Support Movement for All in 2022 by donating to Trailblazers
Trailblazers believes grassroots generosity and community action are powerful forces for good. Together, we can make a difference.
There’s still time to help make Northwest Arkansas a healthier and more active place to live in 2022! You may make your tax year-end gift in a variety of ways.
- The most efficient way to make a gift is online by midnight on December 31st. Designate your gift on the drop-down menu.
- You may mail a check. The envelope must be postmarked by December 31st. Make your check to Trailblazers and mail it to PO Box 2821, Bentonville, AR 72712. Designate your gift in the memo line of your check or enclose a note.
- Make a gift of stock. Stock must be received by the end of business Friday, December 30th. Contact Gordon Venturella to make arrangements at gordon@wearetrailblazers.org or 312.719.4322.
- If you are 70½ or older, you can use a charitable IRA rollover to transfer money. It will count toward your required minimum distribution. Contact your tax advisor or Gordon to make arrangements.
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Please take the NWA Paved Trail Inclusivity Survey before Dec. 31st.
Trailblazers strives to make Northwest Arkansas a more inclusive and equitable place for recreation and active transportation. One of the ways that we do this is by assessing barriers and access to the shared-use paved trail network in our region.
The NWA Paved Trail Inclusivity Survey is the tool we will use to measure their barrier. Please take time to take and share the survey.
The last day to complete the survey is December 31st.
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Advocacy Alert!
Arkansas Department of Transportation is designing a new shared-use paved trail from Fayetteville to Bentonville as part of the Highway 112 project.
We ask the community to submit feedback to ARDOT about a trail crossing on this busy high-speed commuter route. ARDOT has planned a crosswalk just 300 feet from a new bridge that will be built across Clear Creek near Blessings Golf Course.
We believe installing a trail underpass at the bridge would greatly improve safety for those walking/biking and reduce traffic delays compared to the planned crosswalk.
Please take the time to let ARDOT know that you support a trail underpass over the crosswalk for this trail project by submitting public comments. Click on the link below to comment on this much-needed infrastructure.
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Submit feedback to make Springdale more bike/walk friendly!
The City of Springdale wants your input as they look to shape the future of active transportation within the city.
The city is currently conducting an Active Transportation Study. They want to hear from people who live, work, or even play in the city. Please click here to be taken to an interactive map allowing you to make comments.
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NWA rode 460,813 miles during this year's National Bike Challenge!
Spanning the two months of May and September, this year’s National Bike Challenge had nearly 3,000 participants.
The core purpose of the National Bike Challenge is to encourage our community to ride bikes whether for health, transportation, or recreation.
This year more than 39,676 miles were people commuting which offset 25,517 lbs of CO2. We’ll see you in May 2023 for the return!
For more information about the National Bike Challenge, click the link below.
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Pass The Mic
Pass the Mic events were held this past year, bringing together over 350 people to discuss varied experiences in bike culture. In January, we invited community members and visitors for a conversation during the Cyclocross World Championships and presented by Experience Fayetteville. In October, in collaboration with their PeopleForBikes SHIFT’22 conference, we discussed the current state of bike culture in the US and its relationship to infrastructure. We look forward to partnering with Bike.POC to bring more Pass the Mic discussions in 2023!
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Critical Mass Summit
The 2022 Critical Mass Summit pulled together 55 attendees from around the region to discuss a more inclusive trail, cycling, and active transportation community.
On the second day, participants joined activities such as pottery with Fifth Street Studio, a connected community ride with Laneshift, and others with Yoga Story, Woken Soul Yoga, Day by Day Healing, 37 North, and CLIMB.
We wrapped up the summit with a Critical Mass Ride in Fayetteville for a 6-mile loop from Prairie Street Live through the Historic District, University of Arkansas Campus, and downtown.
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Adult First Ride
Adult First Ride changes lives! We use a balance-first method to teach adults how to ride a bike for the first time and then offer them their first bike. Take a glance at all we’ve accomplished in our first year of piloting this community class:
There are still 40+ adults on our waitlist who don’t yet know how to ride a bike. We aim to provide these classes at little or no cost to participants. Donate and support our efforts to bring more classes to the community in 2023!
For more information, click the link below
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Tatamagouche Gets A New Bridge
If you have been riding around Slaughter Pen recently, you might notice a few small changes. First up is the bridge on Tatamagouche. The original bridge was close to ten years old and was starting to rot away. The Trailblazers crew decided to make the new bridge adaptive-friendly while also keeping the original engagement intact.
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Lincoln Jr. High School NICA Awarded TAP Volunteer of the Year
Congratulations to the Lincoln JR High NICA team for being named TAP Volunteer of the Year.
The Trail Adoption Program (TAP) currently has 558 adopters who volunteered over 10,000 hours this past year. These volunteers have devoted hours of their own time to care for, maintain and, most importantly, be the eyes and ears to report any significant issue. They have taken pride in being an adopter and hearing others rave about the condition of their trails!
Please click on the link below for information on TAP and how you can be involved.
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The All-American Bridge
When the Trailblazers crew was asked to rebuild the bridge on the All-American trail in Slaughter Pen, we saw an opportunity for improvement—taking a small bridge and creating a multi-level wall ride that is also adaptive-friendly. Trailblazers is taking the motto ‘Movement For All’ to a new level. We believe that soft surface trails should be accessible for two wheels, 3 wheels, and 4 wheels.
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Mark Your Calendars! Upcoming Events
Weekly Rides and Runs
To see more rides, clinics, workshops, and volunteer opportunities click here!
*We are always looking for more events and rides/runs to be included in next month's newsletter. Please send us an email if you know of any that we are missing.
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