Kurt Chipperfield’s volunteer work requires him to get his hands dirty, and he loves every minute of it.
“I was raised on a farm, so I’ve always had that link to the land,” he said.
The Dubuque man has spent the past five years as the “trail boss” at Proving Grounds Recreation Area in Dubuque, where he logs hundreds of hours mowing, trimming and reshaping the dirt trails used by local mountain bikers.
A frequent biker himself, he knows the importance of well-maintained trails and takes pride in helping provide them for his fellow cyclists.
“When you know what (the trail) was like before — all worn out and rutted — and then you’ve worked to fix it, it’s so rewarding,” he said.
Chipperfield, an engineer at John Deere Dubuque Works, became interested in mountain biking about a decade ago. Through his fellow employees, he connected with Tri-State Mountain Bike Riders (TMBR), which formed in 2015 and works to expand and maintain local mountain bike trails.
In 2018, John Deere donated the 137-acre Proving Grounds — where employees once tested the performance of the company’s products — to the Dubuque County Conservation Board.