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  Meredith Jones

  - Meredith Jones

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• 

  Meredith Jones

  - Meredith Jones

  Store

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Already one of the area’s most expansive and popular mountain biking destinations, Lake Norman State Park will open a new nine-mile trail this month. For about a year nearly 40 volunteers with First Flight Bicycles and the Tarheel Trailblazers have worked on the project, which will be an extension of the existing 22-mile Itusi Trail.

“It’s going to be a fantastic resource for cyclists in the area,” says Jeff Archer, owner of First Flight Bicycles, a retail shop in downtown Statesville. Archer is also a member of Tarheel Trailblazers, a volunteer organization with more than 450 members that helps build and maintain over 75 miles of multi-use trails in the region.

The new nine-mile extension will consist of three loops, including the five-mile Wildlife Loop, which will feature plenty of jumps and tight turns, but easy enough for beginners to enjoy.

A $75,000 Recreational Trail Program federal grant helped pay for the new trial, including money to hire a contractor and purchase earth-moving equipment like a small excavator and ditch witch.

Archer said they were able to get a lot done with the grant money thanks to all the volunteers, including local Boy Scout troops and students at Mt. Mourne School.

“This has really been a group effort, and when it’s all said and done we’re going to have more than 30 miles of trails at the park. That’s a pretty impressive accomplishment.”

For details go to www.firstflightbikes.com