SEMASS NEMBA 2020 Turkey Afterburner - The Virtual Event event

Parking: Cat Rock Parking Area near Cat Rock Field
Please make Donations to Hale here or using the Green Sign-up Link button
This event runs the entire month of November

Our Host

Hale is a private, non-profit education organization that manages 1,137 acres of adventure in Westwood and Dover, Massachusetts. Founded in 1918, its flagship programs include Hale Day Camp, Hale Summer Club, Education & Adventure, Hale Outdoor Learning Adventures, and Intrepid Academy at Hale.

Hale has deep roots into the mountain biking community always encouraging mountain biking in their reservation. They recently created a kids pump track and jump line that is pretty amazing. They are working towards more mountain biking programs for kids who wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to the sport.

Cost:

There is no registration fee but Hale’s daily parking fee is $10 per vehicle (you may pre-pay this fee online or upon arrival). But rather than pay a parking fee, we encourage everyone to make a donation to Hale. A gift of $10 or more confers one day of complimentary parking, but more importantly, it helps Hale maintain trails we use and programs that inspire and educate the next generation of MTBers. We encourage all riders to consider making gifts to help steward Hale’s trails and support its programs for youths and teens.

100% of all proceeds from this year’s Afterburner will go towards Hale’s property and programs for kids and teens.

Routes:

All routes start from the Cat Rock parking area within Hale. This is the first major parking area in the park about a ½ mile beyond the main entrance. We suggest the routes be ridden in one direction only. You can access the routes three different ways:

Trailforks.com or app. On a phone, select Events on the drop down menu (upper left menu). Select SEMASS NEMBA 2020 Turkey Afterburner - The Virtual Event. There are links to the routes in the event description you can select to follow. When you follow a Trailforks route, the gps track needs to be centered manually every time you take a look at the map. However, all trails in the park are displayed in addition to the route.

Strava.com or app. Join the SEMASS NEMBA Turkey Afterburner Strava Club . There are five events in the club that represent each of the five routes. On your phone, you select the club, the event in the club, view the route from the event, and the “Use Route” to follow the route on Strava. When you follow a Strava route, your gps track stays centered on your screen but only provides the trails on the route. You don’t see the other trails in the park.

You can print a paper map for each route here:
Kids Route - short
Kids Route - long
Intermediate Route
Mixed Bag Route
Super Technical Route

HISTORY:

As comes COVID-19, there goes the Afterburner - or so we thought. During this pandemic we were told “no large MTB events or festivals”. But then there was the DIY Landmine hosted by BikeBarn and Friends of Wompatuck. So we started to think maybe we could pull off a virtual event too.

Since the 2019 Afterburner was such a success, planning a virtual event at Hale was the obvious choice. We were able to come up with five super fun routes to follow for MTBers of all ages and abilities. These routes are not the same routes from the 2019 Afterburner. We thought up quite a few new twists and turns. There are two different Kids routes - a short and a long. We have a Super Technical route for those super technical MTBers. We have a Mixed Bag for those advanced intermediate riders that like a longer ride with little tech mixed in with their flowy single track. And finally, there is a super flowy intermediate rider route for those that don’t like tech.

We thought this “Virtual Afterburner” didn’t have to be one day as in 2019. Why couldn’t it run all of November? And why not benefit Hale in Westwood? Hale, like many camps, is working hard maintaining a vibrant camp environment during this pandemic.

So with that, the 2020 Turkey Afterburner - The Virtual Event, was born.


FAQ:

Please visit FAQ's on the Donation Page