Trailfest 2011 coming soon; ready your bikes

This archived article was written by: Natalie Sandoval

Living in the Southeastern area of the state does not give you malls to shop or mega plex theatres to watch movies. What it does give you are countless bike rails to explore the infinite wonders that define this area. With mild winters, biking can be achieved almost nine months of every year.
Fuzzy, owner of Bicycle Works in Price says “I’ve avoided a real job by playing with bikes.” In the early ‘70s, Fuzzy would ride BMX, but got into mountain biking later in life. Other than riding Fuzzy has tested products, been a team mechanic and also provided Carbon County with a number of biking trails.
Around 2002, when Fuzzy came here he asked around for some cool trails that usually led him to dirt roads, so he decided to create some trails of his own. Now you can find his trails all over the area. One of his favorites is Luke’s Trail, named after his pit bull, runs from Pioneer Park across from the Computer Business Building, all the way to Kenilworth. You can find more of his trails by stopping by his website or going into the shop and getting a map.
Another mountain biker is Dustin Heaton, owner of Decker’s Bicycle. In his shop downtown he sells skate boards, BMX bikes, mountain bikes, snowboards and climbing equipment.
Although there aren’t many open places to skate in Price the Terrice Hills Skatepark, located north of Carbon High School, isn’t bad and Heaton has all your skating needs, from blank boards to the top selling brands he will have something you want. Plus you can do your own customizing at his store by picking a board and modifying it with stickers, wheels or anything else you want to put on it.
When asked about safety tips, Heaton answered the most important thing to know are your limits, “it’s ok to push yourself, but there is such thing as going too far, and a helmet is also super cheap insurance.”
Some opportunities to practice your mountain biking skills, or to just get out and have some fun are presenting themselves this summer. On May 6-8 an event called Trailfest takes place. It appeals to everyone even if you aren’t an extreme biker. There is no charge for Trailfest, but they will be asking for donations of any amount to Price Area Single-track Society’s (P.A.S.S.) Trail-Fund, which pays for tools and supplies for Trail-Building. Three days of biking and camping for everyone, more information on where this will be held is at P.A.S.S.’s website.
July 4 is another chance to get out and have some fun. Every year a group ride on Fuzzy’s trails and a barbecue is held at Pioneer Park. As mentioned before maps, event information and pictures are on the website passtrails.com or you can also go to fuzzysbicycleworks.com to check out what’s in store.
Another good idea to take in is that by getting a bike or skateboard, it’s easy and cheap transportation. With rising gas prices, it’s a smarter way to turn. Carbon County is small, it’s simple to get from place to place by riding a bike or skateboard. Plus it will get you away from the house and those video games. Fuzzy said he pushes the fact that kids these days need more things to do other than playing video games.
It is a great point. Spending so much on game consoles and disposable games gets expensive and with as much money wasted on in-house entertainment, you could probably get a pretty sweet bike and see the things the area has to offer.
Decker’s Bicycle sells blank boards that come pretty cheap, so whether you want to get into a new hobby or learn some new tricks, that is the place to go. To check them out, you can go to deckersbicycle.com where they also offer rental bikes and accessories like clothing and shoes. One more quick tip is that Decker’s Bicycle gives 10% off to USU Eastern students that bring their ID cards.
No matter your age or physical ability, this area offers more than you think when it comes to recreational activities.