Shane Reneaux, 55 years old, was working on the bicycle trails here at UWF in 2017 when he got the opportunity of a lifetime. Water Management workers saw Reneaux with his brother sweating away the hours while digging out trails and building jumps for bicyclists. The opportunity was then given to the brothers to build trails on city-owned land in Muscogee.
Renaux jumped at the opportunity and was surveying the land within weeks, ideas for elaborate trials quickly forming in his mind. With the help of a few other volunteers and a Bobcat bulldozer, Reneaux has spent the past seven years bringing those trail ideas to life.
“When we first came out here the pine trees were up to my chest and you see for miles, now the trees are grown and fill out the landscape,” said Reneaux.
The pine trees are often in the way of building out new paths, but Reneaux said it was important to keep them because of the role they play in cleaning our air. Trees are not the only issue they face with building trails. Groundwater often comes to the surface and creates pools when it rains. Reneaux has worked to install underground gutter systems to help divert the water away from the trails.
“I’m probably out here four hours a day five days a week, and that’s under-balling it,” said, Reneaux, “Sometimes the rain will wear down what we’ve built, and trees will fall that we have to move out the way, between that and building new berms and jumps, it’s a full-time job.”
While the land at the Muscogee mountain bike trails is city-owned, the trails have been built solely by volunteers with donated materials. Reneaux is a member of Pensacola Off-Road Cycling (PORC), a chapter of the non-profit organization Southern Off-Road Bicycling Association (SORBA).
“Our volunteers donate thousands of hours each year to advocate for trail access, raise funds for trail development, build trails, and maintain trails,” said, SORBA.
PORC will hold a “Scratch Ankle” race on Mar. 16 in Milton. Four different levels ranging from the “Fun Ride” to the “XLarge” will be available for signing and all proceeds from the event will go towards PORC. The event will also be looking for volunteers and they encourage onlookers to come party at the event and cheer on the cyclists.
The deadline for cyclists and volunteers to sign-up for the event is Mar. 14 which can be done online at bikereg.com/scratch-ankle. If you want to join or donate to the Pensacola chapter, you can visit PORC online today.
PORC meets the first Friday of every month at 6 p.m. for a group ride on the UWF West Campus trails. A signed waiver is required, and it is a night ride, so they recommend bringing a helmet and charging up your bike lights before you come out.
