Check out
a discussion forum about a proposed club marketing tool/member benefit/cool way to protect your car’s interior from heat/UV at the trailhead.

Here’s an excerpt of one current topic in the sunshade forum: “It could be equivalent to a ROMP jersey for your car/truck.”

Join the forum and let us know what you think.
–Ben

The Northern California Mountain Biking Association (NorCAMBA) is pleased to announce that it has hired Sue Fry as Executive Director, making the club one of only a handful of regional mountain bike advocacy groups around the world with professional leadership.

Sue comes to NorCAMBA with a passion for improving bicycling opportunities for all individuals. Sue was the past vice-president of the Sacramento Singletrack Scorchers, promoting mountain biking to women; is the current president of FATRAC, a 300-member advocacy and trail building club in the Sacramento area; and promotes the annual Bike-To-Work Day events in the Sacramento area.

While working as an environmental specialist and project manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), Sue gained knowledge of both Federal and State of California environmental laws and large-scale project management techniques. While with the Corps, Sue worked on Capitol Hill as U.S. Senate Appropriations staff and secondly, at the Pentagon as a Special Assistant to the head civilian for the Corps. Since 2002, Sue has been working as a private consultant dealing with Federal agency project implementation issues at Lake Tahoe, California.

“The increasing threats to mountain bike access in Northern California emphasize the need for NorCAMBA,” said Fry. “We must join forces and build a coalition to eliminate the threat while building relationships to promote improved access. I am excited about the challenges that lie ahead and look forward to working with mountain bikers throughout Northern California.”

Three Bay Area advocacy groups founded NorCAMBA as a way to combine their resources and become more effective at opening trails. By doing so, they were able to take the next step and hire a professional advocate.

“The birthplace of mountain biking continues to face some of the toughest challenges in the country with regard to access. The addition of Sue’s skills and legislative knowledge to our cause will help us to improve mountain biking opportunities in Northern California,” said Shaun Reid, President of NorCAMBA.

Sue’s initial focus will be on building the identity of the organization through the implementation of several initiatives, including a newsletter and media campaign. She will also serve as a valuable resource in fundraising and advocacy. NorCAMBA plans to tackle both regional issues like Wilderness, and local issues, such as the notorious lack of singletrack in the Bay Area. The organization is also looking for a trail to “adopt.” Another important element of NorCAMBA is the development of new organizations; in areas where an advocacy organization does not yet exist, motivated individuals should turn to NorCAMBA for strategic development support.

NorCAMBA needs the help of all mountain bikers to be successful. You can join NorCAMBA by joining one of its affiliate organizations. The organization also needs you to get involved after you join by helping with trail work, volunteering professional expertise, attending a land management meeting, or simply leading a ride.

NorCAMBA is dedicated to maintaining and increasing trail access for Northern California mountain bicyclists by unifying and leveraging the resources of existing grassroots organizations and promoting the development of new organizations. NorCAMBA encourages and supports sustainable trail construction and maintenance, environmentally and socially responsible riding, and land stewardship. NorCAMBA is an affiliate of the International Mountain Bicycling Association.

For more information and to join, please visit www.ncmba.org.

Shaun Reid
President
Northern California Mountain Biking Association
www.ncmba.org

San Francisco Bay Area Rep
IMBA
www.imba.com

The trail use group F.O.R.E.S.T has hosted three volunteer workdays on the Table Mountain Trail in Stevens Creek County Park so far this season. We have been very successful in that we have been able to install dips and drains on the upper two miles of trail that will keep water running off the trail instead of down the rail. This will make it more user friendly for more months out of the year, a welcome alternative to seasonal closures. In the process, we also have been pruning back overgrowth, including Poison Oak, and have restored the trail tread where water and users have eroded away the surface of the trail.Our biggest project on this trail so far has been the construction of a realignment of the trail where a large section of an old Madrone tree fell on the trail and caused hikers to have to portage up and over the roots and on the bank. Shane Reed led Anthony Mascola, David Zarzycki, Fred Stanke, Tom Oshima, Darius and Kersi Contractor, Alexander Wong, Jeff Hane, Patrick Meyer, Peter Ohler and David Skinner on this section, and in the process built about 100 feet of new trailbed, moved a ton of dead wood and dirt, and made it easier for all to pass. With the help of Santa Clara County Parks employees Frank Deto and Bob Waites, I was able to lead Pierre and Patrice Tardif, Jeremy Hunt, Dave Snyder, and Jacob and Catherine Shapiro on other parts of the trail where we eliminated trail braids, removed dirt that had fallen from the uphill banks, and narrowed down areas that had gotten uncharacteristically wide.

Our next workday is this Sunday, March 7. We will be meeting at 8:30am at the intersection of Charcoal Road and Skyline Boulevard, about 1.6 miles North of Saratoga Gap, highways 9 and 35. Please respond to his email if you can make it so I know how many tools to bring. F.O.R.E.S.T provided coffee and tea, and the Trailcenter sent workers with boxes of glazed donuts to the last workday, and you will want to get counted for that, too. Bring work gloves if you have them, or borrow some of mine, and bring water and a snack you can carry on the trail. We will be working from 9:00 until 1:00.

Charles Jalgunas
Friends Of Rugged Environmentally Sound Trails

IMBA’s Trail Care Crews (TCCs) came to Santa Clara County this weekend. We held a Friday night informative program and trail building classes on Saturday and Sunday morning at Specialized, and did tral work on Coe’s Anza, Grizzly Gulch, and Spike Jones trails.
Friday night’s guest speaker, Steve Karlin, a naturalist from Wildlife Associates (http://www.wildlifeassociates.org/index.html), began the program with a fascinating presentation on wildlife and human awareness and behavior. He explained not just how to react to potentially dangerous wildlife encounters, but why these encounters occur, and how we may therefore reduce their occurrence. He spoke about ways of expanding and awakening our perception of nature, increasing our sensory acuity, and enriching the outdoors experience.

The expert TCC team of Laura Woolner and Mark Schmidt, then began an excellent introduction to the weekend showcasing IMBA’s achievements around the world.

About 40 people attended Friday evening.

On Saturday we had around 65 people attend the trail school and work. Specialized graciously hosted the event by providing gourmet coffee, orange juice, pastries and bagels. CEO Mike Sinyard welcomed us to their facility with a brief presentation in the Bicycle Museum. Bags of goodies were given out, and we settled in for an entertaining training session until 12:15pm. Burritos were served for lunch from Super Taqueria sponsored by the MROSD and ROMP.

On Sunday around 50 people came for the day. Lunch bags were provided by Specialized as we headed out their headquarters for Coe. After trail work we fit a a few group rides in as well.

Among the weekend’s trail work achievments were countless drainage features, some rock armouring, and the mitigation of a section problem switchbacks. We learned how to use rock slings, clinometers, lay out trail, use our tools, and repair the tread.

The entire weekend was great fun! Folks made new friends and learned new skills. ROMP made important connections. Specialized contributed mightily to advocacy. Trails got some love.

All in all, a successful major event for Coe and ROMP. Thanks everyone, for your support.

-Paul