Meet BETA's New Executive Director
Glenn Glover, the new executive director of the Barkeater Trails Alliance, has a lot to look forward to this year, such as riding the mountain-bike trails that he now oversees.
by Phil Brown
Glover started the job late last year after the biking season had already ended (for most people). He has ridden a few BETA trails but is eager for more.
“I’ve been riding mountain bikes for 30 years now. I’ve always been passionate about it,” he told Bike Adirondacks.
BETA hired Glover to replace Josh Wilson, who oversaw an impressive expansion of mountain-bike trails since 2015. The nonprofit organization now maintains more than 125 miles of bike and ski trails in the northeastern Adirondacks, including bike-trail networks in Saranac Lake, Lake Placid, Wilmington, Keene and Elizabethtown.
Raised outside Boston, Glover attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. After graduation, he moved west for a career in electrical engineering. Eventually, he took a job as executive director of the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance in Washington State, greatly expanding the membership over seven years. This led to his hire as recreation planning and development manager for the Washington Department of Natural Resources, a post he held for three years.
Glover and his wife live in Keene Valley. “We absolutely love it,” he said. “There’s something magical about the Adirondacks. The people are just first class We’ve been made so welcome.”
Although Glover has been mountain biking for decades, he doesn’t consider himself an expert technical rider. “I like long alpine rides that take you to the middle of nowhere,” he said. “One of the things I want for BETA is to provide the full spectrum of riding opportunities.”
Goals for 2024
BETA’s biggest project this year will be an expansion of the East Branch Community Trails in Keene. Over the past two years, Peduzzi Trail Contracting has built a beginner’s loop, a mile-long climbing trail and a flow trail on county land off Route 9N. The plan this year is to extend the climbing trail, add a new downhill trail and build a skills park at the base of the hill. It’s hoped that this phase of the multi-year project will be finished by late summer.
BETA also plans to undertake extensive maintenance of the mountain-bike trails near the Craigwood Golf Course in North Elba. “It’s to bring about a more enjoyable riding experience and alleviate long-term problems,” Glover said. Plans also call for a short climbing trail to access Green Jacket and Gold Jacket, two jump trails that opened last year.
BETA also plans to build a new parking area for the Jackrabbit Ski Trail in Keene. A new trail will connect the parking area to the existing Jackrabbit. The purpose is to limit public parking at Rock and River lodge. Although mountain bikers are allowed to use the Jackrabbit, the new trail will be off limits to bikes as it will pass through the Sentinel Range Wilderness. Bikers who park in the new lot will be able to reach the Jackrabbit by continuing up Alstead Hill Road.
Adirondack Rail Trail
Glover joined BETA just before the first phase of the Adirondack Rail Trail opened, linking Lake Placid and Saranac Lake. Eventually, the trail will go all the way to Tupper Lake, 34 miles in all. Although BETA does not maintain the rail trail, Glover is excited for the biking opportunities it will provide. “Any trail that connects communities together is a great asset,” he said.
The rail trail, surfaced with packed stone dust, is designed to accommodate road bikes and gravel bikes. However, mountain bikers can use it to access their trails. BETA already maintains two small trail networks off the trail trail in Saranac Lake. The state has approved plans for other mountain-bike trails that will be accessible from the rail trail--in Lake Placid and around Scarface Mountain. Glover doesn’t know when these trails will be built, but it won’t be this year. “We have our hands full at BETA with work we have lined up for 2024,” he said.
The town of Tupper Lake, where the rail trail will terminate, has hopes of building bike trails at the closed Big Tupper Ski Area on Mount Morris (which the town wants to acquire for back taxes). Has BETA thought of expanding its network to Tupper Lake? Glover did not rule out the possibility, but so far BETA has not had significant discussions toward that end.
