TrailPatrol
07-13-2007, 08:38 AM
(Note: I am posting this here because nothing has been posted in this section yet, and John put Drummond in the forum at my request. It actually applies to the entire CAMBA trails system.)
Based on some comments posted in several other threads, I think a misconception needs to be cleared up about the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) trails and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (CFTF):
The CFTF does not run on CAMBA trails! If you base your opinion of mountain biking in the Cable area on what you may have ridden in the Fat Tire, you are missing out on the some of the best riding in the region. The CFTF is a 16 or 40 mile race that runs on dirt roads, doubletrack, fire lanes and the Birkie trail that can handle 2500 mountain bikers, plus spectators and support personnel. To put that kind of single-day burden on the CAMBA trails would cause severe damage to the trail system. There are over 300 miles of marked, mapped, no-conflict trails in the CAMBA system for riders of all abilities.
CAMBA and the CFTF are not the same thing! CAMBA is a volunteer, non-profit organization very similar in structure and purpose to MORC. The Fat Tire Festival is it's own entity, that exists solely to put on one of the finest MTB races in the nation, every year in September. CAMBA is an advocacy organization, with it's own board, director and seasonal paid trail crew. It does not put on, or host the Fat Tire Festival, but as a way to promote riding in the area, they conduct the CAMBA Trail Tours on the Friday of CFTF, and many members (such as myself and the Backcountry Trail Patrol) are active in the operation of the race. The CFTF is one of the largest sponsors of CAMBA, similar to the way the Spring Cup and Afton races support MORC.
If you have only ridden the CFTF course, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET! As I said, there are over 300 miles of mountain bike trails up there, and if you are on the Fat Tire course, you are not on them.
Check it out!
:banana:
Hans
Proud CAMBA Member
Based on some comments posted in several other threads, I think a misconception needs to be cleared up about the Chequamegon Area Mountain Bike Association (CAMBA) trails and the Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (CFTF):
The CFTF does not run on CAMBA trails! If you base your opinion of mountain biking in the Cable area on what you may have ridden in the Fat Tire, you are missing out on the some of the best riding in the region. The CFTF is a 16 or 40 mile race that runs on dirt roads, doubletrack, fire lanes and the Birkie trail that can handle 2500 mountain bikers, plus spectators and support personnel. To put that kind of single-day burden on the CAMBA trails would cause severe damage to the trail system. There are over 300 miles of marked, mapped, no-conflict trails in the CAMBA system for riders of all abilities.
CAMBA and the CFTF are not the same thing! CAMBA is a volunteer, non-profit organization very similar in structure and purpose to MORC. The Fat Tire Festival is it's own entity, that exists solely to put on one of the finest MTB races in the nation, every year in September. CAMBA is an advocacy organization, with it's own board, director and seasonal paid trail crew. It does not put on, or host the Fat Tire Festival, but as a way to promote riding in the area, they conduct the CAMBA Trail Tours on the Friday of CFTF, and many members (such as myself and the Backcountry Trail Patrol) are active in the operation of the race. The CFTF is one of the largest sponsors of CAMBA, similar to the way the Spring Cup and Afton races support MORC.
If you have only ridden the CFTF course, YOU AIN'T SEEN NOTHING YET! As I said, there are over 300 miles of mountain bike trails up there, and if you are on the Fat Tire course, you are not on them.
Check it out!
:banana:
Hans
Proud CAMBA Member