WNYMBA Campout Weekend
WNYMBA Campout Weekend
HoliMont to host event for the mountain biking community
If you’re already a member of the Western New York Mountain Bicycling Association (WNYMBA), you’ve probably had August 12-14 circled on your calendar since the start of the summer. If you’re a mountain biking enthusiast of any skill level and you haven’t heard about WNYMBA’s upcoming Campout Weekend, you’ve got to be asking yourself, “Why am I not part of one of the great events of the year and how can I join this welcoming community of riders?”
Folks headed to the organization’s annual campout this year can look forward to a family-friendly ‘festival atmosphere,’ with campers, live bands, food and beverage vendors, a mobile service trailer and outdoor lifestyle-related vendors - all before you even get on your bike!
“We are really excited to have HoliMont take on the responsibility of offering us the unique experience of being able to ride traditional cross-country trails, and for the very first time, we will have access to lift-serviced downhill mountain biking in the same setting,” said WNYMBA President Jacob Bodway. “With the emergence of HoliMont on the downhill mountain-biking scene, we’re thrilled to be able to collaborate with them to provide a special atmosphere for everyone - no matter what their skill level may be.”
With more than 30 miles of the best single-track mountain bicycling trails to be found anywhere, right here in the McCarty Hill and Little Rock City State Forests, there’ll be plenty of cross-country riding options - but the true gem of the weekend’s activities will undoubtedly center around HoliMont’s new bike park and an experience you’re unlikely to find without a 5-hour drive somewhere else - lift-serviced downhill mountain biking!
“We’re thrilled to partner with WNYMBA for this event,” said HoliMont’s Snowsports Director Travis Widger. “We’ve had a link to the (cross country) trail system here for 20 years. We’re happy that our bike park adds something to the scene.”
The bottom of the Sunset Chairlift will provide the epicenter of the weekend’s activities, as RVs and campers will park in the overflow lot and tents will pop up around the base of the chairlift. Live bands are scheduled to fill the evening air with music both Friday and Saturday nights, with The Dark Water Duo taking the stage Friday, Aug. 12 and Olmstead Dub System providing the entertainment on Saturday evening. Throughout the weekend, participants will find Carson’s BBQ food truck, Ellicottville’s Bike & Bean, and 42 North Brewing’s “Tap Trekker” mobile distribution center to provide alternate food and beverage options to the standard camping fare.
Also in the Sunset Chairlift area, campers and riders can stop in to the Loud Performance Bike & Board Shop’s mobile repair and rental station, where owner Dee Dippel and his staff can fix what you broke, or get you on a different ride and right back on the trails!
“I’m really looking forward to the campout,” Dippel said. “HoliMont’s bike park is a fantastic addition to our area - there’s really nothing like it in the region.”
Dippel’s Bemus Point location is a real hub for mountain biking activity. His shop not only sells and services bikes (and snowboards in the winter), he also built 7 miles of his own mountain bike trails right behind the store!
“We try to get everybody riding, from beginner all the way up,” Dippel said. “That’s the nice thing about our trails - they’re not too steep, they’re not too rocky. We really want people to feel comfortable going out into the woods on bikes.”
Loud Performance also sponsors regular group rides (including kids’ rides) and is the site for a bicycle instructor certification program.
While amongst the vendors’ tents, campers looking for a unique memento of the event would do well to seek out the friendly, flaming hot chicken wing logo of Greg Culver’s Hot Wings Designs tent, where they’ll find the artist’s creative and humorous original illustrations of rock and roll icons, local sports heroes and the fiery chicken wing on Culver’s line of apparel, fun stickers and accessories.
For smaller events, Culver says he has the capability of producing on-demand, custom-designed t-shirts featuring his artwork. “People love sitting and watching you make their shirts - I think it adds to the experience of the event,” Culver said.
A lifelong member of the mountain biking community in WNY, Culver applauded the return of the annual WNYMBA Campout to the HoliMont Ski Club saying, “The event first started at HoliMont and yes, it’s a campout, but it’s really exciting to see there will be that ‘festival atmosphere’ again.”
Event organizers “strongly advise” pre-registration for the campout. If you’re interested, go to booking.holimont.com. If you are not already a member of the WNYMBA community, the cost for the entire weekend of camping will be $100. For non-members who are unable to commit to the entire weekend of camping, a day pass is available at the cost of $50 for one night of camping and lift access. The cost for the entire weekend of camping and lift-access is $80 for IMBA members. Day passes for members cost $40 for one night of camping and lift-access. Children under the age of 18 can camp for free with a parent/guardian who has purchased a camping pass; however, they still have to purchase a lift ticket if they want to ride.
The 30-year-old WNYMBA organization is comprised of more than 350 mountain bikers and hikers who form a community of all skill levels and ages, and are dedicated to working together to create and maintain trails in the Western New York region. Regular trail maintenance work days get scheduled and group members turn out to leaf blow, rake, tamp and clear debris from trails - this is the fairly visible function WNYMBA members perform.
Bodway explained the importance of the association’s other main function - a slightly less-visible role WNYMBA members play - that of securing riding access to some of the most beautiful terrain this region has to offer.
“We work hard with land managers and other stakeholders to create and maintain our trail systems,” Bodway said. “It’s truly a community-building effort (and hard work) to form the long-term relationships necessary for securing trail access into the future. We think Western New York is on the cusp of creating something special and the mountain bike community is in the vanguard of the movement.”
Loud Performance’s Dippel describes membership in the organization in this way: “We’re the ones going out there building bridges, maintaining trails, building new trails and getting access to the places you want to ride.”
Certainly, you don’t have to ride a bike to realize that a well-maintained trail through the woods is your easiest path and fastest track to all the glory of being outside in a beautiful natural setting. But no matter what skill level you currently find yourself at, if you like riding a mountain bike, it’s easy to see how you’d want to be a part of the WNYMBA community.