SWIMBA is pleased to offer a series of mountain biking classes for the 2010 riding season.  Classes include:

Basic Maintenance and Trailside Repair – April 24, June 12, July 10, August 14, September 11, and October 9.

Adult Women’s Beginner Mountain Bike Class – May 22 and June 26.

Co-ed Adult Beginner Mountain Bike Class – May 29 and July 24.

Adult Women’s Intermediate Mountain Bike Class – August 28 and September 25.

SWIMBA board member Gary Dinoso will lead the classes.  Gary has close to 30 years practical knowledge in mountain bike riding and repair.  He is an experienced mountain bike coach for Performance High, LLC, and is a certified United Bike Institute (UBI) bike mechanic and frame builder.  SWIMBA members Mark Hodges and Sarah Jo Lawrence will assist in teaching the classes.

For more details on the classes and to register, please see the calendar on the right side of this page.

Please note:  These classes are FREE to all SWIMBA members.  To become a member, select “Join SWIMBA” from the menu on the left.  

These classes deliver an incredible value and will fill up quickly.  Classes are limited to 10 people, with a minimum of three students per class.    Sign up soon to avoid missing out!  If you have any questions, please contact Gary Dinoso or Mark Hodges at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Hope to see you there!

SWIMBA presents Ask a Wrench.  This is a Q&A feature in which anyone can submit a bike related question via email and we have our local experts post an answer.  The question can be about fit, equipment, riding techniques, etc...  You can email your questions to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Some frequently asked questions are:

What are the best tires for XC riding in the foothills?

What do you recommend for a light system for riding at night?

How do I keep my feet warm and toasty while riding in winter?

The mechanics that will answer your questions are:

Jason Bauer from G-Fit Studio-  Professional Bike Mechanic since 1995.  Team mechanic for the Goldie's Women's Road Team during the HP Women's Challenge.  Current personal and race mechanic for Rebecca Rusch (2007, 2008 and 2009 World 24 Hour Solo MTB Champion).  Race mechanic for Greg Martin (2008, 2009 Singlespeed World 24 Hour Solo MTB Champion).  Mechanic and Mechanical Advisor for the Linen District's G-Fit Studio.  Professional Level Mechanics, Metabolic Services and Bicycle Fitting

Ryan Faber owner of Eastside Cycles- Ryan began mountain biking as a kid and that grew into working on bikes starting at 9 or 10 years old.  It was the one thing that came naturally to him as he was growing up.  By the time Ryan was in Junior High, he had most of the needed stands and tools and began doing tune ups out of his garage.  He had the opportunity to work and learn at a local shop for 9 years working on everything from simple adjustments to the most technical repair.  In March 2009, Ryan and his wife opened Eastside Cycles pushing his love for the sport and the industry to the next level.

Mark Hodges is an avid mountain biker and has been wrenching on bikes for a couple of years.  You've no doubt seen him lying trailside, gasping and bleeding and laughing hysterically.  This has never been the result of a poor wrenching decision, at least as far as anyone can tell.  He has logged thousands (yes, thousands) of miles on the local trails, and only got lost twice. To be honest, nobody knows why he's included in this list of experts, other than the fact that he's willing to look stuff up for people that are too busy with useful tasks.  It's possible that community service is a component of his recent release from an unnamed (but well-known) mental health facility, but he will neither confirm nor deny this allegation.

SWIMBA thanks BOB Trailers, Inc for their generous financial donation, a trailer, and tool rack. We also want to recognize them as a continued supporter of our organization, our foothills trail system and our recreational way of life in Southwest Idaho.

A number of trail advocates have teamed up to create an Idaho vehicle license plate with the slogan "Preserve our trails" on it. As with other special purpose plates, motorists pay an extra fee for this plate. $25 from the original purchase and $15 of each renewal of the license plate will be dedicated to a fund within Idaho Parks and Rec or a successor agency to support trail creation and maintenance in Idaho.

Any trail group could apply to use these funds with the stipulation that the trail(s) being supported must be open to mountain biking, although mountain biking need not be the primary purpose.

As noted above, the Idaho Parks and Rec department or a successor agency would administer the process. A bill is currently being presented to the state house and senate.

We will soon be asking trail enthusiasts to contact their senators and representatives to support this bill.  Detailed information on the project as well as a picture of the proposed plate can be found here http://idmtbtrailassoc.blogspot.com/.

To learn more about this effort, please visit http://idmtbtrailassoc.blogspot.com/

We would like to thank the 140+ volunteers who helped out at the Tour de Fat this past weekend.  The event was extremely successful!  We went through over 90 kegs and initial estimates were that we had over 2000 riders in the bike parade and 6500 attendees for the event itself (with zero incidents).

SWIMBA was able to sign up 39 new members during the event and we also sold a number of SWIMBA jerseys and socks and gave away SWIMBA bike bells and water bottles. 

See the Youtube video of the Tour de Fat created by Bill Richmond: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHuCDiMAlQw

REI announced today that SWIMBA has been awarded a $5000.00 cash
grant.  "Thank you for all of the great work you are doing in the Treasure
Valley community," stated Sylvia Cooper, REI Outreach Specialist.

SWIMBA plans on using the grant to purchase a trailer for the SWIMBA trail
team to use for storing tools and equipment.

The latest addition to the Ridge to Rivers system, The Watchman Trail opened Fall 2008. It is a non-motorized multi-use trail. The trail connects Trail 6 with Five Mile Gulch. Starting at Trail 6 makes for a mostly down hill run (but a lung-buster to get to the trail's starting point) while starting at Five Mile makes for the opposite. However, either way the grades are rolling and mellow, especially for the upper foothills. SWIMBA (the Southwest Idaho Mountain Biking Association) contributed funds for this trail.