Mountain biking is on the rise in Elizabethtown, a small community in the Lake Champlain Region, along with many other areas of the Adirondacks. Over many years passionate bikers, land owners, bike builders, and many others who have come together to build trails, donate resources, and create a mountain bike culture that is quickly putting the Adirondacks on the map as a mountain biking destination. 

Among those are Solace Cycles and The Barkeater Trail Aliance (BETA) who have recently teamed up to launch the 2020 Solace Cycles Bike Raffle. Solace Cycles make “Aggressive, purpose built bikes, designed for the Adirondacks and made to ride anywhere.” Based in Westport, NY and owed by Jeff Allot and Courtney Fair, Solace Cycles bikes are designed and tested on the rugged trails at Otis Mountain. BETA is a non profit organization that “builds, maintains, and advocates for a system of community and backcountry trails for ski touring and mountain biking​ in the greater High Peaks region of the Adirondack Park.” BETA builds and maintains trails in Elizabethtown, Wilmington, Lake Placid, and Saranac Lake. 

The 2020 Solace Cycles Bike Raffle hopes to help fund future BETA projects in the 2021 season and grow area mountain biking. Together, the two organizations are selling virtual raffle tickets for a grand prize of a custom build Solace Cycles Bike which will be announced in the fall of 2020 with smaller teaser prizes throughout the fundraiser. Raffle tickets can only be purchased online, here. The cost is $10 per entry, with bonus entries occurring at larger donations. $10 is one entry, $25 gets you three entries, $50 for 7 entries, and $100 awards 15 entries. The grand prize winner will choose one of three models; the OM-1, an aggressive single track hardtail, the OM-2P, a robust touring bike, and the OM-3, a gravel bike for mountain bikers (shown above). 

Some of the projects they are looking to fund according to the BETA website include building a new 20+ trail network connecting Lake Placid and Saranac Lake, reroutes of the Cooper Kiln Trail in Wilmington to establish a 7+ mile ride, and in Elizabethtown new trails at Otis Mountain and a community trail system on Cobble Hill. With so many exciting projects on the horizon, why not support trails and win a bike? Get your raffle ticket now!