Giveback

    Pisgah Area SORBA’s Daniel Sapp and Jared Hartman work to clear fallen trees, branches, and debris from Turkey Pen Gap. Within just a few days, volunteers and staff from the nonprofit had cleared more than 500 fallen trees from local trails. Photo: Derek DiLuzio

    Giveback A Record Breaking Fundraiser for Freehub

    Words by Ian Terry

    As the year draws to a close, Freehub Media is excited to announce that a bike giveaway fundraiser to support Pisgah Area SORBA (PAS) raised $101,561 for the trail nonprofit based in western North Carolina.

    As Hurricane Helene devastated large swaths of North Carolina in September 2024, PAS' list of volunteers surged from 400 to more than 1,200 in a matter of days. In the western part of the state, these volunteers—most of whom had no power or running water at home—fanned out across their local communities to help neighbors pull downed trees off roofs, pump water from flooded properties, and carry potable water to those in need. Then, once given the green light from the Forest Service, they turned their attention to the trails. “When the hurricane happened, the ranger said please go clear these trails and make them as safe as possible,” said Stacey Wiedrich, PAS’ director of engagement. Within just a few days, PAS volunteers had cleared more than 230 fallen trees from 18 trails, totaling 550 volunteer hours. Freehub documented this effort, and the overall impact of Hurricane Helene to western North Carolina’s cycling community, in its feature story “Higher Ground,” written by Kristian Jackson and photographed by Derek DiLuzio, and published in the 2025 community-themed edition of the magazine.

    Freehub Media partnered with Specialized Bicycles, Fox Factory, Cane Creek, Better Bolts, Continental Tires, Ride Rock Creek, Industry Nine, and Fat Tire Brewing to host a virtual fundraiser to benefit the Pisgah Area SORBA nonprofit. One lucky winner received a custom-built Stumpjumper 15 valued at $17,000.

    Following publication, the story helped catalyze a broader partnership between Freehub Media, Specialized Bicycles, Cane Creek, Better Bolts, Continental Tires, Ride Rock Creek, Industry Nine, and Fat Tire Brewing to help raise funds for PAS as the organization seeks to broaden its scope in 2026 and rebuild from the hurricane. Fat Tire jumped in to offer $10,000 of matching funds on top of what was earned through the fundraiser.

    With help from mountain bike YouTube star Seth Alvo, a Specialized Stumpjumper 15 EVO was built using top-end components from participating industry partners and then given to one randomly selected donor of the campaign. That winner is Stuart Mackintosh from the greater Washington D.C. region.

    “Bravo to everyone who supported the Pisgah SORBA fundraiser,” said Mackintosh. “Every time I get on the bike, it will remind me of what you do to make, maintain, and build trails for all of us to enjoy. Keep it up.”

    Wiedrich says the unrestricted funds raised will be used to help propel the organization into a new chapter of trail maintenance and youth engagement. PAS has started to pilot a youth trail stewardship program to bring in future trail stewards as well as build multi-use trails for the ambitious Asheville Unpaved project. It’s also undertaking rebuilds of some of Pisgah’s most legendary singletrack in 2026, the nonprofit’s 20th anniversary year.

    “The next phase for the org is to build from just keeping up with maintenance, to keeping a standardized process to review and address issues before they arise,” said Wiedrich. “Partnerships are also what make special things happen on our trails.”