The International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) announced yesterday that the 2010 IMBA World Summit will be held in Augusta, GA May 5-8. Augusta may seem like an odd choice, especially to mountain bikers in the western US, but the area is quickly becoming the model for building sustainable trails in cooperation with state and federal land managers. There’s already an IMBA Epic trail system in the area (FATS) and there are plans to add even more singletrack to the region in the next few years.
I’m actually not too surprised that Augusta is being recognized as a world-class mountain biking destination. In fact, the second article I ever wrote for singletracks in September, 2001 was titled “Hidden Gems Found in Augusta, GA” where I made the claim that the area was already a southeastern MTB mecca. Sure, I may be a little biased since I started mountain biking in Augusta in the mid-1990s (my first real trail ride was at the Stevens Creek Trail) but it’s tough to argue with miles of singletrack spread across nearly a dozen unique trailheads.
Want to see what the hype is about? Check out this list of Augusta area MTB trails… See you at the World Summit!
