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News from the CORBA Website
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A Message from CORBA’s President
Last year CORBA staged the Ride and Mingle event at The Hub in Topanga State Park to celebrate our 25th anniversary. It was such a success that we’re going to do it again on December 28th!
The Ride And Mingle (RAM) is to support and promote the ongoing efforts of CORBA’s programs. But most of all, it’s a chance to mingle with our members and do what we love most: RIDE! In celebration of its 26th anniversary, CORBA hopes to turn out at least 260 mountain bikers in a show of solidarity for mountain biking and responsible cycling. Ride in then meet at The Hub in Topanga State Park at 10am. There will be some cash prizes (yes, you can win CASH), but mostly it will be a chance for a photo opportunity and to mingle among our riding brethren. Riders are encouraged to ride from their local trail heads. Comments overheard at a public meeting got us to thinking that we need to show the land managers and open space trails community at large that responsible riders comprise the vast majority of mountain bikers. Unfortunately, a small percentage of people riding too fast at the wrong time is giving the off-road bicycling community at large a bad rap. The RAM will give mountain bikers a chance to show that we can and do coexist on trails. We are also asking that you ride what you were riding in 1987 (if you have it) or any vintage mountain bike (pre-1992). If not, no worries, just come and enjoy a ride in one of the most beautiful places in the country. For directions to The Hub from multiple trailheads, visit our online registration page.
CORBA switches primary calendar to Meetup
In order to reduce the number of calendars we need to maintain and keep synchronized, we have started to use our Meetup.com calendar as the primary source of event information. The calendars displayed on our Home and Calendars page are still Google calendars, but they draw their data from Meetup. A quirk of this setup is that the calendars on corbamtb.com only display upcoming events. To see past events, it will be necessary to visit the Meetup calendar.
Another side effect is that people who display the CORBA calendar on their website will need to update it to display the new calendar instead. Show Us Your Smile
 Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. We have created this message tag with the help of BikeTags (biketag.wordpress.com) so that we can spread the message of goodwill, peace, and harmony throughout the world. Or maybe just the message “don’t worry, be happy.” The idea is to show other trail users that we belong, we care, and we can coexist. Similar to the SoCal High School Cycling League’s “spirit of howdy”, it’s a way to remember to slow down and smell the sage brush.
We’ll be making the CORBA Smile Tags available to anyone who wants one, just send an email request to info@corbamtb.com. We’ll be giving away prizes for the best photos of the tags on your bikes while on the trail. Photos will be judged on originality, creativity, and overall quality. (Details to follow in the coming weeks). The grand prize will be a Niner full suspension frameset, donated by Niner. OK, so maybe putting the Smile Tag on your bike won’t save the world. But a lot of times a little smile can go a long way.
Recreational
Rides
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A
recent
Beginners' Ride had 16 participants. Would you or
a new rider you know like to join us too?
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For a list of upcoming recreational rides, please visit the CORBA
Calendar.
The next CORBA Kids Club ride will be held
on Dec 7th at Cheeseboro Canyon. We request that you register
online in advance so we have an idea of how many people to expect, and
so we can alert you to changes or cancellations. For more information, email the CORBA Kids
Club at kidsclub@corbamtb.com
Upcoming Beginner - Intermediate Rides (follow the link for details
and to sign up!)
See our Rides
Calendar for details and for other beginner-level rides. Many thanks to North
Ranch Mountain Bikers Michelle and Kevin for leading these
rides!
CORBA’s Recreational Rides calendar provides a full
monthly schedule of mountain bike rides for all skill levels. Mountain bike
rides are organized by CORBA member clubs and led by experienced and
knowledgeable guides. Recreational rides are a fun and social way to experience
a variety of trails in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and beyond.
 Upcoming
and Recent Trailwork
For many years, most trailwork has been done by volunteers because of budget
cutbacks at our parks systems. So come out and help CORBA and
other volunteers keep our trails in top riding shape! You can learn
more about what to expect and what you'll need to bring with you
on our Trailwork
web page. Keep in mind that CORBA now provides prizes and lunch
after the event for volunteers who register
in advance! And by registering in advance, you'll help us prepare
by knowing how many volunteers to expect. If you come out to two
or more trailwork days in a year, we'll give you a cool long-sleeved
CORBA trail crew shirt - be sure to ask for yours!
Children
must be over 7-years old to attend, and children under 14 must be constantly
and directly supervised by their parent or guardian who brought them.
November 9: Backbone Trail Work Day Report.
Twelve CORBA volunteers teamed up with six from the SMMTC to work on the Backbone Trail east of Latigo Canyon Road, on the steep climb up towards Newton Motorway (AKA “The Saddle”).
It has been several years since any treadwork has been done on this section of the trail, and it showed. The drainages had filled in with silt so that rainwater was running down the trail, creating a rut in the middle and scattering small loose rocks over it. These made it a real challenge to climb, and the trail was getting wider as people hiked and rode the edges to avoid the rut and loose rocks.
CORBA volunteers repaired and installed about 15 drainage nicks that together will keep the ruts from getting worse,
while the SMMTC folks brushed and repaired a rock wall. See the
full
article and photos in our blog...
January 25th, 2014: Backbone Trail from Latigo Canyon Road. Join
CORBA and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council as we return to the the Backbone Trail near Latigo Canyon Road. This time we’ll mostly be clearing brush along the 1.5 miles from the trailhead to Newton Motorway (AKA, The Saddle). We’ll also be touching up some of the drainage nicks we put in during our last visit here, and possibly adding a few more.
For full details and to register, see our registration
page.To see all trailwork dates, including those of other groups,
visit the CORBA
trailwork calendar.
Join our mailing list to get updates on trailwork
opportunities!
Send an email to Trailwork-Volunteers+subscribe@corbamtb.com
General
News
Tell Los Angeles Recreation and Parks What You Want The City of of Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Department (RAP) is seeking public input on the future and funding of our City parks. This is being conducted through a series of public meetings, and an online Community Budget Discussion survey. The City has made remarkable progress on the implementation of the Bike Plan, at least where the Department of Transport is the lead agency. The five-year implementation strategy is ahead of schedule with regards to new bike lanes and other infrastructure supporting cycling on the City’s streets. Nothing has yet been done to implement the off-road cycling provisions identified in Chapter 4
of the 2010 Bike Plan. We therefore urge all of CORBA’s members who live within the City of Los Angeles to complete the survey. The survey is available at http://laparks.org, where a popup window will direct you to the survey. The survey can also be accessed directly at http://m.laparks.org/survey/#survey, but please read on before doing so.
See the entire
article in CORBA's blog... Girlz
Gone Riding 2013 Wrap Up!
by Wendy Engelberg
Our GGR year comes to another end for 2013. I can’t believe how fast it’s gone and all the changes and challenges 2013 brought on…a few highlights of 2013: GGR has grown to over 450 members all starting from an idea at happy hour to get da girlz together! Wenches with Wrenches workshops started with full houses of eager women to learn bike repair and maintenance. This past GGR’s annual ROCKTOBER event and CORBA Membership drive was GGR’s 3rd annual main event with over 100 women in attendance again! The date is already secured for next year’s annual event! October 19th, 2014 at Malibu Creek State Park. 
We had our best showing of women on trail work days this year! Keep it up ladies! GGR asks all members to commit to 2 trail work days a year.
See the remainder
of this wrap-up in our blog...
Free Mountain Biking
Skills Clinic
 Saturday November
2nd is the next skills clinic.
The CORBA free skills clinic is held on the first Saturday of
every month at Malibu Creek State Park.
Mountain biking is a lot like tennis or skiing. Just a few minor
adjustments in technique can make a huge difference in your
control and proficiency. If you want to get better faster,
you need to know the fundamentals of mountain biking technique.
Whether you're just getting into mountain biking or have been
riding for years, you'll learn some valuable tips from our Introduction
to Mountain Biking skills class that is offered each month.
Check out our Skills Clinic
web page for all the information. After the clinic, see photos
of your new skills on the CORBA web site that you can share
with your family and friends!
Follow
CORBA on Meetup, Twitter and Facebook
 We have set up accounts with Twitter and Facebook to help keep people informed
of the latest developments in our trail advocacy, recreational rides and trailwork days. Join
our events on Meetup meetup.com/CORBAmtb
and follow
us on Twitter at twitter.com/CORBAmtb
and Facebook at facebook.com/CORBAMTB.
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Support
CORBA
Join or Renew your membership today on our membership
web page. Join Our Team! Do you have any ideas about mountain biking recreation in the
L.A. region? Would you like to apply your skills and manage projects
that contribute to the sport and lifestyle that you love? Is there
an advocate in you? We are recruiting motivated individuals who
work well with others. Send an email to info@corbamtb.com
or come
to a monthly Members Meeting to find out more about what we do and how you
can help. Check the calendar
for the next meeting.
Other simple ways to
support CORBA
- REI:
Use the link at left and REI will donate 5%
of the purchase price to CORBA
- Holmes Body Shop: Get that dent fixed and help CORBA
(Click on the links above to get more details!)
CORBA
News eMail List
Please do not reply to this email as the corbanews mailbox is
not monitored by people. To contact CORBA, email to info@corbamtb.com
or visit our 'Contact Us' page
for other addresses.
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