In March, Scott Linnenburger and Aaryn Kay of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew joined forces with Louisiana mountain bikers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to open the first official mountain bike trail on public land in the New Orleans metro area. The target was Bonnet Carre Spillway, a Corps property with potential to provide a recreational outlet for city dwellers.

IMBA's visit was a great success, revitalizing mountain bikers in the area and busting out 3/4 mile of new trail and 1.5 miles of restored trail. Surrounded by cypress swamp, the property now features twisty singletrack that hops from one dredge spoil pile to another - a mountain biking experience like nowhere else. The newly-formed New Orleans Metro Area Mountain Bicycling Organization (NOMAMBO) hopes to build on the partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and increase singletrack mileage at the spillway. In addition, the club and Corps managers are now investigating trail potential in the gargantuan Atchafalaya Basin, east of New Orleans.

Contact Dan Dickerson (Dan.Dickerson@johnhcarter.com) and the New Orleans Metro Area Mountain Bicycling Organization for more information on this emerging urban mountain biking success story.

Special thanks to the Army Corps' Michael Stout and the Bonnet Carre Spillway staff for their Cajun hospitality and award-winning jambalaya.