Merrimack Valley NEMBA

Who we are.

The Merrimack Valley Chapter of NEMBA was formed in 1998 to address the needs and concern of the mountain bike community in the Greater Lowell area. We draw our core members and volunteers from communities like Dracut, Tyngsboro, Lowell, Westford, Chelmsford, Billerica, and others. Our primary focus has been the maintenance and upkeep of the Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro State forest. We have on occasion been involved with trail maintenance in other locations such as Great Brook Farm in Carlisle, Thanksgiving Woods in Chelmsford and the Groton Town Forest. It is our hope that we can expand our activities to the Townsend State Forest as well. There is a lot of untapped trail potential out in Townsend. Of course this all comes down to our ability to recruit members and volunteers who can step forward to make these activities possible.

What we do.

Our local chapter has been averaging 4 Trail Maintenance events a year in the Dracut State forest. We have built several new trails in the last few years and have an aggressive plan for more trails and boardwalk projects. We want to enhance and maintain access to the trails for all mountain bikers as well as other users. Because of its proximity to a large urban area, our activities also include general cleanups of litter, construction debris and blow down by natural causes from storms etc. etc. This work is less glamorous but the experience is just as rewarding as we start to take back the forest. And of course we love to ride. Our local rides might take us to Groton, Townsend, Tyngsboro, Carlisle, Chelmsford, Billerica, Hudson NH, and of course Dracut.

What's next?

Looking to the future we will continue our trail maintenance events in the forest. We have proposals to cut new trails and construct new boardwalks to gain access to sections of the forest previously inaccessible. We will continue working with local citizens groups who share our same concerns and desires for the forest while enhancing our visibility and status with the local land managers. We want to continue to create a positive image of our mountain bike community to insure that the forest and the trails will be there for us when were ready to ride. You can't sit back and assume somebody else is going to take care of the problems. We need to grow our chapter with fresh volunteers and members who want to step forward and get involved to make a difference. But the bottom line here is our love for our sport of mountain biking.

Merrimack Valley NEMBA webstie