Ethan Edman Trail Crew Manager for TrailBlazers – Bentonville AR, Land of OZ Trails #127

Ethan is a transplant from Southwest Missouri but an Arkansas native at heart, he moved to Fayetteville in 2012 and then later to Bentonville after graduating from Missouri Southern State University with a B.S. in marketing and a minor in Spanish. After moving to Northwest Arkansas he fell in love with mountain biking, the outdoor centric lifestyle and the cycling community that the area has to offer and joined the Trailblazers team in 2019. When Ethan isn’t playing in the dirt you can find him out on the trails riding his bike, doing wheelies and jumping around. Ethan has enjoyed being able to curate many local favorite trails as well as having participated in event preparation for large events such as Bike Bentonville, Outerbike, and the UCI Cyclocross World Championship.

Topics:

How Ethan got into mountain biking
Joplin Mo and the Bentonville Connection
Attending the first Big Mountain Enduro of 2023 at Mt Nebo
Ouachita National Forest / Mena Future
- Future potential gravity venue in Arkansas
The TrailBlazers Backstory and Restructure in 2021
The role that TrailBlazers plays with facilitating trail building and maintenance
- Oversight of all Trail Construction in Northwest Arkansas
- Working with the public / gaining easements for access
Jeremy P. McGhee jumps into the conversation
How TrailBlazers are making trails better for adaptive riders
- Jeremy’s first solo loop at Little Sugar Trails
- Jeremy is cataloging the entire trail network in Northwest Arkansas for Adaptive riders, and how modification can be made to accommodate more adaptive riders
Jeremy’s Jumping Project and Documentary that is in progress
A day in the life of Ethan Edman as the Trail Crew Manager and his crew
Different categories of work that TrailBlazers does on trails.
Staffing the Trail Crew at TrailBlazers
Ethan’s philosophy for trail building
What Ethan looks for in a Trail Community / Mountain Bike Community
Closing Comments and Thank You’s
- A preview of what’s being build at the Bentonville Bike Fest Venue

Links:

TrailBlazers: https://wearetrailblazers.org/

Bentonville Bike Fest: https://www.bentonvillebikefest.com/

Trails at Mena Ouachita National Forest: https://www.fs.usda.gov/project/?project=63649&exp=overview

Jeremy P. McGhee: https://www.jeremymcghee.com/

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

Trail EAffect Show Links:

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Trail EAffect Podcast Website: www.traileaffectpodcast.com

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

Trail One Components: https://trailone.bike/

Worldwide Cyclery Affiliate Link: https://www.worldwidecyclery.com/?aff=559

Contact Josh at evolutiontrails@gmail.com

This Podcast has been edited and produced by Evolution Trail Services