The Pioneer Valley Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association was founded in 1996 and now encompasses Franklin, Hampshire and Hamden counties. This broad swath of Massachusetts includes the entire Connecticut River Valley from New Hampshire and Vermont in the North, to the Connecticut border on the South. Though much of the area is river valley it also includes the foothills of the Central Mass Plateau to the East, the foothills of the Berkshires to the West and the dramatic Holyoke range running east to west across the southern third of the area, encompassing much of what was once pre-historic glacial Lake Hitchcock. This part of the state is home to many of our largest State Parks and Wildlife Management areas.

The chapter, through it’s members, has built, maintained and enjoyed trails in many of these including: Mt. Grace State Forest, Wendell State Forest, Mt. Toby Wildlife Management Area, Sugarloaf State Reservation, Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area, Erving State Forest, Dubuque State Forest, Holyoke Range State Forest, Robinson State Park and the D.A.R. State Forest.

As of December 2004 we have approximately 150 members up and down the valley with many more classified as former and inactive. Our goal for the coming year is to restore many of these to the active list and, with their help, make this chapter a centerpiece for NEMBA.

What we do

Simply put we ride. We ride in small impromptu groups, we ride alone, we ride in shop sponsored training rides, we ride with our families, we ride in familiar areas, we ride on new trails, we ride socially, we ride for fitness, we ride for our minds, but most of all we ride in one of most beautiful parts of our nation. In order for us to ride, however, we also advocate for trail access, we build and maintain trails, we work with land managers and other trail user organizations.
Last year we had regular maintenance programs at the D.A.R. State Forest in Goshen and the Holyoke Range in Granby. In the late fall we restored the old race trail at Wendell State Forest. We hosted a Harpoon ride at the D.A.R in May of 2004. We annually man a food booth at the Palmer Cyclocross to raise funds for chapter activities.

How we work

Our chapter encompasses a large area of Massachusetts, in order for us to assure representation and land management attention in all the diverse areas, we have divided the valley into 3 sub-chapters each with its own Chapter Vice President.