Sullivan Canyon Alert!

August 22nd, 2009

August 22, 2009

Resources

From Michael R. Leslie, Director, Brentwood Hills Homeowners Association (with edits by CORBA)

Starting September 1, 2009, Sullivan Canyon will be closed while Southern California Gas rebuilds their road and reinforces the high-pressure gas pipeline. The length of the project and closure is uncertain, but it will last at least through October.

Many of us in the community who hike, ride horses, and bike in Sullivan Canyon in Brentwood know that this canyon is a unique natural resource, with its huge oak and sycamore trees, pretty stream and wildlife.  Because of its beauty, shady paths and easy access, Sullivan Canyon gets regular and constant use by kids, adults and senior citizens from all over West Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and beyond.

Yet, without any meaningful CEQA review or public notice to the community, the Southern California Gas Company plans to rebuild the road and reinforce the pipeline, starting September 1, 2009 and continuing at least 6 weeks. The canyon will be closed to public acces during this time. This project will have the following environmental impacts:

  • Cut, prune and otherwise impact 185 protected trees, including the removal of 31 sycamore trees “up to 50 inches in diameter and 95 feet in height”;
  • Grade a 12 foot wide road with wider turn-outs all the way up Sullivan Canyon from Queensferry to Mulholland;
  • Import 3100 cubic yards of fill and use 2100 cubic yards of in-situ cut material for the road bed;
  • Use articulated concrete mats and ungrouted rip-rap on 22 pipeline exposures and “backfill” 15 eroded sections on the road where it intersects the main stream and intermittent side streams;
  • Involve at least three excavations of 40 feet long by 15 feet wide at various depths;
  • Involve extensive brush cutting and vegetation removal, including the application of herbicides, all along the road construction and pipelines;
  • The road construction, brush clearance and tree cutting will be done first, starting September 1, 2009.

There was no meaningful review of this project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The Gas Company claims it is entitled to a categorical exemption from CEQA review because the project is only a repair and maintenance project, with negligible or no expansion of use.  Yet the many admitted irreversible environmental impacts make clear this exemption is inapplicable.  Furthermore, the Gas Company did not notify our local homeowners’ groups or the Brentwood Community Council that it was seeking permits to conduct this project, despite the fact that many of us either live immediately adjacent to Sullivan Canyon or frequently hike, bike and ride there.

Please read the attached excerpts of the various project documents.  We were only able to obtain these documents after making Public Records Act Requests to the various agencies.  By the time we were able to obtain these documents, the Gas Company contended that it already has the requisite permits for the work.  Their plan was to notify the community only after all permits were issued and the work is ready to be commenced.

Update: A community meeting will be held on Monday, August 31 at 7:00 pm. At this meeting, the Gas Company will explain the project and address questions from the public. Details.

Our only hope to have any time to review and understand this project before the bulldozers and chainsaws are unleashed in Sullivan Canyon–and our only chance to have any meaningful input into mitigating the serious environmental impacts of this project–is for all of us to immediately write, email and call the offices of Councilman Bill Rosendahl, Assemblyman Mike Feuer, Senator Fran Pavley, the California Department of Fish & Game, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Gas Company.

We are including contact information and email addresses below for your convenience.

Nobody opposes the Gas Company’s efforts to properly maintain and ensure their pipelines are safe, but we are very frustrated that they just ignored the community and only planned to notify us only after the permits were issued and the project was underway.

The Gas Company should welcome reasoned community input, not be afraid of it.  They should agree to pause the project, hold a community meeting, and take advantage of the opportunity to educate and involve the many smart and committed people in the community, including the Brentwood Community Council, the many homeowner associations whose members will be affected, and interested environmental groups.

Please ask the Gas Company and your public officials to suspend the project and meaningfully consult with the community BEFORE they start work.  Once they start work, the trees will be gone and it will be too late.

Here is the contact information:

Councilman Bill Rosendahl
1645 Corinth Avenue
Room 201
West L.A., CA 90025
(310) 575-8461
Fax:  (310) 575-8305
Councilman.Rosendahl@lacity.org
norman.kulla@lacity.org		 California Department of Fish & Game
Jamie Jackson, Staff Environmental Scientist
Streambed Alteration Team
4949 Viewridge Ave.
San Diego, CA 92123
(626) 296-3430
jjackson@dfg.ca.gov

California Regional Water Quality Control Board
Valerie Carrillo
320 W. 4th Street, Suite 200
Los Angeles, CA 
(213) 576-6600
Fax:  (213) 576-6640
 vcarrillo@waterboards.ca.gov		 Southern California Gas Company
Deanna Haines
Sharon O’Rourke
9400 Oakdale Avenue, SC9314
Chatsworth, CA 91311-6511
(310) 578-2669
So’rourke@semprautilities.com 

OTHER IMPORTANT PUBLIC OFFICALS TO CONTACT:

Assemblyman Mike Feuer
9200 Sunset Boulevard, PH 15
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Tel: (310) 285-5490
Fax: (310) 285-5499
ellen.isaacs@asm.ca.gov

Senator Fran Pavley
2716 Ocean Park Blvd.
Suite 3088
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 314-5214
Fax: (310) 314-5263

Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky
821 Kenneth Hahn Hall of Administration
500 West Temple Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 974-3333
(213) 625-7360 fax
zev@bos.lacounty.gov

  

Thanks for your prompt action!  Please circulate this news to your action networks and interested people.

 

Posted in Rides and Events | Comments Closed

Mt Lowe Truck Trail Closure

June 19th, 2009

June 19, 2009

Due to a recent rock slide, the section of the Mt. Lowe Truck Trail (Forset Trail No. 2N50) is closed from its intersection with Eaton Saddle, continuing west 1/2 mile to its intersection with Markham Saddle as shown in the picture. The trail was closed starting on June 9th and the closure is in effect until June 8, 2010.

A 150 foot portion of the Mt. Lowe Truck Trail collapsed during a rock slide making it dangerous for public access. The rock slide has created a narrow section requiring trail users to traverse on a narrow section with loose gravel and soil. The remainder of the trail will remain open with signs posted at the beginning and end of the trail in addition to signs at the actual slide area.

Posted in San Gabriel Mountains, Trail Access, Trail Hazards | Comments Closed

Angeles Chapter of the Sierra Club works to keep mountain bikes off trails in Los Angeles

June 1st, 2009

Chapter activists working to keep city parks hiker-friendly and mountain-bike free

By Carol Henning, Co-Chair, Southern Sierran Editorial Board. The following article appears in the June 2009 edition of the Southern Sierran, Vol 65 No6.

You’re hiking down a steep trail, enjoying the view, trying to remember the name of a trailside wildflower when, whoosh! Inches from your left arm a mountain bike comes careening down the trail. Most close encounters with mountain bikes leave all parties unharmed – most, but not all.

“We have seen conflicts,” reports Kevin Regan of the Department of Recreation and Parks. There have been “close calls and accidents.” A Los Angeles City Ordinance prohibits bicycles on unpaved trails in all City parks. This ordinance was reaffirmed unanimously by the City Council in 2000. Moreover, this April, the Angeles Chapter passed a resolution supporting efforts to uphold the existing ordinance.

The backstory has been documented by Sierra Club hike leader, AI Moggia. 1995 saw the Concerned Off Road Bicycle Association (CORBA) requesting access to dirt trails in city parks from the Department of Recreation and Parks (DRAP), whereupon a Mountain Bike Task Force was formed including CORBA, DRAP, the L.A. Department of Transportation (LADOT and the L.A. Bicycle Advisory Committee (BAC). The L.A. City Planning Department spooned up this alphabet soup and other entities to formulate a Bicycle Plan Element. In 1996, the DRAP Commission denied requests for a mountain bike event in Griffith Park, citing the municipal ordinance and an opinion by the City Attorney. Also in 1996, the City Council adopted the Bicycle Master Plan as part of the Transportation Plan Element of the General Plan of L.A. City.

DRAP, CORBA, DOT and BAC studied the feasibility of opening City parks to mountain biking.

In 1998, LADOT City Bicycle Coordinator Michelle Mowery and BAC member Alex Baum made a special presentation to DRAP. There was minimal public notice of three community meetings in 1999, but over 400 residents attended. 95 percent of the attendees expressed their opposition to biking on city parks’ dirt trails. Despite the apparent dearth of public support, Elysian Park was selected in January 2000 for a mountain bike pilot program. Word of mouth and work by the Citizens’ Committee to Save Elysian Park brought out more members of the public to a meeting at Grace Simons Lodge, where they opposed the mountain bike pilot program. A subsequent meeting brought out more community members, a vast majority of whom opposed the program. Elysian Park was spared, and the City Council passed the motion rejecting changes to the ordinance prohibiting mechanized use of City park trails.

Mountain bike advocates tightened the straps on their helmets and soldiered on. Perhaps feeling jilted by Recreation and Parks, they decided to hop onto the handlebars of the Department of Transportation. But is this not an issue of recreation rather than transportation? The DOT’s Bicycle Master Plan is about cycling in the City. The focus is presumably on the transportation aspects of the bicycle plan, not on the thrills of jouncing down a narrow dirt trail, dodging (one hopes) hikers, runners and equestrians.

A September, 2008, memo by Jordann Turner, Bike Plan Project Manager, wondered “why and how the meetings in the past between cyclists/equestrians/etc. have been contentious.” Might it have been those accounts of clobbered hikers, frightened horses and thrown riders? To avoid this sort of testimony, DOT decided to use a consultant who has experience with this subject matter to conduct small mediated working-group meetings. Attendance at these meetings was by invitation only, with no notice to the public. The Los Angeles Bike Plan Stakeholder Advisory Group consists of nine invited participants – three hikers, three mountain bikers and three equestrians. Where are the runners? Where are the dog-walkers? Where are the homeowners associations’ representatives? They were not invited to the table.

It seems clear that the question is not whether mountain bikes should be permitted in City parks but which parks should allow them and how should access be designed. Two Sierra Club members represented hikers’ interests at the first meeting. Neither was an official representative of the Angeles Chapter. After the show, the distinction between being a Sierra Club member and a designated Sierra Club spokesperson was explained to the facilitators. supposedly neutral consultants with ties to to the Osprey Group of Boulder, Colorado, whose website documents its experience securing trail access for mountain biking.)

Webmaster’s note: Michelle Mowery, Bicycle Coordinator for the LA City Dept of Transportation (LADOT) testified recently that “The Needs Assessment … identified bicycling and walking trails as the number one need. … It identifies equestrian use as last on that list. So it’s clear that there is a need and a desire for bicycle facilities within the parks.”

For more on this issue, including video clips of outrageous claims during testimony, visit our LA City Parks web page.

Club policy on mountain bikes opposes their use in officially designated wilderness areas unless determined to be appropriate by analysis, review and implementation. The Park City Agreement (1994) between the Sierra Club and the International Mountain Bicycling Association called for site-specific analyses and stated that not all non-wilderness trails should be opened to bicycle use. Of concern are the effects of off-road biking on soil erosion, the impacts on plants and animals, and the displacement of other trail users. When considering the introduction of off-pavement bikes to a park, Sierra Club guidelines mandate consideration of these issues: whether the safety and enjoyment of all users can be protected, and whether there has been a public review and comment procedure for all interested parties. In this case, the response is no.

A late 2008 DRAP Citywide Parks Needs Assessment demonstrated virtually no demand for mountain biking [Webmaster’s note: See the inset at right to evaluate the accuracy of this claim]; yet, a small advocacy group seems to be trying to sneak its agenda past an unsuspecting public. Most of us have not been invited to join the discussion, but we can make our voices heard. Send letters and e-mails to LADOT, to DRAP and to your city councilmember.

Posted in Etiquette, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

Mountain Biking in the News: Channel Islands High forms mountain bike club Trailblazers

April 12th, 2009

From the Ventura County Star, Sunday, April 12, 2009

Luis Angel Ramos received a cheap mountain bike as a gift when he was 12. Ramos would ride it around the city streets in Oxnard and occasionally go as far as Camarillo. But Ramos realized there was an entire world beyond the pavement and wondered what it would be like to explore the back country on two wheels. The Channel Islands High senior never thought he would have the chance until this year.

Defying cultural stereotypes and overcoming financial hurdles, Channel Islands High has formed a mountain bike club. The Raiders are the only Ventura County team participating in the inaugural season of the Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League. They finished second in their first race last month while competing against many teams with more experience and better equipment. Their final race is May 3 at the Cow Pie Invitational in Santa Ynez.

“I really, really, really like it,” Ramos said. “The views are amazing when you are riding. Every time we are out high on a mountain, you can see all of Oxnard. It is just beautiful.”


Channel Islands High School Mountain Biking team assistant coach Alfredo Salcido of Oxnard takes a break at the Point Mugu State Park

The club was the brainchild of Erick Kozin, the owner of NEMA International, a mountain bike apparel company in Ventura. Kozin, 34, who raced professionally for five years, heard about the high school league while attending the CORBA Fat Tire Festival at Castaic Lake. Kozin thought it would be great to have a team from the county participate. His brother is a counselor at Channel Islands, so Kozin ran the idea by him and was put in contact with school administrators.

“I just really wanted to give back and do something kind of cool,” said Kozin, a Hueneme High graduate. “When I was in high school, we didn’t have anything like this. If you wanted to ride your bike, you were on your own. This is an opportunity for kids to do something positive that can stick with them forever.”

Channel Islands announced the formation of the club over the school intercom last November. Kozin expected maybe a handful of kids to show up for the first meeting, but ended up with more than 20. Most of the students expressed an interest in trying something outside of the average sports, although only one or two even owned a bike.

“It’s not your typical mountain bike team,” Kozin said. “These kids didn’t have any experience. They are learning as they go.”

Sophomore Shaylee Quezada wasn’t sure if she could join the club because she couldn’t afford the $200 fee. But Kozin assured students they wouldn’t be turned away as long as they made one promise. “If you can commit to this like you would any other sport, we will provide you with everything you need to be part of the club,” he said. “You just have to attend races and work hard.” That was a relief to Quezada. When asked if she ever owned a bike before, the outgoing 15-year-old replied, “I don’t think tricycles count.”


Channel Islands High School Mountain Biking team members Luis Angel Ramos, from left, Humberty Solorzano and Shaylee Quezada make their way down a hill at the Point Mugu State Park

Helping hands

Quality mountain bikes can cost anywhere from $500 to $4,000, a price nobody on the team can afford. But Channel Islands is receiving assistance from several sources to keep the team on the trails. Trek Bike Store in Ventura has loaned the club two bikes for this season while Kozin and assistant coach Alfredo Salcido are providing the other four. Last week, the Channel Islands Bike Club approved a $6,000 grant for the high school team, and Albabici LLC — an Italian cycling supplier in Oxnard — has given the team free shoes, bike seats and bags.

The team meets for practice three days a week after school. Kozin and Salcido use their vans to transport the team and bikes to local trails for training. “I have a love-hate relationship with going downhill,” Quezada said. “I like going really fast, it’s just that it is really bumpy and my bike wants me to get off of it sometimes. But I have to sit through and get down that hill.”

Learning proper mountain biking skills, technique and trail etiquette has instilled confidence in sophomore Robert Equihua. “It is awesome because you can go places where you have never been and it is very challenging,” he said. “You accomplish things you never thought you could actually do.” Like finishing second in the first race of the season despite hardly anybody knowing where Channel Islands was even located. “It was intimidating to see the other teams with a lot more experience that just had everything maybe handed to them,” Kozin said. “But our team left there feeling so good about themselves, and that was probably the biggest reward. I was probably more excited than they were.”

Blazing new trails

Quintin Easton is the president of the Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League. After being laid off from his job at Wells Fargo two years ago, Easton went on a mountain bike ride to figure out the next step in his life. He always enjoyed working with kids, and realized many were deprived of the joys of mountain biking. Easton wanted to start a series races for high school students, and discovered there was already a similar league in place in Northern California. He contacted the founders of the Northern California High School Mountain Bike Racing League, and inquired about extending it to Southern California. The founders said they would love to, but didn’t have the money.


Channel Islands High School Mountain Biking team member Robert Equihua, 15, and assistant coach Alfredo Salcido of Oxnard make their way up a hill at the Point Mugu State Park

Easton went to his father-in-law Jim Easton, who is the president of the Easton Sports Inc., which is known for producing archery and baseball and softball bats. “The Easton Sports empire was built on archery, but he told me there was money set aside for cycling as well,” Quintin Easton said. “He has $40 million in the Easton Foundation he has to give away. So we put together a plan and he liked it and gave the league $100,000 to expand.”

The four-race SoCal League mirrors the NorCal League in every way, but Quintin Easton has more ambitious goals for mountain biking. He wants to make the sport available at all public and private schools across America, and Channel Islands is a perfect symbol for his quest. “We believe very strongly that you can’t have tryouts for a school team. If you want to ride, you are invited to ride. You don’t have to be an expert and you don’t have to own your own bike,” Easton said. “All schools and all kids from any socioeconomic backgrounds are welcome.”

Ramos is slowly convincing his skeptical sister of that premise after recording his first individual top-10 finish last weekend. “She was joking around saying I was racing out there with the rich kids,” Ramos said. “She was basically saying Mexicans don’t really mountain bike, everyone else does. That is why I am trying to break those barriers. Hopefully in a few years it will be more common and more Ventura County schools will be doing it.”

Posted in High School League, Youth | Comments Closed

CORBA in the News: Volunteers wage weekly fight with mountain trail erosion

April 12th, 2009

From the Ventura County Star, Sunday, April 12, 2009


Burt Elliott, trail maintenance coordinator, leads volunteers and fellow members of the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Council to the Saturday work site. Volunteers cut back shrubs, cleared minor slides and upgraded runoff canals along a 1.4-mile stretch.

Encumbered by heavy tools, a dozen members of the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council met Saturday morning in the dirt parking lot of a trailhead on the Backbone Trail. Their mission: trail maintenance.

Oxnard resident Dave Edwards, group leader, said the purpose of the volunteer, nonprofit organization is establishing and maintaining the public trail system throughout the Santa Monica Mountains. That’s why he and his colleagues were shouldering pickaxes, grappling with loppers (oversized pruning shears) and swinging McLeods, the five-tooth rake with a cutting edge used by California Division of Forestry firefighters. They were heading out on a two-mile hike to combat trail ruts and erosion from rain and mountain bikes by digging water bars to drain rainwater from the trial.

There also was a report of two small landslides near the mountain crest that needed to be checked out and cleared if necessary. “We spend a lot of time putting in drains,” said Edwards, 62. “Maintaining these trails gives all of us a sense of accomplishment. We may only do 300 or 400 feet (of trail) today, but we keep coming back, even though the pay is lousy.”

And they do come back — every weekend and one Wednesday a month, 10 months a year. July and August are a respite because of the heat. Edwards said they are often joined by the Santa Monica Mountains Task Force of Sierra Club or members of Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association (CORBA).

Burt Elliot, 76, of Thousand Oaks said he’s been a Trails Council member “going on 17 years.” “I hike, run and mountain bike the trails,” he said, striding briskly up an incline. “I’m a retired engineer, and I like to build things. It’s also neat to have a relationship with the park. Our crew leaders are actually unpaid staff.”


CORBA members Steve Clark of Newbury Park and Claudia Mitchell of Oxnard team up Saturday to groom Backbone Trail with the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Council.

At age 22, Celina Armenta was one of three in the group not eligible for AARP membership. Edwards said a lot of Trails Council members are retired, giving them more free time. Armenta drove from Downey to join the group for the first time. She graduated from UC Santa Barbara, but only recently became interested in hiking. “I’m not much of a hiker. I grew up in Los Angeles, where everything is flat,” she said between gasps for air. “All these older people can outhike me. They tell me how to fix the trail and the names of flowers and I say, ‘Cool.’ I definitely want to do this some more,” she added. “And I’m going to make my lazy friends come out here — forget the YMCA.”

Armenta said she might bring her friends to meet her new hiking friends at the 28th Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days — 2009. The three-day event will kick off April 24 at Point Mugu State Park. It’s a weekend devoted to building new trails and restoring old ones in partnership with the Trails Council, California State Parks, CORBA, California Native Plant Society, the National Park Service, Santa Monica Mountains Natural History Association, Temescal Canyon Association, Santa Monica Mountains Task Force of Sierra Club and Conejo Sierra Club. Camping is free for trail workers. All volunteers are welcome; trail work experience is not required. Camp will be at the Danielson Ranch multiuse site under sycamore and oak trees in the heart of the park.

For more information, call 818-222-4550 or visit http://www.smmtc.org. More photos are available in the VenturaCountyTrails.org photo gallery.

Jeff Klinger, chairman of CORBA, responds to the statement in this article that “trail ruts and erosion… [are caused by] rain and mountain bikes”

The article indicates that the trail erosion was caused by two factors: rain and mountain bikes. Identifying one user group without mentioning the array of factors that contribute to erosion does not fairly portray that group and implies that erosion is somehow use-specific, when it is not.

Independent studies demonstrate that mountain bikes cause no more surface erosion than other types of trail use. And, many factors contribute to the erosion of trails, including natural and human sources. Water causes the most damage to trails, as it is the most erosive force of nature (that’s how we got the Grand Canyon). All trail recreation has some impact, however that impact is increased or decreased as a result of many factors, including trail design. Sustainable trail design and properly constructed water control features serve to minimize erosive effects of nature and trail users.

The bottom line is that trails are built by people primarily for recreational use. Because trails are unprotected by vegetation and exposed to the elements, particularly concentrated rainwater erosion and continuous plant growth into the open trail space, trails must be maintained or they will erode away and be overtaken by vegetation. Hiking and biking groups such as the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council and Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association take a leadership role and deploy volunteer teams year-round to maintain these precious resources for the community to enjoy. We welcome everyone to come out and join us.

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

Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew Visiting Santa Barbara March 26 – 29

March 7th, 2009

Santa Barbara, March 7, 2009 – The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s (IMBA) Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew will be in SANTA BARBARA, March 26th through March 29th to talk trails, teach people sustainable trail building technique, and spend quality time on trail with volunteers. The visit is one of 70 stops on the 2009 schedule. Everyone is invited to attend the weekend’s events – but registration is required for the Trail Building workshop.


Subaru Commitment
to the Outdoors

The award-winning Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program includes two full-time, professional teams of trail experts who travel North America year-round, leading IMBA Trail building Schools, meeting with government officials and land managers, and working with IMBA-affiliated groups to improve mountain biking opportunities. IMBA’s Crews have led more than 1,000 trail projects since the program debuted in 1997.

The Crews teach “sustainable” trail building, which means building trails that last a long time and require minimal maintenance. This helps reduce trail damage, protects the environment, and enhances visitor enjoyment.

Now in its eighth year, the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program is more popular than ever.

The Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew program has inspired great volunteer trail work across the U.S. and abroad – a big help to government agencies and land managers who have limited funding for trail construction and upkeep.

Coming to SANTA BARBARA are Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew members Inga Beck and Jason Van Horn.  Beck hails from the San Francisco area while Van Horn is from Oregon.  They bring a unique combination of professional experience to the program – from coaching mountain bike skills, working with a multitude of environmental organizations, to swing dancing and yoga – on top of being trained as some of the country’s top trail builders.  They’re also committed volunteers who have logged hundreds of hours building trails and performing outreach work with a host of public agencies.

All are welcome to join the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew leaders when they come to town. Below is a schedule of events that are open to the public:

This presentation focuses on techniques that advocacy groups across the country have used to reach goals, overcome, challenges, and build up their community.  Any trails, outdoor, environmental, or sports based organization will benefit from this workshop.  Included will be ideas on sustaining boards of directors, recruiting members, and making sure that everyone has a great time participating in their organization.  No cost.

    • March 28th, IMBA Trail Building School and trail work.

8:30am – 5:00pm, Louise Lowery Davis Center 1232 De La Vina St Santa Barbara, CA: Pre-registration is required. Registration: http://go.imba.com/santabarbara or register by email to chris.orr@sbmtv.org or ray@sbtrails.org.

This workshop instructs hikers, cyclists, and equestrians sustainable trail building/maintenance philosophies and trains volunteers and land managers to use these skills on their trails and in their community.   The workshop will include a half day (8:30am -12:30pm) in class instruction and a half day on a trail applying and refining skills. Location of the trail will be announced in the workshop.  Carpooling is strongly encouraged.  No cost.

  • March 28th,  After Trail Work Social with the IMBA TCC, Location TBA
  • March 29th, TCC Fun Ride , 10am Location TBA

For more information and to register for the IMBA Trailbuilding School, contact Chris Orr (chris.orr@sbmtv.org) or register at http://go.imba.com/santabarbara

For a complete list of visit dates, photos and additional information on the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew visit www.imba.com.

The previous visit of the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew to the region was to Ventura County in 2005. You can view the photo galleries of trailwork and the following recreational ride.

About Subaru of America, Inc.

Subaru of America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. of Japan. Headquartered near Philadelphia, the company markets and distributes all-wheel drive Subaru vehicles, parts and accessories through a network of nearly 600 dealers across the United States. Subaru of America, Inc., is the only car company that offers symmetrical all-wheel drive as standard equipment on every vehicle in its product line. Subaru has been the best-selling import wagon in America for the past 20 years, based on R.L. Polk & Company new vehicle retail registration statistics calendar year-end 2002.

About IMBA

The International Mountain Bicycling Association creates, enhances and preserves trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. Since 1988, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trail work participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, and innovative trail management solutions. IMBA’s worldwide network includes 32,000 individual members, more than 500 bicycle clubs, and 400 corporate partners and dealer members. For more information visit www.imba.com.

About SBMTV

Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers is a group of advocates dedicated to building a trail community and sustainable trail system through continued volunteer work. The Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers formed over 20 years ago in response to threatened trail closures. Since then the Trail Volunteers have worked hard to promote responsible mountain bike trail use and volunteer trail maintenance activities. We are currently focusing our energy on rider education and the development of closer ties between members of the trail community.

About the Santa Barbara County Trails Council

Since 1969, the Santa Barbara County Trails Council has dedicated itself to working with local government agencies and other organizations on the development of a safe and sustainable trail network, acquisition of new trails and support for volunteer trail maintenance programs. SBTC plays a key role in bridging the differences among trail user groups as we work towards building a network of trails that serve the entire community.

Posted in IMBA News, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

COSCA Seeks Volunteers for Trailhead Outreach

March 2nd, 2009

March 2, 2009

The Conejo Open Space Trails Advisory Committee (COSTAC) of the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA) needs two volunteers for any of the Trails Outreach events. These events are scheduled for Saturday or Sundays from 8:30 to 11:00 a.m. at various COSCA trailheads (see below). The volunteers will provide information to hikers, mountain bikers and runners about the Conejo Open Space, such as

  • trail maps
  • hike and event schedules
  • environmental education
  • COSCA volunteer opportunities

Training is provided on site on the day of the event.

Please email Steve Forman (Outreach Coordinator) if you would like to help out on any of these dates forman3d@hotmail.com

March 7th: Los Robles (south end of Moorpark Rd.)
May 16; Lang Ranch
June 27: Los Robles
October 3rd: Wildwood

Posted in Conejo Valley, Etiquette | Comments Closed

Energy Bar Recall Due to Salmonella Contamination

January 1st, 2009

A very large number of products that contain peanut butter manufactured by the Peanut Corporation of America have been recalled because of salmonella contamination. Among them are some of our favorite energy bars. Check the list of recalled energy bars. If you have any that are on the list, return them to the place you purchased them. Do not eat them under any circumstances!

Posted in Health, National | Comments Closed

Fighting to Save Mankind: CORBA’s Jeff Klinger sees the big picture

December 1st, 2008

From Mountain Bike Action magazine, December 2008, page 70

“It’s  one thing that I’m alive today because of mountain bikes,” reflects Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association’s (CORBA) Jeff Klinger. “I want everyone in Los Angeles to have the same chance as me. One of the greatest things about mountain biking is that it is so much fun and so healthy. America needs it bad. We are overtaken by obesity, diabetes and other poor health issues related to nonactivity. Mountain biking is one of the solutions. It’s stimulating, never gets boring. and is a very addictive cardiovascular exercise. You can’t stop doing it! CORBA’s goal is to further mountain bike recreation in and around the Los Angeles area.

“What happens here is recognized worldwide, and CORBA isn’t one person.” continues Jeff. “It’s a team effort by a large group of extremely dedicated mountain bikers. Advocacy is 24/7. It takes a lot of time and patience. To reclassify a hiking trail as a multi-use trail is a lengthy process. First, the land managers have to do an environmental study. We have to check if endangered plants and animals inhabit the trail area. It requires working with local, state and national land agencies. To make it happen, CORBA and loyal members have to speak publicly, attend numerous meetings, and do a lot of letter writing.

“I have a Masters in Environmental Studies,” adds Jeff. “It helps bring CORBA more success. When mountain biking hit in the late 1980’s. the Santa Monica Conservancy shut the trails down. Since then, we’ve proved what a legitimate, respectful and conscientious group of people mountain bikers are. One of our greatest successes is opening up the Will Rogers part of the Backbone Trail. That is primarily what CORBA does; we rally for mountain bikers to keep the trails open. From the Santa Monica Mountains we have branched out to the San Gabriels, Palos Verdes, Verdugos, Santa Susannas and Ventura County. We also hold organized rides, a youth adventure program, monthly trail workdays, and monthly skill classes.

EPILOG: Mountain biking taught Jeff Klinger about himself. Half a year ago he noticed that his body was no longer reacting well to intense effort. Jeff went to the doctor and insisted that there was a major problem. They found hereditary blockage in the coronary artery and immediately performed emergency surgery. That is how mountain biking saved Jeff’s life. CORBA can be reached by calling (818) 773-3555 or at www.corbamtb.com

Posted in CORBA News, Health | Comments Closed

SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League Launched with Backing from Easton Sports Development Foundation II

August 29th, 2008

August 29, 2008

OAKLAND , CA – The Northern California High School Mountain Bike Racing League (NorCal League) will launch the Southern California Interscholastic Cycling League (SoCal League) in the 2009 academic year with grant support from the Easton Sports Development Foundation II.

The new league is based on the successful model of the NorCal League, now in its eighth year, which currently has reached a membership of over 400 high schoolers, 150 coaches, and 35 schools from within the region. Matt Fritzinger, Executive Director of both the NorCal and SoCal leagues, said, “We are tremendously grateful for the generosity of Mr. Easton and his foundation. The grant allows us to launch a new league, and that has been a dream of ours for several years. With the SoCal League, we’ll be fostering the same values of life-long physical fitness, community, and self-confidence combined with athletic competition that has been so successful in Northern California.”

The NorCal League has developed methods and curriculum for introducing young riders to the world of mountain bike racing, as well as recruiting and training coaches that are committed to producing amateur athletes who are gracious in both victory and defeat, and are respectful of their environment and community. The SoCal League is one of the first few recipients of an ESDF II grant in part because of the proposal’s emphasis on coaching, community, and making cycling a main-stream high school sport. Fritzinger said, “We know that good coaching means working closely with families, and helping athletes create a balanced life perspective. We aim to take the SoCal high school mountain bike teams in the same direction as we have in Northern California working to make cycling as important as baseball, football and soccer in the fabric of our high schools.”

For information about the SoCal League visit www.socaldirt.org and visit their booth at CORBA’s Fat Tire Fest on October 12, 2008. Also, visit CORBA’s SoCal League web page.

Posted in California, High School League, Youth | Comments Closed

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »