Two years ago, I was approached to help generate some new ideas, raise awareness and pull in fresh faces to raise money for the purchase and preservation of a local mountain here in Southern NH: Rose Mountain. The result was The Rose Mountain Rumble (RMR). About 30 riders participated in 2015 and we raised about $700 to aid in the successful purchase of the mountain by a local conservation organization, The Piscataquog Land Conservancy (PLC). Small in comparison to other donors but every little bit helps. We decided to make it an annual event to benefit my small home town of Lyndeborough and surrounding towns of the Piscataquog Watershed which the PLC looks to protect.
This past August 27th of 2016, the RMR gathered more than 100 riders and we raised over $7000 to benefit local conservation efforts. That kind of growth in such a short time stunned me a bit. I’ve since been asked to help in the planning stages of potential trail building efforts on Rose to create better access points for hikers, runners, mountain bikers and more.
So I headed out yesterday to hit the summit of Rose, scope out the terrain and orient myself with possible connections to existing local trail networks in Greenfield, NH. I’ll tell you what… The climb up there is a slow grind, but the terrain and natural beauty kept spirits high. The raw potential? Only limited by your imagination. Up on the summit, it hit me just how amazing being involved in a project like this is. The reward of access to what I’d say is sacred space is unexplainable. Bicycles are life to me both literally and figuratively. Having open space to ride is part of that equation and gathering a community to help keep that space alive and well can put your resolve to the test but in the end, the passion for what keeps me ticking overcomes just about any hurdle that can be thrown at my feet. It’s places like this that harden my resolve and push me forward into that big unknown in hopes of a much brighter future.
Editors Note:And for anyone south of us up here in NH (that means all you animals down in Boston, Massachusetts), the Piscataquog, Souhegan and Nashua Rivers all flow into the Merrimack which flows into Massachusetts. All three of these rivers up stream from the Merrimack which include 23 towns are part of the watershed the PLC looks to protect. Any donation made to the PLC via the RMR literally protects the very water source when we all turn on our taps and draw our collective glasses of water. Connected? You bet we are. In more ways than just via the internet… This is important and it should be noted just how amazing it is to be part of this community and the greater understanding of where our contributions go. Like I said before: Every little bit counts.
Testing Resolve
Two years ago, I was approached to help generate some new ideas, raise awareness and pull in fresh faces to raise money for the purchase and preservation of a local mountain here in Southern NH: Rose Mountain. The result was The Rose Mountain Rumble (RMR). About 30 riders participated in 2015 and we raised about $700 to aid in the successful purchase of the mountain by a local conservation organization, The Piscataquog Land Conservancy (PLC). Small in comparison to other donors but every little bit helps. We decided to make it an annual event to benefit my small home town of Lyndeborough and surrounding towns of the Piscataquog Watershed which the PLC looks to protect.
This past August 27th of 2016, the RMR gathered more than 100 riders and we raised over $7000 to benefit local conservation efforts. That kind of growth in such a short time stunned me a bit. I’ve since been asked to help in the planning stages of potential trail building efforts on Rose to create better access points for hikers, runners, mountain bikers and more.
So I headed out yesterday to hit the summit of Rose, scope out the terrain and orient myself with possible connections to existing local trail networks in Greenfield, NH. I’ll tell you what… The climb up there is a slow grind, but the terrain and natural beauty kept spirits high. The raw potential? Only limited by your imagination. Up on the summit, it hit me just how amazing being involved in a project like this is. The reward of access to what I’d say is sacred space is unexplainable. Bicycles are life to me both literally and figuratively. Having open space to ride is part of that equation and gathering a community to help keep that space alive and well can put your resolve to the test but in the end, the passion for what keeps me ticking overcomes just about any hurdle that can be thrown at my feet. It’s places like this that harden my resolve and push me forward into that big unknown in hopes of a much brighter future.
Editors Note: And for anyone south of us up here in NH (that means all you animals down in Boston, Massachusetts), the Piscataquog, Souhegan and Nashua Rivers all flow into the Merrimack which flows into Massachusetts. All three of these rivers up stream from the Merrimack which include 23 towns are part of the watershed the PLC looks to protect. Any donation made to the PLC via the RMR literally protects the very water source when we all turn on our taps and draw our collective glasses of water. Connected? You bet we are. In more ways than just via the internet… This is important and it should be noted just how amazing it is to be part of this community and the greater understanding of where our contributions go. Like I said before: Every little bit counts.