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Help CORBA with the restoration of Upper Guadalasca in Pt. Mugu State Park

Friday, September 27th, 2024

CORBA volunteers working on Lower Guadalasca in 2022

Guadalasca is a great mountain biking trail, so when California State Parks asked us to help fix it’s worst problems, we readily agreed.

Upper Guadalasca Trail in Sycamore Canyon (Pt. Mugu State Park) has been deteriorating since 2015 when it last had crews work on it. California State Parks is planning to fix the ruts and build drains to prevent them from re-forming. They have asked CORBA to help in this effort by clearing away some of the weeds that are overgrowing the trail. There is a lot of work to be done!

We are planning a number of work days to cut back the vegetation. Fortunately most of it is tall grass and light chaparral so the work should go quite quickly.

So far, events are being planned for Sunday September 29, Wednesday October 2 and Friday October 4, starting at 7:30 and ending at 2:30, with a half-hour break for lunch (plus whatever other breaks volunteers would like to take). We’ll ride down from the top of the park, and return to parking by 2:30.

We hope you’ll be able to help with the restoration of this great trail! We’ll need you to register for these events online so we’ll know how many people to prepare for. You can register online with “Golden Opportunities” (you’ll need to create an account the first time you use this system). Full details like what you’ll need and where to meet will be found on Golden when you register.

Individual events will be cancelled the day before (at the latest) for inclement weather or an insufficient number of volunteers.

We hope to see you there!

Posted in California State Parks, Conejo Valley, Special Announcement, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Crew | No Comments »

The California Mountain Biking Coalition

Thursday, January 30th, 2020

Beginning almost two years ago at the California Trails and Greenways Conference, CORBA President Steve Messer and advocates from around the state have been discussing the need for a statewide mountain bike advocacy organization. California is widely regarded as the birthplace of mountain biking. That also makes it the birthplace of mountain bike opposition, and of mountain bike advocacy.

For a time we had an IMBA representative, Tom Ward, who was a former California State Parks employee. He retired several years ago. Then we had an IMBA Regional Director, who was able to help coordinate advocacy efforts and peer learning opportunities with clubs from around the state. That position went away three years ago when IMBA ended their chapter program.

There has never been a dedicated regional organization to speak up for mountain bikers in Sacramento, or at the regional headquarters of the Forest Service, California State Parks, and other land managers.

Those discussions led us to form the California Mountain Biking Coalition (CAMTB), which had a soft launch in October 2019, when we received our Federal nonprofit EIN. We’re still waiting for our nonprofit determination letter, which will complete the formation of the organization.

The California Mountain Biking Coalition’s mission is to Improve and increase trail access for mountain biking throughout California by providing a unified statewide voice for organizations and individuals.

CAMTB is being organized to support and coordinate existing advocacy efforts from around the state, as reflected in the mission statement. The organization aims to help all California mountain biking clubs be more successful, and to advocate for legislation, ballot measures, regulations and best practices in recreation and natural resource management, with the goal of increasing mountain biking opportunities.

CORBA is proud to have been at the forefront of building this nascent organization. The new organization’s board of directors is comprised of successful California nonprofit advocacy group leaders, including the San Diego Mountain Bike Association, Access4Bikes Marin, Redwood Empire Mountain Bike Alliance, San Francisco Urban Riders, and of course CORBA.

The new organization is a 501c4 nonprofit, which gives us more freedom to engage politically. A 501c4 can directly lobby for legislation, election candidates, ballot measures, and other activities that might threaten the status of a 501c3. The caveat is that donations to a 501c4 are not tax-deductible.

CAMTB already has a lot on its plate. The group is currently raising funds through a founders round donation drive, corporate sponsorships, and other donations. We are having discussions with industry representatives around sponsorship and fundraising.

The board has contracted with an organizational consultant with a record of success in growing a mountain biking organization. Austin McInerny, former executive director of the National Interscholastic Cycling League, facilitated an all-day strategic planning session with the board’s first in-person meeting this week.

As we enter a new decade, we’re looking forward to taking on issues at a statewide level. Many California mountain bike advocacy groups are facing the same challenges with the same disappointing outcomes with California State Parks. By working in Sacramento, we hope to bring about change from the top down to benefit all California mountain bikers. That will take time, funding, and a lot of boots on the ground advocacy. We’re prepared to walk the halls of Sacramento, and to work directly with legislators and other advocates.

CAMTB is gearing up to take on those challenges. We’re not here to replace or supplant any existing advocacy groups, but instead to help strengthen them through resource and knowledge sharing, peer learning, and facilitated discussions.

If you’re heading to Sea Otter this year, stop by the CAMTB booth to say hi, and to learn about all that we’re working on.

 

 

Posted in Advocacy, California, California State Parks | Comments Closed

SMMNRA Visitor Survey Results Released

Thursday, January 30th, 2020

This week UCLA’s Luskin Center for Innovation published the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Visitor Survey results. This new report builds upon previous visitor surveys and user counts, conducted in 2002. The data are needed to help guide management of the SMMNRA. A Briefing on Diverse Park User needs is also available.

Of specific interest to mountain bikers, is that this data will be used to inform and refine the ongoing Santa Monica Mountains Interagency Trail Management Plan development, which will help guide the respective agencies’ management of existing trails and construction of new trails. The Trail Management Planning process began in 1998. You read that correctly, 1998.

CORBA has for years been advocating for a change in use of trail designation in State Parks, where mountain bikers have the least singletrack trail access relative to the trail miles available to hikers and equestrians. CORBA has a list of trails we’ve formally requested to undergo a change in use. The State’s own policy requires them to respond to these requests. These changes are needed to improve connectivity, decrease congestion on some crowded trails, and further disperse recreational cycling. Our change in use requests date back to the 1990s, and not a single trail has undergone a change in use in that time.

California State Parks underwent a multi-year, multi-million dollar Programmatic Environmental Impact Report to supposedly streamline the change in use process. So far, the only outcome of that study was to retrofit the Tapia Spur trail–which was already open to bicycles–with pinch points, implemented so poorly that all but expert cyclists have to dismount to negotiate some of them.

State Parks have told us to wait for the Trail Management Plan to be completed, which will supposedly identify trails suitable for a change in use to allow bicycles. They have been telling us that for more than 15 years.

While we welcome the report, the surveyors acknowledge that cyclists and equestrians were the least likely to stop and take a survey. The report states that mountain bikers were the 3rd most observed user type in the visitor count, at only 7.7% of visitors. It’s important to note that the survey is of park visitors, not necessarily trail users. It includes respondents who were not necessarily there for trails, but were counted as hikers since they were on foot.

Due to this, and since the survey sites included many trails not open to bicycles, the results seem skewed to undercount cyclists. Any mountain biker or gravel grinder can attest that on trails where bicycles are permitted, bicyclists account for much more than the 7.7% of users reported in the survey. The report states that mountain biking participation has decreased from the 2002 survey. We know this is not true.

It isn’t surprising that 75% of mountain bikers who took the survey were male. That’s an improvement over the 86% male participation in 2002, but we’ve still got a long way to go.

Another important aspect of the survey are the demographics of park visitors. The data highlight social inequities in who has access to the park. The survey acknowledges LA County’s Park Needs Assessment, and corroborates some of that study’s findings. A majority of visitors were higher income, caucasian, educated, and english-speaking. It’s clear that the economically disadvantaged, and non-english speaking populations are far less likely to visit the National Recreation Area, and have a more difficult time doing so. They travelled further, and spent more time to get there.

CORBA’s Youth Adventures program is one way that we are helping to counter that inequity. About twice per month, at-risk youth who would otherwise have no access to the National Recreation Area are taken on a guided interpretive mountain bike ride.

The release of the survey results is an important step forward. Even with it’s acknowledged flaws and perceived inaccuracies, it is needed to guide all park infrastructure development, not just trails. For that we must continue to wait for the Interagency Travel Management Plan. After 22 years we’re hoping to see that plan sometime this decade.

Posted in Advocacy, California State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

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.

(more…)

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Posted in Angeles National Forest, California, California State Parks, CORBA News, Environment, GirlzGoneRiding, High School League, IMBA News, Los Angeles, MBU, San Gabriels National Monument, Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Sapwi Trails, Special Announcement, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

November Skills Clinic photos posted November 4th

Monday, November 4th, 2019

There were only four participants in this month’s Skills Clinic on a very chilly day in the park.

The Basic Skills Clinic is always held the first Saturday of the month at Malibu Creek State Park.

You can see the photos in our November photo gallery.

Posted in California State Parks, Free Basic Skills Clinic, Santa Monica Mountains | Comments Closed

Los Pinetos Trailwork with SCVTU and LA County

Monday, August 12th, 2019

New LA County Trail SignageOn Saturday, August 10, 30 volunteers converged on Walker Ranch in Santa Clarita to put some finishing touches on the Los Pinetos trail. We were also joined by 6 LA County Parks department staff.

Originally scheduled for earlier in Spring this year, a few weeks ago LA County’s trail maintenance staff finally were able to work on Los Pinetos trail. As an agency, LA County doesn’t have a volunteer program tailored for doing trailwork. Instead, their staff runs trail dozers and do what appears to be a single-pass scraping of the trail, without paying any attention to drainage, outslope, or other sustainability features that the County’s own trail’s manual calls for.

This has led to much disappointment from the trails community in the County’s approach to maintaining their celebrated trails. Many, including Los Pinetos, are not sustainably aligned, and/or lack the suitable infrastructure to improve their sustainability.

The Santa Clarita Valley Trail Users, a committee of CORBA dedicated to the SCV and surrounding areas, have been busy building and maintaining City of Santa Clarita trails in East Walker Ranch and Golden Valley Ranch. This was their first opportunity to do trailwork with LA County and the USFS. Los Pinetos trail is a County-managed trail, partially on National Forest land, and partially on County-managed State Park land, which required additional coordination between the agencies.

Machine work has deepened the tread to the point where this county-installed culvert is now completely useless, showing the size of the berm created by machines.

The machine-work done on the trail by LA County’s mechanized trail crew left no drainage and a water-trapping berm that would ensure the trail becomes eroded and rutted with the next rains.  In fact, they bladed over existing drainage such as the failed the culvert pictured above. About 20 Volunteers constructed more than 20 drains on the first mile of the trail from the bottom. Meanwhile, a second crew were shuttled to the top of the trail by LA County staff, and cut back overgrown brush on the upper mile or so of trail.

Constructing a rolling-grade dip drain

Constructing a rolling-grade dip drain

While our goal had been to remove the berm and outslope the trail where possible, the depth and extent of the machine work made removing the berm by hand nearly impossible, and certainly not feasible for a one-day volunteer event. Instead we installed drains, rolling grade dips and nicks where feasible, every hundred feet or so. The upper crews brushed more than a mile of trail, where treadwork was not really needed.

LA County Parks Staff remove the fence at the trailhead, opening the trail

LA County Parks Staff remove the fence at the trailhead, opening the trail

By the end of the day, the 30 volunteers and 6 County staff put in four solid hours of trailwork, for approximately 216 volunteer hours.  In 90 degree heat and direct sun. At about noon the County staff pulled the trail closed notice and fencing from the trailhead at Walker Ranch. The trail is now officially open after three years of closure following the Sand Fire.

We thank LA County, the USFS, and the dedicated volunteer crews of the SCVTU for helping advocate for and participate in the restoration of this trail.  Currently our plan is to return to the trail in the fall, to improve the drains created and add a more in time for winter.

There remains one large downed oak tree at the last switchback near the bottom. The County crews will remove the tree this week.

Climbing 3N17 “the beast,” and descending Los Pinetos is now possible. To ride the loop, you’ll have to ride Placerita Canyon road back to the start for now. The Canyon trail is scheduled for reconstruction by LA County crews this fall. Stay tuned for updates.

The trail is popular with hikers, (and will be more popular when the Canyon trail is reopened). We encourage descending cyclists to use bells and common courtesy towards those hiking on or riding up the trail.

 

 

 

Enjoying a post-trailwork lunch

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Posted in Angeles National Forest, California State Parks, Santa Clarita Valley, Trail Crew, Trail Hazards | Comments Closed

July 2019 Trail Fire Closures Update for the Santa Monica Mountains

Saturday, March 2nd, 2019

This article has been updated since it was originally posted on January 4th:

– January 12: The Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (MRCA) opened most of their open space areas

– March 2: The Backbone Trail between Kanan Road west to Yerba Buena Road has been opened.

– March 25: All COSCA trails in Thousand Oaks except the Hill Canyon Bridge are now open.

– April 30: The Backbone Trail fromYerba Buena Road west to the Mishe Mokwa trailhead is open

– July 18: The remaining sections of the Backbone Trail are now open, so the entire trail is open. (Note that not all of it is open to mountain biking, as always.)

South of the 101 Freeway, the Woolsey Fire completely decimated most of the open space between Las Virgenes/Malibu Canyon Road on the east and Point Mugu State Park (Sycamore Canyon) on the west. North of the 101, most of the open space south of Simi Valley and between Valley Circle on the east and Erbes Road to the west was destroyed.

With the recent rains, the regeneration process has begun and new growth can be seen on the burned hillsides.

Nevertheless, many of the trails are still closed until they are assessed for damage, and repaired as necessary. In addition, heavy rains my result in mudslides that may damage sections of the trail that survived the fire.

The good news is that many of the trails are now open to use. The bad news is that during the Federal Government partial shutdown, the National Park Service is not able to work on their trails, prolonging the time that they will be closed.

The following list is not exhaustive – there are many smaller trails not listed that may be open or closed. If you see that a trail is marked as closed or cordoned off, please stay off it.

Areas that are open

Areas that are still closed

For your own safety and to protect the plants and creatures that live in the open space, please stay off closed trails completely, and where the trails are open to use, please stay on the trails! Also, watch for new hazards on the trails such as large ruts, debris slides, washouts and fallen trees.

Posted in California State Parks, Environment, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Hazards | Comments Closed

Trail Restoration in Malibu Creek State Park April 20th and Lunch

Tuesday, February 26th, 2019

Crags Road, also known as “The Rock Garden” or “The Creek of Doom,” suffered major blows this winter, first by the Woolsey Fire that decimated the hillsides, then rainstorms that tore the trail up pretty badly and covered parts with rock slides. We worked on this section not far from the M*A*S*H site in November 2017 and now we’re going back to fix it again.

Restoring Crags Road through the “Creek of Doom” in Nov 2017.

This is a combined project between California State Parks, the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, CORBA and Girlz Gone Riding.

All tools will be provided, as well as instructions on how to use them safely and effectively, by experienced trail crew leaders. No experience needed – everyone works at a rate they’re comfortable with and takes lots of breaks. Bring a snack to eat on the trail; CORBA will provide lunch after the event for those who register online in advance to help us with planning (see below for the link to online registration).

Wear sturdy hiking boots with good lugs, long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, sunglasses, sunblock and a hat, and bring water, snacks. Bring work gloves if you have them. We have a few pairs we can loan to people without.

Please help us plan for the event by signing up online at https://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/259311989/ and also qualify for a lunch on CORBA. Thanks!

Posted in California State Parks, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Woolsey and Hill Fire Closures (Updated 12/21)

Tuesday, November 27th, 2018

This past week has been devastating. Our hearts go out to all those who were impacted by the Woolsey Fire and the Hill Fire, which have ravaged our local mountains. We know that a good portion of CORBA’s membership are in areas affected by the fire. A few lost homes and property. CORBA’s storage shed near Malibu Creek State Park survived, though we weren’t able to confirm so until after Thanksgiving. We truly appreciate the firefighters and first responders who put themselves at incredible risk to battle these fires and save as much as they could.

With so much loss, it may sound a little selfish to be concerned about trails. Being able to go for a mountain bike ride can brighten your day and bring a sense of normalcy to these tumultuous times. But with most of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area closed, where can we ride? We’ve provided a listing below, with links to each park’s web site for the latest updates. We’ll do our best to keep this information current.

Please respect trail and park closures. Our land management agencies have their hands full with fire recovery and damage assessments. Trails in burned areas can be extremely hazardous, even after the fire is “out.”  Fine particulate ash is a lung irritant and can cause severe health problems. Burned, weakened trees can fall at any time, especially in the early days after the fire, or as the ground softens with rain and no vegetation. Once our first big rains hit, trails will be heavily damaged and may become impassable. Just don’t ride closed trails.

As soon as we are able, CORBA will be scheduling trailwork events to help restore trails that will be heavily damaged this coming winter. It might be some time before we can do trailwork or ride. Watch our meetup group or Facebook page for upcoming trailwork events in the new year.

OPEN Areas (Updated Dec 21, 2018):

CLOSED Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority (Facebook Page, Twitter) 

CLOSED California State Parks (Facebook, Twitter):

  • Malibu Creek State Park – closed until further notice due to the Woolsey Fire. State Parks lost some structures, such as employee residences, the historic Sepulveda Adobe, Red House, Hope Ranch also known as the White Oak Barn (including historic Adamson rowboats) and Reagan Ranch. – Update 12/21: Malibu Creek State Park is now open. Campgrounds are closed, but trails are open. Please stay on the trails!

 

CLOSED Conejo Open Space Areas:

CLOSED Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (Facebook, Twitter):

CLOSED Roads:

Last updated: Nov 26, 2018.

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Posted in California State Parks, Conejo Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Simi Valley, Trail Access, Trail Hazards | 3 Comments »

Report on the ‘Creek of Doom’ trail restoration in MCSP on November 11th

Tuesday, November 14th, 2017

Over 20 volunteers, including 9 from CORBA, 8 from Girlz Gone Riding and 6 from the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, worked for four hours this past Saturday morning to fix up a seriously degraded part of Crags Road in Malibu Creek State Park. This section, just before the M*A*S*H site, is fondly known at the ‘Creek of Doom’ or the ‘Rock Garden’ because of the rocky and narrow nature of the trail, going along the edge, and then the middle, of the dry creek bed. This trail has not seen any work on it for years and had become very overgrown and eroded. As a result of the rains last winter, several trees had fallen on the trail and now were lying at the side, their branches still poking into the trail itself.

Under the guidance of experience trail crew leaders, mostly from the Trails Council but also from CORBA, the volunteers split into several groups, most of which focused on clearing back the fallen trees and other brush, with the rest focusing on fixing the trail tread.

Before, during and after photos of one section of the trail that was restored.

Overall, almost a half mile of trail was restored. This included about 100′ of narrow, rocky and off-camber trail where very large rocks were dug out and the tread made more smooth and level. The large rocks were used to build up a section about 20′ long that had almost completely disappeared into the creek. (See photos above.)

Lunch at the Urbane Cafe afterwards to thank all the volunteers who did such a great job!

After the work ended, CORBA treated the volunteers to a lunch at the Urbane Cafe and the Habit Hamburger Grill.

You can see more pictures of the trailwork in CORBA’s photo gallery.

Posted in California State Parks, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

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