State Of The Dirt: Fall 2020
A lot has happened since our last communication. We may call ourselves FAST, though that's not always the literal case. We wanted to take this opportunity to emphasize our desire to be a force for good in Sioux Falls. An organization that welcomes all of our neighbors regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, or religion. The current push for social justice in the US requires us to recognize that we all have an urgent role to play in building a more just and equitable society. Even if we are just a small trail building organization. Everyone reading this knows how much enjoyment, and life affirming experiences, quality trails and their communities can provide. For FAST to be successful, we must do better in engaging non-traditional trail user communities.
To that end, FAST is dedicating a board position to community engagement and advocacy. Working towards this end will be more challenging than normal during the Covid-19 pandemic, but its imperative we get get started now.
Board Members
Adam Weishedel
Brad Blomberg
Bob Solomon
Adam Weischedel, Brad Blomberg, and Bob Solomon have dedicated countless hours, sweat, and resources over the last decade towards building FAST and the trails we enjoy today. Buy them a beer or two the next time you see them. Over the course of this fall they will be taking a step back, while we welcome our new board members Tuesday VanderWeide, Jim Massa, and Thad Barnes.
Tuesday VanderWeide
Thad Barnes
Jim Massa
TRAIL PLANS
As many of you have seen, we've signed a usage agreement for Dunham/Legacy Parks on the west side of Sioux Falls. Planning and building work is underway, and we plan to continue using the Grillo we purchased last year to continue building trail as time and conditions allow.
Leaders Park - You'll hopefully notice two new features on the expert loop including a bridge, and a skinny/dock-drop. A re-route around one of the steeper washed out climbs was also cut in. We have eyes on several other new lines, features and extensions. More to come.
Tuthill Park - RonPaul, Trevor Rockwell, Griffin Metz, along with several others spent the better part of May and early June carving out new expert lines. A new lower line is also in planning.
Work continues with the City towards the installation of permanent bridges and kiosks that will be re-imbursed by the RTP grant.
Yankton Trail - Ben Blomberg and Jim Massa have put in the hours this year to keep the east and westbound routes open, and its all rideable!
TRAIL WORK
Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we're planning to hold off on group trail work sessions for the time being.
25 BY 2025
FAST is committed to reaching our goal of 25 miles of singletrack in Sioux Falls by 2025. FAST recently met with Sioux Falls Parks & Recreation leadership to renew the usage agreement for Leaders Park, review new properties for trail projects, continue discussions about Great Bear and exchange information about current efforts. Look for more information in the coming year as to how we'll reach the 25 by 2025 goal.
All board member photos copyright @jennaheckelphotography