Fall in Oz is a wonderful time for mountain biking with the autumn colors, cool temperatures, and few insects. Leaves begin to fall in mid-October with the majority of leaves falling sometimes within a week in early November.

Northwest Arkansas is a growing region with a diverse community. As the area continues to grow, local organizations are working together to ensure that the amenities and resources available here are accessible to all who call NWA home.

Trailblazers’ mission is movement for all. As the program manager for the Trail Adoption Program, I oversee and advocate for hundreds of adopters, the community, and the trails. The Trail Adoption Program preserves the trails of Northwest Arkansas by dividing them into manageable sections, each adopted by volunteers who commit to their care, allowing the community to keep moving on the trails in their everyday lives.

In a continuation of the organization’s commitment to community outreach and advocacy, the launch of the new Shifting Culture blog will provide resources to make trails and active transportation accessible to all Northwest Arkansas residents for practical, everyday, and recreational uses.

Trailblazers, a non-profit organization whose core work is trail development and consulting and community outreach and advocacy, is pleased to announce the publication of the Northwest Arkansas Trails and Active Transportation Equity Report. This comprehensive report, available to the public on June 5th, provides a detailed analysis of the perceptions, use, and potential barriers to access for the region's current state of trails and active transportation infrastructure.

Trailblazers seeks community members to join our newly created Trails, Cycling, and Active Transportation Advisory Council (TCAT Advisory Council). The advisory council will represent the diversity of Northwest Arkansas by ensuring that members from marginalized and underserved communities are included.

Amazing riders like Jeremy Mcghee, Christian Bagg, and Martyn Ashton have been bringing more attention to accessibility on the trails and the quality of adaptive bikes. There still needs to be more clarity regarding making a trail adaptive friendly, aMTB ratings, and adaptive riders in general. So for the next year, Trailblazers will be going into great detail on what we have done to make our trails inclusive for all and what our plans will look like going forward.

Lincoln Junior High School (LJHS) National Interscholastic Cycling Team (NICA) has found many ways to give back to the community and one way has been through trail maintenance.