We had 20 participants in this month’s basic skills clinic at Malibu Creek State Park with cool temperatures under a cloudless sky. There was no water in the creek even though it rained a little the day before – everybody rode across in both directions! You can see all the photos in the November Skills Clinic Photo Gallery.
Archive for the ‘Rides and Events’ Category
November 5, 2011 Skills Clinic Photos
Sunday, November 6th, 2011Light Rain Provided Perfect Dirt for CORBA Kids Ride
Saturday, November 5th, 2011Though it was a small group who showed up for the November CORBA Kids ride in Cheeseboro Canyon last Saturday November 5, their enthusiasm ran big. Light rains the day before provided perfect riding conditions. The summer dust was lightly packed, the skies were clear and blue, and the temperature was pleasantly brisk.
After our standard greetings, 3 adults and 3 kids saddled up and headed out. Dave rode up front with Ethan and Nolan, John rode with Josiah, and Kat was sweeper and some-time photographer. When we got to “The Bees,” John guided the kids one-by-one through a small water crossing; the kids did great! We continued on until we hit 3.25 miles before taking a break and turning back. Most of the kids were tired after a total ascent of 500 feet.
During the break, John demonstrated the strength of his Kevlar gloves. He dared the kids to hit his gloved knuckles with a rock, and they each took a turn. After watching a large group of adult riders negotiate some technical rocky areas, the group saddled up. Most of the kids were uncomfortable riding back down some of the rockier sections, so they learned another lesson in mountain biking: There’s no shame in walking! Once we got past “The Bees,” everyone enjoyed the mostly downhill ride back to the parking lot.
After the ride, the kids snacked on chips and cookies, while the adults compared bike racks.
Check out the photo gallery of this ride. Next ride will take place Saturday December 3rd in Sullivan Canyon; meet on the Brentwood side: http://www.socalmtb.com/socal/trails/sullivan.htm . Hope to see you there!
November eTerraTimes published November 4
Friday, November 4th, 2011The November edition of CORBA’s monthly newsletter, the eTerraTimes, was published today, November 4. If you don’t get it by email, you can view it online.
As always, the eTerraTimes has all the latest news for mountain bikers in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas.
Volunteers Complete New Trail at COSCA Trail Work Day
Friday, October 21st, 2011
On a perfect day for trail work, nearly 170 enthusiastic volunteers turned out for the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency’s 21st annual Trail Work Day on October 15.
This year’s location was in the northern portion of COSCA’s property at the Sunset Hills Trail. A new section of trail was created and completed, making a wonderful 1.5 mile loop with a great view of Bard Reservoir, Simi Valley, and Santa Rosa Valley. This trail loop can also be accessed from the Long Canyon Trail (Simi Valley) and Lang Ranch Open Space (Thousand Oaks) from the east, providing trail users with longer distance capabilities with a very nice singletrack option to their outing.
CORBA Trail Crew trail boss Steve Messer brought CORBA’s tool cache and helped lead a crew on one of the more challenging sections of trail. Younger volunteers helped perform maintenance at the Conejo Valley Botanic Garden.
After the trail work, volunteers returned to the Conejo Valley Community Center for lunch and a prize giveaway featuring a Giant mountain bike donated by Giant Bicycles of Newbury Park. The winner, Jeff Perrault, is the basketball coach at Newbury Park High School and was accompanied by 10 members of the team. 
For more information on the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency, go to www.cosf.org.
CORBA board member Steve Messer and film-maker extraordinaire made a time-lapse video of the building this new trail. Check it out!
Annual IMBA Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011On Saturday October 1, 47 riders came out for the IMBA’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day at Malibu Creek State Park. Riders on unicycles, trailer bikes, tandem bikes, and various sized mountain bikes dotted the trail on a pleasantly warm October morning.
While families arrived and signed in, early-birds rode around the parking lot to warm up after readying their bikes. After reviewing trail etiquette, fearless leader Hans Keifer, CORBA Kids Club members, and many new comers hit the trails.
The first challenge was a dry creek crossing, and the kids were troopers, as you can ssee when you view our photo gallery of this event. After a short break where we waited for the slower members of the group to catch up, we headed back past the visitors center, and some riders rode up the big hill leading to the MASH site before heading back for a fine BBQ lunch!
If you liked this event, or you misssed it and you want to try riding with other families, please join us at our next CORBA Kids Club ride on Saturday November 5 from 9 to noon in Cheeseboro Canyon.
Email kidsclub@corbamtb.com for more information.
October 1, 2011 Skills Clinic Photos
Sunday, October 9th, 2011Guest photographer Mark Langton filled in for Steve this month while he was on vacation. View the October Skill Clinic photo gallery!
Take a Kid Mountain Biking October 1, 2011
Tuesday, September 20th, 2011Saturday October 1, 2011 – Saturday October 1, 2011
1925 Las Virgines RD
Description:
On October 1st, in conjunction with the IMBA Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, CORBA will be having a fun ride at Malibu Creek State Park at 9:00 am. This will be a ride followed by a barbecue. All ages are welcome!
If the kids are too young to ride, feel free to bring a bike trailer or trail-a-bike and tow them along. These can be your own kids, nieces, nephews, friends kids, neighbor kids… Kids must have their own bikes and helmets.
There will be a few different ride options for different age groups. Feel free to participate even if you don’t have any kids to bring.
Childhood obesity in the United States has reached an all-time high. Experts say that the current generation of U.S. children could actually have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. IMBA and CORBA believe mountain biking can help reverse this trend. We need your help to get kids back on bikes.
To get to Malibu Creek State Park, take the Ventura Freeway (101) to Calabasas, exit Las Virgenes Road/Malibu Canyon. Go south 3.5 miles. You will cross Mulholland Highway and go another 1/4 mile to the entrance to Malibu Creek State Park on the right.
From Santa Monica, take Pacific Coast Highway north to Malibu Canyon Road and turn Right. Go 6 miles to the park entrance on your left. Just past the ranger kiosk to the left is a large gravel parking …
Meet at upper parking lot.
More New Riders Join September CORBA Kids Ride
Monday, September 19th, 2011On Saturday September 3rd, the CORBA Kids Club rode again with several new riders and a lot of excitement to see each other again after our last big ride in June.
Dave reviewed trail ettiquette and safety tips with everybody, we welcomed the newcomers, set our walkie-talkies, and then all 17 riders saddled up and headed out. It was the club’s second time at Sycamore Canyon/Point Magu, which was the perfect place to avoid the heat. Adult riders were Joy, David, Dave, Suzy, John, Kat, and Lorenz. Kid riders were RJ, William, Julia, Nolan, Sean, Natalie, Ethan, Josiah, Emma, and Simon. Larry and youngest son, Elliot, cheered us on and took photographs (see the photo gallery of this ride).
There was a surprising amount of poisen oak along the sides of the trail. Kat pointed it out to the new riders, and made sure everybody was careful not to put their bikes into it while waiting for the others to catch up.
All but two of the water crossing were completely dry, and most kids completed them with no problems. We took our first break where the kids used the facilities, ate their snacks, and climbed a downed tree.
At the end of the ride, several adults and kids played in the beach cove, while Dave readied the BBQ, and cooked everyone lunch. After lunch and snacks, we reluctantly broke up the party.
We hope you will join us next month for the IMBA’s annual Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day at Malibu Creek State Park. Meet at the upper parking lot 9 a.m. Different ride options will be available, and a free BBQ lunch will be served.
Nov 13th Fat Tire Fun(d)raiser
Sunday, September 18th, 2011
Save the date: November 13, 2011.
For 2011 we have altered the format of our annual anniversary event. In years past it had grown to be quite the undertaking, with lots of festival activities, vendors, a poker ride, even a cyclocross race. Although fun for attendees and a great success, our volunteer coordinators and support staff got pretty burned out, despite the many accolades received from appreciative participants.
The bottom line is to raise money for our programs while having fun celebrating our great trails and advocacy efforts. So this year we decided to keep it simple and do what we love best–RIDE! We are excited to be back at Malibu Creek State Park in Calabasas. The main ride route will feature the Crags Road Trail through the creek canyon, past the MASH site, and up Bulldog Motorway, and will also connect to National Park Service property at the Solstice Canyon section of the Backbone Trail with an optional out-and-back to Kanan Dume Road at Tunnel #1. It will continue along Mesa Peak Motoryway and down Tapia Motorway, finishing by coming back into Malibu Creek State Park via the Tapia Spur Trail. With the out-and-back to Kanan Dume Road the ride is 27 miles, or 15 miles if the Backbone Trail to Kanan Rd. is skipped. There will also be shorter easy rides in Malibu Creek State Park including the Grasslands Trail to De Anza Park. There will be plenty of opportunities for every level of rider to have a great ride in support of your local trail advocacy organization.
Of course, we’d hate to pass up the opportunity to have some cool demo bikes on hand, and so far we have gotten commitments from Trek, Specialized, Giant, and Bionicon who will have some of the newest technology on hand.
We’re also very excited to announce that New Belgium Brewery will be serving samples!
And of course there will be a raffle, with some really cool prizes including bikes, gear, and more.
Click here for more information and to get registered. Hope to see you there!
September 3rd Skills Clinic Photos
Sunday, September 4th, 2011We had 28 participants in this month’s basic skills clinic at Malibu Creek State Park with clear weather and a perfect temperature. There was no water in the creek – everybody rode across but there were no splashes! You can see all the photos in the September Skills Clinic Photo Gallery!
