Bicycling was on the minds of many people Sunday as an event was staged that promoted the activity while raising money to maintain and create shared green space trails in Western New York.
The 17th annual bicycle swap and sale allowed people to purchase new and used bikes from vendors or sell their bicycles. There will also seminars that focus bike maintenance and updates on local cycling events. GObike Buffalo and the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus presented the event.
Joe Crumlish, executive treasurer of the Western New York Mountain Bicycling Association discussed how the event proceeds will be used.
“Funds raised from this swap go directly to that trail fund,” he said. “We’ll use that for trail advocacy and to support trail maintenance and building in the Western New York area. Right now, we maintain about 100 miles of shared green space trails.”
Crumlish believes the biking trails are some of the best in the region.
“Many people are unaware that it is a great area for mountain biking, maybe not so much in Buffalo, but in the Southern Tier. We have some of the best mountain biking in the country, and, in fact, our Ellicottville Holiday Valley trails are rated by IMBA (International Mountain Biking Association) as an epic ride facility in the United States. So we do have national recognition for those trails.”
Mountain biking continues to grow in popularity, Crumlish asserted.
“We have over the last 10 years made inroads into having more trail access for people, and another trend in mountain biking is the fat biking phenomenon. It has really taken mountain biking from a three season or a two season sport to something than can be done in all four seasons.”
Fat bikes are off-road bikes that have large tires that allow them to be used in snow, sand, mud and unstable terrain.
The annual event was at the Dig Buffalo Innovation Center on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.
