Blauert on Outdoors: Helping local recreation project is a snap

There’s something you can do to help local recreation, and it takes less than a minute.

Remember the mountain bike park being built at Lake McClure? It’s in competition for a $100,000 construction grant from Bell Helmets – an award that would help top-notch construction proceed quickly.

All you have to do to help is get on the Bell website and vote. It’s simple:

1. Go to http://www.bellhelmets.com/bell-built/by Sunday.

2. Find “Exchequer Mountain Bike Park” and select it.

3. Scroll down, enter your email, then hit submit.

4. After you submit your vote, open your email and confirm the vote (otherwise it won’t count.).

5. You can submit one vote per email address, but once you’ve voted, you can get others to vote.

The Exchequer Mountain Bike Park is competing against two other projects to become the finalist for the West Coast region. A second round of voting will pit the winners of the three regional contests against each other in late May to determine which gets the construction grant.

If Exchequer wins, Bell would bring in a team of trail construction experts to design and build a downhill route from the summit within the bike park.

The Exchequer Mountain Bike Park is being constructed by the Exchequer Riders Club on Merced Irrigation District property at Lake McClure. The project began in April 2014, and work has been continuing steadily since. There now are about 15 miles of single-track trail and dirt roads that can be ridden, including two downhill routes that have 600 feet of continuous descent over about 11/2 miles.

The ultimate goal is to have 50 to 60 miles of trail with all types and ranges of terrain so people of all ages can safely learn to ride at the park and experienced riders can enjoy a true challenge. Winning the Bell grant would help to advance this plan more quickly.

This project is good for our community. The park will be a place where families, friends and individuals can make memories while enjoying a healthy challenge. The volunteers who are building the park expect that when completed, it will attract a wide range of racing events that will bring excitement and contribute tourist dollars to the local economy.

Its location in the center of the state is ideal for statewide competitions. There also will be a trail for disabled bikers.

There’s another way you can help this project. The Exchequer Riders Club is having a work day Saturday. The club is looking for anyone who can wield a shovel, rake, Pulaski, McLeod or similar tool to make progress on a downhill trail from the top of Exchequer Mountain.

If you’re interested in riding your bike at the park, participating in the work day is a great way to get to know the terrain. Although the existing trails are open to the public, they’re not signed yet. The work day concludes with a group trail ride from 3:30 p.m. to sunset, allowing participants to follow experienced riders down the routes.

If you plan to volunteer, bring water, lunch, sturdy shoes or boots, work gloves, sunglasses or safety glasses and a tool if you have one. High school students can log community service hours.

For more information about the park and work day, go to www.facebook.com/ExchequerRidersClub. If you want to RSVP for the work weekend or find out more about it, send an email to exchequerridersclub@outlook.com or message the club through the Facebook page. Registration begins at 8 a.m. Saturday in the “I” loop of the Barrett Cove Campground.

On all other days, the trails are open during daylight hours, and the only fee is the $8 day use charged at the gate.

The Exchequer Mountain Bike Park is located at the Barrett Cove Recreation Area at Lake McClure at the end of Barrett Cove Road. You get there by turning east (right) off Merced Falls Road, 16 miles northeast of Snelling. The bike trails start at the “I” loop of the Barrett Cove Campground. There’s a map posted at the starting point, but directional signs won’t be up for a few months. You also can find a trail map at http://exchequerridersclub.wix.com/exchequer.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Blauert on Outdoors: Helping local recreation project is a snap."