News

Most recent $24,473.76 grant represents VVCC fundraising efforts through donations, events and grants. Funds will be used exclusive for Western Gateway construction this fall and winter.

"In total, the VVCC exceeded its $75,000 Western Gateway fundraising goal" stated VVCC President Marty Glinsky. "This most recent grant, along with previous Western Gateway grants to the SRRTF totaling $49,633.33 and the direct purchase of Western Gateway signage material delivered to the RRRD ($3,589.10), means the VVCC has raised $77,696.19 for the Western Gateway" Glinsky added.

The Western Gateway is a 27+ mile multi-use trail system on National Forest land in West Sedona near the defunct Cultural Center. The Western Gateway is entirely community funded. "The VVCC's fundraising efforts have been amazing" stated Kevin Adams, SRRTF President. "The VVCC is our largest single Western Gateway Fundraising source" added Adams.

A huge thank you to all VVCC members, supporters and sponsors who made this success possible!

When my wife forwarded the Nextdoor Verde Valley School Road post with the above headline, I immediately secured a copy of the latest Red Rock News to get the details. Turns out the Nextdoor headline was not indicative of the article's news, but the news is important to every Verde Valley outdoor enthusiast.

The Forest Service is proposing new rules with NEPA that when finalized should be a welcome addition to anyone who has had to deal with the Forest Service bureaucracy. Combined with the upcoming personnel changes at the Red Rock Ranger District, the way the VVCC works with the Forest Service will change.

"We highly recommend that anyone who loves the National Forest become familiar with the new rules" VVCC President Marty Glinsky stated.

As one commenter on Regulations.gov stated: "this is way overdue. The FS has had opportunity in the past make positive changes in implementing management of the National Forest system and has refused to move forward with this due to internal opposition and refusal to change. Mostly at the top leadership level...Move forward immediately to process this change. You have direction and orders from the top of Agriculture. No more constant planning, you have the plans, now move forward and get it done. thank you."

A FAQ of the proposed new rules can be found by clicking here.

You can comment and review comments on the proposed new rules by clicking here.

The Red Rock News Article is posted below.

We recently caught up with Denis Mahoney at the Verde Valley Bicycle Company after their Saturday morning ride...

What attracted you to the Verde Valley?

Mountain biking, mountain biking, mountain biking and hiking!

Carol and I were sitting around Seattle in the rain talking about where to retire. We moved to Seattle from Colorado and had always wanted to get back to the southwest. So after a camping trip to the Sedona area and liking it and some friends buying a place in Cottonwood here we are. The bottom line though is probably biking and hiking.

What's the most unusual job you've held and why?

I worked for a large cemetery for 17 years and ran their small cemetery for 13 of those years. Most people think that's an unusual job but for me it was a great way to work outside. I did a lot of landscaping which I liked. Sometimes it was hard to get a extra day off. The joke was I could get the day off if nobody died.

What made you decide to become a newly wed?

Carol and I had been together for almost 35 years so it wasn’t like we needed anyone to tell us it was ok. But you know how it goes with rules. My health insurance was better than Carol’s so to get her on mine we needed to be married. And with all the mountain biking we’re doing its seemed like a good idea to have good insurance.

What's your favorite local ride and why?

My favorite local ride would have to be Dead Horse Ranch State Park. One reason is because it's close enough I can ride from my house. But all in all it's got some really good trails. A little of everything, single track, rocky tech, ledgy drop-offs. Riding there as much as we do has really helped me improve.

What don't you want others to know about you?

Ah a trick question. Of course if its something I don’t want others to know I’m not telling!

But one thing would be how much work it took to photoshop and crop the picture Kevin took of me right after we finished a ride.

Original photo of Denis after our ride...

Photoshopped and cropped photo of Denis.

Just received word that the Arizona Community Foundation - Sedona selected the Red Rock Bike Patrol for a grant in the amount of $4,000. The grant will be used, among other things, for conducting a skills clinic for all patrollers this fall. The clinic will be conducted by the Sedona Mountain Bike Academy.

The Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program was notified today that it was one of only five programs selected as shining examples of the transformative work being done for the communities of Yavapai County by the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF). Included with this notification was the announcement that the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program was selected for an ACF Yavapai County grant in the amount of $6,000.

Grant funds will be used to award new mountain bikes, helmets and locks in spring 2020 to Verde Valley public school students in grades three through six. The mountain bikes come with lifetime free maintenance performed by the Verde Valley Bicycle Company.

The Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program will be formally recognized as a Shining Star at the Joy of Giving Luncheon at the Prescott Resort.

 A Letter from VVCC President Marty Glinsky

Dear VVCC Members and Friendsl

As you should know by now, the VVCC celebrated its 15th anniversary this past fiscal year. Instead of reviewing all the history, which can be found on the news pages of our website (authored by our webmaster, treasurer and historian, Kevin Adams), I’ve shined-up my crystal ball and want to share with you my vision of the future…the next 15 years. 

Youth Program Front - the Next 15 Years

Our involvement with student programs, serving all Verde Valley Elementary, Middle and High Schools continues, as the program grows significantly from its beginnings. We have expanded the program to encompass both middle schools and high schools. We have also helped expand the local National Interscholastic Cycling Program (NICA) by supplying additional coaches, support funds and bicycles. We envision having over 200 students supported each year by our program.

Bike Safety and Facilities Front - the Next 15 Years

The Road Bike Advocacy Committee and Doug Copp helped both Cottonwood and Sedona achieve “Gold” status from the League of American Cyclists, two of approximately 35 communities across the country earning this status. The road bikers coordinate over 350 rides for locals and visitors each year.

Red Rock Mountain Bike Patrol Front - the Next 15 Years

The RRMTB Patrol, with 75 members, will volunteer over 8,000 hours of patrol, which includes trail-work days, school coaching and other volunteer work.   

Advocacy Front - the Next 15 Years

MTB…entire Verde Valley concentration vs Sedona centric.

E-bikes…they’re here to stay and legal on trails.

Staff and Fundraising Front - the Next 15 Years

Paid staff includes: Executive Director, Fundraising Grant Coordinator, Youth Program Coach Recruitment/Training Coordinator, Office Manager (Sedona Trail Maintenance Endowment support for the SRRTF).

Events Front - the Next 15 Years

We're continuing to offer at least three free member events per year.

Finally, if you think back a few years ago when the VVCC had 65 members and a $2,000 or so annual budget and predicted that in just under 3 years, it would have 1) a youth program that has distributed over 100 new mountain bikes to 7 Verde Valley Elementary Schools and select students who earned them; 2) a 35+ member bike patrol as roaming mountain bike ambassadors on the trails; convinced ADOT to take over sweeping responsibilities for SR179; raised over $70,000 for building the Western Gateway; a $200,000+ annual budget and over 280 members, most would question that prognosticator's sanity.

Yet, that's exactly what happened because VVCC members invested their time, talent and treasure "to improve the bicycling environment and quality of life in the Verde Valley." Where we will be 15 years from now depends on the next generation of VVCC members who dare to dream big and possess the capacity to execute to those dreams.

What an exciting opportunity! I can't wait.

THANKS to everyone for being part of this effort.

Witten Armstrong receives his new Trek Marlin 5 MTB, helmet and lock from Oak Creek Elementary School Principal Nayadin Persaud

35 Verde Valley elementary school students will be riding new bikes thanks to the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program of the VVCC. These third through sixth grade students were chosen by their schools and awarded Trek Wahoo hybrid bikes, Trek Roscoes and Marlin 5 mountain bikes for exceeding school standards for grades, attendance, conduct and citizenship at the following Verde Valley elementary schools:

Beaver Creek Elementary

Lucas Wheeler

Lanndon I'llerbrun

Caiden Shaidel

Cathrine Worden

Alyssa Wheeler

Camp Verde Elementary

Teddy Meyers

Levi Myers

Danny Dale

Michelle Dale

Cottonwood Community School

Johnathan Libby 

Juliet Hernandez Lugo

Lizyei Hernandez Lugo

Clair Valentine

Jose Soto

Dr. Daniel Bright Elementary (Cottonwood)

Joel Eye

Amaryllis Castillon Lopez

Ella Martinez

Lucas Escalara

Seth Sweesy

Mountain View Academy (Cottonwood)

Olivia Crawford

Nick Babcock

Janessa DeLong

Rosa Celeste Diaz

Quinn Wright

Oak Creek Elementary School (Cornville)

Henry Taylor

Lillian Taylor

Elizabeth Cowgill

Laura Cowgill

Witten Armstrong

Conner Hunt

West Sedona Elementary School

Alejandro Jimenez

Miguel Villegas

Analeya Martinez

Justin Chavez

In addition to the bike, which each student chose in their favorite color, students were also awarded a new helmet and bike lock. Each bike comes with lifetime free maintenance provided by the Verde Valley Bicycle Company in Cottonwood.

Generous grants from the Sports Fund of Arizona, the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County and Sedona, Wells Fargo Bank, Trek President John Burke, the Singletrack Futures Foundation and 150+ individual donations made these awards possible. The Verde Valley Bicycle Company provided the bikes to the VVCC at cost, assembled them for free, and provides discount parts and service prices to the VVCC.

Thank you supporters and congratulations students!

VVCC Member Scott Hansen

We recently ran into Scott as we usually do, on mountain bikes, and were able to convince him to be our next 5 Minutes With victim. As you will see, Scott has an affinity for the victim especially as it applies to the true nature of mountain biking...

Hi Scott, could you tell our readers about yourself and family?

When I met my wife, Joanie, 30 years ago in Seattle, she had a mountain bike. I rode her rigid “fat” bike, told her it was too heavy and slow, and convinced her to get rid of it. A year later on a vacation to the southwest we traveled through Moab, rented mountain bikes, rode Slick Rock, and went back to Seattle. Within two weeks we had new, matching bikes and a year later started racing our mountain bikes in western Washington.

In ’95 we moved to Phoenix, rode our bikes all over Arizona, and 14 years later moved to Reno, NV. After 5 years we retired, sold our house and contents, and hit the road with our bikes pulling a small travel trailer.

Where all did you go?

We circled the US and parts of Canada for nearly two years riding lots of great trails. We then packed up the bikes and went looking for fresh dirt. We spent a year traveling to Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and much of Europe. When we returned, we circled the west in our trailer and decided to come through Sedona for a couple of rides. We found a nice piece of dirt in the village, built a small house, and moved here this January.

What are your favorite local trails and upcoming plans?

We usually ride locally on my favorites including the Turkey Creek, Templeton, and Llama trails. We will hit the road again later this summer with our trailer and Tui – our puppy who we hope will become a mountain biking dog.

Through the VVCC we have met many other transplanted dirt heads – the most welcoming people ever. We are very happy here and look forward to many years ripping it up with our new friends.

What equipment do you recommend mountain bikers carry on long rides?

Allen wrenches, pliers, and chain tools are just too heavy and often difficult to use. I don’t bring them anymore. Energy bars are too highly processed and may attract bears. Over the years I tried lots of things and finally learned to bring only what I use most frequently. My basic pack for long rides now includes just the following: beer, bone saw, raw meat, wooden stake, embalming fluid, and a body bag. However, I usually bring two body bags on really long rides.

Tell our readers about your favorite crash...

A few years ago, I was riding way too fast down Little Horse and decided to test my front brake in a technical downhill section. During the resultant long, inverted flight I pondered the meaning of life and revisited the reasons why I had become a mountain biker.

Thankfully, I landed on my head and right shoulder so there was no blood anywhere. I was dazed and confused, my right shoulder was separated, and I couldn’t move for quite a while. My riding buddies knew the mountain biker code and dared not break it. They counted to ten, I wasn’t up yet, so they rode off leaving me to die slowly and decay or possibly live long enough to fight off the mountain-biker-consuming coyotes that are so prevalent here in Sedona.

Since I had no experience fighting coyotes and knew that they could probably smell me from a long way off, I finally got up, mounted my dented steed, and rode down the trail to the Bell Rock parking area using just one arm. I was lucky to catch them as they were driving away. Everyone wanted to know if the bike was okay. It might have been at that point when I decided to draw my comic strip and try to capture the true essence of mountain biking.

What is this Bike Comic thing you do?

After retiring I found myself with lots of free time so I thought I would try to capture the true, gruesome and very dark side of the sport of mountain biking. After all, the sport of mountain biking is simply rolling around aimlessly in the dirt until you crash, die, and get consumed by hungry wildlife.

When not mountain biking, I enjoy drawing Thin Dirt Line comic strips using my mouse and laptop. Please note that any resemblance between the characters depicted and some of the mountain bikers in Sedona is purely intentional.

Thanks Scott - VVCC Member Update readers will be able to discover more of Scott's Bike Comic thing beginning in the June 1, 2019 update. Stay tuned.

 

May 2005 the Noise creative arts & news Verde Column

On November 8, 2018, 24 volunteers descended upon the Cultural Park to break ground on the Western Gateway Trail System in the first volunteer trail work day of the 2018-2019 season. Those volunteers constructed .14 miles of trail and cleared far more.

All in all, the RRRD scheduled 27 workdays with the last one ending right where we started at the Cultural Park on April 25th. Two work days were cancelled due to the Federal government shutdown and two due to snowmaggendon. Of the 23 workdays that were held, 19 involved building the Western Gateway, another officially opened the Transept Trail in the VOC, followed by workdays at Adobe Jack area, Boynton Canyon and Mund Wagon/Huckaby.

Workday sponsors included the Sedona Red Rock Trail Fund/REI, the Friends of the Forest, Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Absolute Bikes, Keep Sedona Beautiful, Enchantment Resort, Wildland Trekking, Over the Edge Sports, and the VVCC.

550 volunteers contributed over 2,200 hours and constructed 7.88 miles of trail, maintained another 18.5 miles, adopted .6 miles and rehabbed 2.13 miles. 

A huge thank you to the volunteers, sponsors and RRRD! Photos courtesy of the RRRD.