out in nature
Making MoCo More Bike Friendly Mile after Mile
By dave magill
Founded in 1992 , MORE ( Mid- Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts ) is the largest mountain bike club in the greater DC area . Our motto is “ Riding Bikes and Building Trails .” In the 1990s and early 2000s there were not many places with natural surface trails open to bikes .
MORE has changed that . Our basic offer to land managers is “ we will build new trails and maintain them . The trails will be open to bikes , hikers and horses , if you want . We don ’ t need money , we just need access to land . We have expertise in sustainable trail design and construction , and thousands of volunteers who will come and dig new trails .” We now help maintain over 900 miles of natural surface trails in the DMV area , and have built or been involved in the building of over 300 miles of trails .
MORE ’ s membership has recently grown to 2,000 members . We are an all-volunteer organization , with a paid Executive Director , and contribute about 12-15,000 volunteer hours per year to trail construction and maintenance . We are affiliated with the IMBA ( International Mountain Biking Association ) who are recognized experts and standard setters in natural surface trail design , publishing books and providing training throughout the US .
In Montgomery County , we work in cooperation with equestrian groups , such as TROT and PBH- TA , and trail running groups like the Muddy Shoes group within the Montgomery County Road Runners Club . In or near the Agricultural Reserve , the main trail systems we maintain are in Seneca Creek State Park ( SCSP ) ( about half of which is in the Ag Reserve ), Patuxent River State Park , Little Bennett Park , Black Hills Park and Oak Ridge Conservation Park . Our riders often like to travel long distances , and we have focused on creating
Volunteers Volunteers just beginning just beginning the trail the trail clearing clearing process process with with hand hand tools tools at Patuxent Patuxent River State State Park Park near near Damascus . .
PHOTOs : Courtesy of MORE