Mountain Bike Trailblazer in San Antonio - Wild Texas Forums: Parks, Travel & Recreation

Shannon · 03-19-2008, 02:16 PM

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Don Sleeper had a vision. The fact that achieving it would require him to break the law was not a deterrent, and he went to work building the 18 miles of mountain bike trails that now loop around O.P. Schnabel Park and along Leon Creek. "People building things on public property is basically against the law," said Scott Stover, city park projects manager. "But at that park, it seemed to work out in the end."

After more than a decade of building bike trails, Sleeper can no longer ride them. At 52, he was diagnosed with melanoma last summer. This winter, the cancer spread to his stomach.

What he started as a project to give himself and his buddies a place to ride is now one of the main attractions of the park, and the city is grateful for his contribution.

When Sleeper started his work in 1996, there were already several short trails cutting across the park. Sleeper wanted to link those together into a system of paths that would provide a couple hours of riding without repeating anything.

Source: MySA.com: Metro | State