Archive for the ‘MBU’ Category

Happy New Decade! A 20-Teens Retrospective

Wednesday, January 1st, 2020

CORBA has a lot to be proud of this last ten years. It feels like the twenty-teens was the decade in which mountain biking really came of age. The sport has grown and we’ve seen tremendous changes and challenges. Mountain bikers are no longer a newcomer to the trails, but we’ve still got a long way to go.

There’s no denying the explosive growth of mountain biking last decade. We’ve all seen more people on trails, and more of them on bikes than ever before. I’ve met more riders with less than five years experience than in any five-year period before the last. Conversely, we’ve seen relatively few new trails constructed in that time. The trail supply is not keeping up with the demand here in Southern California. The agencies and volunteers can’t keep up with maintenance of the supply we already have. That’s one thing that hasn’t changed in ten years, and has gotten worse with agency budget cuts and increasingly severe weather. It’s why we ask you to come out and give a morning back to the trails once or twice a year. You’ll appreciate them so much more after a morning of trailwork.

Let’s take a long look back at what has changed and been accomplished last decade.

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Crags Rd trailwork summary from April 20.

Monday, April 22nd, 2019

This past Saturday, about 40 volunteers gathered at the M*A*S*H site in Malibu Creek State Park to fix up the Crags Rd trail section fondly known as the “Rock Garden” or “Creek of Doom” just before you arrive at the M*A*S*H site from the main entrance to the park on Malibu Canyon Rd.

Smoothing out the tread to fill in between the rocks sticking up.

Volunteers hailed from CORBA, the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, Girlz Gone Riding and the Mountain Bike Unit.

Overall the trail was in pretty good shape after the Woolsey Fire burned all the hillside brush in November and then winter rains flooded everything, but there were a few very serious problems that we needed to address. The worst was a 3-foot culvert that was uprooted and deposited in the middle of the trail, blocking it, and leaving a deep rut where it had been. Also, a large oak tree was uprooted and fell across the trail.

The serious issues were dealt with as best we could with hand tools, and the whole trail was generally brushed to widen it, the tread was smoothed and debris was removed. Overall we restored about a half-mile of trail in 4.25 hours, including lunch (subway sandwiches provided by CORBA) and shuttling to and from the work site.

Thanks to all the volunteers who worked hard and did such a great job of restoring this trail in record time! You can view the rest of the photos in the Crags Rd trailwork photo gallery.

Getting in The Holiday Spirit: Giving back to trails

Monday, December 4th, 2017

Building a berm on a trailside bike feature

This past weekend the holidays seemed to come into full swing, and there was a lot of giving. On Saturday morning, members of our Sapwi Bike park committee gave their time building the first trailside feature at Sapwi Bike Park. Contractors have cleared and graded the bike park area, and the final bike park plan from FlowRide Concepts is close to completion. Lots of people have given to our IMBA Dig In campaign now standing at $1900, in addition to the generous grant of $15,000 from REI. We need to raise close to $100,000 so there’s a long way to go. Keep the donations coming!

Also on Saturday, former CORBA Chair and current volunteer Mark Langton was conducting our monthly Free Basic Mountain Bike Skills Clinic. Mark has been teaching new mountain bikers the basics of bike handling, safety and etiquette for more than 20 years. Eight riders attended the last skills clinic of the year.

 

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2016: A Busy, Productive Year

Wednesday, January 4th, 2017

2016 is behind us, and what a year it was for CORBA and mountain bikers! We were extremely busy last year, cutting trails, cutting trees, and working on behalf of the mountain bike community to ensure continued and improved access to mountain biking in the greater Los Angeles and Eastern Ventura County areas.

Jim Burton cuts the ceremonial ribbon, as Steve Messer, Matt Lay and Jenny Johnson of MWBA, and Ken's daughters Heather and Tania look on.

Opening of Ken Burton Trail

In 2016, the Gabrielino Trail Restoration project, with REI, Bellfree Contractors, and Los Angeles Conservation Corps, was completed.  Ken Burton Trail restoration with MWBA was completed, opening the Ken Burton trail and a popular loop after seven years of closure, thousands of volunteer hours, and nearly three years of planning.

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Have you thought about joining the “Yellow Jerseys” in the parks…?

Friday, December 30th, 2016

The National Park Service, California Department of Parks & Recreation, and Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority

MOUNTAIN BIKE UNIT (MBU) 
www.mountainbikeunit.com

The Mountain Bike Unit, sponsored by the National (NPS) and State (CDPR) Park Services and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA), is looking for mountain bikers who might be interested in joining the unit.

Here’s what it’s all about:

The MBU assists in providing park visitors with a quality outdoor experience and preserving natural resources while patrolling over 60 thousand acres of public parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

Orientation Day will be held on Saturday, January 28, 2017, 9:00AM at the King Gillette Ranch Auditorium. Orientation Day is an indoor meeting to learn more about patrolling with the MBU and is an opportunity for you to ask questions.  Bring your bike and helmet, and if the weather is good, we’ll go on an optional fun ride after the presentation. There is no commitment to join the MBU if you attend Orientation Day.

All degrees of riding experience are welcome!

Patrol areas include National Park Service locations (Cheeseboro/ Palo Comado and Zuma/Trancas Canyons, Rancho Sierra Vista, and Circle X Ranch) and State Park locations (Malibu Creek, Will Rogers, Point Mugu, and Topanga). In addition, we patrol MRCA areas near metropolitan Los Angeles.

You patrol with an MBU partner, self-scheduled on the MBU website. Eight hours per month average is what we ask. 

Other activities in which the MBU participates include the Youth Adventures Program which offers disadvantaged youth an opportunity to enjoy mountain bike experiences in the parks, plus assisting in such events as Wheels to the Sea, the Los Angeles Marathon, and the Ventura County Fair.

Still have questions?

For more information and to be added to our mailing list, contact our Contact Administrator on the MBU website.

CORBA Welcomes Two New Board Members

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2016

Scott Mabbutt

With Mark Langton leaving CORBA’s Board of Directors, we put out a call for Board nominees. We’re happy to announce that we have welcomed two new board members, Scott Mabbutt and Joyce Deprest.

Scott is a respected filmmaker, storyteller and self-declared cat whisperer.  When asked how he came into mountain biking, his is an unusual story: “My first bike was a portable folding bicycle that I bought because I heard that Talking Heads artist David Byrne rode one around New York City.”  That quickly led to a full-blown love of bicycles, and especially mountain bikes.

Scott is a member of the Mountain Bike Unit (MBU), a group of mountain bike volunteer patrollers that work closely with the National Park Service, California State Parks and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) patrolling the Santa Monica Mountains to assist and educate visitors on the trail.  Scott can be found somewhere in the Santa Monica mountains every weekend.

He has attended several CORBA board meetings over the past few years, just to keep abreast of what’s happening in the area. Now he’ll be attending as a CORBA board member, helping keep CORBA on mission. We’re delighted to have him aboard.

Also joining the CORBA board is Joyce Deprest. Joyce is an MBU member and patroller, with her favorite place to ride or patrol being Point Mugu State Park. Joyce has been instrumental in re-introducing MBU members to do trailwork.

Joyce Deprest is a native San Fernando “Valley Girl.” Her professional life began working in Non-Profit Organizations, including event planning, office management and as the Director of a Synagogue in the San Fernando Valley. During the past 6 years Joyce has rediscovered her love of the mountains, canyons and oceans.

Joyce Deprest

The re-experience started with an impromptu hike up a narrow trail in Serranio Park, meeting up at Dirt Mulholland and then up what appeared to be an impossibly steep hill to climb.  The adventure was so exciting the next day she did it again.  She was hooked.  Joyce soon discovered that not only did she enjoy the hiking and being in mountains, and embracing the awesome canyons and ocean views, she loved meeting people on the trails.  She found that without an effort, people talked with her and asked her for directions.  Joyce started talking to Mountain Bikers and learned that by mountain bike riding she could go further, see more and grow her experience with the Santa Monica Mountains.  After her first ride on her 10 year old hybrid bike, in Sycamore Canyon/Point Mugu, she realized that a mountain bike with suspension was necessary.  The knowledge grew and with that knowledge and a few crashes she realized she needed some MTB riding lessons.  One day online she discovered Mark Langton.  For the next 4  months she and Mark met in Los Robles for weekly training sessions.  In addition to hiking and riding, Joyce was also interested in learning about the trails and trails maintenance.  By the end of that year Joyce had completed a one week Trails Maintenance class with COSCA and had participated in many hours of trail maintenance with CORBA.

Joyce continued to hike, ride and work on trails.  She joined Girlz Gone Riding and in January 2015 Joyce joined the Mountain Bike Unit with the goal of supporting the parks, advising and assisting visitors. Shortly after graduating from the MBU Joyce took on the role of Fundraising Coordinator with the Mountain Bike Unit. Her commitment and sense of stewardship of our public lands is inspiring.

We’re excited to have two new board members who also serve with the MBU. The MBU was a CORBA program, arguably the first organized volunteer patrol in the country. The MBU program grew beyond what CORBA could manage, and is now an independant program of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, administered by the National Park Service. IMBA’s National Mountain Bike Patrol is largely based on CORBA’s early work in establishing the MBU.

While our Board of Directors now stands at five members, we are still interested in expanding the Board, and will continue to accept nominations.

We invite everyone to meet the CORBA board of directors at one of our Board meetings, or the upcoming Ride and Mingle event on November 27.

Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest 2015

Sunday, October 25th, 2015

2015-10-24 09.33.01The 2015 Rec Fest was held at Paramount Ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains on October 24, 2015. The 2014 event was such a success we were delighted to hear that the event would be repeated again this year, thanks to grants and donations from the SAMOfund, Coke and others.

20151024030-Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest Corba Youth AdventuresThe Rec Fest is all about opening the doors to the many forms of recreation available in our local mountains to people who may not know what’s possible. Visitors to the event were able to try their hand at casting a fishing line, riding a covered wagon, pitching a tent, riding a horse, rock climbing, or doing a nature hike. The local audobon society chapter was there to tell kids – and show them – some of the abundant birdlife found in our mountains. An astronomy club was there to show them what there is to be discovered in our skies (they pointed at the moon, visible during the day). At noon was a one-mile fun run on the trails, where each participant received a medal for finishing. There were plenty of interpretive stations along a nature hike, and craft and hobby activies.
And of course, thanks to the tireless efforts of Mountain Bike Unit volunteers

Lance, Larry, Dan, Joyce, Dave and Regina, and Walk & Rollers’ Jim Shanman, more than 160 kids, and some of their anxious parents, were able to try mountain biking through CORBA’s Youth Adventures program.

CORBA’s Youth Adventures program takes out at-risk youth from areas all over Los Angeles County for a half-day mountain bike ride in Malibu Creek State Park, Paramount Ranch, and other locations. About twice a month, ten to fifteen students, some of whom have never visited a State Park or any form of mountains, are taken out for an interpretive mountain bike ride. The program is run on behalf of CORBA by the Mountain Bike Unit. They’re the great volunteers we see patrolling the Santa Monica Mountains in their signature yellow jerseys. CORBA is truly grateful to have the Youth Adventures programs administered by MBU volunteers, and today’s event was no exception.

Walk & Rollers also brought tot’s balance bikes and smaller bikes with training wheels for the younger set. Throughout the day we had parents putting their kids on tot bikes. It’s always a blessing to see the kids’ eyes light up when they roll down the wooden ramp we had set up, and remind us of why we all ride bikes.

One of the truly great aspects of the event are the attendees. Families are bused in to the event from park-poor communities such as East Los Angeles, South Central Los Angeles and other underprivileged areas. It’s sad to see how many of these kids had never been to a park, never ridden a bicycle, or have never really discovered the outdoors. But at the same time that sadness is reversed as this new world of opportunity is opened up to them. They come back from the mountain bike ride breathing hard, but with an ear-to-ear grin.

With a fleet of about 35 bikes in operation, plus ten or so smaller bikes from Walk & Rollers, we still ran out of bikes (and guides) three or four times during the day’s festivities. That puts our estimate over 160 people who rode a mountain bike, most for the first time.

CORBA’s Youth Adventures is a great place to retire your old bikes. We’re gratefully accept tax-deductible donations of complete bikes or bike parts. Youth Adventures depends on volunteers and donations to continue giving underprivileged kids a chance to experience the joys of riding a bike in the great outdoors. If you’d like to make a donation please contact us.

Thanks to the National Park Service for having the foresight to organize this special event, and to the many docents, volunteers and staff who help make it happen. By all measures, the event was a great success and we look forward to it becoming an annual event.

 

20151024028-Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest Corba Youth Adventures

CORBA at the Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest This Weekend

Wednesday, October 21st, 2015

Rec-Fest-Poster-04This Saturday, October 24, CORBA will be at the Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest, in partnership with the National Park Service. The CORBA Youth Adventures program with the MBU will be there giving kids an opportunity to ride the trails of Paramount Ranch. If you’re headed that way, stop by and say Hi!  There’s lots of ways to learn about recreational opportunities in the National Recreation Area and in the outdoors in general, and it’s geared to kids and families who don’t usually get these opportunities. It’s a great program and CORBA is happy to help get more kids into the outdoors!

 

Learn more at http://www.nps.gov/samo/recfest2015.htm

Danusia Memorial Ride

Wednesday, June 4th, 2014
Danusia Memorial Ride

Danusia Memorial Ride


Last weekend, on the May 31st one-year anniversary of Danusia Bennett-Tabor’s passing, an informal memorial service/ride was held at Malibu Creek State Park. It was a solemn but cheerful event, organized by Wendy Engelberg and the Girlz Gone Riding volunteers, a group that started with Kim Cofield, Wendy and Danusia. Wendy also wrote a wonderful report about the memorial ride with photos by Jesse Ettinger and others. Read it on the GGR blog.

There were many cheerful moments, interspersed with a few tears, as friends told stories about their wonderful experiences with Danusia. Steve Messer made sure everyone appreciated how much she did for CORBA, and how her work continues to guide us.

Recently, CBS did a special report on the cancer and procedures that ultimately took Danusia’s life. Her husband Don told her story in the CBS report on Leiomyosarcoma. Almost $1000 in donations were accepted on behalf of the Sarcoma Alliance, followed by the real celebration: riding.

Thanks to everyone who came to Malibu Creek to remember Danusia.

MBU Training for 2014 Starts January 25

Tuesday, December 31st, 2013

From Julian Serles of the Mountain Bike Unit

Calling all mountain bikers age 18 and over! The Mountain Bike Unit (MBU) is currently recruiting for its 2014 New Recruit Training Class. If you enjoy mountain biking and are interested in giving back to the community by volunteering some time to assist our understaffed Park Rangers in patrolling the parks, then the MBU may be just what you are looking for.  The MBU supports and are sponsored by the National Park Service (NPS), California State Parks (CSP), and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA).

Here’s what it’s all about. The MBU assists in providing park visitors with a quality outdoor experience and preserving natural resources while patrolling over 60,000 acres of public parkland in the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Beginning in late January 2014, training will include visitor contact skills, State and National park radio use, park rules and regulations, first aid and CPR training, and field training exercises.

Patrol areas and opportunities include the following:

-National Park Service parks:  Cheeseboro/Palo Comado, Zuma/Trancas Canyons, Rancho Sierra Vista, and Circle X Ranch
-California State Park locations: Malibu Creek, Will Rogers, Point Mugu, and Topanga
-We also patrol MRCA areas near metropolitan Los Angeles, such as Franklin Canyon and Upper Las Virgines Open Space Preserve
-In addition, we volunteer to patrol and support other events such as the LA and Malibu Marathons, Wheels to the Sea, the Ventura County Fair, and CORBA’s Fat Tire Festival
-The MBU also helps support CORBA’s Youth Adventure Program, which offers disadvantaged youth the opportunity to enjoy the mountain biking experience in our beautiful parks

All MBU patrols require at least two patrollers.  All rides are self scheduled on our website. We ask each of our volunteers for 100 patrol hours annually (roughly two four-hour patrols per month).

Would you like to learn more? We invite you to come to King Gillette Ranch Auditorium at 9:00 am on Saturday, January 25, 2014 for an indoor orientation meeting where we will share with you more details about this wonderful program and what patrolling with the MBU is all about. We encourage you to bring your bike and helmet because we plan to take potential recruits on a ride-along (sorted by ability) after the presentation, weather permitting. Visit the MBU training web page for more details, or to contact the MBU via e-mail (admin@mountainbikeunit.com). To see the MBU in action, view our gallery of MBU photos.