Years ago, I remember being introduced to the term “BHAG” while reading some of Jim Collins’ business books. BHAG stands for Big Hairy Audacious Goal. The idea behind it is to set challenging goals since they will push us farther than we could do if we didn’t have them. We might swap out that phrase today and say something like, “Go big or go home.” The question we wrestle with is, do we have a BHAG? Or, more aptly put in the context of Trail Builder Magazine, do you have a trail-building BHAG? What about building a 5,000-mile mountain bike trail?

My favorite podcast (by far) is the Trail EAffect podcast, hosted by Josh Blum. During the week, I hit up the local bike park in Portland for lunch laps. It’s a 20-minute pedal from home. What do I do? I listen to a Trail EAffect episode each time (I have a lot of earlier episodes I’m catching up on). If you haven’t listened yet, hold on because you’re going to want to start. Why? It’s all about trail building. Yep, that’s it. I couldn’t be more excited to feature Josh as we do a little Q&A for you to learn more about the voice behind the podcast

Wyoming Pathways is a statewide nonprofit in Wyoming that aims to improve active transportation and recreational trail opportunities. They have worked for eleven years to help make communities more bikeable and walkable, and building trails on public lands has been a big part of this work.

In their line of work are three “must-haves” for getting trails built on public lands in Wyoming: funds, a qualified builder, and land manager cooperation. Having funds and a qualified builder is something that you either have or don’t, but building or mending a relationship with a land manager takes nurturing, understanding, and time.

I’m excited to share an interview with Mario Bescós of TRACKS BikeParks in Spain. While there are similarities with the challenges of trail building worldwide, each place is also unique with its history, culture, and regulations. I trust you’ll find this interview encouraging and inspiring. Let’s do this!

It’s been two weeks since we released our first print issue. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and I worked hard to temper my enthusiasm and expectations. Many of you know any time you start something from scratch, it takes a while to get going. It’s been a year and a half building toward this day since I published the website and created our social media accounts back in February 2022. I was always aiming for this day with eager anticipation, and I couldn’t be more blown away (we’re already almost sold out of Issue 1). In the midst of working on Issue 2 and growing our online content, I wanted to take this moment to pause and catch you up on some exciting things here.

As snow continues to melt higher up in the mountains over the past few months, bike parks have begun opening one by one. That included the Timberline Bike Park this past weekend that sits perched on the side of Mt Hood here in Oregon. Since I missed opening day last year, I knew I had to be there this year.

Mountain biking in Europe is booming; there are huge good initiatives. But, similar to any other project or initiative in the USA, we must deal with regulations and rules across different countries. It is tough to find a common standard to work with. Things are progressing well, but slowly and with tons of bureaucracy involved and lots of opposition from authorities that don’t understand the treasure they have in their forests in the form of trails.

I’m excited to announce and share that Volume 1, Issue 1 of Trail Builder Mag is now available for purchase. First of all, thank you for following along and sharing your continual support with us. As with any startup, it’s risky. Add to that the volatility of the print magazine world, and it’s even crazier. While it may seem crazy to launch a print magazine during this time, I couldn’t be more excited. We also worked hard to keep our costs and overhead at a bare minimum.

It must’ve been obvious when I walked into the store in Oakridge (Oregon) that I was not a local. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the clerk behind the counter, he asked me, “So you’re in town for the festival?” How did he know? How did he know I was visiting from Portland to attend Mountain Bike Oregon (MBO)? Do I look like a mountain biker? What does a mountain biker even look like? However, in a small town, you can easily tell who’s a local, a visitor, or someone passing through.

Well, it’s finally here. Issue 1 of Trail Builder Mag is set to be released into the wild next week. It’s been a long time coming. As I’ve shared early on, I have committed to you to be as transparent as possible through the process. Here’s what you can expect in our first issue …