Finalists Yakima’s ‘Take more friends, build more trails’ contest

We’re happy to announce the three finalists that are in the race for a starter grant that supports a grass roots trail project in 2014. Our finalists represent three totally different trail projects, all run by volunteers.  From a pump track in Italy to a flowy XC trail near Bratislava and a Bikepark near Aachen. Pick your favorite and give them your vote.This new starter grant is supported by Yakima, a world leader in cargo management equipment solutions. “Trail projects that help get more friends and families out on the trails are a perfect fit for our involvement and support. Yakima has a long history of supporting organizations like IMBA and projects that benefit the places where we love to play” said Yakima Europe’s Brand Director, Eric Roesinger.  The chosen finalist have three weeks to promote their projects via their social networks.  Friends, family, colleagues and total strangers who believe in their project can vote. The most liked (Facebook likes) project earns the start-up grant. Finalist 1: Happy Trail, Alto Reno, Italy [[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fid”:”256″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”style”:”max-width: 160px;”,”width”:”100%”}}]]Happy Trail is a non-profit mountain bike association, offering a wide range of activities ranging from workshops, bike camps, a MTB school for kids to advocacy and trail building. The project aims  to promote mountain biking in the local community by building a new pump track and XC trail. The newly build site wants to be a point of reference for children, parents and other people interested in mountain biking. Training is provided by federal MTB teachers. Finalist 2: Geländefahrrad Aachen e.V., Germany[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fid”:”257″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”style”:”max-width: 200px;”,”width”:”100%”}}]]This local mountain bike club is the result of a flourishing mountain bike community in Aachen. Last spring, the club got permission to start the development of Bikepark Dreiländereck and this summer, a flowy singletrail and a downhill track were built. In 2014, the club plans to build a third – Freeride – trail and improve the existing trails. The bikepark ist the first legal possibility to ride trails in the region of Aachen. Finalist 3: Pedal, Bratislava, Slovakia[[{“type”:”media”,”view_mode”:”media_responsive”,”fid”:”258″,”attributes”:{“alt”:””,”class”:”media-image”,”style”:”max-width: 283px;”,”width”:”100%”}}]]Pedal is a non-profit cycling organisation, involved in all kinds of advocacy work. Last year, Pedal volunteers attended a IMBA Trail Building School. Main goal of their local trail project is to improve trail safety, sustainability and flow of the ‘Pedal trail’ by sharing and practicing their gained knowledge. This trail was legalized and marked as bike trail by local authorities last September, however it was not designed as bike trail. Pedal will turn this trail in a purpose built mountain bike trail  that’s more enjoyable and fun to ride. It will become perfectly suitable for kids and beginners and reduces user conflicts.How to vote? Voting is easy, just follow 3 easy steps.Step 1 visit & like IMBA Europe’s Facebook page Step 2 click on the photo album named Yakima ‘Take more friends, build more trails’ contestStep 3 select your favorite project and Like the associated photo Voting for finalist will run to December 1st.