David Caplan

Judging from the number of participants in the two MTB races held annually in the Bend area, I know you all love racing and riding in Central Oregon. Well, there's some great news... earlier this summer the USFS gave its stamp of approval to an exciting new project, the Wanoga Event Complex.

Conceived almost 10 years ago as an event specific trail network to allow for a variety of off-road bike and trail running events, it will include Short Course Cross Country, Cylcocross, Epic XC and Super D trails. All trails will be laid out with events in mind, but will be open to all mountain bike and foot traffic to add to our already world-class trail network. The new system, approximately 12 miles west of town on Century Drive is named for the Wanoga Sno-Park which is central to the new complex. The complex will link together riding opportunities from Edison Sno-Park to Wanoga all the way down to FS Rd 41 along the Deschutes River. Over 30 miles of diverse trails are already approved in a variety of terrain that should satisify any event promoter or recreational cyclist/runner.

COTA (Central Oregon Trails Alliance) volunteers, along with support from local shops (Pine Mountain Sports, Web Cyclery, Footzone) have been hard at work building new trails all summer, and good progress is being made.

But we need your support. Racers, this is a great opportunity for you to volunteer a few hours of your time to help build trails that are being purpose-built for racing. And you should take a few minutes to become a COTA member as well. It'll cost you less than one race entry, and guarantee years more great riding on Central Oregon's wonderful and expanding trail network.

For more information on volunteer opportunities and membership, please visit www.cotamtb.com. Do it now!