BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
For release: August 11, 2011
Contact:
Zach Jarrett,
Outdoor Recreation Planner
503-375-5610
Trish Hogervorst, BLM PAO
503-375-5657
Sandy Ridge Mountain Biking Trails Reconnect Kids with
the Outdoors
**"The media
is invited to attend the youth activities on Thursday, August 25, 2011. Please contact Trish
Hogervorst or Zach Jarrett, if you would like to attend."
Sandy, Ore. — Every Thursday in August, thanks to a grant from Nike Inc., at risk youth in the Sandy area
have the opportunity to be a part of a “Take a Kid Mountain Biking” program. Epic Mountain Bike Tours
is transporting Sandy area youth to the Sandy Ridge Trails for an afternoon of fast moving thrills and an
introduction to healthy lifestyles. This is all part of a national initiative reconnecting youth with the
outdoors and providing them with an appreciation for outdoor activities.
Local youth from the City of Sandy, and the surrounding area, will gather at the Antfarm youth
headquarters and be shuttled out to the BLM’s Wildwood Recreation Site where they will receive
instruction on off-road cycling techniques. Once comfortable, the youth will be transported to the BLMmanaged Sandy Ridge Trail System and have the opportunity to engage in a guided ride on one of the
many segments of mountain bike-specific trails that have been constructed. The youth will receive
instruction on safe riding techniques as well as an introduction to proper bike safety gear.
Over the past three years, the BLM, in partnership with the International Mountain Bike Association,
Northwest Trails Alliance and WOAPE’s Antfarm Youth Program, have planned, designed and built
approximately 10 miles of high quality mountain bike trails as part of the Sandy Ridge Trail System,
located outside the town of Brightwood in the Mt Hood Corridor. Located on a ridge just west of Mount
Hood and above the Sandy River, the trail system will eventually contain more than 15 miles of singletrack trail and provide a variety of difficulty levels. The trails provide an excellent opportunity for
mountain bikers from nearby Portland metro to enjoy premier mountain biking trails practically in their
back yards.
For a short video about the Sandy Ridge Mountain Biking Trails, visit us online at:
http://www.youtube.com/BLMoregon#p/u/61/CbHXV1ElJyk
The BLM manages more land – 245 million surface acres – than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National
System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1
billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM’s multiple-use mission
is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The
Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and
energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.