5 Bucks a Foot Presents “Twist the Throttle for Trails”

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Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship is bringing back its “Twist the Throttle for Trails” campaign for a second year, and this time around, one lucky winner will take home the latest generation of KTM’s Freeride E-XC electric bike valued at $11,100.

KTM’s zero-emissions bike runs on a brushless 18-watt motor with three power modes, delivering a max speed of around 50 miles per hour and a range of about 40 minutes, or 30 miles, depending on the operating mode. The bike, described as “peppy and lively with great throttle control” by testers comes decorated in custom Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship Connected Communities graphics, and outfitted with a camo seat cover installed by GUTS Racing, as well as upgraded pivot pegs, hand guards and a brighter LED headlight, thanks to our partners at KTM and Motorcycle Performance Center (MPC) in Roseville, CA. The prize package also includes a handlebar bag, fender beg, Buckin’ Roll Tank bag, Mojavi Saddlebag and Cactus Canteen from our partners at Giant Loop, a USWE hydration pack of the winner’s choice (up to $200 MSRP), as well as goodies from Leatt. The winner will receive the 2022 Freeride E-XC model, which is a non-plated, Green Sticker bike that can be operated on public lands year-round.

SBTS modeled the “Twist the Throttle” fundraiser after its successful 5 Bucks a Foot campaigns, which the organization started in 2014, quickly setting the standard for trails fundraisers by presenting one winner with a top-of-the-line mountain bike outfitted in custom parts. SBTS has since expanded to three annual fundraisers, giving away a high-end gravel bike and a dirt bike each year, which has helped raise more than $600,000 of unrestricted funds for the trails in the Lost Sierra region of northern California. With help from the Nevada County Woods Riders, our first moto campaign raised $72,211 last year! These dollars are critical, as motorized trail projects funded by OHV and other government grants often require big matches—unrestricted funds, such as those raised by these campaigns, go four times as far as grant-related dollars and allow SBTS to meet those matches, as well as cover staff overhead required to fulfill the grant work, and are a vital part of SBTS’ annual budget.

How It Works
For those unfamiliar with the 5 Bucks a Foot fundraisers, here’s how it works: the campaign will run between Tuesday, November 28 and Monday, December 25, and for every foot of trail purchased at $5 per foot (the average cost of building a trail), participants get a chance to win. No purchase is required to enter, and write-in entries are accepted (see full rules below). Upon the campaign’s close, SBTS will draw a winner at random. Twist the Throttle is open to U.S. residents only, and the winner must come to Motorcycle Performance Center in Roseville, California, to receive the bike.

A Fundraiser to Build Moto Trails
From there, it’s a quick trip up to the mountains for a (quiet!) rip in the Lost Sierra. And options, you will have plenty. Unlike many other regions in the west where motorized trail access is shrinking, the Northern Sierra Nevada region is expanding access, thanks to our partners in the Tahoe, Plumas, Lassen and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forests, as well as strong club membership across the region. Along with the hundreds of miles of motorized trails that SBTS crews maintain every year across the Lost Sierra, we are currently working on multiple projects that could bring a significant number of new motorized trails to the region in the coming years as part of the Connected Communities project, an effort to link 15 mountain towns with multi-use singletrack, bolstering rural economies through outdoor recreation. That includes the 62-mile proposed motorized trails on the Claremont Project and an additional 37 miles on Mount Hough in Quincy (bringing the total on Hough to 70 miles), the East Zone Connectivity Project near Truckee, which will bring 71 miles of new trail and the Sierra Valley Recreation Project, 60 miles of proposed motorized singletrack that could eventually link Sierraville, Loyalton, Truckee, Verdi and Reno, and the Peavine Maze Connectivity and Restoration project near Verdi, Nevada, a proposed 20 miles of new moto-legal singletrack and the adoption of up to 25 miles of existing social trails off the west side of Peavine Mountain, paid for in part by a Nevada OHV grant. All proposed motorized singletrack trails will be developed in close partnership with the land managers, with careful consideration about the impacts of these new trails. In Downieville, the in-progress realignment of the Big Boulder trail will add two more miles of singletrack to the existing raw and technical moto-legal network.

Supporting this campaign is one of the best ways to directly benefit SBTS’ three Pro Trail Crews and their work to expand motorized trail networks throughout the Lost Sierra, as well as maintain hundreds of miles of existing trails. And you may just take home KTM’s premier electric bike in the process!

Twist the Throttle for Trails this fall with the 5 Bucks a Foot program by purchasing as many feet of trail as you can, and maybe you’ll get to sample all the #dirtmagic goodies in the Lost Sierra on a brand new KTM! Enter Tuesday, November 28th to Monday, Decemberr 25nd, before 11pm PST, 2023.

The KTM 350 FREERIDE EX-E on Mt. Hough with Mt. Lassen and Lake Alamanor in the background, all part of the Connected Communities project - Click to View Larger Image