Tucson area trailheads are busy every weekend with mountain bikers, and Sonoran Desert Mountain Bicyclists will be counting helmets this weekend.  The count and survey of mountain bikers is part of a regional effort to achieve “Platinum” status from the League of American Bicyclists. Eastern Pima County currently has a “gold” status as a Bicycle Friendly Community.

“It’s going to be a fabulous weekend,” says Martha Lemen, survey coordinator.  “ We’re hoping everyone will come out and do their usual ride. We want to capture a typical day of riding in the Tucson region.” She also encourages anyone to come out and ride and be part of the count. Fantasy Island is a popular  trail system for beginners with options of wide trails over mostly flat desert terrain.

Ten SDMB volunteers will be conducting the survey from 7 am to 10 am, on Saturday and Sunday. Look for them at these trailheads: Sweetwater, 50-year Trail, Starr Pass, Upper Bug Springs, and Fantasy Island.

SDMB is using the same tally sheet used for road bike counts, which jurisdiction staff and volunteers throughout Pima County completed in November.  There will be information on gender, under age 18, over age 65, and whether the riders are in-bound or out-bound on trails.

Asked how many mountain bikers she expects to see, Lemen answers, “ We have a feeling that there are a ton of mountain bikers, from our experience seeing so many cars at the trail heads when we go on our regular rides.”

“The survey will take less than 30 seconds,” explains Lemen.  Besides collecting demographic data, SDMB  will ask:

• What level of rider are you?  (choices ranging from beginner to advanced)
• How many miles did you travel to the trail?
• Which feature of Tucson area  mountain biking would you like to see improved?
• Are you a member of SDMB?

“This is a chance for us to hopefully validate what we think about people using the trails,” says Lemen. “We want to demonstrate the high numbers of riders, who share our passion for mountain biking, and show the variety of folks riding on a bunch of different trails.”

SDMB volunteers will also have brochures and  membership information to hand out  at a few trail heads too.  And they’ll let riders know about the SDMB website at:  www.sdmb.org.  The website is a great resource for trail maps and descriptions throughout the region:  Rincon, Tucson, Catalina, and Santa Rita mountains.

SDMB will also do another survey in the fall, “Probably in November, to capture data from all the snowbirds who ride here,” says Lemen. “So we’ll have some good numbers for the statisticians at PAG (Pima Association of Governments) that they can include on the application for Platinum.”