Hey there all you trail users!  We’ve pulled together preliminary dates for spring trail work days at Joaquin Miller Park, Crockett Hills, and potentially Anthony Chabot.   Mark your busy calendars and save the dates.   We’ll be getting sign ups out on Meetup.com in the near future. And if you haven’t signed up for our direct trailwork email notifications you can sign up here.

Additionally there are trail stewardship opportunities with Mount Diablo Trails Alliance at Mount Diablo State Park.  EBRPD and the Stewards of Briones will  have some work days coming as well.  NICA Teams around Tilden & Wildcat are working on some trail stewardship opportunities as well but those spots might be filled just with NICA teams.   In any case we’ll post information on these on our Instagram and Facebook.  

If you haven’t tried out trail stewardship give it a shot.  It’s a great way to make a 3-pronged impact.  First you help steward the trails which reduces the impact on the environment and protects watersheds and habitats. Second, you strengthen the reality that we are modern conservationists for our advocacy work.  Lastly and perhaps most importantly you’re going to have a great time, meet interesting people, and build a stronger trail community.   Advocacy, Stewardship, and Community are the three pillars of focus for BTCEB.  

• 12/14/24 JMP
• 1/11/25 Crockett Hills
• 2/1/ 25 JMP
• 2/15/25 Crockett Hills
• 2/22/25 Chabot or JMP
• 3/1/25 Chabot
• 3/8/25 Crockett Hills
• 3/22/25 Chabot or JMP
• 4/5/25 Crockett Hills

As always trail work days are subject to weather.  Different sites have different tolerance for wet weather.

We’d like to thank the 25 volunteers that came out to Crockett Hills on Saturday November 9th, 2024 to install much needed hardening on Soaring Eagle Trail around the cattle pond. This area has been a drainage challenge for years due to several seeps. The hardening will keep the tread in better shape during the wet season. 

East Bay Regional Park District provided the pavers, gravel base, and mechanized support with their Toro Dingo. There was still plenty of physical volunteer work left to excavate for the pavers, move some of the gravel, repurpose the excavated soil to improve other drainage features, and fill water jugs from the cow pond to aid compaction. 

The crew this day was a mix of seasoned volunteers and first timers. Some of the first timers included students and parents from the Wildcat Composite Mountain Bike Team and staff from Wente Scout Reservation Summer Camp. Trails bring us together in all sorts of ways. 

Special thanks to rangers Mark Hebb and Evan Butler for shuttling pavers and gravel with the Dingo. The work day wrapped up with sandwiches from Lucia’s in Crockett (yum). A handful of folks still had energy for a ride afterwards. Thanks again to all the volunteers and park staff. 

Look for more trail stewardship days to post on Meetup.com for the upcoming months.

See our Instagram post for more great photos from Rebecca Lewington.

🌟 Applications are now open for CAMTB’s Teen Ambassador Cohort 3! 

Are you a high school junior or senior in California and love trail stewardship? This is your chance to step up as a leader in trail advocacy and mountain biking across California! 🚵‍♀️

Don’t miss the chance to work with CAMTB’s advocacy team, trail partners, and industry pros to help build a stronger future for trails. Applications close Dec 31, 2024, at 11:59pm Pacific.

Apply today!🔗

#CAMTB #CAMTBTeenAmbassadors #TrailAdvocacy 

Are you passionate about mountain biking?  Would you like to be part of advocacy, trail work, and expanding access for mountain bikers in the East Bay? Well then, come join our Board of Directors!

The Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay (BTCEB) will be holding elections for several Board of Director positions at our February 2025 meeting.  We encourage all interested members to consider applying for one of our openings. We are specifically recruiting for a new Communications Director, and a Fundraising lead along with openings for Board Members at Large.

We are looking for self-motivated, creative individuals who have fresh ideas about what mountain biking in the East Bay could be.  Interested? Fill out THIS FORM. Interested in more than one position?  No problem – you can apply for more than one.  Want more information about a position?  Shoot us an email at info@btceb.org 

BTCEB is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 1987 by a dedicated group of volunteers who successfully fought the planned closure of almost all bike trails in the East Bay! We are the oldest mountain bike advocacy group in the United States and one of the founding clubs of IMBA. Our mission is to educate cyclists in responsible mountain biking, to advocate for appropriate access and to promote community among trail users so all may fully enjoy and preserve the natural spaces of the East Bay.

Applicants for board positions must be current dues paying BTCEB members (you may join now if your membership is not current). Terms of office will be two years and BOD members should be available to attend our monthly board meetings currently held via Google Meet on the first Wednesday of each month. There will also be opportunities to contribute to our monthly social rides, advocate for increased access to trails, and develop and maintain trails in East Bay parks through our board committees. 

If you would like to be a part of the movement to free the singletrack, please let us know of your interest by completing our Google Form by February 1, 2025. You’ll be invited to attend our BOD meeting by google hangout on Wednesday, February 5^th from 7:00-9:00 PM to meet us, introduce yourself and talk about why you’d like to participate in the Bicycle Trails Council Board of Directors.
Fill out THIS FORM!

The East Bay Regional Park District Executive Committee voted 3-0 to take the staff recommendations to the full board for approval on December 17th.   The main recommendation of interest is the formal addition of bike access on both the bike only directional downhill trails and the multiuse trails in the pilot.  As you may recall bike access during the Pilot was temporary.  This formalized access will be documented in Ordinance 38 if approved by the board of directors at their December 17th meeting.  Ordinance 38 is where all the park rules are documented and lists singletrack trails with sanctioned bike access.

The December 17th board meeting will be another opportunity for the public to participate in the governance process.   Public comments are not tallied as votes but it is one clear way for the public to provide input as constituents to our elected officials.  We urge you to send an email to let the elected EBRPD board of directors know that approving this access and continuing efforts for additional responsible bike access is important to you.

Send your email to: publiccomment@ebparks.org

Subject Line: Public Comment – Briones Pilot agenda item

Be sure to include your name and where you live.

Suggested comments to consider:

Messages written in your own words are generally more effective than a form letter.  A personal message on why these things are important to you sometimes makes a stronger connection.  A respectful message is also more likely to be heard.