An Introduction to the Gateway Off-Road Cyclist Organization.
Founded in 1998 by St. Charles area mountain bikers to help facilitate design and construction of a bicycle/hiking trail in a new County Park, the club has grown to the entire St. Louis metropolitan area in both Missouri and Illinois.
The Club:
Gateway Off-Road Cyclists (GORC) is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation dedicated
to advocacy, design, construction, and maintenance of multi-use trails.
We are the St. Louis area’s only official International Mountain Bicycle
Association (IMBA) affiliate club. As a club, we also have social activities
such as group rides, trips, and events. A newsletter (“Trailhead”)
is published and contains articles on travel, workdays, advocacy, and equipment.
Advocacy:
GORC has established official relationships with St. Louis County Parks,
St. Charles County Parks, Missouri State Parks, Missouri Conservation Department,
and the US Forest Service. With all of the above organizations, GORC functions
include: Trail Design, Trail Construction, Trail Maintenance, Technical
Consulting, Leading Volunteer Workdays, and Providing Volunteers for Workdays.
Trail-work:
GORC, by the Spring of 2003, has been responsible for over 20 miles of new
multi-use trail construction on public land in the St. Louis area; maintenance
workdays have touched over 52 miles of trail in the St. Louis area. In all
cases, the trails were designed by GORC members, approved by the Park/Land
Manager, and built with 100% volunteer labor. These efforts alone account
for over 2500 volunteer hours. This is only a portion of our volunteer hours,
since many workdays are maintenance only. Our average 4-hour workday attendance
is approximately 30 people and we have 8 to 10 workdays per year.
Several members of GORC have been extensively trained by the International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) and have a great deal of experience in designing safe, sustainable, multi-use trail. IMBA’s design and construction standards encompass the latest techniques in erosion avoidance and control, and have been proven in the field year after year.
Missouri Department of Natural Resources
GORC is working with the MODNR on a new section of trail at Castlewood State
Park. This proposed addition to the Grotpeter trail will give trail users
another option in the park. Our reroute of the heavily eroded climb outside
the park entrance has held up very well, and is the primary reason the DNR
asked GORC to help with the new trail.
Missouri Department of Conservation
Our first reroute at Lost Valley has received rave reviews from the hikers,
and bikers. So the MDC has asked us to look at the other side of the loop.
We’re doing the workdays now.
St. Louis County Parks and Recreation
Mountain bikers in St. Louis have had an excellent history with the County
Parks Dept. They have dozens of miles of trails open to cyclists, horses,
and hikers. GORC is working with the Park Superintendent at Greensfelder
to turn the DeClue and Dogwood trails into loops that start and end at the
same parking lot. Total mileage will be 10+ miles, with over 3 miles of NEW
singletrack.
St. Charles County Parks
We’ve had nothing but praise for Klondike. You cannot find a more
technically challenging trail system in the area. We’re already talking
about how to improve it in the coming years, expect good things to come.
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
GORC is working to open a new area suitable for singletrack on the campus
just east of St. Louis. The first of several new loops is marked, and awaiting
approval from the University to begin construction. Expect 4-6 miles of
trail total. We have workdays on the schedule, and the 2nd loop is going
in. The Thursday night rides out here are great, and feature 10 mile loops
of bike path and trail. Not to be missed, every Thursday at 6pm.
Summary:
GORC is your single point resource for everything from simple assistance
with trail maintenance, to 100% design and construction of new natural surface
trails. Please call or e-mail for more information on how GORC can help
with your trails.
Gateway Off-Road Cyclists is a non-profit organization dedicated to the interests of Eastern Missouri/Western Illinois mountain bikers. The club was formed to give cyclists a voice in trail user policy and land use in and around the St. Louis metro area. The club has current standing with Missouri State Parks, Mark Twain National Forest, St. Louis County Parks, Trailnet, and St. Charles County Parks.