Grand Trail Opening Celebration

As we prepare to celebrate the Grand Opening of the Ripon College Ceresco Prairie Conservancy Mountain Bike Trail this Saturday.

We'd like to take a moment to recognize all the volunteers who helped in this project. If you feel your name is missing from the list below, please contact Ric Damm at dammr@ripon.edu

Kate Amell

Jeremy Brouwer

Kevin Carli

Kyle Crombie

Renee DeBruin

Andy Fehrenbach

Cody Gunst

Geralyn Haggerty

Bjorn Hauge

Chris Hinshaw

Spencer Hoffman

Mike Holland

Adrian Icenogle

Rich Janssen

Ben Jones

David Joyce

Mitch Katt

Rich Ketter

Bruce King

Zach Kouba

Karen Kriz

Brady Kuphal

Jerry Kurek

Mary Manering

Jessica Martzhal

Paul Meuer

Chris Moen

Brandon Mumm

Pam Mumm

Jim Parman

Amy Pinkston

Cody Pinkston

Michael Rausch

Mark Reynolds

Rosette Reynolds

Amber Rico

Mark Sabel

Nick Sabel

Cameron Schave

Allison Schmidt

Tiffany Seering

Casey Simonson

Zach Smith

Fabrizzio Subia

Alex Tande

Dennis Tande

Corey Vande Brink

Jenny Van Mersbergen

Olivia Verma

Elizabeth Wegner

Kathleen Wendel

Austin Wild

Dale Wszalek

Cool trail story

I was walking the new Ripon College mountain bike trail Monday night with my parents — giving them the grand tour of where I've spent a good share of my time during the past few months. As we're walking, there is a man riding the trail on a vintage cro moly 1980s Trek 820 Antelope with a rigid fork. He's wearing classic black riding shorts and a Green Bay Packers sweatshirt. He passes us several times before I stop him to ask what he thinks of the trail.

He loves it. He's a local guy who said he used to mountain bike quite a bit in the Chequamegon area back in the day. He said now that he's older, he's been riding the flat rail trails on a hybrid; but figured he'd dig out the old bike and give the new singletrack a try. The wide smile on his face said it all.

Seems each time I'm out on the trail, I have a similar encounter. That night we also saw a whole family — from grandparents to grandkids and their dog — taking a leisurely hike. From trail runners to previously unknown local mountain bikers who have come "in to" the woods to ride; the trail has certainly become a valued resource very quickly.

So, "thank you" to Pepsi for their Refresh Everything program; "thank you" to each and every person who voted for this project throughout the month of August 2010; "thank you" to the folks who came out and put a little sweat equity into the trail; "thank you" to the College faculty and administration who gave the blessing to pursue this venture; "thank you" to IMBA for devising the Trail Solutions program and to Jill Van Winkle and Stephen Mullins for listening to our input and helping turn our dreams into reality. It's all paying off in ways I didn't imagine it would.

Coach Ric Damm

A sneak peek at our new trail

Coach Damm captured this footage from the team's GoPro Hero cam this morning. The HD quality was lost in translation, so we'll have to work on improving that. Still, this will give you all a sense of what we've accomplished during the last month.

Please help Renee win a trip

Our very own Red Hawk Renee DeBruin has been selected as a finalist in Wigwam Mills "Wig-L-Wam Dance Your Socks Off" dance competition.

Here's Renee's request: "My video with my nephew Xzavion dancing at last year's WORS Sheboygan race is one of the top 5 finalists to WIN a trip for 2 anywhere within the Continental US. Please go to the WIGWAM MILLS INC. facebook page, like it and then scroll to find my video and "like" it. I am finalist #2. Watch me get my groove on with X and please tell everyone to like my video as well! The one with the most votes by May 25th is the winner! Please help me out! =]"

Do it now, please!

Can you help? Volunteers needed for new MTB trail

The Ripon College Red Hawks cycling team will be hosting two trail work days Saturday, April 30 and Saturday, May 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Volunteers are sought to assist in the creation of two miles of singletrack mountain bike trails in the College's Ceresco Prairie Conservancy.

All volunteers will be entered into a prize raffle featuring a new 2011 Trek 6000 mountain bike.

Last August, Ripon College was the recipient of a $25,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant to construct the mountain bike trails in Ripon. The grant is being used to rent necessary equipment and retain the International Mountain Bicycling Association's Trail Solutions team to assist in the trail design and construction.

IMBA's Jill Van Winkle was on campus in November to identify and mark the trail corridor. Stephen Mullins, a trail specialist with IMBA, will be on campus beginning Monday, April 25. Mullins will be the chief architect of the trail building project which is expected to take three weeks to complete.

The more volunteers we can involve in the project, the sooner the project will be complete and the sooner people can begin to enjoy this new resource. Wisconsin's unpredictable spring weather could potentially cause delays to the project, and the three-week time line is tight even under the best of conditions. Therefore, we are counting on the greater Ripon community and mountain bikers from around the region to step up and assist in the creation of this new recreational opportunity. This isn't intended to be Ripon College's mountain bike trail. This is intended to be a resource for everyone to enjoy.

In an effort to increase participation and reward volunteers for their service, we are organizing a prize raffle. Each volunteer will receive an entry into the raffle for each hour of service they contribute. Bob Kirkland, chair of Ripon College's Board of Trustees, has donated a new 2011 Trek 6000 mountain bike as the grand prize. Saris Racks has donated a Bones 3 car rack and CycleOps Power has donated a Magneto trainer. GU Energy and DeFeet have also donated prizes for the raffle. Winners will be drawn during a grand trail opening celebration slated to take place later this summer.

In addition to the two Saturday work days, volunteer opportunities will be available throughout the project. For more information, contact Ric Damm at 920-748-8322 or dammr@ripon.edu.

Trail Solutions is IMBA's professional fee-based trail consulting program. Trail services range from trail planning, design and construction to trail management, education and volunteer teamwork. IMBA excels at careful and diligent planning and collaboration to create trail systems that provide high-quality experiences for diverse visitors, minimize environmental impact and user conflict and require less maintenance over time.�

Work to begin on Pepsi Refresh Project trail

This Sunday we will raise our first pruner in anger as we begin to clear buckthorn and other vegetation from the trail corridor of our planned singletrack trail on campus.

Team members and other volunteers are set to descend on the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy April 10 to begin the brush clearing. The work will prepare the way for the IMBA Trail Solutions team to begin trail construction as soon as April 25.

In an effort to encourage participation and to reward the hard work of our volunteers, we will offer a variety of prizes to be awarded via a raffle. A generous Ripon donor and cycling advocate has offered a brand new Trek 6000 mountain bike as the top prize. Our team sponsors are also coming through for us. Saris Cycle Racks has donated a Bone 3 car rack and CycleOps Power has donated a Magneto trainer. GU Energy and DeFeet are also chipping in with some swag to reward volunteers. Each volunteer will get a ticket in the raffle for each hour they volunteer to the project. Names will be drawn this fall as part of a grand trail opening celebration.

Daily Peloton features interview with Coach Damm

Imelda March, a Chicagoland member of Team Kenda, interviewed Coach Ric Damm recently and the results have been posted on DailyPeloton.com as part of its continuing "Ride and Learn" series. The series highlights varsity cycling programs throughout the country.