Woolly Elections - The Ballot

Hey Woollyland, it is nearly election time.  The fun kind, the Woolly kind.

First a super quick note.  I jumped the gun on the new webpage.  It is ready and waiting... for the internet.  It'll be live hopefully in the next week or so.  Until then, we are living in blogger land.

OK, on to the ballot.

We have asked for some short bio/stump speeches from the candidates as well as "representative photos".  This post will be updated as additional information becomes available.

Chair

Ben Mullin

I’ve been mountain biking for about 5 years now. A runner and xc skier in HS, I started into biking the first summer after CyclovaXC opened and they told me I needed a bike. First it was a road bike, then I got out my late 90’s fully rigid 26’er and was “that guy” at the group rides. You know, the one who always left bleeding. Thankfully I’ve come a ways since then and now enjoy actually improving my technical riding skills along with beating myself up with either hard rides or really long rides and only occasionally crashing.

I have been serving as the VC for the last year. I have enjoyed working with the other board members and sharing our passion for mountain biking and the Woolly trails. I am running for chair to fill the vacancy left by long time member Matt. It is my interest to see the number of active members grow and the Woolly Trail system grow into a mountain bike destination.

Vice Chair

Joe Jerosak

Bio Pending

Note: The Vice Chair position is normally not up for election in this round.  It is available as the position is currently held by Ben Mullin who is running for Chair.

Treasurer

Steve Hamlin

I was first introduced to the Woolly Bike Club trails back in 2013 when I was getting back into riding again. I have ridden a lot of different trail systems and find there to be something special about the Woolly Bike Club Trails and the community of people around them.

I see a lot of opportunity in St. Croix Falls for outdoor adventure sports with the Woolly Bike Club trail system being a major pillar to the community and opportunity. There appears to be potential for more trail growth, along with bringing even more awareness of the trails to both the local and neighboring communities. I also believe that St. Croix Falls has a large potential for being a well known outdoor adventure destination area with Mountain Biking being one of the reasons for the destination, with additional growth of the club and trails system.

As Treasurer of the Woolly Bike Club, I can work with the other members of the club and the community to bring awareness to the club and grow the trail system, while managing a solid financial plan to support the growth through new memberships and community support.

Thanks for your support!

Board Member at Large (3 seats available)

Doran O'Brien

By serving on the Woolly board, I hope to create an all inclusive environment for outdoor enthusiasts in our communities by building, maintaining, and promoting the trail system. I also recognize a growing presence of bikers in the Scandia/Marine area that could benefit from using the Woolly and become supporters as well. Thank you for your consideration.

Sláinte! Doran

Tyler Engberg

I was hooked on mountain biking ever since my first ride at Lebanon Hills 10+ years ago. For 6 of those years I have been riding the Woolly Bike Club Trails. During that time I have thoroughly enjoyed introducing these unique trails to friends and family as well as riding it with people that already know how awesome they are! Being they are the closest trails to where I live and the one I ride most frequently, I have always wanted to take a more active role in the club. I believe my experience riding other trails, my enjoyment of introducing others to cycling, being a certified mountain bike coach and my passion for mountain biking make me a good candidate for a Woolly Board Member at Large. Thank you for considering me for this role.

Greg Gentle

Thank you for considering my interest in joining the Woolly Bike Club board. I've wanted to take a more active role with the Woolly Bike Club for years. Job, life and other responsibilities has made that difficult until now. I believe my experience in non-profit management, community building, service focused mindset, and passion for cycling is a good fit for the Woolly Board. Thank you for considering me for membership.

Mark Fisk

I would like to run for Member at large. If local folks wanted the spot I’m all for new local people getting an opportunity to serve the community.

Things I would like to explore:

• Bi-weekly summer program for kids/high schoolers on the Woolly trails.
• Explore additional lands for expansion of Woolly trails.
• Review current mission statement, 5 year and 10 year plans.
• Trail assessment by outside trail building organization.
• Gateways and gates entering Woolly trail segments - gates can be closed during hard trail closures.
• Develop volunteer incentive program where volunteers(including board members) earn Woolly gear for their volunteer hours.

Election Procedure Reminder

The first and best way to vote will be in person at the Woolly Annual meeting which is Thursday November 9th at Cyclova XC at 7pm.

An alternate method is to send an email to the Election Chair at woollybikeclub@gmail.com

Finally, you may mail a written ballot to the Woolly PO Box (PO Box 1114, St. Croix Falls, WI 54024) to be received no later than November 9th.

For full election procedure details refer back to this post with the approved procedures.

New Woolly Website!

Over the next day or so, heading over to www.woollybikeclub.com is going to find you at a new internet home for the Woolly.  With any luck you will still find everything you used before and in the coming weeks and months hopefully some cool new features as well.

One important note, if you have bookmarked woollybikeclub.blogspot.com, that will still exist so be sure to update your links to the link above to stay up to date.

If you find anything wrong, be sure to let us know.  There is a form on the Contact Us page to get in touch.

A Few Woolly Reminders

Store Closing Sunday

First, a reminder that the Woolly Storefront closes this Sunday!  If you want some awesome Woolly clothing from Podiumwear, the time is running out.

Head over here:  Podiumwear Store Front

The password is Woolly2017 if you need it.

Woolly Board Meeting Thursday

Before the store closes though, the Woolly board is meeting this Thursday, 7pm, at the St. Croix Falls library.  These meetings are always open to members and interested parties.  This is where the board discusses the greater Woolly vision and makes sure that all the cool stuff keeps happening.  The more the merrier.

Woolly Day Recap

I'll get something out in the next few days to do a full recap, but in short it was a great day!  To anyone who came out  and made it what it was, thank you!

Woolly Day Is A Go!

The weather is beautiful and with some trail work yesterday and a few more hours to dry out the trails should be ready for a good time this afternoon.

The trails will open at noon today.

A rough schedule:

1:00 - Folks will be gathering

1:30 - Group rides will head out

• Full Loop including West Ridge
• A loop with everything but West Ridge (we call this the fat bike loop because that is what gets groomed for fat biking)
• Ladies only group
• Kids ride

2:00 - CyclovaXC will be up with a couple of Farley fat bikes to demo for the afternoon

3:00 - The grilling gets started

3:00 - Kids games at the trailhead

• Skinny riding
• Bike slacklining
• Slow races

Trap Rock Brewing, Woolly's new neighbor to the east will be on hand during the afternoon for adult samples.

A last note that the trailhead parking lot will be closed so we can gather and move about a little better.  There is plenty of parking along the street for everyone.

Christmas, Halloween, Valentine's Day and...WOOLLY DAY!!!

OK, so maybe WOOLLY DAY hasn't achieved national holiday status yet, but it is a big deal in Woollyland.  What started several years ago as a group ride on an unseasonably warm fall Sunday has grown into one of the busiest day of the year on the Woolly trails.  Races are fun, but hanging out with close friends, and previously un-met friends alike, with some casual riding, food, a camp fire and possibly an adult beverage or two being consumed really makes a great fall Sunday afternoon.

This Sunday, October 8 (unless the trails are too wet, then it will be October 15), we will gather at the Woolly Trailhead around 1pm.  We will have several group rides heading out starting around 1:30.  We will have a full lap (including West Ridge), a upper lap, a ladies only group and a kids group.  All groups will be casual, no-drop rides with focus on enjoying the ride.  All ages and abilities are welcome and encouraged to join us.  Last year our biggest group was the kid's lap with many parents joining the young'uns for this one.

After the ride, we will fire up the grill.  The Woolly Bike Club provides hot dogs and brats, lemonade and water, plus (everyone's favorite) the Woolly Day cake.  People are encouraged to berng something to share, but don't feel like it is required because there is always plenty to go around.  Rumors are this year, soon to be open local brew house, Trap Rock Brewing Company, will have some samples of their different brews for adults to check out.

Due to the high number of younger MTBers last year, we are adding some fun activities around the trailhead to keep them busy.  We will have a mini-skills course, some "slow races" and other challenges led by the Chisago Lakes MTB team, a Halloween themed scavenger hunt, and chainsaw juggling...I guess the chainsaw juggling isn't allowed by state, federal and common sense regulations, but everything else will be fun for the whole family.

No cost, no sign-up, just show up and plan for a laid back good times for everyone!!

Basic Schedule on Sunday October 8:

1:00 PM          Arrive  (Trailhead Parking Lot will be closed for the day, so plan to park on the surrounding roads.)

1:30 PM          First Group Ride heads out around with all groups starting shortly after

3:00 PM          Grill gets fired up and the eating and hanging out starts with kids activities around the trailhead.

Much Later     Take your bike and go home

Please plan to bring your family, friends and maybe even people you don't like that much and join us for

Woolly Day 2017!!