There were a dozen riders at the Basic Skills Clinic this month so show off for guest photographer Graham Martin in Malibu Creek State Park this month. The clinic is always held the first Saturday of the month. You can see the photos in our November photo gallery.
Archive for the ‘Regions’ Category
November 2015 Skills Clinic Photos Posted November 10
Tuesday, November 10th, 2015GGR’s Rocktober & CORBA Membership Drive Wrap Up and Photos
Monday, November 2nd, 2015This year’s Girlz Gone Riding Rocktober festival & CORBA Membership Drive was by far the largest to date! With 37 exhibitors and over 300 in attendance, our expectations were far exceeded!
The event started out on Saturday with our pre-ride for our ride volunteers. We had 34 ride volunteers pre-riding all routes for the guided rides. We ran into the mounted patrol all day too! Great way to start the weekend of epicness!
Saturday evening was our traditional goodie bag stuffing party and raffle tagging. This year Cycle World Chatsworth hosted and in a few hours many volunteers got 250 goodie bags stuffed and over $20K of raffle items tagged! And of course we had pizza, cake and vino!
The morning of the Rocktober festival, the ranger at MCSP was kind enough to have the gate open at 6am this year!! This allowed our demo trucks to get there in plenty of time to set up and get the bikes ready to go for our lady shredders.
It was still dark in the morning AND it was raining a wee bit…so I was just a bit concerned that the rain would stick. The trails were mostly clay, so they don’t hold any rain well at all. Lucky for us, it cleared up for a beautiful day!
Since I had announced the gates were going to be open early, everyone seemed to take advantage of it and get there super early. Registration didn’t open until 8am, but at 6:30amish, we already had a ton of riders and the parking lot was half full. Lots of anxious ladies eager to start the festival!
Once everyone was signed in, got their goodie bags and demo bikes, it was time for the morning commencement. This is always the toughest part to prepare for since once a year I get this enormous audience and there are so many people to thank as well as announcements to make. Next year I promise it will be much shorter!
I introduced each chapter and the chapter leaders. I talked about the two C’S which I live by. Community and Club. All supporters and exhibitors at the event received a verbal mention and we went on to intro our 4 amazing volunteer coaches this year. Returning head coach Leigh Donovan, returning GGR coach Christine Hirst, new GGR coaches Kris Gross and Erica Phillips.
This year’s community award went to G2 Bikes and Girls Ride 2! This award is given to the shop that shows the most community involvement in women’s cycling, has a great women’s section and has shop rides. G2 and Girls Ride 2 earned this award hands down. I affectionately call them our “sister club” because we are all on the same page when it comes to community. There ride leaders spend the entire weekend with us volunteering too!
Last but not least, Steve Messer, our CORBA President, spoke about trail etiquette. Every Rocktober event is also a CORBA membership drive. Each GGR chapter partners up with their local IMBA chapter.
After the huge group photo, riders split up into their guided ride groups and skills clinics. We had guided rides for all levels and beginner skills clinics running all morning. Rides were all through the park including the famous MASH site, Grasslands and Little Bulldog. Many of these rides went through the super fun creek bed where we had photographers stationed to capture the excitement!
This year we invited a few of our GGR Littles too! We love that they got to see us grown up ladies doing some major shredding!
When riders came back after their guided rides, they enjoyed an afternoon of tons of exhibitors, more demo bikes, lunch, catching up and just enjoying the day. We ended the day with over $20K of raffle prizes including grand prizes from REI, Specialized, Sacred Rides and San Juan Huts. We thank all the bike companies that came out to Rocktober. We had over 100 demo bikes for ladies to demo! Huge shouts out and thank you’s to: Liv, Bulls Bikes USA, Specialized, Trek, Turner and Rocky Mountain. We also want to thank Clif who for the 2nd year sponsored the Clif Fuel station and provided the Rocktober event with all of our hydration and nutrition as well as plenty of goodies for the goodie bags!
The Rocktober festival is so much bigger than GGR. It’s truly a celebration of women’s mountain biking and bringing our community together.
For all pictures, please go to:
http://corbamtb.com/Photos/Misc2015-10-18GGR/_Page.shtml
or
https://girlzgoneriding.shutterfly.com
GGR Girl WE
Photos from the Nov 1st Ride & Mingle (RAM) ride and Pancake lunch
Monday, November 2nd, 2015For our occasional RAM ride, a few dozen CORBA supporters gathered at the trailhead to Pt Mugu State Park in Newbury Park on Sunday morning and organized into three groups for separate beginner, intermediate and advanced rides. Off we went into Sycamore Canyon shortly after 9:00 am for a few hours of riding before heading down to Michael’s Bicycles in Newbury Park for pancakes, coffee, juice, fruit and muffins. There was also a donation jar for CORBA to pay for the meal and to help with other CORBA programs. Many people contributed bills to this jar, and for that CORBA offers a hearty thanks! Michael sweetened the event by offering special deals to us on merchandise in his shop.
We have posted photos of the intermediate ride and from Michael’s. You can see photos of earlier RAM rides and fundraising events on our photo gallery.
Photos and Report on Backbone Trail Restoration on Oct 31, 2015
Saturday, October 31st, 2015On Hallowe’en day, 16 CORBA volunteers along with a half dozen from the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council hiked up the Backbone Trail from Mulholland Hwy towards Etz Meloy for the third time in a year to cut back the overgrowing brush and improve the drainage.
It seems like all mountain bikers love this 2.5-mile long trail that twists and meanders, climbing gently and constantly up 600′ vertically.
I had hoped that we would have enough people to complete the brushing along its entire length, and the word is we succeeded – almost! There is still one very small gap that hasn’t had the brush cleared, but that section of the trail isn’t badly overgrown.
The CORBA crew focused on cutting back the brush, but the SMMTC crew also worked on the tread – cleaning and fixing the drains and spreading the slough across the trail to level it out. (Slough is the dirt that falls onto the inside edge of the trail from the hillside directly above, resulting in a narrowed trail because people don’t ride or hike on the uneven and loose slough.)
The CORBA volunteers included five students from Calabasas area high schools mountain biking teams, and two of their parents. The teams like their members to give back to the trail community. These kids did a great job helping to restore the trail, as did all the volunteers. Thanks for your help; everybody who uses the trail will appreciate your work when they don’t get scratched up from the brush that used to grow into it!
You can view photos of the work at our trailwork day photo gallery.
Help restore Ken Burton Trail, Nov 7, 8
Thursday, October 29th, 2015
We have been waiting for some time to begin work on the Ken Burton trail. This much-loved trail was built by the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association in the early 90s, creating a loopable route with Brown Mountain and the Gabrielino Trail. CORBA used a generous grant of $10,000 from REI to help fund the restoration of the Gabrielino Trail from Paul Little to Oakwilde Campground. We coordinated with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps who continue to work on the segment north of Oakwilde this fall.
CORBA and MWBA have been given permission to work on Ken Burton, and to connect it to the restored section of the Gabrielino. Once completed, we’ll be asking the Forest Service to open the Brown, Ken Burton, Gabrilieno loop route to the public.
We have scheduled a work weekend on the 7th/8th of November. Logistics require us to haul in tools and equipment by Bob Trailer. Most of the two days of work will entail cutting back brush. Surprisingly, much of the tread is in good condition, and most of the switchbacks appear to be generally intact. This says a lot about the quality of construction by the MWBA’s pioneers and their dedication to quality trail building. Only a few wire baskets have failed out of the many that were used.
Please RSVP for the trailwork on our meetup group at http://meetup.com/corbamtb or on the MWBA Facebook page.
IMPORTANT:
When: Meet Saturday, November 7, 2015, 7:30.a.m. Windsor and Ventura parking lot. Ride up to
the top of upper Brown Mountain fire road starting at 8, and meet there at 9:15. We’ll work until about 1 p.m before riding back down.
Sunday, November 8, 2015, meet at 7:45 a.m. at Windsor and Ventura Parking lot. Ride up at 8 a.m..
You may come out for either or both days.
What to bring:
Eye protection (cycling style sunglasses are fine), work gloves (if you have them), sunscreen, water and trail food, sturdy shoes. You are required to wear long pants and long sleeves, though these can be packed for the ride up and changed into at the top. We’ll be supplying forest-service required hard-hats, gloves and tools. A GMRS radio could also be helpful.
What to expect:
Experienced trail crew members will be using power tools (hedge trimmers, etc) to clear brush; others will clear the cuttings from the trail and do minor tread work. You’ll need to sign a waiver for CORBA, and a Job Hazard Analysis for the Forest Service. If under 18, be accompanied by a parent or guardian, at least to sign the waiver before we start, and assign a guardian who will be with us. People should be familiar with the ride up and the location. Those hauling trailers are welcome to take off early, and they can be briefed on safety at the top.
The ride in will be about 7 miles with 2000′ of elevation gain on a mix of fire road, double track and singletrack. Expect to ride all the way up, though there’s a few possible hike-a-bikes. We expect everyone to be at the upper Ken Burton trailhead by 9:15 and ready to hike down the trail and begin work.
We’ll be clearing brush, removing vegetation growing on the tread or leaning over the trail corridor, approximately 4 – 5 feet either side of the center of the tread. There will be some tread repair in a few places where the trail bench cut has been filled with slough, and some light tread grooming over other areas. We’ll break at about 11, take an assessment of how everyone feels and see who wants to continue. We hope to finish work about 1, and be heading back to our bikes for the descent back to the bottom.
Afterwards, those who wish may join us for lunch at a location to be announced.
Those hauling bob trailers should understand what an extra 50 pounds feels like on a ride like this, and have something left over to do trailwork. If you’re interested in hauling a trailer (a smaller chainring is helpful) post in the comments or contact Steve [at] corbamtb.com.
Severe weather cancels the event, including heavy rain, high fire danger and/or high wind, or other circumstances. Check CORBA’s pages on either Meetup or Facebook before you head out just to make sure that we’re still on. November 15 will be a backup day in case of weather cancellation.
We hope to see you there showing how much you love and miss our trails and that mountain bikers are one of the most active stewards of the trails.
![20151015006-Ken Burton Trailwork Scouting](http://corbamtb.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151015006-Ken-Burton-Trailwork-Scouting.jpg)
Typical trail conditions
Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest 2015
Sunday, October 25th, 2015The 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.
The 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.
Judy Chu’s HR3820 Introduced
Sunday, October 25th, 2015Today, October 23, 2015, Congresswoman Judy Chu kept a commitment made at the San Gabriel Mountains National Monument One Year Anniversary celebration last week, and revealed to CORBA and MWBA in a meeting a few weeks prior to that. She has introduced House Bill 3820, The San Gabriel Mountains Foothills and Rivers Protection Act.
The act establishes a new unit of the National Park Service. At our preliminary reading of the Act, it appears to be largely consistent with Alternative D of the San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study (SGWMSRS), which we supported, albeit with some concerns and caveats.
This act goes to great lengths in protecting existing water, property, utility and infrastructure rights, and expressly prohibits the use of Eminent Domain to acquire property. It establishes an Advisory Committee under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), which includes water agencies, infrastructure, local governments, conservancies, environmentalists, recreation including OHV, and other stakeholders. It doesn’t, however, specifically mention bicycles. It also establishes a partnership committee to support the NRA.
The bill authorizes the National Park Service to establish the San Gabriel National Recreation Area as a new unit of the NPS. It allows them to enter into partnerships and collaborate with existing and willing land managers with the proposed boundary. This includes the Army Corps of Engineers who own and operate much of the flood control infrastructure along the river. It permits and encourages collaborations and partnerships to be leveraged to improve habitat, recreation, resource protection, water quality, infrastructure or any of the purposes for which the NRA will be established ( as specified in Section 102(A) of the bill). The NPS can only acquire land from willing sellers and enter into partnership with willing entities, agencies, and nonprofits. Despite claims to the contrary, this is not a “land grab.”
The bill gives the National Park Service three years to develop a management plan and a visitor services plan, in conjunction with the Advisory Committee (and as required by NEPA, the public). There are however two words that appear highly subjective. In Section 108 (a)(3)(B) In the development of a Visitor Services Plan, the Secretary Shall consider the demand for various types of recreation (including hiking, picnicking, horseback riding, and the use of motorized and mechanized vehicles) where permissible and appropriate; [Emphasis added]. The word “appropriate” in this context is too subjective, without any reference to who makes the determination for appropriateness, and by what criteria. We know there are many who deem bicycles inappropriate anywhere, and we would hope that any determination of appropriateness of bicycles or any other form of recreation be transparent and include public involvement beyond the Advisory Committee and Partnership.
Also required is the establishment of the San Gabriel National Recreation Partnership, consisting of the many land managers, utility managers, and local governments within the boundary. The partnership includes “One designee of San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Community.” We wonder if this is a referral to the Community Collaborative, on which CORBA President Steve Messer serves to represent bicycle recreation interests.
That original SGWMSR Study and the Alternative D supported by CORBA included most of the San Gabriel Watershed within the Angeles National Forest. This study concluded in in 2011, and was the precursor to our National Monument. In early 2014, Chu introduced legislation to establish a National Recreation Area in accordance with the study, but it was clear it was not going to make it out of committee in the congressional climate at that time. This urged her and other advocates to seek alternative protection for the San Gabriel Watershed, ie. to have President Obama declare a San Gabriel Mountains National Monument (SGMNM), which included all of the San Gabriel Watershed, and then some.
One of our concerns with Alternative D of the SGWSRS was how it was going to be funded. At the time, in 2011, the Nation’s economy was in a much sorrier state than it is today, so the financial and administrative burdens a new NPS unit would create were, and still remain a concern. While we are doing better economically, we all know that our public land agencies are all dealing with reduced budgets and severe cutbacks over the past decades. As we commented in 2011, we would hope that funding be secured from additional sources that do not impact or reduce the budgets of other NPS or USFS units, including our local Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and Angeles National Forest/San Gabriel Mountains National Monument.
Another concern we had with the SGWMSRS was that Forest Service land outside the San Gabriel Watershed Study area under Alternative D would receive reduced services and resources from the Forest Service. We didn’t want to see all the priorities going to the National Recreation Area. Much of the area left out of the National Monument was not in the original San Gabriel Watershed Special Resource Study, which some have speculated is a reason for the exclusion from the National Monument. With our SGMNM, we have the same concerns: that areas outside the Monument under Forest Service control would be the forgotten stepchild of the National Monument. While much attention is being placed on the National Monument, we are also seeing benefits to the rest of the Forest.
Chu’s legislation aims to correct the omission of those Forest Service lands from the SGMNM. Title 2 of HR3820 appears to expand the boundary of the existing SGMNM to include all of the Angeles National Forest south of the 14 and east of the 5. It makes no other claims and places no additional burdens on the Forest Service with respect to additional time to prepare a Management Plan. We are beginning to see the impacts of the additional funding the National Monument designation has brought to the Angeles National Forest. Thus far, we see it as good for the Forest. While we do have concerns that when and if the current bill is enacted, the Monument Management plan currently in development will need to be revised once again. Chu’s bill simply applies whatever existing National Monument management plan is in place or in development to the expanded Monument. While sounding simple in theory, the burden of changing boundaries and evaluating the additional cultural, historical, ecological and recreational resources within the expansion will take additional time.
The expansion of the existing National Monument in HR3820 already has much support within the community. Tim Brick from the Arroyo Seco Foundation has been especially vocal about his disappointment with the way the current National Monument boundaries were drawn, and that it happened without any public process or explanation of the reasoning. His feelings are widely echoed in the community, especially now that we are seeing additional funds being allocated to the Forest Service since the National Monument designation.
Our initial thoughts on the bill are positive but guarded; we need more time to digest the content of the bill and its long-term ramifications. Its intentions are in line with those of CORBA’s mission: enhancing recreation, and protecting the lands on which we recreate. If you have strong feelings about the bill please let us know as we formulate our official position.
Map of the proposed San Gabriel National Recreation Area and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument Expansion:
Complete text of HR3820
CORBA at the Santa Monica Mountains Rec Fest This Weekend
Wednesday, October 21st, 2015This 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
Building a new trail in Wildwood Park during the COSCA Annual Trailwork Day on Oct 17, and photos
Monday, October 19th, 2015163 volunteers, including 16 from CORBA, built 3/4 miles of new trail, and an alternate access to the bottom of the Lizard Rock Trail in Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks, for the COSCA (Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency) Annual Trailwork Day. The new trail bypasses the steepest segment and has a better view because it faces more to the west, away from the Hill Canyon water treatment plant.
Volunteers started arriving at Santa Rosa Valley County Park shortly before 7:30, registered and picked up their package of goodies before getting on one of the shuttles that took them 1.3 miles to the trailhead. There they formed into crews of ten or so, each with it’s own experienced crew leader, grabbed tools and hiked up the trail to the work area. Once there, the crew leaders explained to the other volunteers what the work would be, how to use the tools effectively to accomplish that, and above all, how to work safely so there wouldn’t be any injuries.
Most of the new trail was across a steep slope so our job was to dig out the dirt to form a nearly level trail tread. The brush had previously been cut back and the exact path of the trail marked by bright orange flags so we would know where to dig. The area that my crew was working happened to have relatively few rocks mixed in with the dirt so the work went very quickly, but most of the other crews had a lot of rocks to dig out. The most time-consuming part of the work was pushing the excavated dirt far enough down the hill from the trail so that it would be clear to visitors that it wasn’t part of the firm trail tread.
My crew finished our section in about an hour and a half, so we moved down to the bottom of the trail to help there. The work was the same but went quite a bit more slowly because we had a lot more rocks to deal with and we weren’t as fresh as at the start. But as other crews finished their sections, they came down and pitched in too. Overall, we got the trail finished about a half hour sooner than planned for.
Everybody headed back to Santa Rosa Valley County Park, either by shuttle bus or on foot, for the barbecue that the COSCA rangers famously prepare for the volunteers every year. The lunch was followed by a give-away of trail-related items, the most significant being a new mountain bike donated by Giant Bicycles in Newbury Park. Both the lunch and gifts were to thank the volunteers for their hard work.
All the volunteers did a great job! Besides CORBA, there was a strong representation from the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council, high-school mountain bike teams from Newbury Park and Calabasas, several Meetup groups, geocachers and others organizations. It takes the support of these organizations and the participation from the volunteers to make the trailwork day the success that it always is. I know COSCA appreciates their effort and we at CORBA heartily thank everybody for their contributions!
You can find more photos of the event at our photo gallery of the 2015 trailwork day.
In addition, two videos have come to light of this workday,
from geocacher GSXM2: https://youtu.be/RCErrPdANUA
from chillinconejo.com/: https://youtu.be/7deSC-FfvMw
Third (and final?) restoration day on the Backbone Trail between Mulholland and Ezt Meloy to be Oct 31
Monday, October 19th, 2015On two previous occasions in the past year, CORBA and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council crews have teamed up to tackle overgrowing brush and drainage issues on the section of the Backbone Trail that climbs from Mulholland Highway to Etz Meloy Fireroad. This 2.5-mile long sections is a favorite for mountain bikers because of the gentle grade, swooping turns and great views of the Malibu coastal area.
With the heavy rains that El Nino is expected to give us this year, we really would like to get this trail finished to prevent water erosion damage. And we could use lots of help from volunteers!
For details and to register so we’ll know how many people to plan for, please visit our Meetup trailwork signup page. Remember, CORBA will take you to lunch afterwards to thank you for your help!