SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers

The SouthWest Association of Mountain Bike Pedalers (SWAMP) club is an association of mountain bikers that creates, and maintains mountain biking trails in Florida. The organization has built and maintains trails in several parks, including Alafia River State Park,[1] Balm-Boyette Scrub Nature Preserve,[2][3] Croom Trail,[4] Santos Trail and the Jay B. Starkey Wilderness Park Trail[5] in Pasco County.[6] Many of the trails are built on the remains of abandoned phosphate mines, which allows for a great variation in difficulty from easy to extremely advanced.[7]

SWAMP maintains over 100 miles of trails within 70 miles of Tampa,[7] and sponsors events including the Alafia River Epic[8] and the Alafia Fat Tire Festival.[9]

History

The club was founded in 1992 by Wes Eubank.[6] Since that time, the club has grown to several hundred members in size and sponsors educational as well as recreational rides. In addition to raising and spending approximately $20,000 per year on trail building and maintenance, the group helps in other efforts, such as the removal of invasive species in parks.[10]

Organization

The club belongs to both the International Mountain Biking Association and Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA). The club is overseen by a 25-member advisory board. The current president is Ron Zajac.[11]

References
  1. "SWAMP Mountain Bike Club" (PDF). State of Florida. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  2. "Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve Mountain Bike Trail". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. "Balm Boyette Scrub Preserve Trail". Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  4. Amrhein, Laura. "Biking the Croom Tract in Withlacoochee: Intense or Relaxed, It's All Natural". State of Florida. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. "First Pasco County Off-Road Bike Trail on District Land". Southwest Florida Water Management District. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  6. Cone, Laura (23 July 2014). "SWAMP Mountain Bike Club maintains trails, explores". The South Shore News. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  7. Routen, Barbara (17 September 2014). "Brandon Trails Receive Improvements". Tampa Tribune. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  8. "ALAFIA RIVER EPIC". International Mountain Biking Association. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  9. "Alafia Fat Tire Festival". Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. "About". SWAMP. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  11. "contacts". Retrieved 6 February 2017.
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