For Episode 197 we have Adam Yeoman, the Executive Director for the Copper Harbor Trails Club. During this conversation we talk all things Copper Harbor 2025, which includes some past events, future events, new trails, and there is also some intel on what participants of the 2025 Copper Harbor Trails Fest might have in store in terms of both XC and Enduro Course. Adam covers a lot during our conversation, and Copper Harbor as a trail organization has a ton going on, so even if you are not from the Upper Midwest there are some pieces of information that you may find interesting or helpful for your trail community.

Topics Include:

• Brief bit of Copper Harbor and Keweenaw Penisula History
• The transition from club president to Executive Director
• Staff at Copper Harbor Trails Club
• Ride the Keweenaw Event
• Copper Harbor Trails Fest
  • Orbion – Title Sponsor of Trails Fest
• Women’s & Men’s Ride Clinics
• New Trails coming online
• Keweenaw Point Trail continues to be built
• New Start Hub at the top of East Bluff
• Winter Trails for Copper Harbor Trails Club
  • Nordic Skiing
• Hints about 2025 Trails Fest Course for both the XC and Enduro
• Other events that have been held in Copper Harbor in 2025
  • Rough Stuff Rally
  • 906 Adventure Crusher
  • 12 hours of All You Can East Bluffet – Endurance Enduro
• What Adam looks for in a Trail Community
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Copper Harbor Trails Club: https://www.copperharbortrails.org/

East Bluff Bike Park: https://eastbluffbikepark.com/

Orbion – Title Sponsor for Copper Harbor Trails Fest: https://orbionspace.com/

Rough Stuff Rally: https://bikejerks.com/pages/rough-stuff-rally

906 Adventure Crusher: https://906adventureteam.com/mountain-bike-events/the-crusher/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 196 we have J.T. Horn, J.T, is the Trail Director for the Trust for Public Land. J.T. was also one of two guests on episode 192 where we discussed the Economic Impact that Mountain Biking can have on communities. For this episode we are discussing various ways to bridge the gap between Land Conservation organizations and the Trail Community. This topic can be a rather important topic because land access for trails is often one of the most challenging hurdles for trail development. As J.T. describes during this conversation, partnering with a Land Conservation Organization that understands the value of trails and outdoor recreation can be a critical step in the trail development process. I always really enjoy perspective that J.T. brings during our conversations and I hope you do as well!

Topics Include:

• The J.T. Horn backstory
• What the Trust for Public Land is, and how the TPL came to be
• How to engage with the Trust for Public Land for a Land Acquisition
  • The risk and financial lens
  • Focus mainly on high impact larger projects
• Tualatin Mountain Forest – Portland OR.
• Due diligence in real estate:
  • Four Key Components
    • Value of the Land
    • Land Survey (Size / Neighbors / Etc.)
    • Title Search / existing rights on the property
    • Environmental Status
  • Bridging the gap between Conservation Organizations and the Trail Community
  • The partnership between the Trust for Public Land and IMBA
  • An example project between the TPL and IMBA
    • Mono Pond State Park in CT
  • The shift in mindset from conserving and preserving land to moving to creating more recreational land on these properties
  • Winter and Summer economics that revolve around outdoor recreation
    • Bethel, MA – Sunday River / Bethel Community Forest
  • Carrabassett Valley, MA and Crocker Mountain Unit
  • Catamount Outdoor Family Center
  • Examples of avenues for funding opportunities
  • Potential Partnership between forest product companies and Trail Organizations
  • Life Wisdom by J.T. Horn
  • Land Acquisition Strategy using good parcel data
  • What J.T. looks for in a Trail Community
  • Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

The Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org/

The Tualatin Mountain Forest: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/tualatin-mountain-forest

Mono Pond State Park: https://www.tpl.org/our-work/bigger-better-mono-pond-state-park

Catamount Outdoor Family Center: https://catamountoutdoor.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 195 we have Chris Stindt as our guest. Chris is heavily involved hosting bicycle related events, all sorts of bicycle related events. During this conversation we uncover the value that events bring to communities, and in many ways these events help to build stronger communities.

Topics Include:

• The Chris Stindt backstory
• Chris’s role at Smith’s Bike Shop
• Events as a vehicle for raising money to fund trails
• An overview of multiple events before going into a deep dive on them
• A Brief History of WORS Racing in La Crosse
• The La Crosse Omnium Road Race – What this event does for the region
  • Side conversation about Kwik Trip
• Deeper into what to expect at ORA Trails Fest and the UCI racing aspect of 2025’s event
  • Enduro Racing at ORA Trails Fest
• USA Cycling Gravel Nationals – La Crescent, MN – Across the river from La Crosse, WI
• Smith’s Bike Shop and the 130-Year Anniversary – 1895 to Present – Yet another community event
• Other events that Smith’s Bike Shop Supports – Valet Bike Parking at the Moon Tunes Summer Concert Series with the Beer By Bike Brigade.
• What Chris looks for in Trail Communities
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

La Crosse Omnium: https://www.lacrosseomnium.com/

ORA Trails Fest: https://www.oratrailsfest.com/

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

USA Cycling Gravel National Championships: https://gravelnats.usacycling.org/

I Helped Design the Gravel Nationals Course Coming to Minnesota. Then We Pre-Rode It (And It’s Going to Hurt) – Words: Chris Stindt https://www.thenxrth.com/post/i-helped-design-the-gravel-nationals-course-coming-to-minnesota-then-we-pre-rode-it-and-it-s-goin

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 194 Martha Becton takes over again, this time at the 2025 International Trail Summit, which was held this past April in Madison, WI. Similar to when Martha took over last year at the PTBA Conference, Martha is back, and this time she’s got 6 other guests who dive back into the topic of Women in Trail Building.

Topics Include:

• Intro by Martha Becton – Owner of Becton Trails
• Desi Jarrell – Director of Outdoor Recreation Perry County Fiscal Court
• Kathie Brennan – Vice President Ozark Trail Association
• Valerie Niles – Open Space Technician Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
• Heidi Tillmanns – Director Trail & Infrastructure Trans Canada Trail
• Stacey Dakin – Chief Program Officer Trans Canada Trail
• Kathie Brennan – Working with AmeriCorps staff
• Martha – Volunteering as a retirement job, and staying active when older in life
• Kathie Brennan – What is now my purpose?
• Erica Hirsch – Trails Program Manager Cleveland Metroparks
  • Working for multiple winters in Patagonia Argentina
• Martha – What hooked you into trails – and how can you get into this career of trails
• Trails as a second career (later in life)
• Transferable Skills into trails – (Hint, everything is transferable)
• Desi and Kathie – NICA and getting kids and families on bikes
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

International Trails Summit: https://www.trails-summit.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 193 we have Uriah Nazario and Brock Wagner who are two of the many personalities behind Beyond the Ashes – An Adaptive Trail Story. Uriah and Brock break down the backstory behind this film, who they brought into the film, along with how Universal Trail Design can be incorporated into trail systems without most people knowing, yet providing access to Adaptive Mountain Bikers. This film will be going live on June 19th at the Bentonville Film Festival. Some of the personalities in this film are previous guests on the Trail EAffect podcast as well such as Jeremy P McGhee (Episodes 65 & 66), and Annijke Wade (Episode 85).

Topics Include:

• The backstory on how Beyond the Ashes came to be
• Bring Brock Wagner along for filming movie, and how this evolved from a documentary with Jeremy P McGhee to a much larger and more inclusive project
• Bringing Brian Carlson into the film – and the vital role Brian played
• Having other riders evaluate trails to get feedback from different perspectives
• Breaking down the differences between the various aMTB’s from Brock’s perspective
• Learning how to build jumps for Adaptive Riders – and sending Jeremy into an Airbag off of and ATV ramp.
• Jeremy P McGhee absolutely sending it
• How Adaptive riders don’t want or need trails “dumbed down”
• What Brock took away from making this film
• How the film is broken up into segments
• The release at the Bentonville Film Festival
• The possibility of this film going to other film festivals
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Beyond the Ashes: https://www.beyondtheashesfilm.com/

Bentonville Film Festival: https://bentonvillefilm.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 192 we have Jennifer Clinton and J.T. Horn both of the Trust for Public Land. Earlier this year the Trust for Public Land Partnered with IMBA to author a report on the Economic Impact of Mountain Biking. They also presented this report at the International Trail Summit that was held this past April in Madison, WI. We dug into the report itself along with some takeaways from the International Trail Summit during this conversation.

Topics Include:

• About the Trust for Public Land
• Jennifer Clinton’s Backstory and background in economics
• Lab for Land and People
• The partnerships that were created to make this report happen
  • IMBA and TPL
• Creating the Economic Impact of Mountain Biking Report
  • Selecting data that was published in the past 10 years
  • Mountain Bike Specific Data (not all-inclusive cycling data)
• Key Findings in the report
• Planning Considerations – Outside of trails for the community to be successful
• Chattanooga, TN – Example Community
• Gorham, NH – Example Community
• Events and what the event can bring to the community both during and outside of the event.
• Highlights and Findings that may have been surprising to Jennifer and JT
• Attending the International Trail Summit
  • Concurrent Session about the report (Co Presenting w/ IMBA)
  • Feedback during / from the presentation
• Best Practices for using the report
• Another takeaway from the International Trail Summit – Redhead Bike Park, Chisholm, MN
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Trust for Public Land: https://www.tpl.org/

Economic Impact of Mountain Biking Report: https://www.tpl.org/resource/econmountainbiking

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 191 we have Lars Romig of Sedona, AZ. Lars has been a long-time member of the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition, along with being a Trail Builder and Mountain Bike Trail Access Advocate. Most Recently Lars led the charge on building the Hardline Trail. This conversation is one that I’ve wanted to have with a Sedona Local for a handful of years now as there is a ton of riding content that comes out of Sedona, but not a lot of content around how the Trails and Trail Access for mountain biking came to be in Sedona.

Topics Include:

• How Lars got into Mountain Biking
• What Lars does professionally for a career
• How Sedona Trails came to be for Mountain Biking
• The various trail zones in Sedona, and the order of when those riding zones opened up for mountain biking
• Pigtail Trail (within the Hogs network)
  • Started out as an IMBA Trail Day
  • Constant improvements to Pigtail
• Western Movies in Sedona / Broken Arrow Area
• Building a relationship with the U.S. Forest Service
• The growth of membership and engagement with the Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition
• Singletrack Bypass Reroute
• The Hardline Trail backstory
  • The timeframe of building the Hardline Trail
• The Public Comment Period of the NEPA Process
• Recommended Direction Trails
• User Experience
• The user reception of the Hardline trail since it opened up
• Specialized and Soil Searching
• The Letter: H
• Trails that don’t start with the Letter H, that are still really great
• Canyon of Fools and lessons learned from that trail
• Monsoon Season and Riding Etiquette regarding wet trails
• Forest Service Trail Crew
• Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund
  • Funds Non-Motorized Trail Development and Maintenance
• What Lars looks for in a Trail Community
• Secrets to riding the Hardline Trail
  • The recommended route for a great ride that includes the classics and Hardline
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Verde Valley Cyclists Coalition: https://www.vvcc.us/

Specialized Soil Searching Hardline Trail: https://youtu.be/tJ06FMsIoy8?si=sBwZURjM5n-yFM3v

Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund: https://redrocktrailfund.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services

For Episode 190 we have Chris Riley from Central Maine. Chris is the president of the Central Maine Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, and a board member of the New England Mountain Bike Association. Chris and his organization have come up with some innovative ideas on how to handle both new trail construction as well as handling annual trail maintenance. Maine and the New England region has a ton of momentum with mountain biking and trails, and that is really showcased during this conversation.

Topics Include:

• How Chris got into Mountain Biking
• Chris’s early years in mountain biking
  • Including several trips to ride in the Austin Texas area
• How Chris got involved with Mountain Biking and Advocacy in Maine
• Volunteer Engagement and Community Engagement with CE ME NEMBA
• Bringing on paid staff for trail building and maintenance
• Trail Systems that fall under the CE ME organization
• Buying an excavator to accelerate trail building in the region
• Various ways for funding trails
• Maine Trails Bond initiative
• Road Tripping to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan
  • Marquette Trails
  • Houghton Trails
  • Copper Harbor Trails
• Creating destination riding communities
• Gravity Bike Parks in Maine
• Partnering with a local land trust for a new trail system
• Trail Systems proximity to communities for riding in the region
• Hub and Spoke Trail Model
• NEMBA and the 3 Year Strategic Plan
• Maintenance Matters
• What Chris looks for in a Trail Community
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Central Maine NEMBA: https://cemenemba.org/

New England Mountain Bike Association: https://www.nemba.org/

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/josh

Smith’s Bike Shop – 130 Years of Excellence: www.smithsbikes.com

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services