Joe Sloane☆☆☆☆☆

The mastermind behind Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day(BHMTBD), an event

that started happening in 1994 and still happens every year. BHMTBD

always brings the local mountainbike community together to celebrate

our passion, but has also sucked in new riders with it's home-grown

approach. This family-friendly event has always been FREE, and for a

long time, was the only MTB event where the land managers (Mass. DCR)

actually hosted, sponsored, and worked the event. The formula worked,

and the DCR always has worked out a calendar spot for BHMTBD.

Joe Sloane has spent the better part of each year for the last 14

years, asking, hounding, pleading with busy bike shop owners, bigbox

bicycle companies, frame builders, energy bar moguls, local

restaurants, etc, to get them to donate products and services to the

famous raffle at the end of the day. They're all invited to setup a

tent to show off their stuff..........Joe also designed the kids bike

'rodeo' obstacle course and world-famous all-ages bike limbo

competition.

Joe has always been active in trails advocacy and maintenance in the

Blue Hills, and with Friends of Blue Hills and AMC. He has overseen

many important volunteer trail repair

crews, and is a founding member of Blue Hills Trail Watch, and 'eyes

and ears' DCR volunteer group that helps take care of the 150 miles of

trails and provides guidance to all trail users.

This summer, Joe was nominated by his peers to become one of LL Bean's

Outdoor Heroes. A surprise presentation was done at the annual Blue

Hills Trail Watch meeting/BBQ in August. The manager of the Mansfield

store did the honors.

Below is the official LL Bean text:

The L.L.Bean Outdoor Heroes(R) program was developed to thank those

who have dedicated their time to preserving the outdoors. These are

people who may not make the front page news, but who change the world

around us for the better.

We are pleased to introduce you to the recipients of the 2008 Outdoor

Heroes award. The winners have each been awarded a $5,000 grant

towards their organization—over and above any other L.L.Bean

sponsorships—to support continued preservation, conservation, and

educational efforts.

Sooo, the 5g's goes to Blue Hills TrailWatch--maybe a few new tools,

or a Muck Truck or Ditch Witch(plenty ditches to keep clear in the

BH)........

In addition, Joe recieved a $500 gift card AND a shiny chrome-plated

old-school lantern, for those all-night projects........

AND, in more recent news, Joe was captured and taken on a mountain

bike ride in Cutler Park, along with 16 of his good friends.......

SC