Family Picnic Fundraiser for Rockburn Skills Park

Come to a family picnic Sunday, April 15 from 1 to 6 p.m. to raise money for a new mountain bike skills area in Rockburn Branch Park in Elkridge. 

The picnic, to be held at the Rockburn Branch West Pavilion off Montgomery Road (near 6145 Montgomery Road), will begin with Guided Group Mountain Bike rides starting at 1 pm for skills ranging from Advanced to Beginner and Family rides led by World Champions Chris Eatough and Marla Streb.  The picnic activities, from 3 - 6 pm, include food, drinks, music, face-painting, snow-cones, a children’s bike rodeo and a raffle with over $5,000 in prizes. It will be hosted by the Mid Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts (MORE) and the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).

Have you heard about the Rockburn Branch Skills Park and Pump Track? It’s a “first of it’s kind on the East Coast” community project that will provide a state of the art mountain bike park facility right in the backyard of Elkridge and nearby residents.  April 15th is the big Family Picnic Fundraiser at Rockburn Branch Park with over $5,000 in raffle prizes.

The first phase, the pump track, was completed in October and saw literally hundreds of users visit over its first season. It’s a large, manicured, highly engineered plot of dirt with banked turns and rolling bumps formed, so that riders can propel themselves using only their bodies, pumping with their legs instead of pedalling.  The Pump Track has been a huge success and has been used by hundreds of bikers ranging from 4 year olds up to teenagers, adults and professional mountain bike teams.  Riders from Virginia, DC, Maryland, West Virginia and Delaware have been enjoying the Pump Track.

This project has already been recognized by several organizations for its ambitious nature and early success with the community, including IMBA, Clif Bar, REI, and more.  The total cost of the park, which is free to the public, is expected to be about $150,000. MORE has raised about $45,000 toward a goal of $60,000, while the rest of the funds and labor will come through volunteer hours, in-kind service, donations and grants. This endeavor is 100% underwritten by private donors, community support, and grants. So far it has garnered over 500 volunteer man-hours.

Upcoming Events

4/15 Family Fundraiser Picnic 3 - 6 pm with Guided bike rides starting at 1 pm

Rockburn Branch Park, West Entrance Pavillion, near 6145 Montgomery Road, Elkridge, MD

Please join us for professional lead mountain bikes rides at 1pm by World Champions Chris Eatough and Marla Streb which will include Advance, Intermediate, Beginner and Family/Kids ride.  A rodeo of sorts will be set up for all skill levels, especially kids. At 3pm, the fun really starts with food and beverages, music, face painting, snow-cones and the BIG WINNERS for this spring’s raffle tickets, including three dirt jump bikes, a full suspension 29 er and other cool stuff worth over $5,000. This is a fundraiser so bring your cash!  Admission to the family picnic is free, but guests can contribute by purchasing tickets for food and drinks. The $20 raffle tickets are available in advance at www.RockburnSkillsPark.org and also at the picnic.  You do not need to be present to win. 

4/23 Phase 2 Construction of Trail System

The second build phase of the Rockburn Branch Skills Park is approaching fast. IMBA and their Trail Solutions crew of trailbuilders plan to break ground April 23 and spend up to a full month digging and perfecting the various flow trails and features that will be available to riders of all abilities to use. This stage of the project will involve moving staggering amounts of materials, we’ve already got 35 truckloads of dirt and 50 tons of rock, and that’s just the first installment!  Lots of volunteers will be needed - sign up to volunteer for the effort on the website: www.RockburnSkillsPark.org.

6/2 Opening of the full Skills Park

Event details are being formed.  Visit www.RockburnSkillsPark.org for more information.

Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE), Howard County Recreation and Parks, and International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) have created a private-public partnership to build the skills area in Rockburn Branch Park--for those of you who have yet to visit Rockburn, it is 450 acres located in Elkridge, Maryland with two entrances: one by Rockburn Elementary School off of Montgomery Rd and the other on Landing Rd across the street from Patapsco Valley State Park.  The multi-use trail system is being built with mountain bikers and trail runners in mind.  It will consist of multiple trails of varying complexity and will be called The Rockburn Skills Park.

Howard County has dedicated land in Rockburn Branch Park for the project; IMBA is flying in world-class trail builders and designers; and MORE is raising the funding and providing volunteer support.  The final product will be donated to the park system and will be free for the public to use.  The park will include a pavilion, a pump track and three downhill lines: one for beginners, one for intermediate riders, and one for more advanced riders. This will be a family-first facility where Howard County kids and adults can hone their bicycle riding skills.

Sponsorship opportunites are available - get your name on a giant boulder at the trail head!!  Get your name displayed on permanent signage at the park, on the website, at the events.  Visit www.RockburnSkillsPark.org for more information.  All donations are 100% tax-deductible.

The skills area will also be part of IMBA’s Gateway Trails project, an innovative system of youth and family-friendly trails across the United States. When designing trails, IMBA incorporates sustainable designs that protect the flora and fauna while enabling a variety of users to experience a park's natural beauty. At Rockburn, area children, families and riders will volunteer during the skills area trail design.

MORE is a 501c (3) nonprofit organization representing thousands of area mountain bikers. Founded in 1992, MORE maintains more than 250 miles of natural-surface trails in 25 state and county parks throughout the region. MORE members contribute more than 3,000 volunteer hours annually and have constructed nearly 100 miles of new, sustainable trail. The club also leads hundreds of rides each year at local parks, ranging from beginner to advanced levels.

MORE is committed to environmentally sound and socially responsible mountain biking, facilitating recreational trail cycling, educating about the sport of mountain biking, maintaining local trails, and advocating for increased multi-user trail access.  www.MORE-MTB.org