Twenty-three riders came out to enjoy the fabulous weather today at Malibu Creek State Park and participate in this month’s basic skills clinic. There was water in the creek so we have some good splash photos at the end. Some people didn’t make it all the way across and got pretty wet! You can see all the photos in the March Skills Clinic Photo Gallery.
Skills Clinic Photos for March 3, 2012
March 3rd, 2012March eTerraTimes published March 1
March 1st, 2012The March edition of CORBA’s monthly newsletter, the eTerraTimes, was published today, March 1. If you don’t get it by email, you can view it online.
As always, the eTerraTimes has all the latest news for mountain bikers in the Santa Monica Mountains and surrounding areas.
Lang Ranch Community Park Meeting #3 Sees Another Good Turnout
March 1st, 2012It was another good turnout at Wednesday’s community input meeting for the Lang Ranch Community Park Conceptual Recreational Use Plan process. This, the third of four meetings, was aimed at further prioritizing the list of potential uses supplied by community members.
Approximately 75 attendees were given maps of the planned park site and were encouraged to indicate locations where they thought they might want to put certain amenities. On the back of the maps were lists of potential uses, divided up into three categories; Green: Those the agency (Conejo Recreation and Park District, CRPD) felt were appropriate uses based on the plan’s criteria; Red: Those that did not meet the criteria; and Yellow: Those that were “on the bubble” and could go into either the Green or Red categories. Attendees were divided into five groups with two facilitators each and provided input on any amenities that were missing, as well as any amenities that should move from one category to another. Afterward, groups summarized their input.
Based on group summaries, bicycle related amenities, including a pump track and skills features, were still a high priority. A new term came up in the list of prospective bike amenities, “dual slalom course,” which while new to the process, is not a new concept. It’s basically the same thing as slalom ski racing; two parallel downhill courses run through gates with jumps and berm turns. Sort of like downhill BMX (but it can be done on mountain bikes as well).
CRPD facilitators reminded attendees that this is still very early in the process and that they are in “big picture” mode. To quote Jim Friedl, CRPD General Manager, “We’re not yet looking at the gnat’s eyebrow at this point.” The next and final community meeting takes place March 21, and from there CRPD staff will produce a report and recommendation to present to the CRPD board. According to Friedl, an optimistic estimate for delivering that presentation could be 4-6 months.
“Hey CORBA, Stop Ruining Our Trails!”
February 29th, 2012By Mark Langton
Seems like every time there is maintenance on our local trails, we hear from some very passionate people within the mountain bike community: “Leave the trails the way they are!” Along with this we also get the usual “How can CORBA do this?” A recent comment even alleged that CORBA is trying to take away our freedoms by doing trail work; “CORBA is conspiring with the State to ruin a beautiful single track trail—The Guadalasca.” As I and several others said in recent blog responses, trails are dynamic, they need maintenance every so often. CORBA doesn’t decide what work needs to be done, but agrees that it does and feels that we should participate as advocates of shared open space trails.
Many times people making these comments start off by saying “I have been riding these trails for several years…” If that were true, then they’d know that trails return to a more natural, “challenging” appearance after any kind of trail work. The Sulphur Springs Trail in Cheeseboro Canyon and Solstice Canyon Trail section of the Backbone Trail are two such trails that come to mind. Both were widened and smoothed over, and many people said they’d be “ruined.” Look at them now; they are as challenging and natural—and fun—as ever.
I’ll admit, I am not always in favor of trails becoming less challenging, but at the same time, I have to balance it with the fact that I can ride the trail in the first place. Guadalasca (and other sections of the Backbone Trail) is open to bicycles thanks to the advocacy efforts of CORBA. Some people might say that even if it were closed, they’d ride it. That’s your personal choice, but I’d like to think that as someone who enjoys the open space, you’d like to do it without the cloud of breaking the rules hanging over your head. Just because you can break the rules, it doesn’t mean you should.
Here’s an analogy I came up with while out riding (always good therapy): Let’s say the agency that maintains the street you live on proclaimed that, due to budgetary constraints, they would only be able to do limited maintenance on the street. The street and sewer system falls into disrepair, so you and your neighbors put together a volunteer group to help the agency; you get trained in road and sewer repair, and enlist other neighbors to help. Still, the street becomes riddled with potholes and cracks because the agency just can’t afford the materials and equipment to do the repairs. Soon, off-road vehicle owners start using your street to challenge their vehicles’ capabilities because there’s nowhere else nearby they can do it, which make the street conditions worse. Not to mention these vehicles can go much faster than the passenger cars most of you and your neighbors are driving, making it unsafe for you and your neighbors to even drive down the street. You caution the off-roaders that they shouldn’t drive their vehicles on your street, especially at high speeds, because it is creating an unsafe situation, but they still do because “it’s public and they have a right to drive there. And besides, we’re not going that fast.” Finally, after several years, you and the agency start making repairs, but the off-roaders keep coming and start complaining that you are ruining their fun zone. They come to your volunteer maintenance days and complain you are making the street too smooth and it’s no fun to drive there. They write letters to you saying you are trying to take away their freedoms. All because you are trying to do the right thing for your community.
Here’s an idea: The next time you think someone is trying to take something away from you in your local riding area, ask yourself, “what can I do to help improve the situation?” That could mean getting more involved with your local community. Or it could mean going someplace where the trails are more challenging, where riding them at higher speeds does not impact the rest of the trail user community. Such places exist, whether it be a race or a bike park like Mammoth Mountain. Our local trails are for shared use by many different types of users, so you’re just going to have to adjust your riding style accordingly. Kind of like on the street when driving your car or motorcycle; you may have a high-performance vehicle, but to drive it to its capabilities on public streets just wouldn’t smart or safe. Just because you can break the rules, it doesn’t mean you should.
CORBA is part of a larger multi-use oriented Volunteer Community in the Angeles National Forest
February 28th, 2012In many discussions between different trail user groups, the fact often emerges that we all share many common goals and attitudes about trails. Most trail user groups want to help maintain trails for the benefit of all; they want to minimize damage to our public lands, while preserving recreational access in perpetuity. We want to protect and preserve what precious little open space remains for future generations to enjoy and recreate; we want our children and successors to be able to experience the great outdoors, learn from it, and be inspired by the wonders of nature. We want to see responsible trail use, with mutual respect for other trail users, for wildlife and nature, and for the environment.
Where all these groups sometimes differ is how we choose to enjoy our public lands, and the extent or methods of the protections needed to achieve those goals. Some choose to ride mountain bikes; others prefer to hike, trail run, climb, ride horses, take OHV’s, sail, kayak, camp and and any number of other activities. We all seek the peace of the forest and to escape the city in our great mountains. While there are differences, the common grounds are what should bring us together.
This is nowhere more evident than in the Angeles National Forest, where trails (outside of wilderness areas) are all multi-use. The Forest Service’s multi-use policy fosters cooperation and where needed, compromise between these groups. Every other month volunteers from the LA River Ranger District of the Angeles National Forest gets together with forest officials to be updated on what’s happening in the forest, what each group is working on. We share information and first-hand reports of our accomplishments, our upcoming projects and our observations with each other and Forest Service officials. It’s a great way to coordinate activities, and set up collaborations that further our common goals. Similar meetings take place in other districts in this, and other National Forests.
The various volunteers groups are each passionate about what they do, whether it is acting as campground hosts, patrolling trails, doing trailwork, protecting and documenting forest history, restoring habitat, removing invasive plants, or just disseminating information and respect for the forest among their members and supporters.
Each month intrepid volunteer Guy Kuhn puts together the volunteer newsletter, a summary of the reports and interactions from each of the meetings and gleaned from the web sites of each volunteer group. CORBA reports on our trailwork projects, completed and upcoming, along with fellow IMBA chapter Mount Wilson Bicycling Association. Forest officials give us the inside information on what’s happening in the forest, and what we can expect in the coming months. We learn the fiscal and other challenges faced by the forest, and look for ways to contribute.
The multi-use policy and resulting cooperation between user groups is a win-win for everyone involved. The Forest would be hard-pressed to function without its volunteers.
If you’d like to learn more read the latest volunteer newsletter featuring reports on trailwork projects from CORBA, MWBA, San Gabriel Mountains Trailbuilders, Mounted Patrol (equestrian), Angeles Mountain Bike Patrol, Sierra Club, Boy Scouts, Forest Lookout association and other groups.
High School League Season Opener goes Huge
February 28th, 2012We just finished a hectic week of meetings and events for CORBA, including Friday’s fundraiser, meetings with State Parks and National Forest, and an IMBA board meeting and meet and greet. Yesterday, Sunday February 26, 2012, was probably the most fun though: the season opener of the So Cal High School Mountain Bike League.
A league race, if you haven’t seen one, is an incredible spectacle. The racing is extremely well run, very professional, and highly organized. The race follows guidelines and protocols established after more than twelve years of experience of the NorCal league, and now nationally coordinated through NICA, the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
There were well over 300 racers at the event, and probably double that in families, friends and coaches. CORBA was present as a show of support and to provide information about advocacy, responsible trail use and trail maintenance. We also took the opportunity to present the 2011 CORBA Award to Banner Moffat (friends of El Prieto) and Matt Gunnell (the League Director) as an acknowledgement for their contributions to open space trails and the mountain biking community in Southern California.
While all the heats are taken seriously and exciting to watch, the Varsity boys race is looking like it will be especially brutal and competitive this year. Cody Phillips, last year’s winner, came in second, just three seconds after Shane Skelton. The first four finishers were just ten seconds apart, and the first ten places were less than two minutes apart with at least six lead changes during the four-lap, 22-mile race.
What’s really impressive is that after the event instead of everyone packing up and heading home, entire teams and their friends and family stay on for the awards, a true indication of the camaraderie and supportive atmosphere of the league. There were hundreds of people applauding and cheering for those on the five-deep podiums.
During the awards, Steve Messer of CORBA spoke to the gathered crowd, talking about trailwork and advocacy. He then surprised Banner and Matt with their 2011 awards from CORBA. Gunnell then went on to talk about the importance of trailwork, encouraging all the teams to devote at least one team day doing trailwork as part of their high school program.
Below the break are some pictures that capture the spirit of the day.
Guadalasca Trail Work Report and Photos for February 25, 2012
February 27th, 2012This past Saturday, 22 mountain bikers, eight or so members of the trail crew from the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council (SMMTC) and two California State Parks (CSP) staffers gathered at the bottom of Guadalasca Trail in Point Mugu State Park for a few hours of trailwork.
This was the first of several days of work that have been planned for Guadalasca this spring. We have previously blogged about the overall changes that are coming.
Originally we had planned to carpool down to the trailhead from the meeting point at the south end of Wendy Drive in Newbury Park, but the fantastic turnout of mountain bikers meant there would be too many cars to park at the limited area on Wood Canyon at the bottom of the trail. Instead, we caravanned to the Danielson Multiuse area where there’s lot of parking, then jammed into three trucks and vans after transfering the tools to the Gator utility vehicle. From there we slowly drove to the trailhead.
The work for the day was to clear the brush from the downslope side (outside) of the trail along as much of the old ranch road section of the trail as we could. The CSP standard for multiuse trails is that the trail corridor should be clear of brush for 8′ of width and 10′ of height. Even though the trail will evenutally end up being only 1 – 3′ wide, the extra width at the side provides better sight distances so trail users can see others approaching from further away. Also, it takes several years for the brush to clog the trail again, so we don’t have to clear it out every year. For this trail, there are other reasons to widen its corridor, presented here in near- to long-term order:
- It allows access for the Gator to carry tools up for us on future trailwork days
- The two seasonal streams that this trail crosses near the bottom currently are drained through partially blocked and damaged culverts. The culverts will be removed and replaced by level crossings. The wider trails will provide access to the excavating equipment that will be required for this
- Most importantly, the long-term objective is to move the trail to outside edge of this old road bed, and clearing the brush on the downslope side will make the room for it. When the trail is closer to the downslope side, it will be easier to shape so the rainwater runs off, thus reducing the amount of maintanence it requires to fix the ruts
![SAM_0723](http://corbamtb.com/news/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/SAM_0723-300x225.jpg)
Volunteers clear brush on the downslope side of the trail to make room for the trail to be moved to the outside of the old road bed. Once moved, brush will be allowed to regrow on the upslope side, narrowing the trail corridor again
As we were working, about 15 – 20 mountain bikers passed us. With one notable exception, they all thanked us for helping to keep the trail in great shape for riding.
With less than four hours of work, plus breaks and travel time, we cleared out the bottom 0.6 miles of the trail, about 3/4 of this section. CSP staff brought a chain saw and the SMMTC crew brought a power hedge trimmer. Both these tool greatly sped up the work and allowed us to clear much more than we would have been able to otherwise. The hedge trimmer was also a great help in cutting out the poison oak that was starting to regrow in several places.
A little after 1:00 pm, we headed down the trail to shuttle and caravan out. Back at the cars, we had the prize drawing, then drove down to a new barbecue joint a mile or so away. I think everyone agreed it was a great place to eat, and not as expensive as other similar places.
We have another event scheduled for March 17th to continue clearing the brush on the old ranch road, and beyond if we have time. Work should go much faster because most of the brush at the top end of this section is low chaparral, rather than tall chaparral and trees. If you would like to help out, please use our online form to register in advance.
Take a look at our photo gallery of Saturday’s trailwork!
Newbury Park Bicycle Shop Event 2/24/12 and Photos
February 27th, 2012A special thanks to Ben and Mike at Newbury Park Bicycles for hosting CORBA’s in-store fundraiser, and for donating a Giant Revel 1 to our silent auction. It was great to see familiar and new faces from the Thousand Oaks community. A special bike fitting demo was provided, as was a skills demo that provided information on CORBA’s free monthly Introduction to Mountain Biking Skills Classes at Malibu Creek State Park.
We would also like to thank Luther White for his inspirational speech, Tamara Napier, Danusia Bennett-Taber, and Jerry Capodieci for organizing the event from CORBA’s side, and Dorothy Twitchell for organizing the event from Newbury Park Bicycles’ side. To see photos of the event by Steve Clark, click here.
Photos of the Newbury Park Bike Shop Fundraiser held Feb 25th
February 27th, 2012See your friends and yourself in the photos, or see what you missed if you weren’t able to make it to the event on Friday night in our photo gallery of the event.
Bike Park – CRPD 3rd meeting on 2/29/2012 at 7pm
February 25th, 2012If you live in the Conejo Valley or a nearby community, please attend a meeting to be held by the Conejo Recreation and Park District (CRPD) and press for a pump track and bike park to be included in the plans for the Lang Ranch Community Park.
On Wednesday, February 29th, CRPD will have a meeting to get public input into recreational activities they would like to see included in the Lang Ranch Community Park and other parks in Zone 2, roughly north of Hillcrest Drive and east of the 23 Freeway.
This is our chance to lobby for a bike park and pump track in a semi-urban area. Our kids and the young-at-heart could use to improve their balance, coordination, upper body strength, and generally have fun! In this age of video games, “sweet/salty snacks” and increasing obesity among our youth, everyone should appreciate a healthful, outdoor activity to engage them.
CRPD has plans for two more public meetings:
Meeting 3 – More Brainstorming & Bubble Diagrams
Wednesday Feb 29, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hillcrest Center Community Room
Meeting 4 – Report Back and Recommendations
Wednesday March 21, 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Hillcrest Center Community Center
Directions to the Hillcrest Community Center. From the 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks, exit at Lynn Road, turning north, then turn right onto Hillcrest Drive. After 0.3 miles, turn left onto McCloud Ave, then turn right immediately at the sign for the National Park Service and Conejo Recreation and Park District. At the stop sign at the top of the drive, turn left and drive the short distance to #403, on the left. Google Map and Directions