Gil McCormick makes that phrase his mantra, and we stand behind his mission 100%. That's why we are beyond pleased to bring him into the COMBA fold on a full-time basis as our Trails Program Director. Finally!
Gil grew up on the Front Range and, like all of us, he holds a major passion for the outdoors. He spent many years rock climbing, and in fact was part of a group that helped two blind veterans ascend Denali. He's been a high school mountain bike coach and worked for bike access and policies on both streets and trails. He spent 14 years building Wheat Ridge Cyclery as general manager, and also worked there in a trail advocacy role, where he dug deep into the strategies of working with land agencies and communities to bring new trails to life.
He's had his hand in practically every trail project in COMBA's area for the past 20 years. Finding ways to bike-optimize those trails is a key part of his plans, so we owe him huge thanks for the shred-ability of the trails we all enjoy. He's blessed with a tireless energy, which means there's no trailbuilding or advocacy challenge too daunting. In his eyes, good enough is never good enough, so we feel confident in saying that he's the best man for the job. In fact, we owe him another debt of thanks: In early 2015, Gil and Kirk Metz saved COMBA from fading out of existence (when the busyness of life chipped away our volunteer leadership). They rallied together a new board of directors, and the group decided to bring in a paid executive director, our current rider-in-chief Gary Moore. Fast forward to today — and after great success stories including the Little Scraggy trail, the Rooney Valley trail, the Floyd Hill trail system and advocating for directional options at Dakota Ridge and White Ranch — we have six major trail projects on tap. Gil's been such a force for progress as our volunteer Trails Team Lead (plus we've admired his work elsewhere) that we couldn't be more excited to hoard him all to ourselves as an employee. He'll oversee and manage all of our trail projects, and be the tip of the spear in identifying new opportunities. His contributions to Front Range trails and bike advocacy can't be overstated; every Front Range rider has experienced a better day on the bike due to his efforts.
