Gate locked

To those coming to ride the trail, the gate is locked while the custodian is on vacation till January 14th. Anyone wanting to ride can park below the gate and ride in to the trail.

BUMP video

Hunting season notice...

From now thru January 31st, 2010, deer hunting is in season. The Sylaward trail is adjacent to the Hollins Wildlife management area. Hunts with guns occur on Today November 21st, December 4th thru 5th, January 2nd thru 8th, and January 29th and 30th. This could increase the number of hunters present in the woods near the trail. Wearing hunter orange or hi-vis yellow would be a good idea.

Working on the trail...

Johnny put in 5 hours on the Bill's Creek Loop today. He reports it is clear now. Thanks Johnny.

Night ride...

Vicious Cycle and COGS would like to invite you to join us for a night of "Creepy Spider Dodging" and "After Dark Antics" October 30th on The SYLAWARD TRAIL at Lake Howard. The front gate at Lake Howard will close at the usual time "30 min after sunset" so don't be late. After the ride you are invited to join us at Marble City Grill for a few after ride treats. All riders should have there own light set "tail light optional"and be ready to ride 14 mi with the group. We will try to leave the trail head at 6:45. Call Billy at Vicious Cycle for info. 256-404-5166.

Fall colors beginning...

I did a ride this morning mainly to clear some dead-fall that was blocking the trail. Its all clear now. The Fall colors are beginning to come out. The dark soil was beginning to be covered by yellow leaves. All the rain has filled the streams so you hear the water tumbling in the hollows below the trail. Now's the time to get riding.

Weed cutting...

Some of our club members have been on the trail doing some string trimming and mowing. There were about 3 spots that had gotten grown up a little that should be in good shape now. Happy riding!

How cool are these...

Here are a couple of recent emails addressed to our Trail Tsar:

Date: Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:24:56 -0500
  From: NF Hagan
Subject: Sylaward Trail
    To: Johnny Oliver

Wanted to thank you for the trail....it was a blast.  We all (12) met
yesterday and did the trail for the first time.  Some experienced (a few mtn
bike racers) --- some not ---- it was fun for all of us!  One of the guys
from England who races... said it was one of the most fun trails he has been
on....it was fast!

We all plan to come again soon and bring others .... probably on a Saturday
next time ... so we can visit downtown and eat @ the Marble City .....

Thanks again....you guys did a great job!

Norm Hagan
(Birmingham)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Johnny,

A group of us rode the Sylaward Trail yesterday. I enjoyed it so much.
It was a really fun trail, no stress (I don't enjoy the death defying
technical stuff so much).

Your club did a great job creating the trail, and I hope I get a
chance to return and play again.

Thank you for your hard work to help create such a valuable asset for
the community.

Thanks,
Alex Miller
Atlanta, GA
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

"My hobby is my passion...."

Blazes have been received from the USFS. Teams are installing them on the trail. They feature the COGS logo on a light reflective surface. Logo colors match trail section colors on the official USFS map of the trail.

Grand Opening

Grand Opening Scheduled 4/25

Sylaward Rescheduled.pdf 1.Htm

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Grand Opening of Trail

***Due to rainy forecast the Grand Opening has been delayed***

It's finally here...The much anticipated Grand Opening of the Sylaward Trail at Lake Howard in Sylacauga Alabama is scheduled for March 28th. The days events will kick off at 10 am with activities ranging from a bunny hop contest to a frisbee golf challenge. The ribbon cutting ceremony will begin around 11 am with the trail being open for a group ride and run/hike immediately after.

Trail Closed 3/9/2009

The USFS notified us that they will be burning in he area of the trail today and are closing the Sylaward trail for today.

Controlled burning scheduled...

Leslie writes:

The Forest Service is planning a controlled burn around the Lake Howard area. The mountain bike trail will be in the burn area. The burns are tentatively scheduled for one or more days beginning on this Friday, January 16 thru Monday January 19. I am not sure which days the burns will take place but the day we do the burn we will first clear the trail to make sure no one is out there and then close the trail at all access points.
Please help me spread the word to everyone.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to give me a call.
Thank you!
Lesley

Lesley M. Hodge
Natural Resource Specialist
USDA- Talladega National Forest- Shoal Creek RD
45 Highway 281
Heflin, AL 36264
256/463-2273
256/463-5385 fax
Email: lhodge@fs.fed.us

Another video