News

We recently caught up with VVCC member Ron Rusk at Firecreek Coffee in the VOC.

Hi Ron, thanks for meeting with me how are you doing?

Couldn’t be better, good to be here.

How long have you called Sedona home? Where’d you move here from?

More than 10 years! We moved here from San Diego. My aunt and uncle used to winter in Cottonwood and we would come to visit. One year we ventured to Sedona and that was it. My wife said “we could live here, let’s look.” Within about a year we bought a house. We were part time residents and finally asked ourselves “why are we doing this for?” and went home that weekend, retired and moved here full time. Never looked back.

What is something nobody knows about you?

I don’t know. You’d have to ask Pat (VVCC member Pat Roberts) or my wife.

Why do you ride and how often do you ride?

I ride usually every other day with Pat, my coach. First because I need it as I’m addicted. If I don’t get out and ride, my wife will tell me to get out. Fortunately, I have the perfect coach. Pat constantly makes me ride better.  

How long have you been a patroller? 

I was the one who told Marty about mountain bike patrol. We had begun to ride together some and I said “Marty, I heard about this IMBA patrolling thing and think we ought to do this.  Of course, Marty just took it and ran with it. I’ve been a patroller since it began here. 

What’s the most interesting thing that happened to you while patrolling?

Long pause…the only thing I can think of is the time Marty and I came up on the llama. Marty had to get off and take pictures.

Rumor is you have two wives. 

True.

Would you like to comment about that?

I am in the enviable position to have a wife who understands and knows I need to get out and ride. And, I have a female riding partner who constantly coaches and encourages me to get out and be a better rider. Life does not get any better.

What would you like to leave us with?

I am in the best place in my life I’ve ever been. Both with my family, the friends I have here, the ability to get out and ride and the beauty of the area. I’ve died and gone to heaven. That’s where I’m at.

The VVCC Ride For Five Drive recently concluded. The Drive raised $10,181.12 with $7,726.12 of the proceeds supporting the Western Gateway Trail Building Fund and the balance supporting the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program. Over 75% of the entrants were from outside the Verde Valley but Verde Valley supporters gobbled up about 50% of the tickets. The Drive attracted 385 entrants who purchased 3,056 tickets. Prize winners were...

Jim Tulin of Scottsdale, AZ won the grand prize and chose the Tarmac SL5 road bike provided through Absolute Bikes.

A happy Jim Tulin with his new Tarmac SL5

Andrew Stravers of Gallup, NM won the Carbon 41W 27.5 Wheel Set generously provided by QBP founder Steve Flagg.

Mike Coyne of Sedona by way of Massachusetts won the complete Rockford-Fosgate 600W Car Audio System donated by our good friends at Rockford-Fosgate.

Austin Riba of Santa Barbara, CA won the trip for (2) on any AZT Expeditions MTB Trip provided by Matt McFee of Hermosa Tours.

VVCC's own, Marty Glinsky, who purchased a gazillion raffle entries, was not denied and won the Trek 8.2 Hybrid Bike donated by the Verde Valley Bicycle Company.

Louise Brinton, who also purchased a bunch of entries, won the HP250 Notebook PC provided by CDW-Government of Vernon Hills, IL (thanks Ben!)

Pat Roberts of the Village of Oak Creek, EJ Hornick of Parkville, MD, and Keene Turner of St Charles, MO won Kali Interceptor helmets from Kali Protectives (thanks Jon!). Marila Alvares also won a Kali Interceptor but she asked, and Kali agreed, to provide a kid's Interceptor for the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids program.

Rounding out the prize winners were Richard Mahoney of the Village of Oak Creek and Paul Hallinan of Sedona who won the Camelbaks.

Thank you all for making the Ride For Five Drive a success.

The Verde Valley Bikes for Kids™ was competitively awarded a $5,000 Grant from the Yavapai County Chapter of the Arizona Community Foundation. This grant will be used to create a mountain bike club at the second Cottonwood Elementary School, award bikes to deserving students at the spring 2019 bike rodeo in Cottonwood and to support Frank Marsten's Tool Time course.

June 1, 2018 Villager article.

On May 31, 2018, Red Rock Ranger District Ranger, Nicole Brinton, issued a Decision Memo adding approximately 34 miles of trail to the National Forest system in four areas of the Red Rock Ranger District:

1. Western Gateway Trails with Girdner Trailhead (see map below)

2. Village of Oak Creek Trails - including the adoption of Transept Trail, connecting HiLine Trail to Verde Valley School Rd and reconstruction and re-alignment of Dairy Spring and Pine Valley trails east of Big Park Loop Trail and north of Jacks Canyon Rd.

3. Camp Verde Trails - construction of non-motorized trails to be accessed from the Town of Camp Verde's future sports complex park on Hwy 260 and McCracken Lane, adjacent to the town's water treatment facility.

4. Thunder Mountain - naturalize user-created routes in the upper headwaters of Carol Canyon south of Capitol Butte.

Today's decision memo is the culmination of efforts that begin in October 2013 and will result in 17 miles of new trail construction, 17.1 miles of user-created adoption, 6.9 miles of system reroutes, 13.5 miles of user-created naturalization and 4.8 miles of system trail naturalization. The trails will be added to the Forest Service trail system and managed as Class 3 trails per the Forest Service National Trails Classification System. This means that traffic flow will be single lane managed to maintain "a narrow tread with a rugged character, with plants brushed narrow to reduce speeds of bikers." Phased implementation is planned to occur over a three year period.

All trails will be closed to motorized use and open to foot, bike and horse traffic with the exception of the Transept Trail will be closed to equestrian use to prevent user conflicts and to improve safety in areas of slick rock and cliff.

For full details to include maps, please click on the below Decision Memo Link.

Red-Rock-Trails-Enhancement-DM-w-Maps-20180531.pdf

The Verde Valley Bikes for Kids was awarded a $5,000 Sports Fund of Arizona Grant. The Sports Fund of Arizona is a Colangelo Center fund established in 2016 to fund youth sports programs and organizations throughout the state with grants of up to $5,000.

The grant will help fund the program's expansion to two elementary schools in Cottonwood and Rimrock beginning next fall. The program currently supports bike clubs and spring rodeos at West Sedona and Cottonwood Elementary schools.

The Verde Valley Bikes for Kids recently awarded 12 bikes to Cottonwood and West Sedona Elementary School students who exceeded standards in grades, attendance, comportment and citizenship.

Brandon Stinebaker, Jose Soto, Faith Valentine, Johnny Cortez, Aylin Ramirez and Manuel Lievanos receive their new bikes from the Verde Valley Bicycle Company just prior to Cottonwood Elementary School's Bike Rodeo on April 6th. These students received their bikes just in time to join in the Mayor's Ride to School that morning.

Aylin Ramirez showing off her newly awarded bike while VVCC President Marty Glinsky (L) and VVBC's Randy Young (R) look on

Meanwhile, the May 4th combined West Sedona/Big Park Bike Rodeo became a casualty of the #Red4Ed Teacher's strike, but that didn't stop the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids program from awarding six bikes to students just as soon as classes resumed.

Rotary Teacher of the Year and VVCC member Kaitlyn Propp and West Sedona Principal Scott Keller with four of the Verde Valley Bikes for Kids Program bike recipients from West Sedona Elementary School

Each student also received a new helmet and lock with their bike along with free bike repairs for life with their bike as we want to keep them riding. The Verde Valley Bike Company provided the distributed bikes, helmets and locks at cost plus assembled the bikes for free.

We recently caught up with the VVCC's longest serving board member Doug Copp.

Q. How long have you lived in Sedona?

Doug - We moved here in the summer of 1994. I grew up in N. Az, but left after college. I always wanted to return.

Q. What boards have/do you serve on?

Doug - TRACS (Trail Resource Access Coalition of Sedona, a trail advocacy group in the 90's), Sedona Recycles Inc, on and off since 1996, current board president since 2014, SRRTF since the group formed approximately 3 years ago and the VVCC.

Q. How long have you served on the VVCC board?

Doug - Not exactly sure, probably since around 2005. I was good friends with Daniel Paduchowski, we mountain biked and did road rides. TRACS was defunct at that point so I joined VVCC.

Q. Why are you a VVCC board member?

Doug - I am a minimalist. I think the bicycle is one of the great inventions since fire and the wheel. I wish more people rode bikes. I also love Sedona's incredible trail system and the VVCC has been a great supporter of our trails and helping Sedona become a Bicycle Friendly Community.

Q. What's been the VVCC's biggest successes over the years and why?

Doug - Getting the USFS to be more friendly to mtbrs. Getting more trails, especially purpose built trails. The VVCC was also the driving force behind the SR179 bike lanes, the SR89A bike lanes and the Sedona Bike Skills Park and our bronze & silver Bicycle Friendly Community awards.

Q. The VVCC will be celebrating its 15th anniversary soon, where do you see the VVCC 15 years from now?

Doug - Bigger and better than ever, largely thanks to Kevin, Pam, Rich, Dan and Paul  who have transformed the VVCC.

Q. Any last words?

Doug - Ride more, drive less.

Sedona Mayor Sandy Moriarty (front red dress), Doug Copp (rear third from right) and other awardees at the May 2nd Sedona Volunteer Award Ceremony

At the City of Sedona Volunteer Award Ceremony on May 2nd, Rachel Murdoch, Parks & Recreation Manager recognized Doug Copp for...

"donating countless hours along side staff, sweating and freezing, doing whatever it took to make the bike skills park an awesome riding experience for our locals and visitors."

Way to go Doug and congratulations for all of us at the VVCC!

Over 25 volunteers - from as far away as Flagstaff and Phoenix - attended the last Red Rock Ranger District (RRRD) volunteer trail work day of the 2017-2018 season. 

The RRRD held over 40 volunteer work days this season with each one co-sponsored by various local organizations. Today, REI Flagstaff was the co-sponsor which explains the volunteer origination diversity.

Kyle informed the volunteers that over 4,600 hours have been contributed by RRRD volunteers this season.

Then we headed out from the Cultural Center trail head onto the Girdner Trail for our work day. We focused on erosion, rock work and rehab assignments. Girdner was specifically chosen to give everyone an appreciation for the upcoming Western Gateway Trail System, construction of which is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2018.

We finished up and were treated to great eats and SWAG from REI.