The dirt: June 2025
The Dirt on New Trials & How to Support Them, WCW, Races, + MORE!
Welcome to The Dirt, your favorite monthly newsletter. If you wanna get informed, get outside, and get involved in your local Central Ohio trails, then get "the dirt" from us.
Gahanna has a new MTB Trail!
Here is another great example of getting trails on the ground....the right way. Resident lead. City supported. COMBO influenced.
The City of Gahanna heard the call from local residents that they want quality trails in their neighborhood. This is the embodiment of IMBA's principal of, "More Trails Close to Home." One of the biggest problems with this sport is that you have to drive 30-60m to find a quality trail. Having trails out your back door is huge. It means riders can get out before or after work. Kids who don't have a car can ride from home.
What an awesome opportunity for Gahanna residents and the city at large. Cheers to Chris Irvin, Hugh Ralston and Kevin McGinn who pushed for this development, the City of Gahanna and Steph Ferrell, Director of Parks for enlisting reputable trail-builders (American Ramp Co. and Innovative Dirt Solutions) on the project. You have poured a lot of passion into this project and the result shows.
LET'S RIDE!
Ohio's MTB License Plate is HERE!
Trails don’t build themselves… but your license plate can help!
Your purchase of this plate not only shows off your mountain biking pride but also helps fund important trail advocacy and maintenance efforts. COMBO’s involvement and leadership with OMBA and OTP was an integral part in securing $5 million out of the state capital budget for natural surface trails in Ohio. Of that, $1 million is going towards mountain bike trails in Ohio and a transformative project is coming to the COMBO kingdom. Big announcement coming about that soon!
Proceeds from the mountain bike plate will go to the Ohio Mountain Biking Association (OMBA) and support state-level trail advocacy funding. This is a huge step toward securing more resources for mountain biking trails across the state and one of the few mountain biking-specific license plates in the nation!
💸 $25 from every Ohio Mountain Bike Plate goes to OMBA to fund more trails.
⚒️ More dollars = more dirt = more stoke.
✅ Available now from the Ohio BMV
The Mayhem FUNduro - RAIN DATE!
Let’s Get WILD!
Tackle 13 miles of scenic singletrack at Ohio's original enduro venue, THE WILDS! With five timed stages, expect a mix of punchy climbs, fast descents, and manmade features including jumps, drops, and gaps—all with go-around options. This course is beginner-friendly but still delivers a thrill for seasoned riders.
🎥 Get a feel for the course by watching this 1st Timers Club video.
🔗 Download & Read the 2025 Mayhem FUNduro Racer Packet
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A group will be at The Wilds for a pre-ride TOMORROW! Feel free to join us or come out and session that segment you might want to crush
🗓️ Sunday June 22nd
⏰ roll out at 11am
📍 The Wilds Trailhead - 14395 Chandersville Rd. Chandlersville, OH 43727
Get Lost Wednesdays
Join us for a weekly fun, no-drop MTB ride. We’ll be hitting P2 through our connector, so please be familiar with the trail and confident in your riding skills.
🗓️ EVERY Wednesday
⏰ Meet at 6:30pm - Roll Out at 7:00pm
📍 Park in back of LITW Shop - 5175 Cheshire Rd, Galena, OH
Calling all trail queens! It's time to shred, laugh, and connect!
Join the Lady Gnar Shredders for our monthly Women Crush Wednesdays rides - where dirt, jumps, and good vibes come together! This welcoming, no-drop group ride embraces riders of ALL skill levels from first-timers to seasoned shredders.
🗓️ June 28th
⏰ Meet 5:30pm - Roll Out 6:00pm
📍 Alum Creek Phase 1 - 5831 Lewis Center Rd, Galena
🎉 Party Laps on the Gnomewood Jumpline
The roar of Ohio's first ever Women's Mountain Bike Weekend returns to West Branch State Park!
🗓️ June 27th - June 29th
📍 West Branch State Park
🎟️ $40 for adults. $20 for Jr ladies.
If you've ever finished a ride on one of our trails and thought to yourself "I'm no good with a chainsaw but I'd really like to still get involved somehow" boy do I have news for you. Every 3rd Thursday we have our COMBO Board Meetings that are open to the public (that's you) where we get together at a different bike shop or brewery every month for beer and pizza to talk bikes.
Here's a little breakdown of some committee chats that happened this month:
🎪 Community Engagement Committee
We want to plan official COMBO pre-rides before each of the FUNduro races, but even if you're not racing please come out and join the camping, cookout, and riding fun!
We hope to see you June 22nd at The Wilds for the FUNduro course pre-ride!
🏁 Race & Event Committee
We had to make the tough decision for the riders & the trails to cancel our original race date at The Wilds. But we're stoked to be able to reschedule it for June 29th!
We have been working with the Marketing Committee to make a comprehensive Racer Packet for each FUNduro race with ALL the information you'll need - check out The Wilds Packet Here!
🙋🏻 Membership & Volunteer Committee
Each year we run a membership drive so we can continue to do what we're so passionate about - keep people riding on well maintained trails. We've been in the planning stages of this years drive, but we're also excited to launch our drive with the launch of COMBO's new website & CRM platform - coming soon!
🪓 Trails Committee
A 2025 Calendar of Trail Days at your favorite COMBO Trails will be coming soon.
If you're interested in hosting and/or helping with a Trail Day at one of your local trails, please reach out to us! We'd also love to hear what you think your trails are missing or what works needs done.
📸 Marketing Committee
We've been busy bees over here working on launching COMBO's new website as well as doing a lot of behind the scenes work with configuring a new CRM platform for donations - whew!
🏫 Rider Education Committee
We launched our 2025 Rider Education Class Schedules and we hope to see you at one soon!
June 28th - SHRED SCHOOL
July 6th - DIRT SCHOOL
August 2nd - SHRED SCHOOL
