May is National Bike Month, and there are many ways to celebrate with the Land Trust!

Check out our mountain biking trails on Monte Sano Nature Preserve, Chapman Mountain Nature Preserve, Wade Mountain Nature Preserve. NICA Trail at Wade Mountain – named for the National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) – was built in conjunction with local school bike teams and Huntsville Area Mountainbike Riders (HAMR – formerly SORBA-Huntsville). This 1.3 mile trail can be accessed from Wade Mountain’s Fleming Trailhead and was designed specifically for mountain bike training. Future trails in this area will include a variety of mountain bike training features.

The Land Trust has a history of partnership with the local mountain biking community. HAMR helps keep trails maintained and identifies new opportunities to enhance our mountain bike offerings. This partnership includes combined trail work days, recently focused on the Bluffline Trail Restoration funded by NEEF and Oak Park Trail updates. In April, HAMR also participted in a a Chainsaw Safety Course hosted by the Land Trust for a group of our experienced trail care volunteers.

New to mountain biking or looking for a way to get more involved? HAMR hosts weekly fun rides as well as an eight-race time trial race series on Thursday evenings all summer long that you can join on Monte Sano Nature Preserve. Learn about upcoming opportunities to ride or maintain mountain biking trails on the HAMR or Land Trust websites.

On Saturday, May 11, HAMR will host International Women’s Mountain Biking Day at Monte Sano State Park to celebrate female mountain bikers. The day will include a scavenger hunt on bike and wrap up with a potluck-style picnic. Bring your helmet, a dish to share, your bike (or your ID and credit card to borrow a demo bike from Bicycle Cove/Bicycles Etc. and Trailhead, Inc.). Get all the details here!

Happy National Bike Month! We’ll see you on the trails!