Valerie Levanos, President

My relationship with the outdoors started as a child spending hours daily playing and adventuring in the woods behind our home in Western Massachusetts. A lifelong swimmer and hiker, I discovered trail running in high school and was a runner for three decades.

Once we moved to Maine, I was intrigued by the idea of mountain biking. My first exposure to the sport was demoing a bike in Carrabassett Valley, I was immediately hooked as it feels like the next best thing to skiing glades! My favorite places to ride are up to the halfway yurt vista, out to Esker or climbing up to Caribou Pond.

I joined CRNEMBA because I have a passion for welcoming others to mountain biking and I want to be a part of making the Carrabassett region mountain biking scene an enjoyable place for riders of all abilities. Off the bike I enjoy skiing, snowshoeing and hiking with my husband.

Ed Gervais, Vice President

Yarmouth, Maine business owner and dedicated weekend resident of Carrabassett Valley, Ed embraced mountain biking as the best solution for chasing away end-of-ski-season blues. In the winter you’re as likely to find him touring the Sugarloaf backcountry as on the lifts. In the summer he’s riding the local bike trails and participating as a volunteer trail builder.

Kathy Ventura, Treasurer

I love the state of Maine and all that it has to offer! Over the years, most of my time has been spent in the Portland area with weekends at Sugarloaf. When COVID hit, Carrabassett Valley became home while I navigated remote work and social distancing. I feel so fortunate to be able to spend time outdoors with family and friends while biking, skiing, and hiking. These days I’m back to splitting my time between Portland and the Valley. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be part of the CRNEMBA team and give back to the biking community. 

Bruce Malmer, Secretary

In my forties while living in Atlanta, I discovered mountain biking and made frequent trips to ride in north Georgia and western North Carolina. Moving to Bangor in 2000, I was able to start riding locally on a more regular basis. Enjoying the Carrabassett trails as they have continued to develop played a large role in prompting my full time move to Carrabassett Valley after retirement. Becoming more involved in riding and volunteering with the local community has been rewarding.

Julie Coleman

I grew up in New Hampshire where my love of the mountains began. I did not discover mountain biking until I was 40 and my passion for the sport continues to grow. I now am lucky to call Carrabassett Valley my home. I have met many wonderful people through Mountain Biking and have found this community to be a unique and special bunch. The dedication of the CRNEMBA club has proven to be contagious, I am honored to be a part of it. I hope to see you out on the CV Trails!

Ian Donnelly

After growing up in southern Maine and then spending nearly a decade living, biking, and building trails in Oregon, I moved to Kingfield in 2021 to enjoy the growing bike scene this region had to offer. Since making the move back east, I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know many of the people who make up the passionate mountain bike community that resides in the Carrabassett region and have found a real home in this corner of the state. While I love spending time on any set of two wheels, from gravel riding to winter fat biking, the enduro/downhill disciplines are my favorite.

I am very excited about joining the board to help lend my efforts to developing future trail projects in the area and help grow the community even further while bringing bikes into more people’s lives.

Dave Greely

Age : 56
Occupation : Retired Master Electrician
Married
2 children
Mountain Biking since 1990
Residence: Kingfield/ Augusta Maine
Interest: Cycling, both Mountain and Road/ Gravel and Snow (Fat Bike). Skiing, Alpine and Nordic. Hiking. Enjoying life with Family and Friends.

David Hughes

David still remembers his first bike with a banana seat, monkey hanger handlebars and cards in the spokes; not exactly a mountain bike but it didn’t keep him from riding it through the woods. David lives in Hampden, ME with his wife Shellie and two children (Audrey and Levi). Most weekends you will find him in Carrabassett, riding bikes, building trails, hiking, skiing, snow shoeing, or enjoying a swimming hole with his family. He still feels like a kid when on his bike and in the woods with his friends.

Nick Karahalios, Social Media

I grew up in Southern Maine but I’m a 3rd generation “Loafer” and have been coming up to the area since I was 5. I started biking in the Carrabassett Region back in the mid 1990’s when it was nothing but soggy double tracks. I did some bike racing in a teenager and will always remember the amazing vibe when the Trail 66 “Widowmaker Challenge” Race weekend would go down. I joined CRNEMBA to get closer to the amazing cycling community and recently became the “Social Media” POC updating the Instagram/Facebook pages for CRNEMBA. I enjoy making connections and capturing the memories that occur when people ride in the region, updating everyone on upcoming events and, ever changing trail conditions. See you out on the trails or on the starting line of the CBCC🏁.

Spencer Lee

I am from Yarmouth, Maine and grew up exploring the nooks and crannies of this awesome State with my family. After a week long mountain bike camp at Catamount Trails in Vermont when I was 14, I was fully hooked. I moved to Carrabassett Valley year-round in the spring of 2015, attracted by the energy around mountain biking and the opportunity to live in the western mountains of Maine. I was really psyched to find a vibrant, inclusive, and passionate riding community when I moved here, and I am very appreciative of the chance to be a part of it through CRNEMBA. I have a background and profession in trail building, and I am very excited to be working with everyone from CRNEMBA and others to grow and expand the mountain bike trails and community here. I am most always outside, on the trails or the mountain, or exploring all that this area has to offer. And if you’re at Hug’s Italian for your evening, say hi! See you out there!

Mike Spurrier

I grew up in the suburbs of Baltimore, Maryland. My neighborhood was backed by a swath of undeveloped forest where myself, my brother and the other kids would spend our time building trails and dirt jumps.  Once high school hit we moved to a more rural area. I swapped my BMX bike out for a dirt bike and spent about 10 years not pedaling and chasing a career for mechanics. In my mid 20’s I felt the need for a change. I moved to Kingfield, Maine in 2016 to search for a life that allowed me to spend more time in the outdoors. Here I am in the happy little town of Carrabassett Valley, spending part of my time as a bike mechanic.  I joined the board to help promote the further development of the outdoor recreational way of life.  I spend most of my free time gravel grinding, mountain biking, skiing, and hiking in the Maine woods. “From here on your life will never be the same”.

Josh Tauses, Trails Manager

I have been riding bikes in the woods of Maine my entire life. I have also been fortunate to visit many of our country’s top riding destinations over the years. This combination has helped develop a vision to create a world class destination trail network in Carrabassett Valley. Connecting with NEMBA, and the others on this page are seeing that vision coming to life. When not building or riding, I enjoy being as close to nature as possible. Weather hiking in deep woods off trail, learning a new bird call, or chasing huge bull moose around our trail network, I am constantly amazed at the natural world around us. I also enjoy music and dancing, cooking and eating, and model cars. Cheers, happy trails.

CRNEMBA and the Carrabassett Region mountain bike community thank our past board members:

  • Bob Ash
  • Jon Boehmer
  • Deb Bowker
  • Mandy Farrar
  • Dana Friend
  • Lori Gerencer
  • Warren Gerow
  • Indira Gowell
  • Joe Hines
  • Polly MacMichael
  • Glenn Morrell
  • Kathy Morton
  • Sarah Pine
  • Mark Schwarz
  • Peter Smith
  • Jesse Spicer
  • Matthew Swan
  • Alison Thayer
  • Barry Turcotte
  • Scott Waldron