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.
May2015 Skills Clinic Photos Posted May 2nd
May 2nd, 2015Report on the 34th Annual Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days, April 24-26, and photos
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!
CORBA Board Meetings
April 29th, 2015
CORBA’s monthly board of directors meetings are open to the public. We welcome and value our members’ input at these meetings.
For the months of May and June 2015, CORBA’s Board of Director’s monthly meeting has been moved from the fourth Monday of the month to the corresponding Wednesday.
In an effort to make it easier for people to attend, we are holding these monthly meetings at various bike shops and businesses in our territory. Chances are there will be a meeting somewhere near you sometime this year. If there’s an issue you’d like to bring up but are unable to attend, feel free to email us the week prior to the meeting so it can be placed on the agenda.
Our meeting and event schedule is available at http://meetup.com/corbamtb. We greatly appreciate our bike shop partners for hosting our monthly meetings and for their support.
May 2015 Board Meeting:
Wednesday, May 26, 6 – 8 p.m.
H&S Bikes, 16908 San Fernando Mission Blvd, Granada Hills, CA
June 2015 Board Meeting:
Wednesday, June 24, 6 – 8 p.m.
JRA Bike and Brew, 5019 Kanan Rd, Agoura Hills, CA
July 2015 Board Meeting:
Monday, July 27, 6 – 8 p.m.
Newbury Park Bike Shop, 1560 Newbury Rd Suite 6, Newbury Park, CA
August 2015 Board Meeting:
Monday, August 24, 6 – 8 p.m.
Topanga Creek Bicycles, 1273 N Topanga Canyon Blvd, Topanga, CA 90290
GGR April News
April 29th, 2015Always so much going on in women’s cycling!
Group Rides: Why are some women afraid to go on a group ride? Well the question was asked and we received a ton of great feed back. The most common response was not enough information on the ride being offered. Skill level needed, how much endurance needed, how much single track vs fire road, etc. So with the help of 3 awesome ladies, Leigh Donovan of Ichoose bikes: http://ichoosebikes.com: Jill Hamilton of Petal Power: http://www.petal-power.com and Christine Hirst: GGR Skills Coach, I am working on a very in depth ride rating system for all the chapters that will tell you exactly what you will need to join in on rides that are not all level rides. Each level, beginner, intermediate and advanced will give what we feel is needed for you to feel comfortable on the ride. No matter what level ride, all GGR rides are no drop rides and we regroup often. The more advanced the ride, the less regrouping & rest stops are needed. Look for these ride ratings posted on the GGR website in the near future.
GGR strongly believes in skills clinics to become safer riders that just have more fun on the trails. (hitting a tree while down-hilling in Mammoth in 2013 inspired learning better skills for the club & being safer riders, because I myself was in desperate need of them too).
This latest skills clinic was co hosted by GGR, G2 Bikes and Girls Ride 2: http://www.g2bike.com. Girls Ride 2 is women’s riding club in Aliso Viejo, CA. http://girlsride2.bike. Coaches were Kat Sweet and Meg Pattilo both of http://sweetlines.com . This was a 2 day clinic that started with a meet & greet Friday night. Both http://www.zoic.com/womensmountainbike and http://www.g2bike.com supplied some swag for gift bags. The skills clinic started each day with parking lot skills & games. We worked on everything from track stands, cornering, manuals, wheelies, introduction to jumping (my favorite), switchbacks and so much more. We spent a ton of time doing these drills & games in the parking lot, then we took it to the trails. What an amazing, fun weekend of learning this was! Kat and Meg were outstanding coaches and super patient. There is nothing like learning together and everyone being so supportive and wanting each other to succeed. This is why we do all women’s skills clinics. Nurturing, supportive and wow do we have fun! Please look for more skills clinics in the fall. Each clinic sells out very quickly, so you need to sign up fast.
Approved skills coaches for GGR: (I have personally been coached or have taken each of these skills clinics many times)
Ichoose bikes: Leigh Donovan: I Choose Bikes: Leigh Donovan
Kat Sweet & Sweet Lines: Kat Sweet
Christine Hirst: Look for a few summer clinics at Mt Pino’s on the GGR calendar and the FB pages
Ride Like a Ninja Skills Clinics: Coach Richard LaChina
The annual R50 Charity Event: http://50mr.com
Each year, the weekend after Sea Otter the Ruwanda 50 charity event is held for the people of Ruwanda. The event offers a 10 mile, 25 mile and 50 mile route. This year, the experience was probably the best for me personally. This is my 5th time having done the 50 mile route 3 times (once getting pulled, I had the flu and barely made it to the 2nd aid station), the ten miler (just coming off being on crutches) and this year the 25 miler.
Myself and 3 of my closest friends decided to ride the 25 route and do it as a team……stick together. The weekend started early the night before with a kick off R50 dinner party at the Rambachers house. We carb loaded, drank vino and told stories of our favorite trails. I have a feeling this just became an annual tradition!
Here is the short version: The next morning myself, MB, J and M (yes nicknames) met and set out our plan to finish in good time. We had over 500 riders on our course at the same time, so we all were in clusters of riders all the time and really had to pay close attention. Some of the huge climbs were right in the beginning. With less than 3000 feet of climbing in 28 miles, these climbs felt more than double that. Some were so steep it was hard to even push up on parts. We all met at the 2nd aid station to fill up on what we needed and to see how everyone felt and was doing. We were all good to go so we took off after about 10 minutes and continued on until fuel station 3. During this time, we came across one very bad crash, and riders that passed us within inches without calling ON YOUR LEFT. They were given my wrath nice N loud when this happened! A reminder to all, when passing a rider, not only do you need to acknowledge you are coming up on them by saying you are passing, you need to pass with enough room so it is SAFE!
We were finally on the final aid station and we were all doing very well. Our time was respectable and we were looking forward to finishing and mingling with the rest of the riders and exhibitors at the event. We still had a couple of big climbs left, but also had some super fast flats where we could make up some time and get well over 20mph to get our average up and that we did. We completed the ride at in 3 hours and 34 minutes and felt great. WHAT a great experience! The course this year was very well marked and they did an outstanding job getting enough volunteers to be at all the major intersections so we didn’t get lost. We were so grateful for that!
Let the mingling begin! We put our tickets in for the raffles, had some chow, mingled, took a ton of selfies and then the rain came! Poured! Most everyone stuck it out with umbrella’s and canopies until the raffles ended. Then off to Starbucks for something hot to drink and to make the long drive home. The event raised over $162K and we had over 1200 riders! GGR is proud to be a part of this event and will continue to do so every year.
GGR has our new chapter jerseys available! Los Angeles, The Inland Empire, and coming soon, San Diego! The turn around is 7 days. To order your jersey go here: To order GGR new chapter jerseys
Please visit our events page or Google Calendar for all GGR events coming up. Here are your respective chapter pages:
Los Angeles: GGR Los Angeles Chapter
Inland Empire: GGR Inland Empire Chapter
San Diego: GGR San Diego Chapter
One event closest to my heart that is now an annual event is Danusia Taber’s annual Memorial Ride. This ride is a CO ED ride open to everyone. It is to honor Danusia’s life and keep her spirit alive. It is also a fund raiser for the Sarcoma Alliance. The non profit that helped Danusia in her time of need. We will have 3 guided rides open to all levels. All rides are no drop rides. Please sign up either on GGR or the CORBA FB page and donate what you can to the Sarcoma Alliance in Danusia’s name. Sign up on the CORBA page: CORBA Face Book Sign up for Danusia’s Memorial Ride
Sign up on CORBA’s meet up: CORBA Meet up Sign up for Danusia’s Memorial Ride
For more information about Danusia and her legacy, please go here:
GGR sign up: https://www.facebook.com/events/698211670261375/
CORBA sign up: https://www.facebook.com/events/1829580940600584/
To donate to the Sarcoma Alliance: http://sarcomaalliance.org/donate/donate-now/. For the event name, select Danusia Taber’s Memorial ride in the drop down menu.
Another community event that both GGR & CORBA will be at is the RIDE THE COLT community event hosted by the Chatsworth Neighborhood council. This is a bike rally and health walk. A family friendly event exploring local bike infrastructure, businesses and neighborhoods. Walk is up to 8 miles and the ride is 19 miles. This is a FREE event. Come support your local community!
Sign up here:
CORBA:
Until next time, grab a friend and go riding! It will make both of your days!
Trek to recall nearly 1 million bicycles after injury reports
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
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
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
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
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
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.
