A.J. Strawson, a veteran of the program who travelled with the trail care crew in 2012 and 2013, is joined by newcomer Justin Truelove. As in past years, the pair are part of an ambitious, community-level initiative to share sustainable trail-building and maintenance methods, and bring a passion for trail riding to groups across the country. Leading IMBA trail building schools from coast to coast, Strawson and Truelove bring a blend of experience, knowledge and advocacy gleaned from their diverse backgrounds and shared levels of expertise. As in past years, their goals are ambitious but simple: to inspire high-quality trail projects, engage mountain bike and trail communities, promote Canada’s natural heritage sites and encourage stewardship of Canada’s public lands.

The program has been a mainstay of IMBA since 2010, when the Canadian trail care crew first rolled out. Then, as now, the program was focused on supporting outdoor recreation communities, mainly by providing education on trail building and volunteer management. Instruction on best practices in working effectively with land managers, as well as representing the interests of mountain bikers to local and national power brokers, are key to the program. It’s well-supported by some fairly robust heavyweights in the outdoor living and cycling worlds, too. Parks Canada, Subaru Canada and Shimano Canada all support the program, with additional backing from Trek Bicycles.

This year is Truelove’s first cross-country trip with the program, but he’s anything but a novice. A former Yukon mountain bike guide with Cabin Fever Adventures, Truelove also participated in the construction of Toronto’s Sunnyside Bike Park in 2014. Beyond his practical, on-the-ground experience, Truelove also benefits from a thorough academic upbringing in the mountain bike world, being a graduate of Capilano University’s mountain bike operations program.

At the top of the Crew’s agenda is a stop in Ravenshoe Forest, where they’ll work with the York Mountain Biking Association, an adjunct of the Durham Mountain Biking Association that launched last year. “We are excited to host the trail care crew this weekend,” said Erich Baumhard, the YMBA director tasked with building relationships between the club and the York Region Forestry Department. “Our goals for this workshop are to learn, build relationships, give back to our beloved trails, and have fun.”

From there, Strawson and Truelove continue on to Toronto, where they’ll roll up their sleeves alongside Wild Betty’s Women’s Mountain Biking Club. After that, it’s all points east and north, with national parks visits in places ranging from New Brunswick to the Northwest Territories. Finally, the crew rolls into Canmore, Alta., to polish up the Canmore Nordic Centre’s trails—a timely arrival that precedes July’s 24 Hours of Adrenalin.

A complete breakdown of the Crew’s itinerary can be found on IMBA Canada’s website.