Ride And Mingle Update

October 31st, 2012

View of Cathedral Rock from The Hub Junction.

We’ve been getting a lot of interest in our Ride And Mingle. There has also been some confusion as to where to to ride in from and where to meet. First, there are several locations you can ride to The Hub from, such as Trippet Ranch in Topnga State Park; Caballero Canyon (Reseda Blvd.) or at the top of Reseda Blvd.; Westridge Fireroad from Brentwood (please note that Sullivan Canyon is closed to the public until the end of December, click here for details). There are already a couple of groups leaving from a couple of different locations, such as Caballero Canyon at 8:30am, but the idea here is not to meet at one location, it is to ride in from several locations and meet inside Topanga State Park at The Hub. Stay tuned for more information, and see below for location and map info.

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In celebration of CORBA’s 25th Anniversary, on November 17 we will Ride up to The Hub in Topanga State Park and Mingle for a photo opportunity to show land managers and the trail user community that mountain bikers can and do coexist on the trails. We are hoping for 250 (or more) riders. Save the date and spread the word!

We’ll meet at The Hub at 10am and around 10:30 we’ll take the group shot. We’ll then hand out cash prizes, with the top cash amount being $1,000. There will also be several smaller cash prizes awarded, including $500, $200, and $100 prizes. We’ll also be having a 50/50 drawing, so bring $20 in cash and put it into the pot, with the lucky winner getting half of whatever is collected and the other half going to CORBA.

How do you get to The Hub? There are several trail head locations you can start from. Reseda Blvd., Trippet Ranch, Sullivan Canyon, Mulholland Drive (dirt) from the east (Encino) or west (Woodland Hills), Will Rogers State Historic Park, Westridge Fireroad, and San Vicente Mountain Park (Nike Site), to name a few.

Check this map with all the trails and trailheads. The Hub is marked with a blue dot and the letter “z.”

Or, download this map. The Hub and the major trailheads are circled. Print it and bring it with you so you don’t get lost! 

Though no RSVP is required, you can let us know you’re planning to Ride and Mingle on CORBA’s Meetup group.

Posted in Rides and Events | Comments Closed

Sullivan Canyon Closed to Public Until End of December

October 31st, 2012

The Southern California Gas Company recently released information regarding the closing of Sullivan Canyon to the public (see below for the press release).

A comment was made on our blog alleging that the area had been closed due to an incident involving a mountain biker  being seriously injured. According to Public Affairs Manager Krista Phipps, the area was not closed as a direct result of the incident, but in response to several factors. “I was told by the Project Manager that [the incident which caused injury to the mountain biker] did not occur at the construction site.  However, it was serious and required the person to be airlifted out of the canyon.  Overall, there have been a series of close calls in and around the construction site and we just do not want to risk injury to the public or our employees,” said Phipps.

Please note that Sullivan Canyon is NOT public property. It is owned and operated by the Southern California Gas Company which maintains it as open to the public unless work to the gas line is necessary. The Gas Co. can rescind permission to access Sullivan Canyon at any time. In this case, many users will be effected, not just mountain bikers. This surely will come down to a blame game with mountain bikers bearing the brunt of criticism, and to a large degree rightly so. All we can ask is that you ride safely for the conditions, and remember that your actions represent the entire mountain bike community.

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October 29, 2012

RE: Sullivan Canyon Closure – Southern California Gas Company Pipeline Protection Project

Dear Neighbor:

In follow up to the notice of September 17, 2012 regarding the Sullivan Canyon Maintenance Project, this correspondence is to inform you that in spite of our efforts to complete the project without impeding public access, we have determined that in order to maintain public safety, Sullivan Canyon will be closed to the public during the hours of 6am to 6pm Monday thru Saturday, effective immediately. This schedule will be maintained throughout the duration of the project to ensure safe operation of two high-pressure transmission pipelines located in the canyon. The project is expected to be completed by December 31, 2012. Please note that this completion date is an approximation and may change due to the needs of the project.

Additional closures and/or further restrictions will be posted on the gate at Queensferry Road and at the entrance to the property off of Mulholland Drive in advance, to the extent feasible. We apologize for the inconvenience caused by this necessary work to ensure pipeline safety and maintenance of a reliable natural gas supply to the Los Angeles basin area. SoCal Gas appreciates your understanding of the need for this maintenance work and temporary disruption of canyon access. It is our goal to keep disruptions to a minimum and we regret temporary inconveniences.

Safety is our first priority. We appreciate customers and members of the community keeping us informed on conditions surrounding our facilities. Please feel free to share this notice with your networks which have an interest in the canyon.

Thank you for your understanding while we perform this necessary maintenance and repair work. Should you have any questions, please call me at (323) 371-0011 or email me at kphipps@semprautilities.com.

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Posted in Advocacy, Los Angeles, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | 6 Comments »

Girlz Gone Riding Event Was Fabulous, Dawlings!

October 31st, 2012

On Sunday, October 28th, GGR (Girlz Gone Riding), had it’s annual big event at Malibu Creek State Park with 100 girlz attending! GGR is a group of mountain bike girlz of all skill levels from beginner to Pro. We post all of our upcoming activities including rides, hikes, races and more on the GGR Face Book page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/350083721682365/

100 riders plus volunteers and vendors enjoyed the day at Malibu Creek State Park

The annual GGR event was a very special day for women only and our mountain bikes! A day of learning new skills, networking, support, guest speakers, demo’ing bikes, learning new trails, finding new women to ride with, and getting some AWESOME swag and raffle goodies! We had 5 levels of cross country rides, mini skills clinics, raffles, auctions, a swap meet, demo bikes, free tech support to adjust your bike, fabulous swag and MUCH more!

This event we tried some new things that were a huge success and everyone seemed to just love!

The biggest hit of the day was a new element introduced during the event. A mini beginner skills clinic! The 1st event, we noticed that many of the beginner girlz needed help with everything from proper position, braking, shifting and more. Since the 1st GGR event turned out to be 50% beginner riders, we really pushed to make this happen. And thanks to our own GGR coach spectacular Christine Hirst….it happened. Christine knows her skills and is an outstanding instructor! She is a pro down hiller and certified Better Ride Instructor.

We had over 50 beginner girlz signed up for clinics, so we split them up. The advanced beginners went on their ride first, while the beginner girlz learned some new skills to work on prior to their ride! We had 8 year old girlz to women in their late 60’s and everyone of them looked like a different rider at the end of their clinic! It was so amazing to see everyone smiling, having fun and REALLY improving their basic skill set so they can not only apply it on the trails, but now have more confidence and fun because they have those skills.

For the advanced riders this year we added the NEW MILLENIUM trail and finally got a NEW, Updated switch back count! Drum roll please………………………….91! YES! I said 91 switchbacks! O yeah, u girlz asked for a challenge! You got one! WELL DONE!

Also new this year was a swap meet which was such a huge success that instead of going under 1 tent it ended up getting spread out over a MUCH larger area! EVERYONE brought stuff! We swapped gear and got some SMOKIN deals on everything from armor, tubes, jersey’s , forks and more! We will need 3 tents for the swap meet NEXT year!

We were also lucky enough to receive so many incredible product donations this event, we were able to have a silent auction! Darn wish I got to bid! Great stuff!

Thanks to CORBA & Hammer Nutrition, & Thorne Performance, we were able to have a FUEL station this year too! Ice water, fruit, cookies and lots of incredible drink mixes from Hammer Nutrition and Thorne Performance!

Yet one more incredible addition this GGR event was the LIV/GIANT demo truck! Liv/Giant brought a TON of all WOMEN SPECIFIC demo bikes for the ladies to try INCLUDING women’s 29rs!!!!!! It is virtually IMPOSSIBLE to try ANY women’s specific bike at our local shops, so this was such a treat!

There were so many wonderful supporters for this event, I have to mention them all. I thank them so very much for supporting women’s cycling & this incredible annual event for women!

CORBA, Cycle World Chatsworth, LIV/Giant, Hammer, Thorn Performance, Ryders Eye Wear, Luna, Shredly, Loeka, G-LOVES, Skin Car by Marla, Road ID, Dirty Girl Designs, Trek Woman, Cotz Skin Care, Lara Weithorn MFR, Paceline Products, Fogtech, Zoic Clothing, Polar, Team Sparkle.

CORBA has photo galleries of this event for you to view.

To purchase your incredible pictures from the event, please go to one of the following websites and support the wonderful photographers who volunteered their entire day to capture these moments for us!

http://www.precisemomentsphotography.com/girlzgoneriding2012

http://auphotographysales.net/#/gallery/girls-gone-riding/au-ggr-2/

From Wendy Engelberg and Kim Cofield, GGR Event Coordinators.

Posted in Free Basic Skills Clinic, GirlzGoneRiding, Rides and Events, Santa Monica Mountains | Comments Closed

IMBA Trail Care Crew comes to the Angeles National Forest

October 31st, 2012

The weekend of October 20, together with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association, CORBA hosted the IMBA Trail Care Crew for a visit to the Angeles National Forest. By all measurements, the visit was a great success, even as over 180 volunteers, 30 of them from CORBA, helped build trails in the Conejo Open Space on a conflicting event.

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit with CORBA

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit with CORBA

 

Jesse and Lori, Night Ride

Jesse and Lori, natives of Missouri, are six months into their two-year tour as the IMBA Trail Care crew.  Their visit to the San Gabriels started with a Thursday Night ride on the most recently re-opened singletrack trail in the San Gabriels, the Rim of the Valley Trail on Mount Lukens. This trail has undergone extensive restoration by a dedicated crew of City of Glendale volunteers, with earlier work done by CORBA’s former Trail Crew leader, Hans Kiefer a professional trailbuilding contractor and owner of Bellfree Contractors. The trail was in the best condition it has ever been in, aside from a burnt and mangled bridge near the bottom. The volunteer crew were able to cut a narrow trail around the bridge, though for most it will be a hike-a-bike. It’s a steep trail, with lots of very tight switchbacks and cliff-side exposure, definitely not for everyone.

Friday, October 19, day two of the visit, Steve Messer, and the TCC’s Jesse and Lori were joined by Gabriel Wanderley who is touring the country to learn about trail issues to take back to his native Brazil. He is hoping to get IMBA Brazil up and running over the coming year, expanding IMBA’s international presence. The four went up to Strawberry Peak Trail, for which CORBA has received a generous grant from REI to help rebuild, to map out a re-route. Messer had previously hiked the general corridor of the re-route with the Forest Service archaeologist, after the previous planned re-route was found to pass through a sensitive area.  As the crew familiarized themselves with the terrain, the general route was marked and rough-flagged in prep for the following day’s class.

 

 

Read the rest of this entry »

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Posted in IMBA News, Rides and Events, San Gabriel Mountains, Trail Building and Restoration, Trail Crew | Comments Closed

Ride Safely: Your Access to Trails Depends On It

October 30th, 2012

The below press release was issued today by the National Park Service (NPS) in conjunction with CORBA.

CORBA has learned that NPS administrators were ready and willing to temporarily close trails in reaction to the issues of increased complaints and collisions listed in the press release. However, due to the trust and reputation that has been fostered and maintained through CORBA’s advocacy efforts with NPS, trail closures were not implemented at this time. Let’s show that we are a responsible user group by slowing down and showing courtesy to our fellow trail users. It’s simple: Slow down, solve the problem.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Kate Kuykendall (NPS), 805-370-2343 or Mark Langton (CORBA), 805-558-1606

National Park Service Teams with Mountain Bikers to Promote Safe Riding
New technology may play role in increased complaints and collisions

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – In response to increased complaints and collisions on local trails, the National Park Service (NPS) has teamed with the Concerned Off-Road Bicyclist Association (CORBA) to promote safe and courteous riding in the Santa Monica Mountains.

“We’re thrilled that there is great demand for the public to enjoy the beauty and public health benefits of our extensive trail system,” said Melanie Turner, law enforcement ranger and mountain bike unit coordinator with Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA). “For the benefit and safety of all users, we ask people to follow proper trail etiquette and observe the 15 mph speed limit.”

Rangers report an uptick in visitor complaints regarding cyclists who are riding too fast or in restricted areas. Particularly on busy weekends, the effects can be dangerous. In the past year, accidents at Cheeseboro/Palo Comado Canyon resulted in several helicopter extractions, though the problem is not limited to that site.

Turner, who is an avid mountain biker herself, wonders if a new website that allows riders to publicly post their times on specific trails has led to an increase in violations. Strava (www.strava.com) shows speeds of up to 35 mph, with average speeds of 25 mph, on some trails within the recreation area. Made aware of the problem, Strava is working with Turner to prohibit users from posting times on certain trails, along with a message about trail regulations.

As part of its mission to promote safe riding, CORBA is working closely with SMMNRA, a unit of the National Park Service, to inform its members about these concerns and remind them about responsible riding tips.

“If you just slow down around other users (including other cyclists), you create a win-win for everyone,” said Mark Langton, president of CORBA. “Speed is subjective; what one person might think is slow might still be too fast. Even at 10 mph you can startle someone and disrupt their enjoyment of our open space. If you slow down, you literally solve the problem most people have with bicycles on the trail – that they go too fast and scare other users.”

Turner attended a recent CORBA meeting and is visiting local bike shops to let the community know that rangers will be stepping up patrols and issuing citations. Both organizations hope the efforts will result in a safe and enjoyable trail experience for all users.

About Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area:
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) is the largest urban national park in the country, encompassing more than 150,000 acres of mountains and coastline in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. A unit of the National Park Service, it comprises a seamless network of local, state, and federal parks interwoven with private lands and communities. As one of only five Mediterranean ecosystems in the world, SMMNRA preserves the rich biological diversity of more than 450 animal species and 26 distinct plant communities. For more information, visit www.nps.gov/samo.

About Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association:
Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association was founded in 1987 to serve the mountain bicycling community of Los Angeles and surrounding areas including southern Ventura County. CORBA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to gaining and maintaining public trail access for mountain cyclists and the public at-large. CORBA encourages and promotes the safe and environmentally responsible use of unpaved roads and trails for bicycling and to educate the public about all aspects of off-road cycling and trails. www.corbamtb.com.

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Posted in Advocacy, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | 1 Comment »

First Girlz Gone Riding Photos Posted

October 29th, 2012

The Girlz Gone Riding event, held October 28 at Malibu Creek State Park, was a huge success! If you were unable to attend, you can get a feeling for the excitement through the photo:

Other galleries of photos will be published over the next few days so keep an eye on the photo galleries home page to catch the updates!

100 riders plus volunteers and vendors enjoyed the day at Malibu Creek State Park

Posted in GirlzGoneRiding, Rides and Events, Santa Monica Mountains | Comments Closed

CORBA Using Meetup.com for Managing Events

October 26th, 2012

CORBA has started using the facilities of Meetup.com to manage and publicize our events. You can get to our Meetup group at http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/. We plan to use this Meetup group for events like recreational rides, trailwork days and fundraisers. Currently we are not planning to use it for the monthly free basic skills clinic.

The first Meetup has already been added for the Ride and Mingle event on November 17th at Topanga State Park.

Group members (people who have joined CORBA’s Meetup group) will enjoy these capabilities:

  • Recieve email notices of upcoming events
  • See all your friends who have already RSVP’d (registered) for an event
  • Once you have RSVP’d for an event, you’ll recieve an email reminder of the event a day or two beforehand
  • You can change your RSVP at any time before the event starts
  • You can make comments and ask questions about the event
  • You can receive email copies of questions and comments on events you’ve shown an interest in (RSVP’d for or made a comment on)
  • When an event is finished, you can make comments on how much you enjoyed the event (hopefully a lot!) and you can upload your photos to share with other participants
  • You can make comments on your photos and those of others, and reply to others’ comments

Of course this is all free!

In order to join our Meetup group, go to http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/ and click on the “Join Us” button. Fill out the requested information (it’s very short) and click on the “Submit” button at the bottom. If you are already a Meetup member for another group, make sure you’re logged in first so Meetup knows who you are.

Once you’ve joined us on Meetup, you won’t miss hearing about any of our fantastic activities!

Posted in CORBA News, Rides and Events | Comments Closed

Welcome SMMNRA Superintendent David Szymanski

October 25th, 2012
Craig Sap introduces Superintendent David Szymanski

Craig Sap introduces Superintendent David Szymanski

The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA) has a new Superintendent. After a ten-month search to fill the position, David Szymanski has taken on the post to oversee the SMMNRA. His prior post was at the Lewis and Clark National Historic Park in the Pacific northwest.

About 60 dignitaries gathered Thursday at Will Rogers State Park to welcome the new superintendent to his position in an informal meet-and-greet. There are many different agencies who work with the SMMNRA in a unique collaborative management of this treasured public land, and all had representatives here to welcome Szymanski. State Parks Angeles District Superintendent Craig Sap introduced Szymanski to the gathered crowd, and was joined by County Supervisor Zev Yaraslovsky, MRCA’s Rorie Skei, and several others to welcome him. Also present were representatives from several non-profit agencies who work with the SMMNRA and State Parks, including CORBA.

Woody Smeck, whom Szymanski half-jokingly referred to as “Saint Woody,” set a high standard for his successor, having managed the SMMNRA with a fair and competent hand for more than a decade. The recently announced changes to National Park Service mountain bike policies have come about through the efforts of IMBA and NPS staff at the Federal level, with the SMMNRA’s multi-use policy under Woody and our relationship with him as one model of success. Both David and his predecessor are familiar with IMBA’s Jenn Dice and the successful efforts to streamline the NPS policies for mountain bikes nationwide.

Szymanski is a cyclist, and has already begun exploring the trails of the Santa Monica Mountains both on foot and on a bicycle. In our brief and friendly discussion, it was clear that he is an avid cyclist, but that his responsibilities to the mountains will preclude any favoritism towards one user group over another. However, he understands the issues we face, and we expect him to do well in his new post. He is still in the orientation phase, learning the unique challenges that the SMMNRA faces, for the next few weeks. His position is as much about managing partnerships as it is about managing public lands, but all of those partners are clearly eager to work with him.

We welcome Superintendent Szymanski to his new position, and look forward to continuing our good relationship with the SMMNRA.

Jim Hasenauer, David Szymanski, Steve Messer and Mark Langton

CORBA Welcomes Superintendent Szymanski

Posted in Advocacy, Santa Monica Mountains | Comments Closed

Rim of the Valley Corridor Preliminary Findings – Public Hearings in November

October 25th, 2012

The Special Resource Study for the Rim of the Valley Corridor has been released. While we have not yet had a chance to look at the proposed alternatives, we will do so in the coming weeks and after the first round of meetings. We reported on the ROTV corridor study’s release of Scoping comments in 2011.  The alternatives presented in Newsletter #3 should address and consider these comments.

The four alternatives presented are:

  • Alternative A: No Action (A continuation of current management)
  • Alternative B: Cooperative Conservation Partnership
  • Alternative C: Connecting Urban Parks – Santa Monica Mountain National Recreation Area Boundary Adjustment
  • Alternative D: Connecting Natural Habitat – SMMNRA Boundary Adjustment

While all these alternatives have their advantages and disadvantages, there is an overlapping study for the San Gabriel Watershed and Mountains Special Resource Study. It’s unclear from these preliminary documents how these two studies overlap, and how much of the effort in each is a duplication.

It is within CORBA’s mission to help protect and preserve our open spaces and public lands, in addition to providing access to those public lands through natural-surface, shared use trails. None of the alternatives presented in this newsletter outline any specific actions with regards to the Rim of the Valley Trail, but rather, provide an outline for the role the National Park Service might play in its future development and management.

We’ll look over these alternatives and publish our comments, and strongly encourage others to also comment by the January 7 deadline.

Below the break is the meeting schedule and offical notice for the study, which can be downloaded here.

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Preliminary Findings & Alternative Concepts Newsletter Available for

Rim of the Valley Corridor Special Resource Study

Dear Friends,

We are happy to report our progress on the Rim of the Valley Corridor Special Resource Study, and we invite your feedback on the preliminary ideas which are presented in our recently published Newsletter #3. The newsletter includes preliminary study findings that address whether resources of the study area are nationally significant, and whether they are suitable and feasible for inclusion in the national park system as a new park unit or as an addition to Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area (SMMNRA). Based on these preliminary findings, four preliminary alternative concepts are also presented in the newsletter for your consideration. Please send us your comments by January 7, 2013. 

The four preliminary alternative concepts presented in the newsletter illustrate different ways of providing protection and public enjoyment of resources that have been identified as potentiallynationally significant.  They include different levels and types of involvement by the National Park Service (NPS). Most importantly, these preliminary alternative concepts serve as a starting point for discussion and public input.

Please tell us what you think about the alternative concepts. Do you like one particular concept more than the others? Do you like various elements of each of the concepts? Do you have an entirely different vision of how the area should be managed? Your comments will help us refine the concepts and will ultimately lead to a recommendation to Congress.

We have scheduled seven public meetings extending through the month of November, concluding with a final meeting in early December. During these meetings, we will update you on our progress on the Rim of the Valley Corridor Special Resource Study and listen to your thoughts and ideas. Dates, times and locations of these meetings are listed below.  The NPS will also host a virtual public meeting online. Information on the virtual public meeting will be posted on the study website.

We look forward to hearing from you!

 

Wednesday, November 7, 7 – 9 p.m.
Conejo Recreation and Parks District, Community Room
403 W. Hillcrest Dr., Thousand Oaks,CA 91360

Thursday, November 8, 7 – 9 p.m.
George A. Caravalho Santa Clarita Sports Complex, Activities Center Building
20880 Centre Point Parkway
Santa Clarita, CA 91350

Tuesday, November 13, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.***
Pacific Community Center
501 S. Pacific Ave.
Glendale, CA 91204

Thursday, November 15, 7 – 9 p.m.
Mason Recreation Center
10500 Mason Ave.
Chatsworth, CA 91311

Tuesday, November 27, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Encino Community Center Women’s Club
4935 Balboa Blvd.
Encino, CA 91316

Thursday, November 29, 7 – 9 p.m.***
Moorpark Community Center
799 Moorpark Ave.
Moorpark, CA 93021

Saturday, December 1, 10 a.m. – noon
Eaton Canyon Nature Center
1750 North Altadena Dr.
Pasadena, CA 91107

Posted in Advocacy, Angeles National Forest, Conejo Valley, Environment, Los Angeles, San Gabriel Mountains, Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access, Verdugo Mountains | Comments Closed

Hastain Trail Victory

October 25th, 2012

Back in March 2011 we reported on a developer’s attempts to cut off the Hastain trail, which has been in public use for more than forty years. A group of local advocates and trail lovers led by Ellen Scott, through the Save Franklin Canyon group, fought the developer’s attempts to close public access to the trail. They garnered petition signatures and did a great job of alerting the trail using public about what was at stake.

The Mountains Recreation Conservation Authority joined the plaintiffs in the suite, and brought in additional legal resources.

There were enough legacy hikers–people who could testify and verify that they had been using the trail since before 1972–to legally establish grounds for a prescriptive easement.  Judge Palazuelos, who presided over the case,  personally toured the trail at the request of the plaintiffs.

On Tuesday, October 16, 2012, the Court made a tentative ruling in favor of the plaintiffs. The defendant, Coldwater Development LLC, have been ordered to remove all equipment and fences from the trail. A public easement has been permanently established.

We thank this dedicated group of concerned trail users, that included many local hikers and some cyclists, for their diligent efforts to keep this trail open to the public.

Posted in Advocacy, Santa Monica Mountains, Trail Access | Comments Closed

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