Land favorable for mountain biking

Feb 17, 2012 12:00 am

RUMFORD -- This community could realize the economic potential from the sport of mountain biking.

Last week, Brian Alexander of the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) in Augusta looked at the 83-acre town-owned parcel behind the River Valley Crossing Plaza on Rt. 2. Jim Rinaldo, economic developer for Rumford, said he hiked with Alexander up the Rumford Polar Bear snowmobile trail by the plaza to look at the land.

"He thought it was a good area. I'm encouraged that the land would be suitable," said Rinaldo, adding that within that parcel, a two- to three-mile mountain biking loop could be developed.

He said Alexander would need about a week to map out the parcel and the property lines on a computer. Rinaldo said he is on the agenda for Thursday's meeting of the Board of Selectmen to seek support for the proposed project. If so, he would ask the board to pay for the work Alexander would be doing, the cost of which should become known by mid-week.

That land, on mountainous terrain, would be almost undisturbed if a trail was developed as a trail just 18-inches wide is required, said Rinaldo, adding that one of the conditions of the eco-friendly sport is that no part of the trail would be eroded by water.

The key to developing the trail would be volunteers to cut brush, chainsaw, rake and shovel. The trail can go around trees. Alexander started the mountain bike trail in Augusta, whose last biking event attracted 800 people. Rinaldo said he was told the two to three-mile loop could be completed and ready for use by mid-summer.

Rinaldo said moving forward would mean getting the permission of land abutters as well as determining who would run the effort.

Even though a small loop could be developed in relatively short order, Rinaldo said a mimimum of 20 miles would be needed to attract mountain bikers in the numbers needed to make a strong economic impact. "This is a process."

He said mountain biking trails are actually a series of loops. That would mean the trails would need to extend beyond the town parcel land to other places such as Black Mountain. As a comparison, Rinaldo checked with a local ATV club and learned they have access to 200 miles of trails. In the tri-state region, there's over 7,000 miles of ATV trails.

He also did some online research about mountain biking. Back in 1999, a mountain bike trail called Kingdom Trails was built in Burke, VT, a community of 1,600. In 2004, the trail attracted 4,000 visitors. In 2009, ten times that number came to mountain bike.

It was estimated that the trail pumps in $4.2 million annually to the region. East Burke has become a travel destination for mountain bikers across the nation and world.

"People want to try new trails. They come from all over the world in search of them," said Rinaldo.

Further data on mountain biking in East Burke shows that the average visitor age is 37, stays for two nights, spends $100 perday on lodging and food, and makes two visits per year.

If a trail system was developed here, Rinaldo said perhaps, in time, an entrepreneur would open mountain bike and repair shop.

This area not only offers a parking lot at the plaza but a boat launch close by and a new hotel soon to be developed. With the development of a mountain bike trail, thoughts about perhaps holding a triathalon could also be in the future.

"Rumford can become a mecca for outdoor activities. Once here (the mountain bike trails), maybe we can do a mass advertising campaign that Rumford is the place to be for every season," noted Rinaldo, adding this could combined with other activities such as fishing, hunting, skiing, snowmobiling, ATVing, hiking and fall foliage viewing.

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Land favorable for mountain biking

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