Geoff Payne is a well-known fixture in the local mountain biking scene. He serves as treasurer for the River City Cycle Club and heads the trails committee, helping to spearhead the construction and maintenance of authorized trails in partnership with BC Parks and Recreation Sites & Trails BC.
“It’s putting back into something you’re using, and other community members can benefit as well,” he says, adding that credit should go to the club more generally.
Payne works with crews of volunteers, facilitating workshops on sustainable trail construction and maintenance techniques. Since 2008, the club has rerouted roughly 6 km of trails in the Snowden Demonstration Forest and 2 km in Elk Falls Provincial Park to address safety, environmental and sustainability issues, he says.
“We’ve tried to incorporate the new knowledge of trail construction and maintenance techniques, and how to make them more sustainable and require less maintenance into the future, as well as fun for riders,” he says, noting that it benefits not only mountain bikers, but other trail users such as runners, hikers and people that just enjoy being out on the trails.
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