Biking group gets grant for trail work

A Long Island nonprofit mountain-biking group has received a $15,000 grant from the REI outdoors store in Carle Place to improve trail maintenance.

Concerned Long Island Mountain Bicyclists (CLIMB) plans to use the money to buy tools and train volunteers, president Michael Vitti of Glen Head said.

He said the group expects to use the funds to improve trails at Stillwell Woods in Syosset, Trail View State Park in Woodbury and Bethpage State Park.

The grant will be combined with grants of $5,000 from Brands Cycle and Fitness in Wantagh and $3,500 from Bicycle Planet in Syosset. “The result will be better maintained trails that will be marked well and easier to follow,” Vitti said.

With work under way on a state project to extend the Bethpage Park paved bicycle path north to the Syosset Long Island Rail Road station, CLIMB has already moved its bike trail to accommodate the extension. The grant also will cover the cost of repairing any damage to the trails after the project is finished.

The group also had to reroute about two miles of its mountain bike trail in Trail View State Park in Plainview to accommodate the paved path extension project.

Above: REI sells equipment for outdoor activities and fitness in Carle Place. (Jan. 16, 2012)