Jason Aric Jones | 30+ Years of Mountain Bike Trail Access and Advocacy in Michigan | 186

For Episode 186 we have Jason Aric Jones. Jason recently announced that he was stepping away from 30+ years of working extremely hard for mountain bike trail access and advocacy, and I know that it would be important to have Jason on the show to recount some of the experiences he has had along the way. Jason definitely took a creative approach to getting the job done, which eventually parlayed itself into the DTE Energy Foundation Trails, and multiple roles in statewide advocacy, that are even helping to influence regions around the entire state of Michigan, including the Upper Peninsula. 

Topics Include:

• How Jason got into mountain biking
• The reasons behind Jason getting into Mountain Bike Advocacy
• Some of the challenges associated with mountain bike access in the early days
• Early days of mountain bike advocacy
• Creative ways to get mountain bikers involved with advocacy in Michigan
• Getting access to the Waterloo Recreation Area for mountain biking (and how that started)
• The Hell Riders (Black Hat Advocacy / Civil Disobedience) – FTW!
• Getting appointed to the Michigan Trails Advisory Council
• The Michigan Mountain Bike Association – and the value of Statewide Mountain Bike Organizations.
• How the DTE Energy Foundation Trail came to be, and the details behind all of it.
• Black Trails…
• Actual Data behind trail use numbers and how mountain bikers are a huge part of that
• Equestrian use and Mountain Bike use
• Keweenaw Heartlands Parcels and the explanation behind that initiative at the MI Trails Advisory Council.
• The power of Resolutions at the State Committee / Council level.
• The Keweenaw Peninsula and why that region is important to Jason
• What Jason looks for in Trail Communities
• Closing Comments

Trail EAffect Show Links:

Potawatomi Mountain Biking Association: https://potomba.org/

DTE Energy Trail: https://dtetrail.org/

DTE Trail - Pure Michigan: https://youtu.be/LctSL056YfY?si=6-wpG32OltelA4jU

Episode Sponsor - Coulee Creative: www.dudejustsendit.com https://www.couleecreative.com/

Trail One Components 20% off Coupon Code: trailpod

Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

KETL Mtn Apparel Affiliate Link: https://ketlmtn.com/josh

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/?ref=XavfBrRJfk4VOh

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services