Say hello to the Edson Cycling Association’s grooming fleet. Those amazing flat and smooth trails you have all been riding and walking on are made possible by these two beasts. The Ski-doo Tundra is used to groom the wider tracks by way of pulling 200lbs of weight on the grooming attachment. It’s fast, comfortable and leaves a smooth wide track for walking and biking. Our newest addition is the SnowDog Sport 13. It does everything else and thrives on the twisty single track you find on Austin’s Dream and North Boundary trails. It’s a bit less refined as the Tundra, but is much better suited to the twistier due to its length. It’s not comfortable, it’s loud and does not have heated grips like the Tundra. This machine is operated with a toboggan or grooming attachment, the operator stand on the grooming plate and provides the mass that sets the track. Huge shoutout to #riderzedson for their donation of the Tundra and its attachment. Please check them out as they are having some amazing deals on FatBikes right now. The SnowDog was made possible by donations from many of our members as well as from 24/7 Compression. If you have been enjoying the trails for Fat Biking or walking please visit our website to make a donation, there machines do require regular maintenance and fuel. If you see our amazing volunteers out working on the trails please stop and have a chat. They are more than likely needing a break and would love to chat to you about why they are doing what they are doing. If you see trees down or other trail hazards please leave us a message and we will try to get out to remove/repair. As always stay safe, keep warm and keep those wheels turning. Winter is a great time to ride bikes and keep your mental health topped up.

Trails are in really good condition diction this morning. Solid and fast is the only way to describe them from our morning ride. The rain we had this past week did knock down some of the fluffy stuff but did settle into a nice firm base. Best time to ride would be in the morning after a cold evening. We need the freeze at night to keep the trails in the condition they are currently in. Please remember, if you are sinking more that 1”, lower your pressure on both tires and if you are walking please use the wide quad trail. This will help the grooming crew keep the trails smooth and fast.

With a larger fleet of grooming equipment this season, including a Snowdog that will groom single track trails. You can expect more of Willmore park to have flat firm snow this winter. While the ECA grooms mainly for the purpose of fat biking we recognize that all user groups can benefit from this. Please be mindful when using the groomed trails, if you are sinking more than 1 inch, consider using snowshoes or lowering your tire pressure. Enjoy!!!

Thank you to the @edson_rotary for their recent donation to the Edson Cycling Association.

Willmore Park got its first big groom at the season today. In total the groomers set up over 25km of trail. Austin’s Dream and North Boundary and the quad trail that goes between the two. Pine had one pass, will need time to set up. The trails in the campground are set wide and will also need time to set up. Some of the Spruce trails are set and will need some time to firm up. We also managed to get a Raspberry Stinger. This year we will be running a SkiDoo Snowmobile for the wide trails and our new Snow Dog Groomer for the single track. A huge thank you to #riderzedson for the Tundra, it makes a huge difference in covering ground and setting a nice wide track. The Edson Cycling Association purchased a #snowdogmachine to groom the single track this year. A big shout out to all those who made this dream become a reality. 24/7 Compression for their very generous donation as well as the club members who donated to make this possible. While we are excited to have a very capable fleet of grooming equipment, we ask users to be mindful of the the amount of work that goes into keeping the trails rideable and walkable. The 25kms of grooming today took one volunteer over 5 hours to complete. This is done as a service to all users and we ask that users respect the trail signage soon to be posted. Walking is by far the most damaging activity that occur on freshly groomed trails, please consider using snowshoes or using the quad trail if you are sinking more than 1” or 2.5 cm. Fat bikers please adjust your tire pressure to minimize sinking and increase floatation. As the temperatures warm and cool for the next week, please check what your chosen activity is and make adjustments to keep the groomed tracks in good condition. If you are appreciative of the groomed trails please consider visiting our website to make a donation. Every little bit helps in purchasing fuel, oil and maintenance repairs on the equipment. http://www.edsoncycling.com/donation Now get out there and enjoy the snow, stay safe and share your ride pictures with us.

This right here is a good thing! Who’s excited for the 2024/2025 Edson Cycling Association Fat Bike Season? The upcoming snow will provide an excellent base for our grooming program. If you are itching to get out and ride those fatties remember there may still be hidden obstacles under the snow, and along the trail edges. Keep your tire pressure low enough to avoid pinch flats and prevent rim damage. There might even be some groomed trails by the end of the weekend.

Grip or slip? The trails out at Willmore Park are prime right now. Fast and firm. Please be careful out there as there may be slippery sections under some leaves or into and out of corners. Until the snow falls and stays please keep your tire choice in mind. Fatter is better in this case. Keep safe out there, dress warm and don’t forget to hydrate. Winter Fat Bike season is fast approaching, it’s a great time to check over the fat bikes and make sure they are ready to ride this season. If you are “Fat Bike curious” , #riderzedson has some great promotions on right now.

Afternoon ride today. Meeting at the toboggan hill parking lot at 1:00pm. We are going to explore the east trails and pop down to the river. This will include descending Ridge Roller, and climbing the Sand Hill.

The Edson Bike Skills Park is now closed for the season.👋 Maintenance is currently taking place, after which the park features will be wrapped up to preserve them until spring. Please keep off skills park features during the seasonal closure. Trails remain open!

Group ride today. Meet up at Austin’s Dream trail head for 1:30 pm.

Here's to a summer of clear sight lines 😎. Thanks to all for the support. Our Trail maintenance volunteers sincerely appreciate all of your efforts.

Thank you to @weyerhaeuser for your generous donation to our trail development!

Group ride 1:30 pm Sunday October 6 at Willmore Park. Meet at the toboggan hill and be prepared for a ride down to the Mcleod River via Ridge Roller. Expected duration 2 hours.

The time has come to schedule the seasonal closure for the Edson Bike Skills Park. Please enjoy this upcoming week of forecasted weather getting your last laps in. Hoots Inc will be in the park completing our annual maintenance on the week of October 14th. After which crews will be tarping off all major features to preserve them in their most immaculate condition until spring thaw. All trails will remain open as per usual. We hope everyone has been enjoying some of our new trails. A meeting is scheduled for October 29th and we would still love your input on trail names for these fun new lines in our park. (Survey link in our Bio)

With the seasons changing rapidly and the evenings becoming shorter, it’s time to assess the group rides on Tuesday evenings. We have moved from rides at 7:00pm to 6:30 pm and that seems to have helped a bit, it’s still getting dark while we are on the trails. Any earlier than 6:00pm is a mad rush for most to get home from work, eat, load up the bikes and head out to the trails. Not leaving much time to get a daylight ride in. This is where we are looking for input from the membership as to how we should structure the rides and on what day of the week. Option 1: keep the ride on Tuesdays, with the start time being between 6:30pm and 7:00pm. This would mean we ride in the dark for most of the ride. Bike lights would be the best option for this ride as they provide good lighting for dusk. Option 2: move the group ride to a weekend afternoon, Sunday or Saturday say after 1:00pm. Please indicate what option would work best for you and those who you may ride with. Leave a comment below indicating option 1 or option2 FYI riding bikes at night is super fun and creates a completely different riding experience. A handlebar mounted light and a headlamp will allow the rider to see where they are going. Lights are available for purchase at riderz_ab

Trail night happening this Thursday. We are continuing the maintenance on Raspberry Stinger. Meet at the toboggan hill, we go from 6:30 until darkish. Tools provided, closed toe shoes are a good idea. See you there!

For Tuesdays group ride we are going to switch things up a bit. Meeting at 7:00pm at the toboggan hill, we will play around in the Edson Bike Skills Park. It will be a great time to work on skill development, try some new features you may not have been on yet and cheer on your fellow riders in some friendly competition. As we won’t be pedalling as much as we usually do, if you have elbow and knee pads you may want to bring them.(box and dirt jumpers are very welcome) To finish off the evening, bring a cold refreshment… see you all there.

Trail Night Progress -September 12 -- We made some great progress last night. New grade reversals and drainage were put in for the top section of Raspberry Stinger. These will help mitigate erosion and privide a bit more spice for trail users. These have a very similar profile to when the trail was opened in 2015.

Over 50 collective volunteer hours were put into clearing brush on ECA managed trails this season. If you are enjoying the cleared trails, the ECA is actively collecting donations towards purchasing a walk behind string trimmer. Purchasing this trimmer will drastically reduce man hours required to clear ECA managed trails and will hopefully allow us to trim more frequently. Good trimming allows for clear site lines as your ripping down our trails 🚴 or trying to walk beside a friend to chat 👫. Please go to our donation page on our website for information to donate by E-Transfer or purchase off the website through Pay Pal. https://www.edsoncycling.com/donation

Build night coming up this Thursday Sept 12. Meet at 6:30 at the Toboggan Hill. We plan to work on maintenance / drainage on Raspberry Stinger.