By Cara Lewis, Senior Communications Manager
As a regional land trust, Triangle Land Conservancy (TLC) has preserved and protected more than 25,000 acres of land throughout a six-county region. Our work includes maintaining 54 miles of trail at our public nature preserves which thousands of people enjoy every month.
A favorite trail destination for mountain bikers is Brumley South located in western Orange County, approximately 2 miles southeast of the town of Hillsborough. Altogether, the Brumley South section of the preserve includes 11 miles of trails shared by mountain bikers and hikers.
Together with TLC, volunteers from Triangle Off-Road Cyclists (TORC) gather regularly to conduct routine maintenance, such as sloping trail beds to improve water flow and cutting back vegetation.
A pre-public partnership
The partnership between TORC and TLC actually began in 2016, a year before Brumley opened to the public.
“Before Brumley, all of our preserves accommodated only hikers and runners, no bikes,” Nick Adams, Land Stewardship Manager West for TLC, said. “With Brumley, we wanted to draw more visitors and be more open to different kinds of activities.” Building multi-use trails and working with TORC to maintain them has helped to meet this goal.
One reason the partnership between TORC and TLC works so well, Adams said, is that TORC fully supports TLC’s primary mission of conservation. Most volunteers are avid fat-tire enthusiasts who are willing to travel many miles for some sweet singletrack, thus they’ve become dedicated and skilled volunteers.
On a Sunday morning in late October, TORC volunteers came out to work on the Atamasco Alley trail, a 0.9-mile multi0use trail in need of attention after recent heavy rainfall. Trail maintenance to imporve runoff, prevent pooling, and accelerate drying allows trails to reopen sooner.
Local reporter, Michael Schwalb, was onsite to interview Nick Adams and several TORC volunteers. Schwalb writes the Bike Beat column for The Local Reporter (TLR). You can read the full story at TORC volunteers help keep the gates of Brumley open.
Sunday morning volunteer opportunities
Trail work happens at Brumley on Sunday mornings. Days and times may be different for work on other TORC-maintained trails. Those interested in donating time and sweat to keeping their favorite trails in good shape can find details on TORC’s meetup page.
