Greater Cincinnati will get its first urban mountain bike trails on October 11 when 150 high school volunteers from Give Back High converge on Devou Park in Covington.
From 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM, volunteers recruited from high schools throughout the region will go to work shoveling, trimming trees, moving logs, smoothing dirt and using heavy duty tools.
The
Blazing Trails event will mark the beginning of 8 to 10 miles of planned trails, with various levels of difficulty.
"These trails will bring much enjoyment to residents and hiking and mountain bike enthusiasts," says Larry Klein, Covington's assistant city manager. "We look forward to implementing this phase of the Devou Park Master Plan with so many dedicated volunteers and sponsors."
As part of their work to promote mountain biking in Greater Cincinnati, the
Kentucky Mountain Bike Association and the
Cincinnati Off-Road Alliance encouraged Covington to include several miles of trail in the park’s plan.
The groups point out that one in five Americans over the age of 16 own a mountain bike.
States with more miles of mountain bike trails have also been shown to have more physically fit residents.
The project is also part of
UGive's "Green Machine" series, a partnership of several non-profit organizations that will bring high school volunteers together for eight environmentally-oriented service projects through November 15.
Currently, the next nearest mountain bike trail is in Mitchell Memorial Forest in Miami Township, Hamilton County.
For additional information, contact Laura Baverman at (513) 461-1266 or visit
http://www.ugivecincinnati.org/ Writer:
Kevin LeMasterSource: Teresa Murphy, Give Back High
Image
from the Devou Park Master Plan
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