On a beautiful warm day for riding in Malibu Creek State Park, there was a surprisingly small group of only 10 at the free Basic Skills Clinic, which is always held the first Saturday of the month. You can see the photos in our May photo gallery.
Archive for the ‘Regions’ Category
May2015 Skills Clinic Photos Posted May 2nd
Saturday, May 2nd, 2015Report on the 34th Annual Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days, April 24-26, and photos
Wednesday, April 29th, 2015For the most extensive trailwork weekend of the year, 150 volunteers signed up on Saturday, the first day of the 34th annual SMM Trail Days, to help restore trails in Point Mugu State Park (Sycamore Canyon). Another fifty signed up for the following Sunday. The theme for the weekend was to restore trails damaged by the December floods.
On Saturday, the workers split into about 10 crews. Most of them worked on trails in the State Wilderness, east of the main Sycamore Canyon Trail. The CORBA crew of 17 shuttled to the bottom of Guadalasca and hiked to their work area. We were to build rideable paths in three locations where stream crossings had been destroyed. At the first location, the stream had left a culvert half exposed. Some rocks had been piled against it, making a bit of a ramp to help ride across, but it was still quite a hazard. We left some of our crew there to build up more rocks over the exposed culvert to smooth the crossing. When we hiked back down, were we ever surprised to find that they had completely covered the culvert, filling up the bottom of the stream bed to a few inches above the top of the pipe, and the width of the culvert, about 15 feet! You would never have known that the culvert was almost washed away in that flood!
Before we got to the second work site, we encountered a tree that had fallen across the trail. It had burned in the Springs Fire (May 2013) and had just fallen a few days earlier. We spent about 20 minutes pushing it to the side of the trail.
At the second site, the water had eroded the banks, leaving a vertical drop of about four feet down to the stream bed on both sides, with a gap of about 10′ between. Here, another group was to build a ramp down to the level of the stream bed, then another ramp up the other side. This work took special care because environmental regulations do not allow us to move dirt from the bank into the course of the stream, even though it’s completely dry. (This is to keep dirt from clouding the stream and ocean, interfering with the ability of fish to migrate and reproduce.) When building the ramps, the team carefully dug into the dirt, dragged it away from the bank and put it into buckets. The buckets were carried up the trail where the dirt was used to fill in ruts.
The remainder of the CORBA crew continued hiking up the trail almost another mile to the third work site. Here the flood had again destroyed the crossing, leaving a drop of about four feet at the edge of the trail. We were to realign the trail to move it a few feet away from this drop. Again, we had to carefully remove the dirt from the edge of the stream, relocating it into ruts up the trail by way of buckets.
The first and third team finished before the end of the work day, so they went to the aid of the second team. They had the biggest project by far; however, there was only so much that could be done at once due to the confined area of the work.
At about 2:00 pm, everyone hiked back down the trail to catch the shuttles back to the staging/camping/bath/eating area at the Danielson Multiuse camp. We spent the afternoon relaxing and chatting. Meanwhile, the State Park Staff volunteers were stoking the wood-fired grill and making other preparations for the barbecue dinner, consisting of tri-tip, chicken, veggie burgers, baked beans, salad and garlic toast.
In line for the barbecue dinner
Dinner was followed by the raffle, where almost everyone (and perhaps everyone) won an outdoor recreational objet de swag of some sort. The people whose tickets were drawn first won some really, really good prizes!
View the photos of Saturday trailwork, the R&R area and barbecue dinner in CORBA’s photo gallery.
The work crew when the ramps are finished
The work day on Sunday is always a lot smaller than Saturday, so we broke up into just three crews. The CORBA crew of 10 returned to Guadalasca to finish off the middle stream crossing. It was a bit of a race to get it finished by 11:40, as the shuttle was to pick us up at noon at the bottom of the trail, but we did it, just scraping by! We moved a huge amount of dirt, digging out those two ramps, and filled in a lot of ruts on the nearby trail.
Both days, dozens of mountain bikers passed through our work area. Most of them thanked us for our work as they went by, recognizing that they wouldn’t have to carry their bikes across the streams when we were finished. A few stopped to ask how they could find out about future trailwork events so they could help out too.
View the photos of Sunday trailwork on Guadalasca in CORBA’s photo gallery.
Back at the staging area, we had a lunch of leftovers, followed by another raffle drawing for Sunday’s volunteers. We departed the park about 1:30 – time for a shower!
Thanks to the CORBA volunteers and the many others who put on and attended this event, helping to keep these popular State Park trails in great condition!
Trek to recall nearly 1 million bicycles after injury reports
Friday, April 24th, 2015Catastrophic failure of 2000 – 2015 model bikes leads to quadriplegia
Source of this article: The Los Angeles Times, April 24, 2015
Trek Bicycle Corp. will recall nearly 1 million bikes in the United States and Canada to correct a brake-safety issue following reports of three injuries, including one that left a rider paralyzed, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission said Wednesday.
The recall covers all models of Trek bicycles from model years 2000 through 2015 that have front disc brakes and a black or silver quick-release lever on the front wheel hub that opens far enough to contact the disc brake, the agency said.
There is a risk on the affected bikes that the lever could become caught in the front disc-brake assembly, causing the front wheel to separate or stop suddenly, the commission said.
The bikes’ owners are urged to “stop using the bicycles immediately and contact an authorized Trek retailer for free installation of a new quick-release on the front wheel,” the commission said.
The recall affects about 900,000 bikes in the United States and 98,000 in Canada that sold for between $480 and $1,650.
Trek reported three incidents of injured riders related to the problem, including one that resulted in quadriplegia, the commission said. The others involved facial and wrist injuries.
Trek is based in Waterloo, Wis., and the bicycles involved in the recall were made in Taiwan and China, the agency said.
“Your safety is very important to us,” Trek said in a recall notice on its website. “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.”
The commission said customers could contact Trek at 800-373-4594 Monday through Friday or via the company’s website http://www.trekbikes.com/worldwide/.
Santa Monica Mtns Trail Days at Sycamore Canyon Apr 24-26
Tuesday, April 21st, 2015
Once a year we have an opportunity to work on the trails and then BBQ and camp at Danielson Ranch in Pt Mugu State Park. It is opened annually for the Santa Monica Trail Days! This is a unique opportunity to work on the trails that we enjoy so much in Sycamore Canyon, and the Saturday workday is followed by a BBQ and prizes, with free camping available on Friday and/or Saturday night. This is hands down the best day to get in some trail maintenance work! Camping is optional; you may leave with the escort after the BBQ. There will be trailwork projects on both Saturday and Sunday. Sign up for one or both! Pre-registration is requested by April 21st so we’ll know how many people to prepare for.
Schedule at a glance
Friday night April 24 – arrive for overnight camping (optional). Bagels and hot beverages supplied Saturday morning for campers.
Saturday April 25 – Trailwork, barbecue dinner, prize give-away. Bring your own lunch. Optional overnight camping. Bagels and hot beverages supplied Sunday morning for campers.
Sunday April 26 – Trailwork, prize give-away. Bring your own lunch.
You can volunteer to help out on Saturday, Sunday, or both.
BRING: LUNCHES, BEVERAGES, SNACKS AND WATER. Tools and instruction on using them are provided.
WEAR: Gloves, hat, long pants, protective clothing, and work boots or sturdy shoes.
REGISTRATION: Advance registration is required for the activities shown below, and appreciated by April 21st!
Saturday Registration: http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/221130358/
Sunday Registration: http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/events/221130376/
TRAILWORK: Saturday and/or Sunday. Help out with one or both! There are also opportunities to help out in the camp instead of trailwork.
CAMPING: Free camping Friday and/or Saturday nights for volunteers at the Danielson Multi-use Area located under the sycamores and oaks in the heart of Point Mugu State Park. Bring your own gear.
DINNER: Sat. Night Barbecue Free FOR VOLUNTEERS. Bring appetizers and beverages.
PRIZES: Thank-you prize give-aways will be held Saturday after dinner and Sunday after trailwork.
VEHICLE ACCESS: You will be able to caravan into and out of the park by vehicle only at these few designated times:
ARRIVE: Friday – 5 pm and 7 pm. Saturday – 7:30 am and 4:30 pm Sunday – 7:30 am
DEPART: Saturday – 4 pm and about 9 pm. Sunday – 8 am and 2:30 pm
Full details and camping/dining details are also provided on the registration pages.
Rim of the Valley Corridor Study Released
Tuesday, April 14th, 2015
- The NPS Preferred Alternative
The National Park Service (NPS) today released the findings of the Rim of the Valley (ROTV) study, including a draft Environmental Impact Report and Proposed Alternatives. The study has been underway since 2010. CORBA has commented on previous phases of the study and has also encouraged our members and the mountain biking community to do so.
The NPS has developed five alternatives for the public to comment upon. Their preferred alternative expands the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) to include much of the study area, which would allow the NPS to provide technical assistance to other land managers within the NRA. Other alternatives include a “no action” alternative, meaning that nothing will change, a Conservation Partnership alternative, and a boundary expansion plus conservation partnership alternative. A fifth alternative, which would have only provided planning assistance for a Rim of the Valley trail, was rejected as it didn’t meet the objectives of the study.
None of the proposed alternatives would affect or include any Angeles National Forest or San Gabriel Mountains National Monument, which would remain under the management of the Forest Service. All alternatives (except the “no action” alternative) include the conceptual Rim of the Valley Trail, as originally envisioned by Marge Feinberg in her 1976 Masters thesis.
CORBA will be analyzing the study’s findings and will report back. Comments must be submitted before June 30, 2015. An executive summary can be found here. The comprehensive set of related documents and maps, and a comment submission form can be found on the NPS Park Planning web site, while a more user-friendly overview of the process can be found at http://www.nps.gov/pwro/rimofthevalley/index.htm
The NPS is hosting six public meetings between April 21, 2015 and June 2, 2015 to discuss the findings and alternatives presented in the draft study report. We invite and encourage all CORBA members and supporters to attend one of the public meetings. For those unable to attend, we’ll post a full report after the first meeting.
Online/Virtual Public Meeting:
Tuesday, April 21, 2015 12:30 p.m.(PDT)/ 3:30 p.m.(EDT) (WebEx Connect Time)
Please check-in early as there could be some software downloads that you may need to install to participate. The meeting presentation will start promptly at 1:00 pm PDT/4:00 pm EDT.
Click here for instructions on how to participate in the online meeting.
Local Public Meetings Schedule:
Monday, May 4, 2015, 7–9 pm
La Crescenta Public Library, Community Room
2809 Foothill Blvd.
La Crescenta, CA 91214
Tuesday, May 5, 2015, 7–9 pm
William S. Hart Regional Park, Hart Hall
24151 Newhall Avenue
Newhall, CA 91321
Wednesday, May 6,2015, 7–9 pm
Conejo Recreation and Parks District
Community Room
403 West Hillcrest Dr.
Thousand Oaks, CA 91360
Thursday, May 21, 2015, 7–9 pm
Mason Recreation Center
10500 Mason Ave.
Chatsworth, CA 91311
Tuesday, June 2, 2015, 3-5 pm*
El Pueblo de Los Angeles
Hellman-Quon Building
130 Paseo de la Plaza
Los Angeles CA 90012
Join Danusia Taber’s annual Memorial Ride May 31st
Thursday, April 9th, 2015The second annual memorial ride honoring the memory of our friend Danusia Bennett Taber will be held on Sunday May 31st.
CORBA supporter Danusia with husband Don.
This ride is a FUND RAISER ride! To make a donation in Danusia’s name to the Sarcoma Alliance which is tax deductible, please go to this Sarcoma Alliance web page. Then, in the drop down menu for the EVENT name, please choose Danusia Taber Memorial Ride. Thank you so very much in advance! This is what Danusia wanted to help others that are alive today battling cancer; I am carrying on her wishes.
Please sign up on the CORBA Facebook or Meetup event page here where you can locate more information.
If you never had the pleasure of meeting Danusia, read the blog article on her memorial and her legacy.
There will be three guided rides, all no drop rides: Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. For exact routes, please check the CORBA Facebook or Meetup event as it gets closer. Beginner will ride approximately 10 miles, Intermediate under 20 and Advanced about 30 miles. Both fire road and single track.
The event will take place at Sycamore Canyon from Newbury Park.
Contributed by Wendy Engelberg
CORBA Helps Celebrate Marvin Braude Park
Monday, April 6th, 2015
Sheila Kuehl, Jerry Daniels, Liza Braude-Glidden, Joe Edmiston, Fran Pavley, George Lange, and Cindy Miscikowski cut the ribbon at the re-dedication of Marvin Braude Gateway Park.
On Friday, April 3, representatives of CORBA and Girls Gone Riding joined a plethora of politicians and other members of the public to rededicate Marvin Braude Gateway Park at the top of Reseda Boulevard in Tarzana. Honored guests included LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, California Senator Fran Pavley, former LA City Councilwoman Cindi Miscikowski and Marvin Braude’s daughter Liza Braude-Glidden.
In the 60’s, there was a plan to build a Reseda to the Sea Freeway and a cross mountain freeway along Mulholland. Speakers recounted Braude’s commitment to preventing this and his 1964 plan to have the City of LA save the Santa Monica Mountains by creating a park district and buying the undeveloped land. When he was rebuffed by the City Council, he ran for office, won and began his distinguished career as an advocate for the Santa Monica Mountains and other health and environmental issues.
The park, one of the main trailheads for mountain bicyclists and hikers coming from the San Fernando Valley was built 20 years ago when advocates and land mangers worked to stop plans to connect Reseda Boulevard and pave sections of Dirt Mulholland. Braude Park has recently been refurbished by the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority. ADA facilities have been improved, there’s a new bathroom and drinking fountain, and interpretive panels have been installed. Joe Edmiston , Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and chief Operating Officer of the MRCA hosted the event and specifically thanked CORBA for its contributions to the park and trails community in his remarks.
April 2015 Skills Clinic Photos Posted April 4th
Saturday, April 4th, 2015It was a perfect day for riding in Malibu Creek State Park, and 28 smart riders came out for the free Basic Skills Clinic, which is always held the first Saturday of the month. This was by far the largest group we’ve had in over a year! The park was also full of hikers, and we even saw a couple of equestrians. You can see the photos in our April photo gallery.
What’s Next for the San Gabriels?
Friday, March 27th, 2015On Wednesday, March 25th, the Sierra Club did a panel presentation on the future of the San Gabriel Mountains. The panel members were Steve Scauzillo, local newspaper reporter, Daniel Lovato, Acting Supervisor, Angeles National Forest, Belinda Faustinos, Vice Chair, San Gabriel Mountains Forever, Tim Brick, Managing Director, The Arroyo Seco Foundation, and Edward Belden, Southern California Program Associate, National Forest Foundation.
Daniel Lovato gave an encouraging update on what’s already happened, and what is in the works for the coming months. There are some positive changes and staffing increases planned. They’re filling several vacant staff positions, including a volunteer coordinator, which should make it better for us and take some load off Recreation Officer Dennis Merkel, who has been doing multiple duties over and above his Rec officer position. There will be about 3 million dollars for Monument Management allocated to the mountains in 2015 from Region 5. Consultants are being hired to oversee the management plan development, as they don’t have the in-house capacity to undertake this effort.
More money is coming for projects. Tentative plans include funding for ongoing and new restoration and redevelopment programs, removal of invasive species, funding of youth employment programs, hiring of paid personnel for the Visitors Centers and the development of a “Field Ranger” program. They will be filling the visitor center positions by hiring recently returned veterans as part of a post-military service job placement program. Some of those will be on the ground by Memorial Day.There are more than $1 million needed to update all the signs in the forest. They’re placing this at the bottom of the priority list for the moment. They’re also developing a spreadsheet of ready-to-go projects which they’ll make available to groups who are looking to donate time, materials or funds for specific projects. They are working on a partnership with corporations, including Coca Cola, and nonprofits to bring in more funds.
One of the themes of the evening was why the boundaries of the National Monument were set to exclude some of the most heavily used, historic, and popular areas of the front country. Nobody has an answer, not even the Forest Service.
Tim Brick of the Arroyo Seco Foundation was very adamant about the need to include the La River Ranger District and the Arroyo Seco. He also talked a lot about the Brown Mountain Dam, which he says the Forest Service doesn’t classify as a dam. However it is listed it as one of the most dangerous dams in the country on national infrastructure reports. It hasn’t been inspected since 1994. He also talked about how disappointed he was that people can’t walk up the arroyo canyon to switzers (Gabrielino trail) for the first time in Centuries. He said it used to be part of the the native American route up and over the mountains to the desert. “For the first time in history, after the station fire, people can’t go there and the trail is gone”. He wasn’t aware, and we let him know, that CORBA has been funding the restoration of the trail over Brown Mountain dam through an REI Grant and a partnership with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps.
Belinda Faustinos, chair of the San Gabriel Mountains Forever coalition, thanked me for our extensive input on the new National Monument Public Involvement Plan. All the CORBA and MWBA recommendations were taken into consideration by the subcommittee and will be included in the report they will present at the next Community Collaborative meeting.
She went on to state that The San Gabriel Mountains Forever group’s primary mission is now to ensure the success of the National Monument, through grant funding, fundraising, community outreach, and through public input on the management plan. We fully support this.
Their secondary mission is to expand the National Monument to include those areas of the front country, Mount Lukens and the southwest LARRD , that was left out of the monument. This is something I believe CORBA can support, but only after we have a successful track record with the current monument. It will take either an act of congress or a new presidential proclamation to achieve this expansion. It’s unlikely to happen under the Obama administration, and more likely through legislation. Either way, it will take some time.
Their third priority is to establish new wilderness areas, including Condor Peak, Fish Canyon (now a Recommended Wilderness), and expansion of existing wilderness areas. This is where our opinions diverge. I’m hoping that the relationships we are developing through the collaborative will make it easier for us to negotiate and stand up for access to trails when those wilderness proposals surface.
There was also talk a brief mention of the Rim of the Valley Corridor Study, which has been delayed for some time and has now missed three public release deadlines.
Edward Belden gave a great talk on the National Forest Foundation, and how they are working in Big Tujunga as a part of their Treasured Landscapes program, and have proposed a pilot project to remove invasive arundo from east fork of the San Gabriel river. One of his presentation slides acknowledged CORBA and MWBA as some of the groups they’ve partnered with on projects (Strawberry Peak Trail, National Trails Day, Etc).
There was some really encouraging news and a generally good vibe in the room. CORBA’s involvement in the Community Collaborative, and our continued efforts as both stewards of the trails and the lands through which they pass, is helping to bring together an at times divided trail community. We’ll continue to be engaged in ensuring the Angeles National Forest and San Gabriel Mountains National Monument remain great places to ride a mountain bike.
Are you ready for a Bike Park?
Thursday, March 26th, 2015We are. We think Los Angeles is too.
CORBA has been working to bring bike parks to Southern California for some time. Since CORBA volunteers built their first pump track (on a private property) in 2007, we’ve been watching the community bike park movement grow and accelerate around us.
We’ve had some success. Fillmore Bike Park is now officially open and available to ride. Thousand Oaks included bike park facilities in their recently approved plans for Sapwi Trails Community Park. Kernville has a bike park and BMX track. These are the result of dedicated mountain bikers showing up to meetings and asking for them, then following through to make it happen.
Our neighboring IMBA Chapters in Orange, San Diego and Riverside Counties are all working on bringing bike parks to their communities. Now we’re ready to ask Los Angeles.
In January, the Los Angeles Dirt Park Collective was formed. CORBA has joined the Collective in their mission to bring pump tracks, dirt jumps, and bike parks to Los Angeles. We know there’s demand, but at this stage we need to let the decision makers know just how great that demand is.
How can you get involved? Right now we need a show of support. Follow the L.A. Dirt Park Collective on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LADirtPark
Sign the petition, share it with your friends, and help spread the word. https://www.change.org/p/spread-the-word-and-help-us-create-the-first-ever-los-angeles-dirt-park
