Last night I started thinking about the threat of losing multiuse trails like HPT and began to type. Outdoor recreation plays a significant role in many of our lives and limiting it has significant impacts on our communities. Below is who I am and what HPT has become to me and my family. If you don't have time to read it all...fine, but I encourage anyone who values the trail system and expanding trail opportunities to contribute to this thread.

JED

My HPT story:

My Name is Jed Olson, I’m a 29 year old dedicated father and husband who happens to be a multisport athlete and nature enthusiast. Since 1994 I have been making ends meet, either full time or by moonlighting, working in the recreation industry. I have worked for some of the biggest names in action sports, athletic events, and sports tourism. I hold degrees in science and education and currently teach high school science fulltime. I expend great amounts of time and energy working to empower youth through diversity awareness and community outreach in social justice and outdoor endeavors. I have lived on both coasts of the US and many places in between, as well as Australia and spent significant time in Europe. In my relatively short life I have seen and done quite a bit. I currently CHOOSE to live in La Crosse, WI.

After spending time in Northern California living between Redwood National and Redwood State parks, literally on the ocean (mapquest Ocean Drive, McKinleyville, CA to prove it), my wife Kelly and I had effectively decided we would next be moving back to Australia or to Seattle for my wife to continue here education. Our only hesitation came because our family is in the Midwest and we had a desire to soon start having children. As we hesitantly considered coming back to the humdrum of our childhood homes, we asked the question: can we handle living east of the Rockies?

When looking at the list of potential schools, La Crosse popped up and I recalled a biking trip I took in 2001. I had come down to La Crosse to visit a college friend and made a trip out to Bluebird for a ride. Over the next four years, I made several more trips to La Crosse and recall dropping into the Mississippi Valley on I-90 and having a hard time keeping my eyes on the road. I remember seeing progress made on the HPT trail system in the large gaps of time between my visits. I remembered always trying to keep track of which little coulee we were popping in or out of. I remembered entire days spent floating on the river. And I decided I could handle La Crosse.

After significant deliberation and a very hard to sign rejection letter to a great school on the West Coast, we packed all that we owned into a pickup and drove East. We moved into the basement of a friend for the first week we were here and soon settled into a rental unit on the South Side. That fall, a pregnant Kelly and I made our way up TNT many times to take advantage of the great HPT trail system. We logged more miles than we had during any one season on the West Coast.

Since that fall, we’ve considered leaving several times and even interviewed back on the West Coast but at least partially due to my involvement in HPT, we have committed to staying at least a while longer. I can confidently say that the local off road biking scene and resources brought us here and have kept us here for 4 years. Although we live modestly, my family has put nearly $150K into the local economy since moving here. We have made contributions to the lives of youth and the community as a whole that can’t be measured in dollars and cents. We have built community and we belong to a community. Without trails providing access to the unique natural beauty none of it would have happened.

Jed.....

That was one of the most inspiring threads I have ever read. I have always felt that family comes first. Consequently, that's why I married the most beautiful women in the world and have had the blessing of two wonderful boys. They are my life and will always take the driver seat.

I feel that you are in the right place right now, and maybe indefinitely. Your involvement in the development of our trails and the experience you have shared is unmatched. You are just what LaCrosse has needed for so many years.

The state of Wisconsin is a box of chocolates when it comes to recreational trails. There are so many opportunities both in the Coulee Region and the rest of the state to make the most enjoyable trail systems in the nation.

I can't think of a better place to volunteer and live.

I must say that I have to agree 100% with word written above my post.

I too have had the opportunity to travel all over the country which is mostly all do to the quest for some more recreational stimulation and adventure. Although I have not lived on the east or west coast my father has lived in both places. This offered great travel opportunities at young ages, especially for mountain biking in both southern and northern California. I have also got to learn a great deal about ocean living on the east coast. I have had travel opportunities that stem from working consecutive Winter X Games in Aspen (VII & VIII), coaching youth Alpine Ski Racing & Snowboarding, racing PWC's (stand-up jetskis), Mountain bikes, skis and competiting in national snowboard competitions on both the west and east coast. The only thing that remains constant in my story is how I enjoy coming home to La Crosse. I often wonder when driving on long cross-country trips (and there have been many of them) what the benefits of leaving the La Crosse area would be? I can hardly think of any that are significant. The coulee region has many great things to offer, and even more now with the expansion of HPT both with the Pump Track/Dirt Jumps and the ever expanding trail network. We get enough cold and snow in the winter to offer some of the best winter conditions in the Midwest and enough warm weather in the summers to offer great warm weather recreation opportunities what ever they may be. To sum it up, in all of my travels I have not found a place like the La Crosse area. And just like Jed said above, every time I come home from a trip west I marvel at the view when dropping down into the river valley on I90.

Joshua Blum

I also live here by choice due to the remarkable recreational opportunities available in this area. I'm single with little family left in the area and a career that could take me any where. The recession has hit my employer hard. I'm still getting checks but the possibility of unemployment looms. The winter was longer and colder than usual, wondering if each new day would be the last. I had only HPT and trail work to look forward too, and that got me by. I considered giving up civil engineering and just getting any job locally in the event that I had no choice. I felt that the value to the community of volunteering to build the best multi-use trail system was a noble enough cause. Now the situation is much simpler. I'd high-tail it to a better paying job in North Dakota faster than you can say "budget deficit", and my income tax, sales tax, car license fees, etc, etc will go with me.
I've been all over the world, hiking, biking, and seeing the sights. From Europe, New Zealand, Asia, and Nepal, the best long-term solution to protecting the natural environment is giving the people a stake in protecting it. Shared use recreational trail systems can and must be a part of this solution or we will lose all that we have left.

Matthew J Dotta P.E.