ROANOKE, Va. – A new mountain bike trail in the Star City spells out a story of success between community leaders and a group of passionate people. The flow trail at Roanoke's Morningside Park adds another mountain biking opportunity to the roster and betters the neighborhood in which it was built.
The hills, curves and bumps on the track get riders excited. The new trail is a great introduction to a sport that continues to grow in popularity, and it also offers a dynamic challenge to experienced riders, as well. It's not only continuing to elevate Roanoke's mountain bike status, it's also bringing new faces into a neighborhood trying to better itself.
The payoff is what it's all about, and for 12-year-old Ben Morgan and his friend, there's no question they've earned every ride.
"A couple of me and my friends came, and we cleaned it out, and we found a bunch of gross stuff here, like, old stuff, and it's just turned into this over a year," Ben said.
That's the supershort version of the story. All in all, it was 400 hours of manual labor at Roanoke's Morningside Park. The new flow trail in the woods replaced what was effectively a homeless camp.
Chris Berry, of Star City Cycling, a local nonprofit that aims to get more youth involved in the sport, led the effort and negotiations with the city. The circuit is packed full of tight curves and a series of bumps and challenges designed around one common thread.
"It's a mile-long, very beginner-friendly loop trail that's unlike anything else in the region," Berry said. "We built it primarily because there was not a true beginner-friendly option available to teach kids to ride and that's a big part of our mission."
These trails do more than just give a place to ride. Morningside Park has a whole new identity thanks to the volunteers' hard work. A case in point, is the Boys and Girls Club right next door.
"Prior to the time we came in to clean up the park, they got very little use out of it just because it really wasn't a safe place. They've got 150 club members next door, and their entire outdoor play space consisted of about a half an acre," Berry said.
Now, they too, can be trailsetters right in their urban neighborhood. They can join Ben and his friends on the newest trail right at their fingertips.
"Because it's so close and we would have to drive so far to go to other fun bike parks," Ben said.
The flow trail is phase one, and phase two will bring a more advanced downhill course and skills area. The group is crowdfunding with Roanoke Outside to hire professional trailbuilders.