🍂 Fall Into the Flow

Hello SAMBA Community,

The leaves are dropping, the air is crisp, and the dirt is in prime shape. This is one of the best times of the year to be on a bike in the Upstate. There's a lot happening as we head toward the end of 2026, so grab a warm drink and catch up with us. 🚵

🙌 October Recap

October kept us busy! Thank you to everyone who showed up and kept things moving:

• 🔨 Croft Trail Work Day (Oct 17): A big thank-you to Bruce Humphries for leading the crew from the gun range and lining up work for whoever showed up. Every pair of hands made a difference.

• 🌅 Beginner Ride: The October 9am beginner ride wrapped up our fall series. Thanks to everyone who came out to welcome new riders.

• 🌙 Wednesday Night Rides: The crew rolled out on October 7, 21, and 28. Thanks for keeping the weekly tradition alive!

🛠️ November Trail Work Day

📅 Saturday, November 14, 2026
📍 584 Groce Rd
⏰ Start time: Meet at 8:30 & work will be from 9-11:30am.

Bring:

• 🧤 Gloves

• 🪓 Tools (if you've got them)

• 💧 Water

• 👯 A friend!

Can only spare an hour? Come anyway. Small efforts add up to big results on our trails. It's also still easy to sweat more than you think on a cool fall morning. Use our referral link and get a free LMNT sample pack with your first order: ridewithsamba.org/lmnt 🧂

📆 Upcoming Events

• Thursday, November 12: Monthly Board Meeting with location TBD. Members are always welcome to come see how the sausage (and the trails) get made!

• 🛠️ Saturday, November 14: November Trail Work Day at 584 Groce Rd

• 🎄 Saturday, December 5: SAMBA Christmas Party at Holliday Brewing in Inman! Come celebrate another great year with your trail family. Save the date now.

• 🌙 Every Wednesday: Wednesday Night SAMBA Ride at 584 Groce Rd

🏁 StumpJump 2027: Bigger Than Ever

Mark your calendars: StumpJump returns Saturday, May 16, 2027! The board is working on turning it into a two-day event featuring:

• ⚡ Short Track: A fast, spectator-friendly 1-mile loop

• 🌲 The classic StumpJump race you know and love

More details are coming soon. Keep an eye on Spond and future newsletters!

🌲 Trail & Project Updates

• 🚜 Equipment purchased! SAMBA now has its own trail-building equipment. That means more trail work and faster progress on the projects we've been talking about all year.

• 🛠️ Holston Creek to-do list: Fixing the dip on the Moss Mile, correcting the start of the main loop, and reworking a few berms, including one on Prickly Pear. Our new equipment is ready to get to work on these.

• 👋 New Croft Ranger: Welcome to Daniel Bailey, the new ranger at Croft State Park! We're looking forward to working together.

• 🥾 Building partnerships: Bruce Humphries connected with the Local Hiker, who's interested in hosting a trail day and an after party. We're also planning to lend a hand to the Back Country Horsemen with clean-up on one of their trails. Trails bring us all together!

Every hour of volunteer work keeps these trails rideable for everyone. Thank you to everyone who's swung a tool this year. 💪

🌙 Wednesday Night Rides

Wednesday Night Rides are rolling every week at Southside (584 Groce Rd). Check Spond and our Facebook page for start times and updates. All skill levels welcome!

Our ride leader Danny Workman is on the injured list right now. Heal up, Danny, we miss you out there! 🩹 In the meantime, post your ride in Spond when you head out so others can join in.

💬 Stay Connected on Spond

Spond is SAMBA's official member chat. It's where you'll find:

• 🚴 Ride invites

• 🛠️ Trail work updates

• 📣 Quick announcements

Not on it yet? Join here: https://spond.com/invite/RUEJP

🙋 We Need You: Board & Volunteer Openings

Board nominations are underway for the year ahead. Joe Monopoli Jr. is looking to step down as President, and Chris Wert is stepping off the board as Treasurer. A huge thank-you to both for everything they've given to SAMBA! 🙏

We're also looking for someone to help with these monthly emails. If you like writing, organizing, or just want to get more involved, reply to this email or come to the November 12 board meeting.

🎟️ Membership Update

Your membership keeps SAMBA rolling. If it's time to renew (or join for the first time), head to ridewithsamba.org/join.

Your membership supports:

• 🌲 Trail building and maintenance

• 🚴 Weekly group rides

• 🎉 Community events

• 💬 Spond member chat access

• 🏁 StumpJump

• 📢 Trail advocacy

• 🏷️ Partner discounts

We're also excited to welcome new sponsors AFL and Polydeck, who will be added to our website soon. Thank you for supporting local trails! 🤝

🍁 Fall Riding Tip

Leaves hide everything. That beautiful carpet of fall color is covering roots, rocks, and slick spots you rode over just last month. Ease up into corners, keep your weight centered, and stay off the front brake on leafy descents. With shorter days, toss a light on your bars and dress in layers you can shed once you warm up. 🔦

📅 Never Miss a Ride

Check out the full SAMBA calendar at ridewithsamba.org/events.php. Subscribe by clicking the + icon so every ride and trail day lands right on your calendar. It's free!

📸 Share Your Shots

Have a great trail photo? Send it to board@ridewithsamba.org. We'd love to feature it!

🚵 See You Out There

From new tools in the shed to a bigger StumpJump on the way, SAMBA is heading into 2027 with serious momentum, and that's all thanks to you. Come dig on the 14th, ride on Wednesdays, and raise a glass with us on December 5th.

Work. Ride. Repeat.

Ride safe, shred hard, and we'll see you on the trails!

— The SAMBA Board

🚴 Spartanburg Area Mountain Bike Association · ridewithsamba.org 🚴