We spend a lot of time praising professional mountain bike athletes and trailbuilders for what they do, and for the record I'm all for it. While advocacy and volunteerism might lack the sex appeal of other dynamics in mountain biking, the reality is that our sport's unsung heroes are the ones attending board meetings, and filling out 501c3 forms, and are often the ones answering to the questions and demands of various other trail user groups.
A peek behind the curtain of a prolific mountain bike association reveals responsibilities and duties that, quite frankly, kind of suck, especially when considering that it's done on a volunteer basis. Advocacy and stewardship is very hard work but it's not without its rewards, and in Tucson, AZ there are two separate but equally tenacious trail associations looking to reap as many rewards for local mountain bikers as possible.
The Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists (SDMB) and TORCA (Tucson Off Road Cycling Activists) have taken a divide and conquer approach to the several hundreds of miles of trail that surround the Sonoran Desert oasis that is Tucson, Arizona. The city is the 2nd largest in the state behind Phoenix, with a metro population of over 1,000,000 and growing. It’s 50 miles north of the Mexico border and is surrounded on all sides by 5 minor mountain ranges, including the Rincons to the east, the Santa Ritas to the south, the Tucson Mountains along the western border, and both the Santa Catalinas and the Tortolita Mountains north of the city. Spread out amongst all of that as well as within the city itself is over 350 miles of trail available for mountain bikers, so much so that both trail associations have their hands full managing their respective pieces of the pie.
SDMB deals largely with the city itself, as well as Pima County Parks and Recreation and the US Forest Service specifically for projects on Mount Graham, located about 2 hours east of town. Their “territory” includes trail networks such as Tucson Mountain Park, Fantasy Island, Sweetwater Preserve, Rincon Valley and more.
TORCA has a more singular, but equally sizable focus: Mount Lemmon. The massive eminence northeast of Tucson reaches an elevation of just under 9,200 feet above sea level. The trails on Lemmon are managed by the United States Forest Service, and TORCA has become the 501c3 partner organization with the USFS, effectively functioning as their trail maintenance arm.
Despite having enormous responsibilities and workloads, both TORCA and SDMB carve out time throughout the year to partner up on trail work days and initiatives as well. The scale of Tucson and the surrounding landscape is stunning and massive, and the efforts from both outstanding trail associations are no less so.
There aren't many places with the collection of cultural resources available that also offer up a true desert and mountain backcountry experience in the way that Tucson can. It has found such a special place in my own heart over the years I've been visiting since my first trip in 2018, and that's in no small part due to the efforts from the amazing people behind organizations like TORCA and SDMB, both of whom are setting the new standard for how trail associations should function. The Sonoran Desert is among the most beautiful corners of the country and there's certainly no shortage of inspiration between the desert, the mountains, and everything in between. I'm just stoked that the future of mountain biking in such a remarkable place has so many capable and devoted people to look after it.
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4/17/2023 10:50am
View replies to: Underexposed Tucson, AZ
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