News/Events

SATURDAY 18 JAN, 8 AM - 12 PM - Harwood's trails are closed for the annual foot race supported by Newport News Parks.

Friday 4:00 PM is ON, Saturday is cancelled.  Explanation below.

• Friday: meet at 4:00 PM along the park road at access C1 (near park entrance) to help unload 2 tons of turfstones.  We have 5 people confirmed and could use only a few more.  Bring work gloves.
• Saturday - CANCELLED: The plan was to meet at 10:00 AM and haul a 4-ton trailer load of purchased dirt to use along with the turfstones to rebuild a berm on trail C.  But our dirt supplier (JSG, next to Freedom Park) is not loading dirt now because their dirt source is still covered in snow.  So we considered some smaller projects using pushpiles of dirt at Freedom Park, but one of our project leaders was on site and said that the ground is frozen and digging will be no good.
• So we’ll look for the earliest chance to reschedule, which will probably be at least a few weeks out.  Sorry!

With trail work originally scheduled for Sat, Jan 18 cancelled (sorry!), let's try something new for a group ride: Beaverdam Park in Gloucester, 8687 Roaring Springs Rd.  Meet before 10:30 in the parking lot so we can roll by 10:30.  

We hear that there's some singletrack that was put in within the last few years.  If anybody knows these trails well, come guide us!  If you haven't ridden there, come try something new.

Tonights ride at Freedom is a go.  6 PM. 

UPDATE - Tuesday's night ride at Harwood's, Wednesday retirees ride, and Wednesday's night ride at New Quarter are all canceled. The Thursday night ride at Freedom is waiting on word from the park. Stay tuned.

The Tuesday night ride at Harwood's and the Wednesday retirees ride are canceled. Trails will take awhile to dry out.

Night Rides begin Tues, Nov 5th. Important info:

• Tuesdays at Harwoods Mill; Wednesdays at New Quarter; Thursdays at Freedom Park.  First rides are Nov 5/6/7, 2024. 
• At NQ Park, meet in the first small lot outside the gates.
• All rides require sign-in, so please arrive by 5:45 PM to sign in and get geared up to ride at 6:00 PM.
• All rides start at 6:00 PM; we must be off the trails by 7:45 PM; we must be out of the parks by 8:00 PM.
• All rides are weather dependent.  If the weather looks at all questionable, or we’ve had rain recently, check your e-mail and/or EVMA.org by 5:00 PM (or sooner) to check ride status.
• 2 lights required: one each for your helmet and bars.
• These are GROUP RIDES.  The parks/trails are not open for anybody to just ride around by themselves.  You must be there for the 6:00 PM start with the group.
• If you have any questions or ARE WILLING TO BE A RIDE LEADER, contact us at evmamembership@gmail.com.  We need some backups for when the regular ride leaders can’t be there.

Want to get push notifications when trails are closed due to weather/wet conditions?  James City County just added Freedom Park to their Rainout Line.  Sign up at the Rainout Line Website https://rainoutline.com/subscribe/notify/7572392002/0 and use the tabs to choose app, text, or e-mail alerts.  You can sign up to get alerts only for Freedom Park Trails A-E, or any JCC facilities that face weather closures.  (*This is ONLY for Freedom Park bike trail closures, but if Freedom trails are closed, we should probably avoid nearby trails like New Quarter, YRSP, Wahrani, Harwoods Mill.)  You can also still call 757-259-4022 x1, or visit here: https://jamescitycountyva.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Freedom-Park-7.

We get lots of new EVMA members but many miss the annual renewal e-mails (spam folder, too many e-mails, etc.) and their membership lapses.  Download the "Wild Apricot for Members" app from the Apple App Store or Google Play to get renewal reminders on your phone and never miss a renewal again!  It's free and you can renew and pay right from your phone.

1. May 1-4, 2025, Douthat State Park & Carvin's Cove.  We've been going to the natural, rocky trails at Douthat for decades and within the last several years added the day trip to CC for some purpose-built bike trails.
2. TENTATIVE, but probably Sept 11-14, 2025, Allegrippis Trails at Rays Town Lake, PA.  Fun, flowy, mountain trails with enough elevation for fun, but not too much to wear you out.  This is a great intro to mountain riding.  We plan to work in a stop at Cacapon State Park in WV on the way there and/or back to try it out.
   
3. Oct 15-19, 2025, Brevard, NC to ride Dupont & Pisgah.  An East Coast destination!  A group of us have a rental house near Brevard. Find your own lodging and meet us to ride.