{"id":398886,"date":"2026-01-09T19:11:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:11:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/398886\/"},"modified":"2026-01-09T19:11:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-09T19:11:08","slug":"this-ontario-bike-club-has-spent-250000-building-trails-and-theyre-not-done-yet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/398886\/","title":{"rendered":"This Ontario bike club has spent $250,000 building trails and they\u2019re not done yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

Windsor-Essex is not exactly known for big climbs, loamers and lift laps. That is part of why the Windsor Essex Bike Club<\/a>\u2019s rise has surprised even the people who built it.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the big things to note is just sort of the unexpectedness of this or how unlikely the rise of WEBC is just because of where we\u2019re located,\u201d says club president James Braakman. \u201cWe had almost essentially no mountain bike community at all before we started.\u201d<\/p>\n

Braakman says WEBC began in 2022 when a small group of riders started meeting on local trails and talking about what the region lacked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started in 2022 and it was a few of us who got together who had really been impacted by mountain biking in their own ways,\u201d he says. \u201cFor me specifically, mountain biking essentially changed my life, especially with mental health.\u201d<\/p>\n

The early idea was simple: use bikes to connect people in a place where riders were scattered in pockets.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot until we got together did things really take off,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Big group rides after COVID<\/p>\n

The first sign it could work came through casual group rides, timed perfectly for a community looking for reasons to get outside and meet people again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just started with a few group rides that had massive turnouts,\u201d Braakman says. \u201cIt was right after COVID and people wanted to meet other people who rode mountain bikes and we just didn\u2019t have that connection or community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those rides turned into a trail club, incorporated in 2022, with a big goal: find land, get permission and build something sanctioned.<\/p>\n

A council vote and a rare partnership<\/p>\n

WEBC found its opportunity behind the Libro Centre in Amherstburg.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t have a lot of hills or elevation in Windsor, Essex at all,\u201d Braakman says. \u201cAny place that has just even a fraction of elevation, we kind of really targeted.\u201d<\/p>\n

The club brought a proposal to town council at an ideal moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019d just been sworn in so we kind of caught them at the perfect time,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The first phase of the Libro Centre trails project was unanimously approved along with a land stewardship agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe town would receive the recreation venue at no taxpayer dollars,\u201d Braakman says, adding that while the model is common in established trail towns, it was new in the region. \u201cWe were the first ever to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The current set up.
\nThree phases, three winters of fundraising<\/p>\n

What followed was a rapid-fire buildout driven by donations, volunteer labour and a growing local fan base.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe raised $30,000 that first winter in 2023 to build the first phase of the project,\u201d Braakman says.<\/p>\n

The following winter the club returned to council with a bigger plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would have been the winter of 2024 I think we raised $60 or $80,000 that winter,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was all from local donors, businesses, individuals who stepped up.\u201d<\/p>\n

By winter 2025, the club was building its third and final phase and the fundraising hit six figures.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast winter spring of 2025 we raised $100,000 for the third and final phase,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

That phase included a major dirt-moving effort to create the elevation the region does not naturally have.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe brought in over 300 dump truck loads of dirt to build our own little manmade hill,\u201d Braakman says.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

A new riding zone and a five-times bigger scene<\/p>\n

\u201cThe amount of riders from 2022 to now; I bet we have at least five times the amount of riders,\u201d Braakman says. \u201cWe\u2019ve had 500 people sign up for a membership since 2022, like 500 different people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fundraising for 2026: skills park first, pump track nearby<\/p>\n

With the Libro Centre trail build complete, WEBC\u2019s next target is a skills park that will connect directly into the existing trail network and sit beside a proposed pump track project led by the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur next big build project will be the WEBC Skills Park at the Libro Center,\u201d Braakman says.<\/p>\n

The club expects a January 19 council meeting to formalize approval.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have our town council meeting on January 19th to get it approved, which it should not be a problem at all,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Then comes the money.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll go full on this winter to raise hopefully $20,000, $30,000, $40,000, $60,000\u00a0 to build the thing,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s our plan to really make it as special as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not just jump lines<\/p>\n

Braakman says WEBC wants the skills park to feel more like a course than a single straight skills line. It will blend BMX influence with mountain bike progression.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make it more than just your standard skills park where it\u2019s just jump lines,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The club is leaning on the experience of a former pro BMX rider, Eric Favot, who also ran Joyride<\/a> for a decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s gonna involve rollers, jump lines, wooden drops, wooden features, wall rides,\u201d he says, calling the goal \u201cprogressive\u201d for \u201call skill groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Building value with volunteer labour<\/p>\n

Braakman says the club has learned that fundraising numbers are only part of the story. Volunteer-built parks carry a bigger replacement cost than the cash total suggests.<\/p>\n

For a region that once had \u201calmost essentially no mountain bike community,\u201d Braakman says that kind of momentum still feels a little unreal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn one of the flattest places in Canada with no community, a couple of us just said let\u2019s figure this out,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd it\u2019s just gone nuts.\u201d<\/p>\n

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