(CLEVELAND)– Truett McConnell University athletic director, Jenni Shepard, announced Thursday that construction of the new mountain biking trail system on the back of TMU’s campus is officially underway. This project has been in the works for the past eight months, but construction could not begin until the ground had thawed from the winter and the funds had been raised by athletics to cover all costs.
Last fall TMU announced that they will be adding a cycling team, which will focus on mountain biking as its’ first discipline. The team of 15 riders will compete in cross country, downhill and dual slalom events.
The TMU mountain bike course will be professionally built by All Out Trail Designs and will have the artistic touch of Ethan Quehl, the owner/operator, who is a previous national champion and multi-professional winner on the downhill circuit and multi-time winner in cross country racing. Quehl is very passionate about his work and strives to give his heart and build for the people and for the love of getting people outdoors.
The course build should take about four months to complete. While there is already work being done to cut corridor, the heaviest work with the full crew will begin the first of April.
TMU will open the course up to outside riders approximately once a month for a small fee that will go towards maintaining the trail system. TMU will also host a number of cycling events each year, while profits from these events will go towards athletics and our new cycling program. The athletic department will coordinate with anyone wishing to utilize the trail system on campus from other athletic teams to students or classes. There is also a plan to add a student hub from the dorm area, where the difficulty level is less, in order for students to access a section of the cross country trail for exercise and fun outdoor activity.
“We are very excited about this new course,” Shepard said. “Having a course on campus will not only help our student-athletes to train and be prepared to compete at a high level, but it will add a great fitness component for our students, faculty, and staff.
We will also have the ability to host events on our campus which will get prospective students, their families and competitive adults on campus who may not have otherwise known about Truett McConnell University. Opening the course up on a limited basis to riders from the community will be a neat way for our riders to bond and establish connections and relationships with riders from the community. Great effort has been taken to feature some cool aspects of this beautiful part of Northeast Georgia and we are excited to be able to incorporate our unique terrain and features into the course.”
