"The year was 1991, Metallica's Black Album was fresh on cassette, and we were battling the Euros in the inaugural season of the mountain biking World Cup. The final race in Berlin had topography thanks to grass-covered heaps bulldozed from the rubble of the second world war." – David Wiens, IMBA Executive Director. 

Back stateside, Georgia Governor Zell Miller announced Preservation 2000, a plan to conserve 100,000 acres of land in the next decade. Fast forward thirty years and Dave is still listening to Metallica (just streaming online), he's racing the sun to get a ride in, and kids in Columbus are climbing up Doughboy to zip down The Bug at Standing Boy Trails.

IMBA Local Partner Chattahoochee Valley Area SORBA (CVA SORBA) led the vision for more trails close to home in Columbus, Georgia's third largest metro. The one local trail for mountain bikers was in a heavily developed urban park, and the community craved a more natural outdoor experience that wasn’t an hour’s drive. Now, a 25-mile trail plan for low-impact recreation incorporates Standing Boy’s unique, rocky features through both shared-use and bike-only trails, while preserving habitat for white-tailed deer, turkey and waterfowl.

Standing Boy sits next to the Chattahoochee River along a historic fall line. The landscape gracefully bends through Georgia’s three ecoregions: mountains, piedmont and coastal plain. Bedrock dominates Standing Boy, and the IMBA Trail Solutions team surveyed every metamorphic mantle for the best mountain bike lines when they partnered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources on trail planning and design.

Construction on the phased trail plan began in 2019 with five beginner trails, both shared-use and bike-only. The Trail Solutions crew returned in 2020 alongside Southeast Conservation Corps and other partners to build the intermediate Lonely Hunter loop—nine miles of challenging rock lines, lakeside views, and remote riding made more so by the clockwise/counterclockwise directional days at Standing Boy.

"Twenty-five miles of professionally designed and constructed trail on the terrain that exists at Standing Boy will represent a monumental step forward. We are most excited about hosting beginner rides and doing whatever else we can to increase the number of kids and adults having fun on their bikes in the woods. We are so grateful for the support from our members, community and governmental agencies, and others that are helping make this dream a reality!" – Tim Watley, President of CVA SORBA

Our Trail Solutions crew will be back in April, adding a bike-only gravity descent chock full of hits, rocks, and berms. It's the first trail of its kind in central Georgia and the next level of progression for Standing Boy. At a time when every community would welcome more trails, Columbus residents are reaping the benefits of trails close to home. We want more trails for more people in more places, and your support makes every trail possible. Thank you.