News/Events

Something different!  ML is a maze of trails, so good to have a guide if you’re not familiar with it.  Meet at the trailhead at 10:00 AM at 1698 Gatewood Rd, Newport News.  ***Parking is extremely limited, so if you don’t get one of the 4 or so spots at the trailhead, please find legal parking nearby, maybe 0.7 mile down Gatewood Rd. at Warwick High School, along Copeland Lane. Please don’t park at Temple Sinai next door, where they have No Parking signs.  Thanks to Wynn Yang for suggesting this ride. 

Come help us build a rock garden at YRSP, on John Blair section B at intersection of Majestic Oak trail.  Colonial Revolution youth race team requested this rock garden for practice for when they race in the mountains, and will be co-leading this project with EVMA. 

Details:

• Time: Meet at noon, and we plan to start no later than 12:30.  We’ll end either when we finish the rock garden or get tired.  Work for a while, then ride if you want.
• Location: Meet at the maintenance shed which is part way down the park road, on a turn-off on the right, BEFORE you get to the pay station.  Look for the EVMA banners.  No parking fee applies! 
• Bring: Work gloves, water, and your bike if you want to ride to the work site (and/or hit the trails afterwards).  We’ll bring the tools.  We’ll be digging, moving/placing rocks, and shoveling/hauling dirt.

A huge thanks to YRSP staff Scott & David who spent their day Tues, March 18 picking up 2.57 tons of brown river rock and almost 4 tons of dirt, and delivering them to the work site.  And to Park Manager Charlie for authorizing this.  This was a HUGE help that saves us from a lot of work unloading/reloading/transporting over 6 tons of material.

Dirt Divas Ride & Women’s Trail Festival, Sat, 3/29/25, Freedom Park: The 1^st annual Women’s Trail Festival (https://happycatfitness.com/races-and-results/womens-trail-festival/) asked the EVMA to send a female EVMA rep to talk about what we do, so EVMA Secretary Salley Rowe will speak about the EVMA between noon & 1:00 PM.  And separate from and not an official part of the festival, we’re doing a Dirt Divas group ride (females only, please) at 10:00 AM on 3/29/25. Our own Kiwi Dirt Diva, Penny Rich, will lead the ride at a casual pace.  DIRT DIVAS and all female EVMA members – please join us for this ride and help us recruit some new members.  Any other EVMA ladies interested in being a Dirty Diva, let us know and we’ll add you to the group.  And please post this on EVMA Chatter to encourage more female riders to attend!

This Wednesday's (19 March) retirees group ride will be at Harwood's, 2 PM.

Harwood's riders - there is a new reroute about halfway through the "B" trail, immediately after the two camelback humps and their small downhill. The new reroute includes two downhill runs, one with a small drop. The new section is marked with orange tape, and will replace the old run towards the water, which was badly eroding. The old section will be closed after everyone gets familiar with the new reroute, probably around the beginning of May. The new reroute was approved by NN Parks department.

You don't have to actually be retired to join us.  Anybody who wants a social, casual paced ride is welcome to join.  Thanks to Mark Willmann for leading these regular. weekly rides (weather dependent).

• Tuesday Night Ride @ Harwoods Mill:  CONFIRMED
• Wednesday Retirees Ride:  CANCELLED due to rain forecast
• Wednesday Night Ride @ NQ Park:  CANCELLED due to rain/storms forecast
• Thursday Night Ride @ Freedom Park: CONFIRMED - LAST NIGHT RIDE THIS SEASON!
  

Want to get push notifications for when trails close and reopen due to rain?  Check out the other post on EVMA.org, News & Events for details on how to get James City County's Rainout Line app. 

The weekly Wednesday retirees ride is canceled this week (5 March) due to forecasted bad weather.

Please join us on Sat, March 1 at Freedom Park for:

TRAIL WORK: Meet at 9:00 AM on Trail C, Access C1 (just inside the park entrance) to help build a big berm.  Bring work gloves, water, and a wheelbarrow and shovel if you can.  Please park down in the parking lot and ride your bike to the work site.

CLUB MEETING & BOARD ELECTION, WITH LUNCH: Final voting for the Board election (current EVMA members should have received an e-mail on 2/24/25 with instructions to vote electronically) and conduct other club business, as well as socializing.

RIDE after the meeting.

***If you are interested in helping in any capacity (Trail Captain; social media; membership management; graphic design; anything at all) please come to the meeting. 

Want to get push notifications when trails are closed due to weather/wet conditions?  James City County just added Freedom Park to their Rainout Line.  Sign up at the Rainout Line Website https://rainoutline.com/subscribe/notify/7572392002/0 and use the tabs to choose app, text, or e-mail alerts.  You can sign up to get alerts only for Freedom Park Trails A-E, or any JCC facilities that face weather closures.  (*This is ONLY for Freedom Park bike trail closures, but if Freedom trails are closed, we should probably avoid nearby trails like New Quarter, YRSP, Wahrani, Harwoods Mill.)  You can also still call 757-259-4022 x1, or visit here: https://jamescitycountyva.gov/Facilities/Facility/Details/Freedom-Park-7.