Finally… the end of summer, and the beginning of the most beautiful time to be in Tucson! October is the perfect time to throw a leg over the best new bikes, see some old friends and make some new ones, as well as sample some food and beverages from local favorites, like Risky Business, Tucson Hop Shop, and Eegees! The TORCA Pachanga is October 19-21 at Gordon Hirabayashi Campground. Registration is LIVE and industry attendees are on their way. Have you registered? If not, what are you waiting for?
Camping at our event is included, and while its first come first served, the entire camp area is reserved for Pachanga participants (meaning its not open to the public!) Campsites are spacious and clean, and shuttles will run directly from Molino each day to the expo area and trails. Did I mention we have amazing prizes?
Giant Bicycles and
DVO Suspension are partnering up to give some sick prizes to those on the podium at Tucson’s only enduro race, the
Funduro. All proceeds from this event go directly towards maintaining Mt Lemmon trails! We hope to see all of you there! Without your support, this work does not happen.
Speaking of trail work… we’ve been doing a lot of it. A special thanks to REI for their exceptional outreach work, and the awesome REI volunteers who showed up in force on CDO, Bug Spring, and Prison Camp trails! This has been super helpful when tackling the huge volume of work that needs to be done on the mountain. TORCA, in conjunction with the Arizona Trail Association and REI, held a special work day on the Prison Camp section of the AZT on October 6
th for the
AZT in a Day event. TORCA is the proud steward for this section of the AZT, and with the support of
Blue Dog Bicycles and
REI, it got a proper haircut!
As an organization, TORCA is hitting its stride. There is plenty of work to go around, and there is always room for new faces and fresh perspective. I invite all TORCA members to get involved: attend a Board Meeting, come throw some dirt at a trail day, and renew your membership. It takes a village!
I’d like to thank the TORCA Board of Directors for their countless hours of selfless work, and for putting their heart and soul into this mission. I don’t think most people have any idea the volume of work these guys and gals put in. Let’s celebrate an amazing year of riding on Mt Lemmon… see you at Pachanga!
Cheers!
Tara Alcantara,
President
520.237.0129
“Because Trails Don’t Fix Themselves”
We've got a new tool in the shed!
by Art Alcantara, Director of Fundraising
TORCA has a new tool in the shed! Thanks to a grant from the Arizona State Parks OHV fund, TORCA was able to purchase a 2019 Polaris Ranger crew. This UTV can carry 6 people, tools, and cargo into backcountry areas not accessible without a legitimate 4x4 or side by side. The trails that the TORCA trail crew will be able to access include CDO, Red Ridge, and the Arizona Trail, as well as allow us for scouting runs to potentially open up some legacy trails on the Eastern Flank of the Catalinas.
This machine has already been put to good use on 3 trail work days with many more on the docket. This machine was much needed, as previously TORCA relied on volunteers to provide their own vehicles, exposing them to excessive wear and tear, which we felt was asking a lot of them. To all those who took an active role in the backcountry work days, like Shane Strunk and Danny Levitt, a HUGE thanks!
We couldn’t have cleared all those trees without your help. Check out our calendar for upcoming work days.
We are Making Trail Work Fun Again!
6th Annual TORCA PACHANGA: October 19–21, 2018
by Shane Strunk, Director of Events
It's the 11
th hour and our little friend the pink burro is almost here. While he is not here yet, everyone at TORCA is busy making sure that everything is ready for his arrival. Bikes are being prepared, cornhole is being dusted off and tacos and Eegees are being ordered. Not only that, but crews have been busy working on Bug Spring and Prison Camp trails to make sure they are dialed!
Get your gear ready, practice your been bag toss, and start picking out your dream bikes! Don’t forget to register, because the little pink burro only comes around once a year and when he is gone, so are the good times.
IMPORTANT DETAILS AND INFORMATION ABOUT THE EVENT:
The Pachanga’s future hinges on your ability to play nice, follow the rules, and use good judgement. A little preparation and planning will make your weekend run smooth! Please help us show Land Managers that we are capable of acting in a responsible manner and caring for the land we have been entrusted with.
To demo bikes, you will need to bring your Drivers License AND Credit Card (some vendors may require one or the other) The more demo bikes you ride, the happier bike companies are and the more likely they are to come back next year! Take a photo of you on the trail, on the bike, and each person who rides a bike from each manufacturer will receive a prize!
Camping opens at Molino Basin at 8am on Friday and closes at 10pm. No early campers allowed, as per our Permit issued by the Coronado National Forest. No new campers after 5pm on Saturday. CAMPING IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED! There are additional camp areas available on the mountain at Bigelow and General Hitchcock campgrounds.
All campers must pack up and exit the campground by 4pm on Sunday. Please use designated trash receptacles and/or transport all trash down the mountain.
Campers must follow ALL rules and regulations set forth by the Forest Service and TORCA as it pertains to camping.
Quiet time is 10pm - please respect your fellow riders or you will be asked to leave.
Campfires only allowed in Forest Service designated fire pits. As permit holder, TORCA reserves the right to restrict campfires due to windy conditions.
Event parking will be limited!! No parking at Gordon Hirabayashi is available, as it will be reserved for shuttle vehicles, vendors, and volunteers only.
Additional parking can be found at Bear Canyon Picnic Area, Lower Bug Springs Trailhead, Upper Bug Springs Trailhead, Molino Canyon Vista, Thimble Rock Vista Point, or Seven Cataracts (a short bike ride up/down the mountain would be required).
Don’t forget your helmet!! No helmet, no ride…
There will be shuttles available from Molino Basin to Gordon Hirabayashi (see schedule below).
Cell phone reception is not available on the mountain. If you have a medical emergency, Medics will be on hand at the TORCA tent and along the trails with radios..
The schedule for the weekend can be found at torca.org
DEMO BIKES
Ibis
Rocky Mountain
Giant/Liv
Pivot
Niner
Santa Cruz
Cannondale
Salsa
Surly
Ellsworth
Additional attendees and sponsors include:
Eegee’s
Risky Business Restaurants
Bear Canyon Pizza
Continental
Five Ten
Arizona Cyclist
Blue Dog Bicycles
Home Grown Mountain Biking Tours
Ride Handsome
Tucson Hop Shop
Arizona Trail Association
REI
Evoc
DVO Suspension
Trail Boss
Ben’s Bikes
Bring Cash! TORCA will have the 2018 Pachanga
Silipint for sale, as well as other TORCA merchandise. All proceeds from the sale of merchandise and this event go directly to maintaining trails!
TORCA is a 501c3 non-profit organization, and everyone on the Board of Directors is a non-paid volunteer. Your attendance at this event directly supports their efforts, and the future of Mt Lemmon trails.
Advocacy efforts you should know about
by Jeremy Sunshine, Director
While we here at TORCA are big supporters of the Sustainable Trails Coalition and their efforts to open wilderness trails to bike access, we want to periodically let you know about other efforts that will help outdoor advocacy and bike access.
The issue we’d like to highlight for this issue is the
Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF.) This fund was created in 1965 in order to use some of the funds paid by oil companies for offshore drilling leases, in order to conserve watersheds, streams, and other wild lands from exploitation, and to make them available to the American public for recreation. This hugely influential fund has been used for the last 53 years to protect lands everywhere in the US, from local parks to the headwaters of major rivers.
Unfortunately, Congress had a deadline of September 30
th, 2018 to renew this fund, and for the first time in more than 50 years, they did not. This places hundreds of projects across the country, from small local preservation efforts, to large conservation programs spanning multiple states, in serious jeopardy. The LWCF was one of the largest sources of grant funding for groups at every level, awarding almost $500,000,000 in funds in the last year alone.
Interested in speaking out to get congress to renew the LWCF? Start here: https://www.lcwcfcoalition.com/ and click the “TAKE ACTION TO #SAVELWCF” link. Second, contact your congressional representatives and let them know they need to take action!
TORCA's Mission is to take an active and strategic role in the mountain biking community and in the maintenance of the resources available to us. We are focused on the All-Mountain and Downhill disciplines of mountain biking with a focus on the Santa Catalina Mountains.
by Vernie Aikins, Vice President and Director of Trails
TORCA’s efforts on the mountain have included work on Green Mountain trail in July, with
Tucson Endurance Performance Center sponsoring, and several additional trail work days in August and September on the top section of the CDO trail.
REI was instrumental in recruiting additional volunteers, allowing us to have a significant impact on the excessive overgrowth on this part of the trail.
In anticipation of the upcoming Pachanga and the start of riding season for the lower elevation trails, TORCA partnered with
Blue Dog Bicycles and
REI to host a very productive workday on Prison Camp. Bug Spring trail also received some love, with trail workers brushing back trail overgrowth and several “blown out” corners were reinforced with rock in anticipation of the additional traffic it will see this fall/winter.
If you haven’t attended a trail work day this year, we encourage you to join us! We host a minimum of one per month, and provide all the tools and training. Additionally, if you attend 5 trail work days in 2018, you’ll get your very own EVOC Builders Pack or EVOC Enduro Pack.
Congrats to Nick and Kristina Giovannucci for earning theirs! Thanks for all the work this year, guys.
UPCOMING TRAIL WORK
October 14: Prison Camp
November 3: Red Ridge (space is limited)
December 8
th: AZT Molino
by Tara Alcantara, President
TORCA was pleased to have representatives from TTR, Tucson Trail Runners, at its September trail work day on Bug Spring. Both riders and runners enjoy the backcountry nature of Mt Lemmon trails, as well as the exceptionally challenging train. In fact, many of us find trail running an excellent way to cross train for riding, and vice versa. It seems a perfect fit for the two organizations to work together to accomplish even more trail work on the mountain, as well as present a united front to land managers. A special thanks to TORCA Member, Kelly Wild, for facilitating the introductions, and to John Mollenhour and Michael Duerr of TTR.
TORCA will be hosting a ride from Catalina State Park on December 1
st, with REI. The
REI Co-Op Campouts is an opportunity to expand your toolkit when it comes to outdoor skills and camping. There will be numerous options for activities, with mountain biking being one of them. We’re excited to meet some new faces and spread the stoke of MTB.
by Duncan Caldwell, Director of Membership
Did you know TORCA now has an online store? Visit TORCA.org anytime to get the latest in TORCA gear. The best part is all proceeds go to maintaining trails!
There are only a few “special edition” neon shirts left in sizes Large, Medium, and Small. Get one before they’re gone forever!
Our members represent all facets of the mountain biking community with a diverse level of experience and skills – we enjoy riding all of the trails Tucson has to offer. TORCA invites you to get involved so that mountain biking’s voice becomes louder and louder, and our trails get faster and faster!
Keeping your membership current is one way you can help. As a small non-profit with a 100% volunteer Board of Directors, funds are tight and your continued membership allows us to fund our daily operations and trail work efforts. If your membership has lapsed, consider using the link below to renew. As always, we’ll throw in some cool TORCA gear as our way of saying “thank you.”
