Community walks to honor Kohlbrand

Walter Sprague
Art and Culture Reporter
 
To get people outside by promoting, maintaining and building new trails, the Bent Sprockets organization held 2K and 5K walks on the Flying V trails on Saturday, May 22. The event was named the Cave Man Fun Run/Walk in honor of Bill Kohlbrand. According to the group’s website, “Bill was a local who loved trails and the outdoors. He had a vision for our area to build trails for generations to enjoy.”
“People called Bill the Cave Man Forester, ’cause he liked to do things old school. He would just put his head down and do it. Nothing fancy,” Said Jeremy Dedic, of Bent Sprockets, 
Dedic said this first event honoring Kohlbrand would be an annual event, and he is very optimistic that it will be a huge success. Since his passing on March 11, 2015, several people have wanted to do something in the trails to honor his memory and continue what he started. Dedic said the Flying V trails were the perfect place for that to happen. 
Another Bent Sprockets organizer, Caleb Carter, said that the event continues Kohlbrand’s legacy of getting people outside on the trails. 
“Bill was always working on the trails with Linda Hunt and others,” Carter said, “His love of forestry and sharing the beauty of the Black Hills with others is something we wanted to honor.”
The sponsors for the walk were Bomgaars, which provided water for all the hikers; Lunatics, which gave T-Shirts; and Weston County Natural Resource District.
Other events will be in the offing soon. While many of them are not, as yet, official, Carter and Dedic said they will notify the public as those events become finalized. 
Many of the events will be races, both on foot and on mountain bicycles. But anyone can come out to most of these events to walk the trails and get in touch with the forest, nature and the serenity of the Black Hills, Dedic said.
One even in the making is not for the faint of heart. It is a 50/50 Gravel Grinder, a 100-mile, multisurface bike race. Fifty miles of this race will be on asphalt, and the other half will be on trails, dirt, grass and other natural surfaces. This event is bringing bicycle racers from all over the Black Hills area. The event is scheduled to take place on October 9 with a starting time of 6:00 a.m. The meeting place has yet to be determined.
“We’re hoping for strong community involvement,” Carter said, “We want to show the finest hospitality in this event, hopefully, to keep bringing in bicyclists from all over the region for other races.”
The race will have several aid stations and checkpoints, and the race will use computer chips on the bikes and link to a laptop for official timing, according to Dedic. Maps will be available soon, not for just this race, but for other races and walks. Anyone interested in getting involved with the events or helping out can also get in touch with Bent Sprockets through its website at bentsprocketswy.org.