The folks up in Henry and Franklin Counties have a great piece of Army Corps of Engineers property to work with along the Northeast corner of Philpott Lake.  It’s an area loaded with history known as Jamison's Mill.  This location is being re-vitalized by a synergy of users that includes bikers and hikers and is sure to be a great destination for us all in years to come.

A visit by IMBA’s “Trail Solutions” group provided a terrific boost, bringing folks together and getting them excited about building NEW trail.  Just like in SVMBA’s early days, they have their work cut out for them and given enough time, they’ll build a great trail system for sure.

It’s important to know, that many thanks go out to each and every SVMBA member.  YOUR dues and contributions gave us an opportunity to offer full use of our tool trailer and equipment this past October.  SVMBA’s commitment to the region couldn't be more obvious.  It was great to pull up on site with enough job-specific tools that a group of over 30 volunteers had at least one tool to take into the woods for trailwork.  SVMBA is a great example of what clubs can achieve when they put forth their best efforts.  The tool trailer represented our members and sponsors well.

Also thanks to the SVMBA members who sacrificed a beautiful weekend October 10th and 11th to show support.  Berndie Lunsford, Alan Agee, Jim Frith, Steve Luke, Scott Buckner, and Chris Tompkins each attended and appreciated the opportunity to learn from a great trailbuilder, namely Rich Edwards of IMBA Trail Solutions.  For those who don’t know Rich, his experience with trailbuilding makes him one of the most skilled and knowledgeable trailbuilders in the country . . . and we got to spend a weekend with him ! ! !

Berndie Lunsford and Chris Tompkins were invited to attend a follow-up two-day session the following weekend working in focused groups with Rich using walk-behind graders to cut trail using the latest mechanized methods.  This was a special opportunity to work with a knowledgeable machine operator learning how to make full use of the machine to operate it effectively and build quickly.  We’ll be bringing this knowledge back to Danville, and fortunately, SVMBA sponsor “Frith Construction” has purchased a Ditch Witch SK500 that has been graciously offered to SVMBA to continue building new trail here in Danville.  Ultimately, the machine will rotate between Danville and the Henry County area.  Frith's machine will also work in tandem with the Army Corps of Engineers Ditch Witch machine to build trail at an even faster rate in and around the Jamison Mill area.

 Here’s a quote by Jim Frith that pretty much sums it up . . .

 "You know this whole thing would not have happened without the spark set off by the brand new Friends of Philpott group who had approached the Army Corps of Engineers to save Jamison Mill from closing.  They made the public comment that it was a dream of theirs to wrap multiuse and sport specific trails around Philpott.  Franklin County dove right in to get a section started and Henry County Bicycle Club suggested getting IMBA involved, helping us all learn how to build great trails the right way to be fun to use, last indefinitely, and to not impact the environment.  Naturally, since IMBA is known world wide, all the additional groups wanted to participate and receive training too.  The Southern Virginia Mountain Bike Association out of Danville who has built nearly 20 miles of trails had worked with IMBA before and was very interested in the training using the walk behind mini bulldozer to work together at Philpott and also in their home area along the Dan River near Dan Daniel Park.  The Franklin Freewheelers also led the charge to make it happen.  Both Henry County and Franklin County Recreation Departments stepped up to pay for funding and when more folks and groups wanted to participate, the Activate Martinsville and Henry County initiative of the Harvest Foundation graciously filled in the shortfall to complete the financing for the four days of training.  The idea of three bicycle clubs across three counties, a federal agency, a citizens group, several  municipalities, along with an international consulting and advocacy group all working together for the local public good is an exciting thing.  This along with next weekend's training will fortify all the trained individuals to not only work together at Jamison's Mill but to return to their communities and energize volunteers to build trails there too." 

Overlook above Philpott Dam

The U.S. ARMY Corps of Engineers and local groups hope to build expansive trail system.

IMBA TrailSolutions

IMBA TrailSolutions gets the effort underway with 2 great weekends of trailbuilding know-how.

DitchWitch in action