On Saturday, April 2, we’ll be meeting at 9:00am at the main entrance to Springville High School and doing just a quick and easy jaunt to the end of the Mapleton Lateral Canal Trail and back. We will be doing road rides every first and third Saturday to each month from now until September or so, so come out and meet some fellow roadies!
Our next association meeting will be April 13 at 6:00pm at the Snelson PhotoColor Lab. We will be talking mostly about Bike Month, which is May. We are planning road rides, a mountain bike ride and fundraiser, a family ride, Springville’s Bike with the Mayor event, a movie screening of Motherlode, and more. Come meet up with your fellow cycling enthusists and help us plan these fun events!
I had a lovely time mountain biking this evening at the new trail system that we are building at the mouth of Hobble Creek Canyon. The trails were in good shape after winter, with minimal damage from equestrian users and nice grippy dirt. I appreciated the new wayfinding signs that Chris Morrill got from the DWR–we installed the posts last Fall but had been waiting for the stickers. The bigger news is that we recently submitted a UORG application for funding to expand the trail system, including a black diamond line up and around the hill overlooking the current trail and blue line down below.
March 3 at 6:00pm at the Snelson ColorPhoto Lab is the time and place for our first monthly meeting of 2022. Come help us plan some activities and service projects for the year and tell us what you would like to see happen bike-wise in Springville and Mapleton. We hope to see you there!
On November 2, 2021, Springville City will be electing a new mayor and city council. There are three council seats available–one for 2 years and two for 4 years. We recently polled the candidates about their support for cycling and active transportation. For the results of the poll, see the Google Doc here.
As a 501(c)3 corporation we are prohibited from endorsing any particular candidate, but we hope that our members and supporters will read these responses carefully and weigh them in making their voting decisions. With council votes on the new Parks and Trails Master Plan and the Active Transportation Master Plan coming up in 2022 it is vital that we have a supportive city council to make Springville a better place.
On September 30, 2021, the Hobble Creek Bicycle Association met to approve by-laws and elect a board of directors in preparation to apply for official 501(c)3 status with the State of Utah and the IRS. After debating and voting on a few matters the by-laws were approved. Elections were then held and the results were as follows:
Executive Director – Jeff Hardy Secretary – Jonathan Duncan Advocacy Director – Kurtt Boucher Road Biking Director – Mike Snelson Family Biking Director – Logan Millsap Mountain Biking Director – Chris Morrill Bicycle Maintenance Director – Griffin Park Publicity Director – Jonathan Duncan
The Board of Directors (with Logan behind the camera)
Since that meeting I have completed the application to register as a nonprofit corporation in the state of Utah and have received our federal EIN. The next step is to apply with the IRS, which will happen in the coming week or so. So, three years after our organization, we are now official in the eyes of the state and hopefully will also soon be in the eyes of the federal government. We hope this will give us more weight as we work to educate and to promote the use of bicycles in Springville and Mapleton.
After three years of informal organization we have decided to step things up to the next level. Next month we will be applying for official 501(c)3 status to become an incorporated non-profit organization. This will give us a more official presence in lobbying efforts and will allow us to fundraise and apply for grants.
In order to make this happen (see here for details), we need to approve by-laws and elect leaders of the organization. This will take place on September 30 at 6:00pm at the Snelson PhotoColor Lab on 80 W Center Street in Springville. Please come to the foundational meeting of our soon-to-be official nonprofit!
If you would like to see the draft by-laws before the meeting or submit your name (or someone else’s name) for elections to the Board of Directors, please e-mail me at jeff_hardy@byu.edu. The available elected positions are: President, Secretary, Advocacy Director, Road Bike Director, Mountain Bike Director, Family Bike Director, Bicycle Repair Specialist, and Publicity Director. These positions are subject to debate and revision leading up to the vote on the by-laws.
Mike Snelson has been organizing road rides twice a month since March, with anywhere from 2 to 12 participating each time. On Saturday, September 18, 2021, our road ride series culminated with a 100-mile ride. (Strava links here and here.) There were only just the two of us, but it was a blast. Here is my report that I shared on Facebook:
Today I rode farther on my bike than I’ve ever ridden before: 100 miles. It’s something that I’ve been thinking about for several years and training for (kind of) the past several months. It’s definitely not something you can just get off your couch and do–it took time and dedication and it took some encouraging friends to get it done.
There were just two of us on the ride today, Michael Snelson and I, with Mike’s sweet wife driving support for us. We started out in a light drizzle that quickly cleared up and made good time down through Mapleton, Spanish Fork, Woodland Hills, Elk Ridge, and Payson. I was feeling strong on the climbs and was quite optimistic as we headed toward Santaquin. Then it started raining. We rode through it for a bit but it kept coming, forcing us under a gas station awning for shelter for a few minutes. It lightened and we continued on to Rowley’s Red Barn on the south side of town, about 36 miles into our ride. By the time we got there it was raining hard again and we took shelter inside to warm up a bit (unfortunately their hot chocolate machine was off). When we went back outside it was still raining hard and was windy, so we decided to drive to our designated brunch stop in Mona. But after only 4-5 miles driving the rain stopped, so we got out, started a new Strava trip, and biked into Mona.
I had never been to Gaydean’s Sweet Art Bakery, and my goodness was that a treat. Downhome cooking for reasonable prices–a giant cinnamon roll and a mango smoothie filled me up with energy for the remaining 57 miles or so. We tore around Mona Reservoir with a nice tailwind and down Goshen Canyon. No one hit us on the dangerous Hwy-6, so that was a blessing. Then it was around West Mountain, which was a really nice part of the ride–perfect temperatures, hardly any wind, hardly any cars, beautiful views.
Mike looks happy, I look worried as we encounter some skulls between Mona and Goshen Canyon
After turning past Lincoln Beach we hit the full force of a headwind and man, those miles into Benjamin and then to the freeway were slow and painful. Average speed went from around 17 to around 13 really quickly. We made it to Springville but needed to make up some mileage for what we skipped earlier, so we zig-zagged around town a bit. Then, with about 4 miles left, the lightning struck, the thunder cracked, and we rode through a torrential downpour almost all the rest of the way home. It was actually pretty fun, crossing clogged gutters like they were streams and smelling the sweat soak out of our drenched clothes. If anything the rain was invigorating.
So there was my ride. It was long, difficult, painful, fun, and rewarding, all in one. Unfortunately, while we rode, a good friend and fellow biker lay in the hospital, suffering from an actue case of Covid-19. My heart bleeds for Jaime Brimhall and his dear family. He is one of the most amazing people I know–kind, generous, and loving to all around him. My ride is dedicated to him.
Sorry for the long delay between blog posts! I want to give a big shout-out to Mapleton City for some recent work. Those of you who have been on the Mapleton Lateral Canal Trail recently know that it has been rolling nice and smooth after an overlay of asphault and it is currently free of sheep poop, so that’s a good thing. I also appreciate the loads of sunflowers that you get to ride through.
The sunflowers are really more vibrant than this crappy selfie suggests!
ALSO! Mapleton or maybe UDOT just repaved Maple Street and not only is it nice and smooth, it has painted bike lanes on the south (uphill) side of the road. The north side of the road is still a patchwork of developed/undeveloped properties, so in some places there is a wide shoulder, in others a very narrow shoulder. But at least now when biking east you can enjoy a nice fat bike lane!
When: Saturday, June 12th Parade line up – 9:00am Parade begins – 10:00am Parade ends – 11:15am
Where: 480 E. 200 S. (south of Grant School and west of Memorial Park)
Parade length: one mile
We will decorate our bikes, turn our bike trailers into mini parade floats, pump some tunes, and toss candy while showing Springville how fun and versatile people-powered transportation can be. Riders of all ages are welcome (the pace will be a moderate walk, set by the marching bands and cheer squads ahead of us). Bicycles, cargo bikes, e-bikes, skateboards, scooters, roller skates, strider bikes, etc. are all welcome.
Decorating your ride is not required but is highly encouraged. The more garish the better! We hope to make a splash!
We have some bags of candy that we can share (admittedly we aren’t sure how to gauge how much candy is required, so if you have tips please contact us).
If you want to participate but don’t have a bike right now, contact us and we’ll find a bike for you to ride. We also have a couple bike trailers available for pulling if you would like to pull a trailer in the parade.
It will be a hot day, so be sure to bring water bottles and sun protection. Stay hydrated! Because there won’t be vehicular traffic, helmets are not required.
If you have any questions, please reach out to us.
The HCBA was well represented at the Bike with the Mayor event this morning, with a booth and lots of giveaways that Carrie Bennett brought. We talked to lots of people about biking in Springville and what improvements they would like to see and loved doing the group ride with police escort around the west side of Springville. Great to see so many people out riding their bikes!
