ST. LOUIS — Saturday morning more than a hundred volunteers gathered at Carondelet Park, clearing out a spot for a growing sport.
Mountain biking popularity took off in Missouri during the pandemic. Just a few years later, volunteers broke ground on St. Louis' first mountain bike trail. We caught up with the cyclists behind this trailblazing effort.
Hours before temperatures reached the 80’s, shovels and picks were flying at Carondelet Park. Kellie Gavin is putting in some sweat equity with her kids, neighbors, community leaders, and mountain bikers.
"We're literally starting from the ground up," Gavin said.
She’s not just a mom, Gavin is a coach for the South City Composite Otters, a mountain biking team for kids in 6th through 12th grade.
“It will be the first mountain biking trail in the city of St. Louis. We live not too far from here. So I'm excited that we'll be able to hop on our bikes, I've got two girls that both love biking, we'll be able to hop on our bikes from our house and ride over here," said Gavin.
The dream of building this trail started back in the fall of 2022. Ryan Hanlon has sponsored the Otters team for years. Hanlon, who owns Route 3 Films, learned they didn’t have a home trail and wanted to help change that.
"They're a city team. So that started this whole process of getting to know our parks commissioner, working with my Alderwoman Anne Schweitzer, working with GORC, Gateway Off-Road Cyclists, and South Side Cyclery, and we started a coalition to start what you're seeing today," said Hanlon.
Making that dream a reality was a group effort and the biking community answered the call. Deanna and Tim Kakouris own South Side Cyclery.
"So this is the first phase. Our second phase that we've already have approval for is going to be on the other side. And that will be another loop altogether. It'll be about a mile of a trail for kids to come in and practice their skills in the city for community to come and hike and just kind of enjoy nature within the city,” said Deanna.
First-ward alderwoman Anne Schweitzer believes the trail will be a draw for city residents and visitors.
"It's incredibly exciting. This is the kind of stuff we want to see happening in St. Louis, bringing people into the city, a really fun activity for kids and using our parks to their fullest potential,” said Schweitzer.
It will also be a new place to practice for area mountain bike teams like the Otters and Metro High School Panthers.
“I don’t live within 10 minutes of a park that has a mountain bike trail and in two weeks I’m going to and it’s because I made one, that’s pretty cool, said Wesley Balsamo.
For Gavin, Saturday’s trail build will lead to years of fun with her family and her biking family.
"My oldest daughter who rides for South City Composite, she can practice her skills here. She can have fun, she's got friends that ride also. So they'll be able to join her and it's in our backyard, literally. So it's a big deal,” said Gavin.
The trail is for anyone who loves to hike or bike. An extension of the trail is slated to be built in the fall.
For more information about mountain biking teams click here.