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TVG Trailer Funding Drive

We have been talking about this for some time…the need for a trailer.

We have just finished an amazing Fat Bike season which kept the groomer crew busy. We had to rent a trailer to transport the groomer to the Forest which cost us $1600. Luckily we received enough support through donations over the winter to cover that cost plus fuel and groomer repairs.

This spring we have been out to replace a trail that was getting very eroded and unsafe (sandy downhill switchbacks).  We have spent three days with a great group of TVGers (also Friends of the Dufferin County Forest) completing this reroute. This meant that we had to move a substantial amount of equipment to the Forest on three different occasions…in my car and meant requiring us to load and unload three times. Transporting equipment in our vehicles has been the routine in the past during all the trail builds and clean ups after logging. If you would like to see what’s ahead for us keep an eye out for the trees beside the trail with orange or yellow markings. Those trees and areas are going to be harvested in the near future which means we will be required to haul equipment again.

To avoid the annual $1600 trailer rental and to make trail maintenance more efficient we are hoping to purchase a trailer this year.

The one we would like to purchase is an all aluminum, 6×10 trailer. This is the perfect size for our trail maintenance equipment and the groomer. Aluminum is light weight and durable. Set up with cabinets, hooks, storage organizers, the total cost is $7800.

As we are not funded by any other sources this is up to us. We do have an application submitted with Central Counties Tourism. If approved they will fund up to 40% of the project. We will not hear back until May and our need is immediate (as trailer has a ordering lead time) so we thought we would start fundraising now.

I cannot say enough about the generosity we have seen from users over the years. It has allowed us to purchase equipment, keep it serviced and fuelled, pay our insurance and feed volunteers on trail build days. This has allowed us to keep trails well maintained and continue to add improvements and make things better for everyone (in three years we have gone from grooming 10km’s of Fat Bike trails to 35km’s).

For this one-time large purchase we are turning to our community and asking for their assistance. If you wish to help out we are open to any amount. Everything contributed through this funding drive will go directly towards the trailer. If you wish to help, simply hit the “DONATE” tab up to the right.

This will take you to our Paypal account. Please include your name and that it’s for the trailer in the comment area.

Thank you for considering supporting our Trailer Funding Drive & enjoy the trails.

Some FYI info from Dufferin County

Hi everyone. He is some interesting information about the on-goings in the County. Please take a minute and  have a read and I encourage anyone to get involved. This is important to have your voice heard.

From the County…..

• The new Join inDufferin Tourism page has officially launched, sharing resources and upcoming opportunities for the community to become involved in local tourism development. Click here to visit.
• The County is hosting a public information session on April 20 at 7 p.m. Those interested in learning more about the vision and plan for Dufferin’s tourism development can register here to participate in the event.
• Residents and business owners are now invited to apply to join the Tourism Advisory Group. More information is available here, and application forms are available here. The deadline for submission is April 30, 2021

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So, at the very least let’s all sign up for the public information session on April 20th.

https://dufferincounty-ca.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtcu2rpzkiEtVm6T0Xh1d8Enb2L1z4HokX

The County Forests and Trails were noted in the Tourism Strategy and Action Plan as being a significant Tourism asset in DC and this is the place to show our support, add discussion to what we would like to see as a user group and introduce ourselves to our new, first ever Tourism Manager Terrilyn! This is really exciting and important so please sign up. The only way of moving forward to is participate. See you at the meeting…I’ve already signed up.

End of week one Funding update

Well it’s been a week since we started this and I’m really excited about where we are at. Lots of people jumped on board really early and pushed this within reach quite quickly. I expected it to take the month to get where we are already. As we don’t hear back from Central Counties Tourism until mid-May, I will be leaving this open for awhile. As things naturally slow up a bit, I may start posting updates every few days vs daily.

Today Mike, Francois, Kathy and Jeffery moved us even closer…thanks so much…you are awesome!

Day 3 update…sorry this didn’t post up the other day…plus trail update

Another great day…Ryan, Chris W, Doug N, Brent, Chris S, Derek, Jennifer & Jamie, Monica, Doug G, Grace, Stephanie & Andy all pitched in and added another $760 to our total of approx. $2400.00.

We are getting there….thanks!

Update…Don has been a leaf clearing machine! Now all the “passable” trails in Simcoe are cleared and leaf blown. There is the section that the loggers decimated that is still not clear but that’s a different day. We have opted not to leaf blow the entire DCF network this year like we did last year. The leaf coverage is minimal (gypsy moths ate it all) and leaving what is there will benefit the trails by getting ground into the sand and help stabilize the trails. Yup, sticks but that can be taken care of by picking a few up on a ride.

Weekend Funding…

Please see the previous post for Day 3.

What a great Saturday on the trails. This rain will help things as it was almost getting too dry. It will really help pack in the re-route as it’s seen no rain since we finished it. Looks like lots of people testing. it out.

Over the weekend Ed & Kathy, Craig, Paul (from Africa!!), Dina, Jamie, Carol, Darryl, Keith and Chris added in another $800 towards our goal. Thanks!

It’s been really great to see a nice combination of long standing TVGers as well as new users believe in this cause and all help out. I constantly meet new people out there that are new to the trails and it’s also been great to see so many young riders out. Awesome.

Oops…forgot to post this! Day 3 on the trailer funding…plus trail update

Another great day…Ryan, Chris W, Doug N, Brent, Chris S, Derek, Jennifer & Jamie, Monica, Doug G, Grace, Stephanie & Andy all pitched in and added another $760 to our total of approx. $2400.00.

We are getting there….thanks!

Update…Don has been a leaf clearing machine! Now all the “passable” trails in Simcoe are cleared and leaf blown. There is the section that the loggers decimated that is still not clear but that’s a different day. We have opted not to leaf blow the entire DCF network this year like we did last year. The leaf coverage is minimal (gypsy moths ate it all) and leaving what is there will benefit the trails by getting ground into the sand and help stabilize the trails. Yup, sticks but that can be taken care of by picking a few up on a ride.

Day 4 trailer update…so awesome!

Tom & Kim, Joe, James, Chad, Michael W, Roy and Nick were our supporters today adding in another $875!

This is all happing at a rate beyond my expectations as we have until the end of April to close out. 49 users and supporters have all pitched in to get us to this point. It’s really great to see this kind of support from the MTB community.

Thanks so far to everyone…this means the world to us.

Simcoe FYI…Prescribed Burn

Please see below. 🙂

From Simcoe County…

“Just wanted to give you a heads up that we have received word from our burn boss that we will be carrying out our prescribed burn in the tosorontio tract tomorrow. There will signs posted and entrances to the areas and will have a number of staff on site ensuring users do no enter the area.”

Please respect the restrictions for tomorrow.

J

Trailer update Day 2

Jenny, Chrissy, Rupert, Scott (Michael), Liz, Leigh, Sarah, Paul, Scott, Mike, Vince, Ello, Lisa, Lori, Ryan, Christopher all helped out today to add another $1220 to the funding to put us at $2070. This is such a great amount for just 2 days. Thanks everyone and we’ll see what tomorrow brings…we are getting there.

Day 1 Trailer Funding Drive Tally

What a great start. Thank you so much to Dave, Mike, Brian, Lynn, Wayne, Mark, Paul, Wendy, Don, Robin & Justin for helping us out and giving us a great jump start…$850 on our first day! You guys & gals are awesome!

Trail Report Sunday March 28th

Trail Report March 26th

We received 2-3 inches of rain last night/this morning. Still squishy trails…Fat bikes should be not bad…skinnies?? One more week please. There are already skinny ruts out there for us to rake out and pack from last weekend. Ken and Steve’s is clear for Fat bikes as well.

Next weekend should be awesome!

Sat Trail Report March 20th

I got out for a hike yesterday. Still lots of snow on the trails and in the forest. Trails are ice, soft ice, snow, soft snow and muddy spots.

So ride cautiously as the 1/2″ depression still applies (it actually applies all the time…year round).

So it definitely not time for skinnies yet. We will still need a couple more weeks for that. Trust me, I’m itching to get on my skinny. I’ll let everyone know when that awesome day is! Please don’t be a nimby…

Grooming, drivetrain, Crew & Community

Hi everyone.

The new drivetrain for the groomer has arrived…just in time for next season!!

It was awesome that the Snowdog demanded a rest and broke down 1/2 km from the end of it’s final grooming session of the year but still managed to limp back home.

We have decided that regardless of any new snowfall we will not be grooming any more this year. There is still a lot of snow in the Forest, ice and soft snow on the trails but the trails are coming along. So at this point we are going to wait for Spring to keep Springing.

A huge thanks goes out to our amazing groomer crew…Doug, John, Brian, Chris, Roy and Tyler2. Boy did they all work hard! At times we were logging over 100km’s a week on the groomer and I think it’s safe to say we had our best Fat Bike season ever. What a team. You guys are uber-awesome.

An additional thank you must go out to everyone that supported us through donations this winter. Lots of tanks of fuel, a new drivetrain, trailer rental…the expenses were real but I can’t say enough about the support our Community showed and that got us through. Lots of “rebuilding” and service on the groomer to do to get it set for next year.

You folks are all awesome and we couldn’t do this without your help! See you out there soon on dirt trails!

(still a few weeks to go ).

Trail Update March 11th