Gilmer County will join 17 other counties around the state in offering the inaugural year of Trail Rangers, a mountain biking program for 3rd through 5th graders, designed to foster fun and fellowship through structured mountain bike instruction. As a composite team, it will be open to students in surrounding counties, including Pickens.
The Georgia Cycling Association created the Trail Rangers program to provide a fun and safe environment for elementary-aged children to experience the joys of youth mountain biking. The program emphasizes play and connect as its core theme and focuses on skill development through gameplay, making new friends, and fostering a love of the outdoors. Any public, private, or homeschooled student in grades 3-5 is welcome to join Gilmer’s Trail Ranger program. Information about this exciting new program can be found on the Georgia Cycling Association website by clicking on Programs and selecting Trail Rangers.
The initial two Gilmer Trail Ranger practices will be held at the Gilmer Fish Park, but according to Coach Larry Alonso, “we want to get the Rangers onto real trails as soon as it is safe to do so…that’s when the sense of adventure will really begin to kick in!” Following the first two practices, the Gilmer Trail Rangers will meet at the bike optimized Talking Rock Nature Preserve trails in Pickens County, hosted by the Southern Trust for Parks and Lands.
The program is being offered in collaboration with Gilmer Parks and Recreation and will start on March 17, at the Gilmer Fish Park at 4 p.m. The program will meet once weekly on Monday afternoons from 4pm to 5pm starting on March 17 and ending on May 12th. The program will culminate with an opportunity to participate in 4 mountain bike expeditions along with the 17 other Georgia Trail Ranger programs at mountain bike racecourses around the state.
Registration opened January 15th for the Gilmer Trail Rangers and will remain open until the February 28th. To learn more about the Gilmer Trail Rangers, contact Coaches Larry & Laura Lea Alonso via email at: adventurerace@me.com or call Coach Larry at 678-914-3148. Coach Larry and Laura Lea are happy to discuss program details with parents who may be interested in enrolling their children in the Gilmer Trail Ranger program.
A Gilmer Trail Rangers Meet and Greet for registered riders will be held at Fish Park on March 10th at 4 pm.
