One of the great things about the Scenic City is the wide variety of outdoor activities it has to offer like hiking and mountain biking.

To keep our trails safe to use a team of volunteers has taken it upon themselves to maintain them.

"Once you've built a trail you have to maintain it, it's like your house or your car," said Mike Gehard, President of Sorba Chattanooga.

Sorba is a local mountain bike advocacy group. Their president, Mike Gehard says Sunday's skills workshop is meant to help grow their community.

"So we're an all volunteer organizations... an all volunteer board, and we rely on volunteers to come maintain the trails that have been built up here on Raccoon Mountain," said Gehard.

Five people participated in his demonstrations, hiking around Raccoon Mountain and removing obstacles like roots which could be dangerous for hikers and mountain bikers.

"I think it's really important to come out here and see for yourself the work that goes into all of this, it's a lot of work and every pair of hands helps," said Chris Froyd, volunteer.

Froyd has been biking for six years and says he enjoys being able to do his hobby for free, now he wants to give back and contribute how ever he can.

"You come out here to do one of these volunteer days and you completely look at the trails very differently, like it's a new found respect," said Froyd.

Gehard explained after heavy rain fall like the what we experienced the last couple days is when trails need the most attention.

"So if you let the water run to much you get horrible erosion, so you'll get steep gullies and lots of roots and lots of rocks that can be fun to ride over, but also can be dangerous," said Gehard.

Gehard encourages any mountain bikers to sign up with Sorba Chattanooga.

He also asks anyone who enjoys the trails in the Scenic City to consider joining them in future volunteer days.

"We just need people to show up and come out and support the trails we all love and love to ride," said Gehard.

If you're interested in learning more about Sorba Chattanooga, click here.