News From BUMP

Not To Miss Event: BUMP-N-GRIND 26 Race

The annual BUMP-N-GRIND race has been set for September 5-6th, 2020 at Oak Mountain State Park and registration is open. This race offers fun and challenging ride options for novices, experts and riders anywhere in-between.

If you have not participated in a mountain bike race, this could be a great first race for you. We invite you to try our virtual race challenge for CAT 3 course as listed in BUMP Strava Club event Virtual Ride: BUMP-N-GRIND 26 Cat 3 Course

AIR D:

Air D racers will be shuttled up Boy Scout Camp Road to the top of Lightning.  Air D is best time down Lightning trail.

CROSS COUNTRY RACES:

All cross country races start and finish at the South Trail Head

CAT 3 JUNIOR:

Cat 3 Junior course is for riders ages 0-12.  This is approx. a 5 mile course (similar to NICA). Race will start at South Trail Head, racers will ride up Peavine and enter into Mr. Toads, ride Toads to Family Trail, Rattlesnake Ridge, and take Lake Trail back to the South Trail Head for the finish

CAT 1: (XC1)

CAT 1 course is just over 30 miles.  CAT 1 does the full CAT 2 course, then back up Peavine to climb Jekyll, across Centipede, down Quarry, cross over to Johnsons, Foreplay, Toads, back to South Trail Head for the finish.

CAT 2: (XC2)

CAT 2 course is approx. 20 miles.  Starting at South Trail Head, racers go into Lake trail, cross over to Seven Bridges, up Camp Road to Garrett’s Gulch, Chimneys, Cat Dog Snake to North Trail Head, climb Red Road, blast across the top of the ridge to BUMP connector, BUMP Trail, down Blood Rock, Quarry, cross to Johnsons, Foreplay, Toads, Family, Rattlesnake, and back Lake to South Trail Head.

CAT 3: (XC3)

Full CAT 3 course is approx. 8 miles.  Race starts at South Trail Head, racers ride up Peavine Road to entrance of Johnsons Mountain, come down Johnsons, cross to Foreplay, Toads, Family, Rattlesnake, take Lake return to South Trail Head for the finish. Ages 13 and up. 12U can race the full CAT 3 course by choosing to CAT up.

We invite you to visit http://bumpngrindraces.com/ for detailed information. We encourage you to register by July 31st to save on registration fees. Help us make this year’s race a success, register now!

A few pictures from 2019 race:

July Ride and Chill at Oak Mountain State Park

July 18, 2020 BUMP hosted July Ride and Chill group ride at Oak Mountain State Park. We had about 30 riders of different ages and skill levels. Group started ride together, but later split in two groups to make it a fun ride for all skill levels. Longer loop went via Johnston’s Mountain, Quarry, Centipede, Jackyl & Hyde, Rattlesnake and shorter loop via Lake Trail.

After the ride everyone enjoyed refreshments and chilling with other riders.

BUMP’s Summer group rides started in 2019; in June we rode in the newly opened Cahaba River Park, July ride was at Sylaward trails by Lake Howard, and August ride was at Tannehill State Park. BUMP Ride and Chill rides are open to members and non-members. Check our events calendar for our next ride.

July Trail Workday at Oak Mountain State Park

It was a scorching hot Alabama July day but it did not stop our dedicated group of volunteers from coming out for July trail workday. They worked on repairing bridge on the Quarry Road Trail before Pevine road and cleared a section on the Chimneys Trail. Additional work was done on the Pump Track to clear the drains.

We appreciate their commitment and effort and want to thank each one of them:

  • John Goidel
  • Ken Blackwood
  • Freddie Gordon
  • Michelle Browning
  • Eric Hagan
  • Rick Hebson
  • Braxton Bruce
  • Madelyn Roberson
  • Susan Buttler
  • Nicole Martin
  • Blake LeCroy
  • Jeff Rozycki
  • Will Abner

Thanks to Extreme Terrain for sponsoring this work day with a $250 grant from their Clean Trail Grant Initiative Program!  http://www.extremeterrain.com/clean-trail-initiative-program.html

Check our events calendar for next Trail workday. If you are interested to be part of the next Trail Workday, contact us and request to be added to the Trail Workday email list. We would love to have you!

Big Win, One Ride at a Time

Mom’s success story. Posted by Courtney Stephens.

A great day for a trail! ☀️ Morning ride with my kiddo! ??‍♀️ Who knew… diagnosed by 2 with Autism. He works hard everyday to process, deal with, and overcome. His life is blessed, but also a hard! I have to brag a moment, he has found his groove with mountain biking!

One of our doctors that diagnosed him gave us advice to not limit him. This is one of those times. He is cautious, but also really is wanting to gain skills and do well. I am a proud, it has absolutely pushed me too. We LOVE doing this together!

He still has trouble with emotion and expectations. We were having a great day then around mile 5 we got a text that his friend couldn’t join us. Guess what? He talked it out. He charged hills, he took it all in. A big win for him today.

Thank you Lord for gains.

Thank you mountain biking ?‍♀️ community for being so welcoming, encouraging and awesome!

P.S. if you see us on the trails say hi. ?

Pump Track’s Come Back

Pump Track Closed for renovations: BUMP is giving the Pump Track at Oak Mountain a facelift with the help of Barry Nobles, Oak Mountain State Park, and Shelby County.

We are really “pumped” about this project and are looking forward to the end result. Construction of the improved pump track started on June 11th, with final touches expected the week of June 22nd. Please stay off of the Pump Track during this work, and stay tuned for exciting news about the grand re-opening event coming soon. Watch our social media accounts for updates.

June Trail Workday at Tannehill State Park

Thank you to the small but dedicated BUMP crew that helped show Tannehill State Park trails some love. Volunteers got to run the chainsaw for about 5 hours while clearing downed trees and some “widow makers”. They took care installing a drain on washed out section of trail, deberming sections of trail, put in some new signage and repaired some of the old signage.

We appreciate each volunteer who took time to come today and work on improving the trail system:

  • Roger Lucas
  • Jeff Rozycki
  • Christopher Gruil
  • Stacey Harris
  • Nathan Harris
  • Blake LeCroy
  • Ken Blackwood
  • Reagan Pennock

One more downed tree was reported right as group finished the workday. Jeff drove up access road, then rode into Never Never Land to knock it out and of course, leave the signature mark.

If you are interested to be part of the next Trail Workday, contact us and request to be added to the Trail Workday email list. We would love to have you!

Lightning Trail Updates

Lightning trail at Oak Mountain State Park received several much-needed improvements in the Spring of 2020 thanks to BUMP, Will Abner and Barry Nobles, and the volunteers who helped to carry this project through. Essentially the goal was to resurface the eroded features on the trail and add a few new features along the way. We received different perspectives from riders of all skill levels to make sure the new sections would be fun for “pro” level riders as well as those who are relatively new to the sport.

Everything was built to help riders progress into the features. Some of what has been revamped may look intimidating, but everything has been crafted to be friendly to all skill levels. We hope riders can use this opportunity to help develop their riding.

Lightning now has properly shaped lips on many of the jumps, rebuilt berms and so much more variety, all with a principle of progression applied so you can learn safely. Because of the improvements the character of the trail has changed, and it is also faster. Get familiar with the trail, it’s features, and learn to ride it safely using progression and good judgement.

Lightning is an expert level trail so know your limits as well as your bikes limits, always stay within them, and ride it at your own risk. Control of your bike and your speed is a must. 

Get to know the trail features by watching the great videos below:

Part 1:

Part 2:

If you are interested in volunteering to help in future maintenance please refer to our future work days. The more help BUMP gets maintaining trails, the more time a BUMP can spend doing revamping the current trails.

Next time you are riding Lightning, please keep in mind:

FEATURES YOU WERE ONCE FAMILIAR WITH HAVE BEEN ALTERED.

AS ALWAYS, LOOK FOR CHANGING CONDITIONS ON THE TRAIL. 

IF YOU STOP ON THE TRAIL, PLEASE BE MINDFUL OF THOSE PASSING THROUGH AND GET OUT OF THE WAY.

RIDE WITHIN YOUR LIMITS.

TELL YOUR FRIENDS.

Approximately 50 volunteer hours have been spent revamping Lightning. We hope you enjoy the improvements while learning some new skills.

Please Donate to or Join BUMP to help us continue to Build, Maintain, Preserve, and of course Ride the great trails in the Birmingham area.

If you are interested in volunteering to help BUMP with future trail maintenance projects, please email us at [email protected] to be added to the trail workday email list.

2020 Summer MTB Races

It is hot, it is humid and it is another summer of mountain bike races in the Birmingham metro! Fuel up, bring electrolytes and have a great time participating in these fun events. We will see you there!

The Hammies Hamduro

June 7, 2020

Oak Mountain State Park

More info: https://www.thehammies.com/register-to-race/hamduro1

Chainbuster 24/12 Hours of Iron Maiden

June 13, 2020

Tannehill State Park

More info: https://chainbusterracing.com/race/iron-maiden/

XTERRA Oak Mountain

August 29, 2020

Oak Mountain State Park

More info: https://www.xterraplanet.com/oakmountain

BUMP N GRIND 26th Annual Race

September 5 and 6th, 2020

Oak Mountain State Park

More info: http://bumpngrindraces.com/

Check back for updates!

May Trail Workday at Oak Mountain State Park

Our BUMP volunteers came out and worked hard on May Trail Workday at the Oak Mountain State Park that took place on May 9th, 2020. Work was done to address several pressing issues and improve the following trails:

  • Garrett’s Gulch
  • Lake
  • Lightning
  • West Ridge
  • Boulder Ridge
  • Fire Pits

A section of the Lake Trail got a new re-route…. you can’t miss it when you ride there, it is looking as sweet as it is to ride.

A big “Thank You” goes to each one of the volunteers who came out and put the work in to keep our trails fun to ride:

  • Eric Hagan
  • Bruce Martin
  • Leo Henry
  • Ken Blackwood
  • Mark Muro
  • Jacob Ingram
  • Braxton Bruce
  • Eric Tinney
  • Zac Frowine
  • Ethan Tinney
  • Brandon Sanford
  • Christy Sanford
  • Tonia Mora
  • Nick Spain
  • Vaughan Casey
  • Reagan Pennock
  • Will Abner
  • Jeff Rozycki
  • Blake LeCroy

If you are interested to be part of the next Trail Workday, contact us and request to be added to the Trail Workday email list. We would love to have you!

Keeping Trails Fun

Are you going to be riding next year? The following year? The one after? Of course you will be! Your support now means that more and better trails will be there for you when you need them.

Keeping trails fun to ride takes effort, time and resources. BUMP depends on our club members and volunteers. We hold monthly Trail workdays in addition to our designated volunteers cleaning out fallen trees in between the workdays.

When you join BUMP, the majority of your membership dollars are distributed and applied directly to the local efforts through IMBA. Your voice drives national progress and your commitment helps new trails come to life where you live and ride. We would love for everyone who rides local trails that are maintained by BUMP to show your support and appreciation by joining and becoming a member. All it takes is $39/year or $5 per month.

Progress for trails is still happening, even now – be a part of our success.

Join BUMP Now
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