Volunteers needed for TAMBA Trail Day

Mountain bikers will ditch the wheels and roll up their sleeves to finish a new Tahoe City trail this weekend.

Tahoe Area Mountain Biking Association, or TAMBA, is looking for trail building volunteers from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday in Tahoe City. Volunteers will help the U.S. Forest Service finish a new connector that will link Road 16N49 to the Tahoe Rim Trail near Cedar Flat.

Construction began on the connector several years ago when the Forest Service hired conservation crews to build most of the trail. When the crew got to the most difficult rock section in the middle, however, the money ran out. Last year, TAMBA organized a trail day to punch through the rock section, but ran out of time to finish the last couple switchbacks. Finishing those switchbacks is Saturday’s goal.

Volunteers will meet at 9 a.m., Saturday, at the Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area at 925 Country Club Dr. in Tahoe City. They should bring bikes, helmets, long pants, long sleeves, gloves and water. Expect a 2-mile ride from the cross-country center up to the work site. The Burrito Window will provide lunch. Volunteers should RSVP on TAMBA’s website or the Facebook event page.

About 25 mountain bikers volunteered last year, and TAMBA is hoping for a similar turnout this year. Olympic Bike Shop and Gravity Shop are already on board.

TAMBA is the largest mountain bike organization in the Tahoe region and focuses its efforts on volunteer trail work, cooperation with land managers, and education of trail users. They organized more than 2,000 hours of volunteer trail work last year and are on track to double that figure this year. For more information on the trail day or to become a TAMBA member, visit www.tamba.org.