Support trail advocacy and win the Santa Cruz bike of your choice

By Michele Lamelin

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Juliana-SRAM pro team riders Kelli Emmett and Sarah Leishman on the Emma McCrary Trail in Santa Cruz, CA (Mike Thomas/SCB).

Yes, you heard that right โ€“ a complete Santa Cruz steed of your choosing is up for the winning. Thatโ€™s ANY bike, any color, any build!

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBoSC) is partnering with Santa Cruz Bicycles to raise funds for trail advocacy, development and maintenance efforts in Santa Cruz County.ย Santa Cruz is donating a bike which will go to the winner of a drawing being held at the end of May. Tickets for the drawing are $5 each, and can be purchased on-line at mbosc.org/raffle, and at select events such as MBoSC trail work days and the Santa Cruz Old Cabin Classic on May 21.

The raffleโ€™s lucky winner gets to choose any bike from Santa Cruz Bicycleโ€™s current web catalog. Youโ€™ve heard the legendary names: Nomad, Bronson, Hightower, Stigmata โ€ฆ just to name a few. Whether you rip the downhill, attack ridiculously badass terrain, get after the pedally stuff, push your limits of endurance on endless gravel, get playful on the pump track and dirt jumps, thereโ€™s a Santa Cruz bike to perfectly match your style. Will it be YOU who takes home the bike of your dreams?

Both Santa Cruz Bicycles and MBoSC are excited about the mountain biking opportunities developing in their own back yard, and are embracing opportunities to team up for their community. Santa Cruz has an impressive track record for supporting grassroots advocacy efforts in its hometown of Santa Cruz, California. The world-renowned industry giant has regularly donated to MBoSC fundraising efforts and recently contributed $500,000 for the creation of close to 40 miles of multi-use trails in the San Vicente Redwoods located just north of Santa Cruz.

โ€œMountain Bikers of Santa Cruz has a solid track record of doing really good things for the trails in our area,โ€ says Santa Cruz Bicycles North American Marketing Manager Don Palermini. โ€œFrom routine maintenance to the development of the Flow Trail in Soquel Demonstration State Forest and the Emma McCrary Trail in the Pogonip, as well as playing a crucial role in the forthcoming San Vicente Redwoods project, the organization has evolved into a real force of mountain bike stewardship that weโ€™re stoked to support.โ€

Non-profit mountain bike advocacy organization MBoSC works to promote mountain biking recreation and to expand sustainable trail access in the Santa Cruz area, enriching the local mountain bike community through trail building, group rides, events and cooperation with local land managers and other trail user groups. The organization values the industry support it receives, and is especially grateful for its alliance with Santa Cruz Bicycles. MBoSC president John Leckrone says, “We are excited to partner with Santa Cruz Bicycles on this fundraising campaign. Theyโ€™ve been incredibly supportive of trail development efforts, sponsoring volunteer trail work days, races and other events, and now with their contribution to this bike raffle fundraiser.”

MBoSC Trails Director Matt De Young adds, “We are seeing the potential for more opportunities for mountain bikers than ever before, and as such MBoSC is growing to meet the challenge. Weโ€™re building our organization so that we can capitalize on these opportunities for new trails, bike parks, pumptracks and events. This fundraiser is a stepping stone on our path to building a more robust and capable organization.”

MBoSC led trail building efforts for the Emma McCrary trail in Pogonip Park and the Flow Trail at Soquel Demonstration State Forest (SDSF), and organizes trail maintenance work days at Pogonip, SDSF, Wilder Ranch State Park and DeLaveaga. In past years, MBoSC presented the Santa Cruz Mountain Bike Festival and the Santa Cruz Super Enduro, and this year is running the first cross-country mountain bike race in 20 years at Wilder Ranch State Park โ€“ the Santa Cruz Old Cabin Classic. The organization has also contributed to the development of local pump tracks and is currently spearheading the Westside pump track rebuild efforts.

All proceeds from the Santa Cruz Bicycles raffle go straight to the trails you already ride and love, and to future opportunities for riding such as trails and bike parks. The more tickets you purchase, the better your chances to win the bike of your dreams!

Learn more at mbosc.org.

Pro endurance rider Josh Tostado with his Tallboy in Santa Cruz (Mike Thomas/SBC).

Pro endurance rider Josh Tostado with his Tallboy in Santa Cruz (Mike Thomas/SBC).

Pro endurance rider Josh Tostado on the Emma McCrary Trail in Santa Cruz, CA (Mike Thomas/SCB).

Pro endurance rider Josh Tostado on the Emma McCrary Trail in Santa Cruz, CA (Mike Thomas/SCB).