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Support Storm-Damaged Trails in Santa Cruz & Win An Ibis

Mar 14, 2023
by santacruztrails  
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Recent storms devastated beloved trails in Santa Cruz. Ibis Cycles and Santa Cruz Mountains Trails Stewardship have teamed up to provide relief and give away any bike from the Ibis lineup.

ENTER TO WIN

Santa Cruz County made headlines recently–and not in a good way. Following historic storms throughout January and even a dusting of snow in February, the mountain bike mecca was left battered and broken, with washed out roads, destroyed homes, and shuttered local forests and mountain bike trails. Some open spaces have since reopened, but Soquel Demonstration State Forest and its world-ranked Flow Trail remain closed to the public for the foreseeable future. Over 50,000 cyclists flock to Flow Trail’s beloved berms every year, and the local mountain bike community relies on SDSF for its trail magic. (Headline below by Katie Nielsen with CBS Bay Area on 2/22/23)

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Reopen a Trail. Win a Bike.

To expedite the reopening of Soquel Demonstration State Forest, longtime partners Ibis Cycles and Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewardship (SCMTS) have joined forces to give away any bike in the Ibis lineup to one lucky donor.

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The first $50,000 donated will be matched thanks to generous donors, and for every $75,000 the campaign raises, Ibis will also donate an Oso e-bike to the SCMTS Trail Crew.

Giveaway entries are just $5 each, and the giveaway closes on April 14. SCMTS members who enter the giveaway will automatically be entered to win a members-only bonus prize of one Ibis carbon wheelset of their choice. Special bonus prizes are also unlocked for donors who give over $50 to the campaign. Visit santacruztrails.org/win to learn more and enter to win the bike.

Their latest “Return to Flow” campaign is a nod to the pairing’s 2014 giveaway, called “Own the Flow”, that raised the funds to originally build and open the Flow Trail to the public. Now, almost exactly nine years later, the bike manufacturer and trail stewardship have come together to reopen and repair the exact same trail.

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“Flow Trail is our flagship trail for mountain bikers, and access to SDSF is essential to the health of our riding community” said Matt De Young, executive director of SCMTS. “With Flow about to turn nine and access to the forest restricted, now’s the perfect time for us to revisit 2014’s successful ‘Own the Flow’ campaign and give away another Ibis in the name of trail stewardship. We can’t wait to reunite locals and visitors with their favorite trails–hopefully just in time for Flow’s birthday on April 16.”

“This year’s bike giveaway hits close to home,” said Saris Mercanti, marketing manager of Ibis Cycles. “Our community was deeply affected by recent storms, and oftentimes, an escape to the redwoods keeps spirits high through the hard times. We need access to SDSF trails, and are proud to partner with SCMTS and give away any bike from our lineup so we can expedite trail reopenings.”

Nine Years of Flow

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Funds that roll in from the “Return to Flow” giveaway will fuel hundreds of hours of trail work by SCMTS’ professional Trail Crew and hundreds of volunteers. Heavy use left Flow Trail with braking bumps and worn-out berms, but recent storms have added an additional layer of damage with fallen trees, washed out drains, and damaged tread. SCMTS will post updates of its Flow Trail and SDSF trail work plans on its social channels–follow along here.

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Restoring the Beloved, Building the New

Funds from the “Return to Flow” giveaway will support the organization’s Timeless Trails campaign to both renew access to Soquel Demonstration State Forest and build the next generation of local mountain bike trails in Santa Cruz. In addition to its concerted effort to rebuild Flow and other SDSF trails, SCMTS is currently constructing nine miles of bike-friendly trail at Cotoni-Coast Dairies, a new unit of the California Coastal National Monument. With Ibis by its side, SCMTS is excited to keeps its landmark projects like Flow Trail in great shape and usher in the future of outdoor access in the Santa Cruz area.

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For more information: Click Here or email Katy Poniatowski at katy@santacruztrails.org

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63 Comments
  • 21 2
 I hope these storms breed a generation of young trail builders who can appreciate features that get water off trails. Steep is fine, features are fine, but we gotta get the water off a trail if it's gonna last more than a few seasons. Some trails in my area are done - probably bad beyond repair - because they're fall-line steeps that don't get the water off the trail.
  • 16 0
 This fundraiser is for an imba certified flow trail that suffered severe water damage. Sorry about your local trail conditions. Obviously I haven't seen them, but it's hard to imagine a trail beyond repair. Dirt is the original playdough.
  • 11 2
 But what about getting the water off the trail. Don’t forget tot get the water off of the trail.
  • 5 0
 I agree. My local fireroad climb, in SoCal, has a 3 feet x 2 feet rut down the middle. I have written the Los Angeles Parks & Recreation about repairing it, since it falls on their second largest park, but have never been answered. The ruts from this year's storms could eat baby sasquatch.
  • 5 1
 @AppleJack76: Some of the trails around LA are just gone....no amount of trail work will matter without heavy earth moving equipment. Triple overhead landslides and washouts you could drive a car down...no idea ho they'd even fill those in if they wanted to.
  • 1 0
 @Jimmy0: some of the stuff in Santa Cruz is truly beyond repair. Just this fall there were riding the best they have ever been riding, all of a sudden the ladders and everything else is gone and truly beyond repair. Truly a shame
  • 8 0
 Yes, for California this isn’t about getting water off trails, it’s about getting landslides off them. In my 30 years of riding here it’s the worst storm damage I’ve seen. Parts of mountains just let loose, pretty epic (in a bad way). I haven’t been to demo since the storms, but it can’t be pretty.
  • 2 1
 @Betacygni: exactly, the steepness of the trails are its own worst nightmare. Nothing we can do about it, nor anything we did before to stop. It would’ve helped except to have better trail systems in place with more legality.
  • 2 1
 It’s not just the young generation, it seems to be all ages not understanding this
  • 3 0
 @Alexthemtbr: I’m apart of this younger generation, I’m 18, and I’ve got a group of buddy’s ranging from 15 to 25 but there’s not enough. Thankfully I’ve gotten my dad and his buddies to give back but still not enough. Quite a shame people don’t know the art of building.
  • 1 2
 @Jimmy0: yup ca drought right around the corner since we dont capture h20.
  • 1 1
 @AppleJack76: same in laguna. You'd think the parks would have an email blast for volunteers with all this good trail working conditions but nope. Idiots
  • 1 1
 @IsaacO: If someone lent me a CAT D1, plenty of fuel, and some instruction, I could probably fix the fireroad in no time, for free, and make it somewhat rain resistant for the next decade. Who wouldn't want to drive a dozer!?!?
  • 2 0
 @jrocksdh: I'd give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they are waiting for the rain season to finish. Maybe they are understaff. But then again, city/gov't employees work differently with all the red tape and thumb twiddling.
  • 2 0
 @AppleJack76: rain season is the best trail maintenance season in so cal anyways. 1. You can see where drainage is needed 2. Dirts ezr to work with. 3. Trails usually closed when wet anyways.(although Laguna has a trail day few weeks ago and the fn trail was open still-idiots!!)
  • 2 0
 no drain would help tho for this winter
  • 1 1
 @nickmalysh: wrong...most needed winter for them in long time.
  • 1 1
 @Trentabartlett: featureslike ladders are DANGEROUS
  • 1 1
 @gonzo007: features like ladders save trails from creeks and flash floods…
  • 12 2
 Demo is great but its a 45 min drive from Santa Cruz minimum, so hard to justify going there more than a couple times per year. I wish Cal State Parks was as open as Cal Fire to building MTB specific steep trails.
  • 8 0
 I drive an hour and a half there and two back from Oakland about once a month during the regular season. Well worth a little extra driving for such nice long runs in my opinion.
  • 11 0
 There's few things worth dealing with Hwy 17 BS to be honest
  • 11 0
 @Chondog94: I have seen things on Highway 17 you wouldn't believe... .
  • 6 2
 Agree, not worth the jaunt. Its a climb both ways! The roads there are often washed out. Once youre there you have to descend a fire road to get to where the climb starts (dumb) and then once you finish flow trail you have to climb back to the car (dumb). Spend the money and effort on something closer, get the hwy 9 trails legalized.
  • 7 0
 @willybos: that would just see the hwy 9 trails sanitized
  • 10 0
 @willybos: just a tip, you can climb up the road around the backside and get some extra single track riding on the ridge trail instead of going down the fire road and up Sulfur Springs.

I agree it's not worth it if you ride the fire road down to Sulfur Springs and then just go up and back out. I also always try to squeeze at least a lap on flow and one on Braille.
  • 9 0
 Its a haul, but if you think about what it must be like to live somewhere with no decent rideable trails within an hour or two, or other states where they wait months to just have rideable dirt due to mud season suddenly 45 minutes and a little extra climbing for an amazing single track trail that's rideable year round really doesn't seem like that big of a deal. Agreed though...it's shocking there aren't more "legal" trails in SC given the size of the MTB scene.
  • 7 0
 I thought the trail head is in Aptos! Then you ride up to Sand Point overlook. That’s how we got to Demo when the summit road was blocked with a landslide.
  • 1 0
 fair, so go hit some insanely amazing trails on hwy 9 or in nisene marks
  • 1 3
 @rivercitycycles: I think demo actually is technically in Los Gatos. The highland way trailhead is at least
  • 3 0
 @norcalbike: Demo Forest connects to Nisene Marks in Aptos. If you're down for a solid pedal you can climb from basically sea level to the top of Demo.
  • 8 0
 @blamacken: Worst crashes I've ever seen in my life for sure. Santa Cruz sucks don't come here
  • 1 0
 As someone who is either 45 minutes from demo or 45 from a specific place it’s not even close to worth going to demo when there’s something better around.
  • 1 0
 @Trentabartlett: I’m 10 minutes from campus and still ride demo once every couple months.
  • 1 0
 @norcalbike: campus is great but so damn crowded these days. You do maintenance for 5 hours just to come back five days later and half you work is already gone.
  • 1 0
 @Trentabartlett: I know, it’s a shame
  • 2 0
 @Trentabartlett: how did the campus trails fare with all the storms?
  • 4 0
 Demo is awesome, but you definitely need to seshion Ridge Trail, or Braile a couple times to make the climb out worth it. I'm not a huge fan of Flow trail, but it would be so, so easy to make that trail a lot better with some easy-going table tops spread throughout.
  • 1 0
 ^Session lol
Only bike I've ever rode at Demo is my Down-Duro Glory. I built up a Reign right before the heavy rains started this year, and here we are 4 months later, I'm still waiting to get some enduro action at Demo.
  • 1 0
 @Tylerjacobsen229: haven’t been to campus since the big rains in November to ride or dig for that matter. Been digging and riding a different place and those trails are beat. Some of the best carved trails in the world but trees down and other obstacles have really hurt them. Spent 7 hours cutting a tree down and couldn’t even rebuild the trail. A true shame
  • 3 0
 @Tylerjacobsen229: to wet to ever ride again, spread the word. Wink
  • 23 13
 Ibis is going to donate e-bikes that cannot legally be ridden on the very trails that they're trying to re-open...Nice
  • 25 2
 " for every $75,000 the campaign raises, Ibis will also donate an Oso e-bike to the SCMTS Trail Crew."

My god, they want to equip the local trail building crew with ebikes? That's so evil.

/sarcasm>
  • 1 3
 Actually in California all an ebiker needs to say is ulthey have a 'doctor's med guidance' and per hippa that shuts down any further discussion. There's already been cases.
  • 3 0
 @jrocksdh: that's a pretty shitty thing to do
  • 10 0
 Might need to raise that target amount after this weeks storms.
  • 5 0
 We got some serious wind today, they might need to hire a logging crew at this point.
  • 2 0
 @shapethings: Power was out in the east bay for about 5 hours. Trees down in main intersections. I'm sure the trails are trashed, again.
  • 1 1
 @shapethings: Might as well just pave the thing now.
  • 12 2
 all of CA is digging out after all these storms. I know I am
  • 9 5
 the Kooks are actually out ruining the loamers on their e-bikes instead
  • 11 0
 @norcalbike: I hope the mud destroys all the their bearings.
  • 2 1
 @AppleJack76: actually LOL'd on that one
  • 6 0
 I wish they would charge to ride Demo like they do for Tamarancho. $5/visit or $50/year would fund a lot of trail work based on the numbers of people that ride there.I donate every year and give money just about any time they ask. Based on the wealth I see on the trails we should be more than enough money for new trails and lobbying for more access.
  • 10 2
 That flow trail is about the only legal Mt bike trail in Santa Cruz.
  • 13 0
 Braille, Sawpit
  • 7 0
 I have heard of wilder tales than that in Santa Cruz…
  • 3 0
 They need to work on braille Flow gets all the love and the berms get Blown out FAST!
  • 1 0
 They did work on braille back in the fall. Not sure what though.
  • 6 1
 Let the Ibis do the job
  • 1 0
 After the wind today they need to double down
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