Tucson Off Road Cyclist and Activists

Name: Nick

Rank: President & Treasurer
TORCA Focus: : Director of Vehicle Maintenance
Years Riding: 7

Disciplines: Mainly enduro and cross-country
Favorite place to ride: Mt. Lemmon
Trail Weapon: 2021 Rocky Mountain Altitude for enduro / 2019 Yeti SB100 for cross-country
Must have bike part: Dropper post
Coffee or energy drink? Neither, water is the best.
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Anything in the alternative rock music genre (mainly Brand New)
Goal(s) for TORCA: To add many more rideable miles of singletrack to Mt. Lemmon to decrease user conflicts

Name: Matt

Rank: Vice President & Swag Czar
TORCA Focus: Maintaining the world class trails we have here in our backyard!
Years riding: 20+
Disciplines: Pointing it down, but ya gotta earn yer turns
Favorite place to ride: All I need is tasty turns, cool jumps and I'm fine
Trail Weapon: Pivot Mach 6
Coffee or energy drink? Coffee as dark as the underside of a saddle on a moonless Tucson night ride
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? I prefer the sound of shredding while riding. Although the last song in the truck to get me going would be The Trooper – Iron Maiden
Goal(s) for TORCA: Appeasing the trail gods through service and worship

Name: Kristina

Rank: Secretary
TORCA Focus:
Years riding: 5

Disciplines: Cross-country, but try to get back into enduro

Favorite place to ride: Anywhere the sun is shining
Trail Weapon: Pivot Mach 4 SL / Ibis Ripmo V2
Must have bike part: Forgiving suspension
Coffee or energy drink? Neither - Gatorade is my go to
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Nothing, my internal dialogue is more than enough
Goal(s) for TORCA: To get people involved and excited about trail work and giving back to the community

Name: Gurushabd (swan)

Rank: Board member

TORCA focus: Getting ovary-deep in dirt

Years riding: 3 years

Disciplines: I just like new trail day!

Favorite place to ride: Crested Butte and Tucson

Trail weapon: Pivot Mach 5.5 lady in red

Must have bike part: cool fender and stickers

Coffee or energy drink?: black coffee

You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? I prefer pre-ride music. Missy Elliot Pass that Dutch

Goal(s) for Torca: build new diverse trails and have social events with you fine people

Name: Leland

Rank: Board member

TORCA focus: Make our website gooder and keep our trails running

Years riding: 9

Disciplines: Bikes in all directions

Favorite place to ride: Anywhere with dirt, rocks and a view but Tucson is tops

Trail weapon: Salsa Cassidy

Must have bike part: Droppers are good.

Coffee or energy drink?: Coffee

You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? The Man In Me by Bob Dylan will be playing in my head

Goal(s) for Torca: Advocate for as many mountain bike focused miles as we can get, and maintain what we got.

Retired Board Members

Name: Art Alcantara aka Abe From-an

Rank: El Presidente (Retired)
TORCA Focus: Marketing and Fundraising
Years riding: 14
Disciplines: DH fo’ Life!! But if it has nobbies and two wheels, I’ll ride it.
Favorite place to ride: Any place with fast single track and my wife. I love Tucson’s diversity. Whistler, Moab and Angelfire have a special place in my heart.
Trail Weapon: 2013 Specialized Enduro Expert Carbon
Must have bike part:KS Lev Dropper post. Like Amex. Never leave home without it!
Coffee or energy drink? Redbull
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Van Halen “Panama”
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Put smiles on people’s faces through advocacy. 2. Maintain our trails. 3. Get Tucson Dh specific trails. 4. Turn Vernie Aikins into a full fledged DHer...

Name: Tara Alcantara

Rank: President (Retired)
TORCA Focus: Management of the business, organization, keeping Board of Directors on Task!
Years riding: 21
Disciplines: My heart belongs to Downhill, but I will pedal uphill if Vernie makes me
Favorite place to ride: Bug Springs or Milagrosa! Doesn’t get much better. Moab, AngelFire, Whistler, and Sun Valley are rad!
Trail Weapon: 2013 Specialized Enduro Expert Carbon
Must have bike part: Full faced helmet… cause I like to hit the gnar.
Coffee or energy drink? Coffee, all natural, no artificial sweeteners
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Foo Fighters “To Hell and Back”
Goal(s) for TORCA: Contribute to an organization that fosters camaraderie within the mountain bike community, gets it done when it comes to trail work and activism, and doles out high-fives and good vibes as often as possible!

Name: Vernie Aikins

Rank: Vice President & Trail Wizard (Retired)
TORCA Focus: Trailwork and Awareness
Years riding: 8
Disciplines: 29er Uphiller Extraordinaire
Favorite place to ride: Any piece of singletrack where I haven't seen another human in 4hrs.
Trail Weapon: SS 29er!
Must have bike part: A Sweet-ass Bell
Coffee or energy drink? BEEEEEEEEEEER!
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Outkast "So Fresh So Clean"
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Make the Tucson trails shine 2. Get more people involved in our trails 3. Open the Forest Services eyes to what mountain bikers are capable of as a unified group 4. Turn Art Alcantara into a full fledged uphiller.

Name: Phillip Breuer

Rank: X-Factor
TORCA Focus: High-5 distribution
Years riding: 8
Disciplines: All around shredder, you name it.
Favorite place to ride: Mt Lemmon
Trail Weapon: Pivot Mach 6
Must have bike part: Fresh Tires
Coffee or energy drink? Coffee
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? No headphones for me, one less cable.
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Sling dirt, ride hard, have fun and stay true.

Name: Shane S.

Rank: Secretary(retired)
TORCA Focus: Event planning and creating new ones.
Years riding: 6
Disciplines: DH and AM trails with good downhills
Favorite place to ride: Any place with good downhill
Trail Weapon: Morewood Izuim
Must have bike part: A good set of tires
Coffee or energy drink? Rockstar Juiced
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? I don't ride with an iPod because I love to hear the sound of dirt under my tires.
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Develop more gravity trails in the Tucson area, help turn Tucson into a riding destination.

Name: Kim Aikins, a.k.a Kimmeh, a.k.a Teach

Rank: Treasurer (Retired)
TORCA Focus: Keep the books in check
Years riding: 7
Disciplines: Climbing and XC
Favorite place to ride: Starr Pass/Cat Mtn.
Trail Weapon: 2011 Niner Air9
Must have bike part: RAMPAAAAGE!!!
Coffee or energy drink? Hot Chocolate
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Incubus 'Make Yourself'
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Contribute to the AWESOMENESS that is TORCA!

Name: Jeremy Sunshine

Rank: Board Member(retired)
TORCA Focus: Trailwork. More access for bikes, especially on Lemmon.
Disciplines: mountain biking
Years riding: 20
Favorite place to ride: Dirt, a.k.a not pavement
Trail Weapon: Don't make me pick one it makes the others angry
Must have bike part: Saddle. Do the math.
Coffee or energy drink? THROW IT ON THE GROUND
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? I can't beat 'Panama'. PAAAAAAANAMA! PANAMAHAHA-HA-HA-HA-HA...
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. I like bikes. I want to share that and get other people as excited about bikes as I am. 2. I like trail work, see #1. 3. Help grow the MTB community in Tucson, especially the gravity hooligans. 4. Turn Vernie into a full fledged dher. 5. Poopacabra sightings.

Name: Duncan

Rank: President
TORCA Focus: Membership coordinator
Years riding: 20+
Disciplines: I like it all, but chunky, techy downhill makes me happy.
Favorite place to ride: 50yr and Area 52
Trail Weapon: 2012 Trek Scratch
Must have bike part: Dropper post
Coffee or energy drink? Coffee, black, with a shot
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Don't have one. Tires crunching gravel is my song.
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. Develop and rehab trails to bring Tucson to the forefront as a mountain bike destination.

Name: Spencer

Rank: Board Member

TORCA focus: Funding, Advocacy, Trailwork

Years riding: 3+

Disciplines: Enduro

Favorite place to ride: On Lemmon, it's hard to beat Aspen Draw

Trail weapon: TBD, currently in the market for a new one

Must have bike part: Dropper post

Coffee or energy drink?: Black coffee, plain

You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? This is tough, because I don't listen to music during rides and I'm usually on shuffle when I pull up in the car. But if I *did* listen to music during rides? Probably The Truest Love by Kublai Khan TX.

Goal(s) for Torca: 1) turn Tucson into a mountain biking destination 2) foster relationships with partners in the community 3) secure the bag

Name: Brannon (or 'B', 'B-Man' or 'The Samsquantch')

Rank: Board Member
TORCA Focus: Advocacy and Trailwork
Years riding: 20+
Disciplines: OG Downhiller turned All-Mountain wannabe
Favorite place to ride: Anything new or exciting, but my heart belongs to the Lemmon.
Trail Weapon: 2018 Guerilla Gravity Smash
Must have bike part: Solid unforgiving brakes. It takes a lot to stop this guy.
Coffee or energy drink? Coffee for days
You’re Dropping into Bug Springs descent, what’s on your IPOD? Jurassic 5 - What's Golden
Goal(s) for TORCA: 1. To raise AZ to it's full riding potential and bring to fruition all my dreams for this amazing part of the country. West is the Best!

Address:
PO Box 16445
Tucson, AZ 85732