Mike H. Sighting

So, I've heard about this rig almost daily from my son, who goes to the same school as Mike's boys. Apparently he rolls up after school to pick them up in this Florida-style trike that was left out for trash pickup. 

Today he delivered the kids to school on it. "It's heavy. The weight of 6 bmx bikes", says Mike. The cast iron frame and tractor seat do make for a solid ride, and my guess is that it's fun as long as you're not pedalling uphill--it's only one speed, with only the front caliper brake, so any big downhilling could be scary....

It's basically 'mint' save for some oxidation on the shiny bits, which Mike intends to buff right, some quiet winter evening. Good luck with that Mike. 

It's pretty basic in terms of decor, and I'm waiting for some sort of Sheldon Brown mojo--this bike would be right up his 'alley'.....I think actually this trike was his last ride, before the MS took him.

Wompatuck Trail Care Day Sunday, October 12th, 8:30 am............

Wompatuck Trail Care Day October 12th, 8:30-12:00
Friends of Wompatuck, jointly with SEMass NEMBA, is hosting the last
2008 Trek Bicycles/NEMBA Trail Care Day in Wompatuck on Sunday, Oct
12th.
Slated for the day are bridge repairs/building, as well as general
trail clearing.We'll carpool/hike out to the work sites, but if you
prefer to ride and work, a roving crew will survey the trails and take
care of deadfalls, etc.
Dress appropriate for the weather and the work. Eye protection,
hydration, snack, and bug spray recommended. Bring your favorite
lopper, trail saw, and work gloves.
Lunch will be provided by Friends of Wompatuck, and an apres-work ride
is always an option.

Steve Cobble
FOW/SEMass NEMBA
cobblestv@gmail.com
781....254....8796
__________________
If you worried about falling off the bike, you'd never get on.--Lance Armstrong

http://www.semassnemba.org
www.friendsofwompatuck.org
http://1wheeldrive.blogspot.com/index.html
http://www.mountainbikechurch.com/

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, Wompatuck State Park, Oct 4

Take-a-Kid
Mountain Biking!
Saturday, October 4th, 2008
9am-12noon
Wompatuck State Park, Hingham, MA Visitor Center

• Get out in the woods and ride with your favorite kid(s)!
• Come join Friends of Wompatuck , Trail Watch Wompatuck,
New England Mountain Bike Association,
and International Mountain Bike Association on
a led mountain bike ride on the trails in Wompatuck State Park.
• Experienced ride leaders from Trail Watch Wompatuck
will be on hand to guide you on an age-appropriate journey.
• Bring bikes, helmets, water, bug spray,
weather-appropriate clothing, and kids!
• Pembroke Ski Market will be on hand to help fix mechanical
difficulties, and we'll have some hot chocolate and snacks for après
ride treats.
• Come prepared to learn about bike safety, skills, and most
importantly, how to have FUN on a Mountain Bike!!
Contact Steve Cobble at: cobblestv@gmail.com
Or 781-254-8796 for more details
For directions to Wompatuck State Park, go to :
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/southeast

Been crashing too much lately.....

Or is it that I have way too much time on my hands the past coupla weeks......?

Last week I broke my chain twice, same ride . OK I gotta handle on that, I straightenend the offending bent derailleur hanger, replaced the drivetrain, good to go. Then I'm JRA in Wompy the other day. Just starting out, come upon two women riders and  helped fix a chain. Off I go again. Later on I bump into them again, and, preparing to stop and chat. Always trying to be so cool and shit I find that I can't clipout in this rock garden, and WHAM! down I go, right in front of the ladies. SMOOOOTH! "I meant to do that! he-he"(Pee-Wee Herman-style...)

I thought the worst of it for the rest of the day as I prepared to go to work, as my left calf seemed to have a bulge in it. Come to realize, that's just my bulging calf   ;-)) 

Then, today, taking the bike cold outta the trunk and slapping the wheels on, went for the holeshot outta the driveway. Obviously, the drivetrain wasn't ready for that. WHAM!! ruined the quick link and went down sideways real quick on the dirt road. Getting up all dusty and bleeding again with the bars twisted backwards looking all dorky, I look up to see a nice neighborhood mom walking her dog and she say "you okay?" concernedly....I say " I'm okay, hope the bike is", all the while pretending again, that I meant to do that.......

So I put a new quick link in, give it a quick spin, and off I go for my two laps. Uneventful except that I couldn't do my average ride speed since I was so shaken up.  From now on, I will always spin the wheels a few times easy to make sure the bikes ready to go before I powerup like that. And  " don't put everything you got into one pedalstroke" is my new motto. But fortunately, the bike is OK, but I think I twisted the brake lever on the carbon bar very slightly......time to replace. NOW!

Here's some pics for viewing pleasure.

Two Words

Bike Polo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zM9Ge4o8A0

My Summer as a Park Ranger

I ventured out on an exciting experiment—In a temporary departure from
my lifelong foodservice career( read: being chained to a hot stove all
my life), worked as a seasonal DCR Ranger for the summer. Having been
assigned to the 'West District', I was partly responsible for
patrolling the parkways from Stony Brook in Hyde Park to Elm Bank,
mostly driving an XL250 4x4 monster truck. I did make sure the state
bought a nice hitch rack for the rig, for the odd MTB ride—ahem!
'Patrol' through Cutler Park and other parks along the way. But of
course, I spent as much time as possible in the Blue Hills……the
patrolling(riding!) there is amazing and I was able to legally ride
anywhere I pleased, so it was a trip back in time( abstractedly sorta
aka Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance—a great read, check it
out sometime).
I also did A LOT of hiking, on 'patrol' and leading group hikes up
Buck Hill and strolls through other parks…….
I'd highly recommend the seasonal DCR job for anyone who enjoys being
outside and being paid for it!
For now, I'm back to eating I mean cooking for a living again……

Joe Sloane☆☆☆☆☆

The mastermind behind Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day(BHMTBD), an event

that started happening in 1994 and still happens every year. BHMTBD

always brings the local mountainbike community together to celebrate

our passion, but has also sucked in new riders with it's home-grown

approach. This family-friendly event has always been FREE, and for a

long time, was the only MTB event where the land managers (Mass. DCR)

actually hosted, sponsored, and worked the event. The formula worked,

and the DCR always has worked out a calendar spot for BHMTBD.

Joe Sloane has spent the better part of each year for the last 14

years, asking, hounding, pleading with busy bike shop owners, bigbox

bicycle companies, frame builders, energy bar moguls, local

restaurants, etc, to get them to donate products and services to the

famous raffle at the end of the day. They're all invited to setup a

tent to show off their stuff..........Joe also designed the kids bike

'rodeo' obstacle course and world-famous all-ages bike limbo

competition.

Joe has always been active in trails advocacy and maintenance in the

Blue Hills, and with Friends of Blue Hills and AMC. He has overseen

many important volunteer trail repair

crews, and is a founding member of Blue Hills Trail Watch, and 'eyes

and ears' DCR volunteer group that helps take care of the 150 miles of

trails and provides guidance to all trail users.

This summer, Joe was nominated by his peers to become one of LL Bean's

Outdoor Heroes. A surprise presentation was done at the annual Blue

Hills Trail Watch meeting/BBQ in August. The manager of the Mansfield

store did the honors.

Below is the official LL Bean text:

The L.L.Bean Outdoor Heroes(R) program was developed to thank those

who have dedicated their time to preserving the outdoors. These are

people who may not make the front page news, but who change the world

around us for the better.

We are pleased to introduce you to the recipients of the 2008 Outdoor

Heroes award. The winners have each been awarded a $5,000 grant

towards their organization—over and above any other L.L.Bean

sponsorships—to support continued preservation, conservation, and

educational efforts.

Sooo, the 5g's goes to Blue Hills TrailWatch--maybe a few new tools,

or a Muck Truck or Ditch Witch(plenty ditches to keep clear in the

BH)........

In addition, Joe recieved a $500 gift card AND a shiny chrome-plated

old-school lantern, for those all-night projects........

AND, in more recent news, Joe was captured and taken on a mountain

bike ride in Cutler Park, along with 16 of his good friends.......

SC

Re: NembaFest Saturday, Landmine Classic Sunday

Wow whatta weekend! Considering the threats of hurricanes and such,
Nembafest went off virtually rainless, for the duration of the event.
A raging torrential downpour or two before and after, but a fun day
all the way through........
Today, the Landmine Classic, that was looking to be a bust with all
the horrid forecasts, had close to 300 racers! Yeah there were some
muddy faces, but they were all smiling at the end......
BIG THANKS to all the vendors and sponsors AND Jaime's BBQ for being
there both days, but especially to all the volunteers who came out
despite the forecasts.....
And to everyone who simply came to ride!
Steve Cobble
SEMass NEMBA
FOW / TrailWatch Wompy

What I've learned about Tubeless Tires

You can get away with using a floor pump, or even a good trail pump, as long as you use some kind of spray-bottle soap(windex works for me) and thoroughly soak the bead. This makes getting the tire on way easy, and also helps 'seal' the bead when initially pumping the tire. Get your old winter gloves, wrap the thumbs with duct tape. Pry the tire on with thumbs. Pump hard. Pump fast. Pump hard and fast. This does work, just takes patience. On the trail, you can use a plastic tire lever to cheat but gloved thumbs are best, since you don't want to damage or score the rim. Use a tube to get you out, then deal with it at home again. You should put a few oz of Stans sealant in every few mo, as it tends to booger-up into a ball that just rolls around and does nothing.

And you can ride much lower psi, and the ride is much more better. UST-specific tires and rims are best, as the tire won't rotate on the rim, and the tread and sidewalls are more beefier. Read more about tubeless

The "Blue Coats" are coming........

The new Trailwatch unit at Wompatuck State Park had its inaugural meeting last week, after being fed by 'Mr. TrailWatch' himself, Eric Oddliefson, who cooked up tasty burgers, chicken, and corn on the grill......

One of the first of many TWW group rides, I believe this one is last night's Donna Howard ride....

My Swiss pal Hans Peter racing in the Swiss Alps.....

Time is Flyin' !!

Wow! Last post was before/about BHMTBD, now it's August, the Dog
Days, the Month Before September.......
BHMTBD was a washout, rained like dogs and cats just as we were
setting up the event, combined with depressing forecasts of thunder
and lightning.....it didn't actually get real stormy but the rain did
come down fora while. By 11 am most of the rain had stopped, and I
took a crew of 12 hardy souls up Buck Hill and back. A kids ride went
around the pond, and at least another posse of riders went and made
the best of it. The kids 'rodeo' finally got some use, and the bike
limbo was a hit as usual.
With about 50 registered riders including ride leaders and sweeps, it was the all-time lowest
attendance for the event, which has been known to attract 7-800 people
some years.......
July I don't think I even rode my Ted, but logged some good road
mileage commuting on my old Epic road bike. I saw some trail while
'patrolling' as a seasonal ranger in the BH on my old grey HooKoo
'battleship', or as it was referred to by a friend as my 'tool'.
August is here, and I've been through the Northeast Kingdom twice
without my bike(driving through on the way up to Quebec City and
back), which made me real sad, but after talking with the locals, the
trails are unrideable due to the VERY wet summer they've been having
up there. I saw a river rise ten feet in the three days we were gone,
while we were up in QC enjoying dry (but cold--63F!) weather . I won't
elaborate on that trip only to say that I could not find a bike shop!

Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day June 15th

Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day is upon us again!!

Here's the lowdown.......

Sunday, June 15, 2008      10:00am – 3:00pm     Houghton's Pond

Blue Hills Reservation      Milton, Massachusetts

 Skills clinics to learn and practice riding techniques and bike repairs

 Trail rides for all ability levels from beginner to advanced

 The MTB Day Very Famous Bike Limbo Competition

 Special kids bike riding area and obstacle course

 Local bike shops and industry vendors will showcase latest bikes and gear

 Connect with NEMBA representatives and learn about great places to ride

 >>>>>NEW THIS YEAR!! There will be a food vendor on-site grilling up some tasty bites! (thats the only thing you'd need money for, otherwise the event is FREE!)

DIRECTIONS: TAKE HOUGHTON'S POND EXIT 3 OFF ROUTE 93/128 IN MILTON

THEN FOLLOW MOUNTAIN BIKE DAY SIGNS TO HOUGHTON'S POND

For more details and photos,visit www.semassnemba.org

or call Blue Hills Headquarters at 617-698-1802

Sponsored in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation,  New England Mountain Bike Association and DCR Blue Hills TrailWatch

As always, the fun depends on the generosity of our  volunteers-- ride leaders/co-leaders and sweeps, clinicians*, wrenches, set-up and take-down people are needed.

We will try to have 4-5 led rides going out per hour, from 10-1.... 

*if you have a forte' with the bike that you'd like to share with a group on- or off- trail, let's get you on the schedule!!

Some examples would be: 'On-trail flat repair', 'on-the-fly derailleur adjustment', or, 'what to do if your chain breaks', 'PYT' ride', Basic Bike Safety for kids, Safe Bike Commuting, Log-Hopping, YOU name it! It can be 15 minutes long, or all day......

Email cobblestv@gmail.com if you can help in any way!

SteveC 

A Different Year

This year has turned out to be different. Work is more demanding both
physically and mentally, than ever. I see the trail about once a week.
The other times that I do get when I could ride, sometimes I just
don't want to. That's not good.
The good thing is that I've been biking to work, so I can get as long
of a ride as I want at either end of the day. Nights have been my
session of choice, but I really need lights, so I can really see where
I'm going.....I did buy a cool little rear blinky by Planet Bike that
has 7 red leds, all facing a different direction, and it's bright. My
vision at night isn't as good as day, but there's less road
competition at night and usually they have their lights on......I ride
my older GF HooKoo, as I don't really want to ride my 3 thousand
dollar trail bike to work.......and the road bike at night scares me,
since I can't see the potholes as easily and I'd be going
faster........
That said, I did get a good road bike ride in today, and it feels good.
Hoping that all the road work will pay off next time I hit the trail......

Mass DCR Park Serve Day May 17th

http://parkserv.env.state.ma.us/
A good day to give back, but also the same day as NEMBA's Trail School Weekend:
http://www.nemba.org/nembaevents/TrailSchool.html

Trails Survey

529 yd 12" corr plastic cv (5)

539 yd nf wb(not an obst) (6)

578yd 24" cp cv fc(7)

.58 mi nf wb(nn)(not an obstruction)

.59 mi 3085(mk need new)nf cv(8)

.60 mi nf armored water crossing (9)

.61 nf wb rr tie (10)

Name that section of trail in the above transcription(hint: it's in
the 3000 section of the Blue Hills)

Chances are, you'd have a tough time finding that, and may be tougher
to decipher all that shorthand. But in the context of a full Trails
Survey report, it all makes sense....

The abbreviations are trail features and descriptions of mechanical
structures you may have never noticed--culverts, waterbars,
intersection markers, and distances from beginning of the trail,
etc....The (5) numbers are references to footnotes for recommended
action, repair, the level trail crew expertise needed, etc......

In the Fall of 2007, the Friends of Blue Hills posted an enticing
employment opportunity--they wanted to pay someone to travel EVERY
trail in the Blue Hills, and record every nuance of every yard
thereof. Being paid to be outside on the trail every day was very
enticing, so I got in line with quite a few applicants in front of
Bob Flagg's house and waited my turn. Well, not literally in front of
his house, but in the virtual email line that was forming......

After an intensive interview process, and out of many qualified
applicants, they hired two of us, myself and Ken Jones, an avid
outdoorsman in every sense. So we split up the park and we each do one
section at a time. We started in December, and I got a few days in,
but with all the snow and the holiday hooplah, I didn't really get
started until after First Day. So I've been stacking up some mileage
and getting to know the place real well, literally. And I'm a
double-agent, acting as a TrailWatcher too!
Armed with my tool cache--GPS for yardage/mileage, digital camera,
cell phone, digital voice recorder, batteries for all of that, a trail
saw just in case, water and sustenance in my camelbak along with
space blanket and an extra kitchen sink-- I average about 1 mph on
foot, or less, while stopping to find hidden culverts, and to record
all of the details as I go along. I make notes of where work needs to
be done, from brushing out the trail, to major rockwork and everything
in between. I have to stay organized so that when I'm transcribing
back home on the computer, it will all make sense. The transcribing is
the hardest part, actually sitting still for a long time, listening to
my own voice, translating into the abbreviated shorthand you saw
above, which saves precious file (and paper) space. Then I check my
work a couple-few times, hoping that my cat didn't walk all over the
keyboard and make his own comments. Only after all that, I send my
cyber-trail off to my boss. Then I wait for the weather to cooperate,
and go do it all again. It hasn't been, actually, an outside-every-day
job, but gets me out there a coupla times a week, before I go warm up
in the kitchen at my night job.
Now that it's past April 15th, I am stacking up some serious
trail-time on my bike again, so I'm getting the survey done in record
time. I kinda miss the hiking-times that I had over the winter, but
not really. Actually the hiking really made me learn the place, and my
kids came out with me a coupla times, so it was well worth the slowing
down......

Classic Lance

Another interesting read

This may not  meld with some of the church's ideology , but the Zen is the same.........

Why we ride:....

http://www.dirtragmag.com/web/article.php?ID=1095&category2=riderwrite

Ted Wojcik

My trusty friend. Almost 7 years old!!

Soul Machine?

An amusing yet very relevant story. This will be  today's sermon.

"When one rides another's bike the machine soul detests this and causes the borrowing rider to crash which makes the owner upset. Machine soul has punished the infidelity of the owner."

Read the entire article at:
Machine Soul

by John Gurklis 

published in Dirt Rag Mag

Not just motorized

Massachusetts DCR is working on some new guidelines for motorized offroad use. We should all be concerned as this is a work in progress, while the DCR struggles to catch up with us and all park users. Much more info at DCR

"Off-Highway Vehicle Enforcement Working Group"

We  as Mountain Bikers need to realize that these new initiatives will eventually effect all 'vehicle' users, and we need to be involved in the DCR's decision-making process as much as we can.

TRAIL MAINTENANCE: CUTTING

 

TRAIL MAINTENANCE: CUTTING

 

     Look at the trail and decide what kind of trail it is:

Forest road with motor vehicle access?  Old carriage path – Bike(s) Horse(s)

Narrow and or rocky trail – Hiking only?

Herd path or unmapped trail? (leave it alone)

 

Decide what to cut: 

Roads and wide trails: Cut braches off near the trunk if they hang into trail.  Cut sprouts and seedlings off at ground, if they are at the trail's edge.  Consider that tall vehicles (10 feet), people on horseback (8 feet), and bike riders (6 feet) need clear passage.

For narrow trails be less aggressive, but make similar cuts where necessary.  Trim with a "doorway" of clearance in mind.  Decide for yourself if a fringe of vegetation is appropriate for a section, or if wider sightlines improve the character of the section.

If the trail is crowded by a grove of small pines or beeches, it's fine to eliminate as many as is needed to properly regain walking clearance. 

For trees of 2" caliber or more, that you think should be kept, just select branches that encroach the trail, and don't cut more than ¼ of all the live foliage.  You can cut more, next year.

Safety:

Always wear eye protection, gloves, sturdy clothing and footwear.

Use bug and tick repellant. Be adequately rested and ready for strenuous work.

Work with at least one other person, whenever possible. Everyone sees from a different angle, and there may be a better (or worse)way attempt a cut. Take turns on large logs. Don't attempt anything bigger than you know you can handle.

When taking down an upright tree(even a small one), know what you're doing. If you don't know how, don't attempt it.

 

Pick a tool:

Loppers generally work well for trunks and branches between 3/8 and 1¼ inches thick.  They are also good for extending one's reach, but otherwise are a heavy and awkward maintenance tool. By-Pass loppers are best for live branches and saplings, Anvil loppers are for dead stock.

Hand pruners ( also known as hand loppers) are best for trimming small stock, and with a sharp blade and good technique, these can handle almost anything a lopper can, and make a cleaner cut. Hand loppers also are available in By-Pass or Anvil-styles.

Hand saws are ideal for large branches, or removing the entire plant.  Wide, unsupported blades (carpenter's saw) are ideal for making ground level cuts on diameters to about 3".

Large saws are needed for sectioning logs for removal, but a big gang of people is better for just hauling the whole log away.

When using any saw, make sure it doesn't contact the ground—dirt and rocks will dull the blade quickly.

 

Cutting:

When actually pruning a plant, make your branch cuts clean without making tears in the remaining bark structure.  If sawing cut below the branch, before making the top cut.  Broken wood, poor cuts and long stubs are aesthetically undesirable.

Make the cut either near a branch junction, leaving the remaining branch growing away from the trail, or cut the whole branch off, leaving a stub about as long as the branch is wide, so that the plant expends the minimum energy to heal the site.

When cutting the whole plant, try to cut flush with the soil, but don't ruin your tools by getting dirt trapped in the cut. 

Toss cuttings off the trail, with cut ends facing away from the trail, and not snagged in living plants.

 

Jim K  6-21-07

Edited by Steve C 03-05-08

GF the 'Klunkerz' King!

Got to chat briefly with the 'developer' of the modern mountainbike at a showing of his movie, 'Klunkerz' that we saw at the Somerville Theater last night.......

He truly is the 'Big Daddy' of the scene!

Checkout the full-zip neoprene batman blazer......

2008 Events, so far......

Some mostlyNEMBA dates to remember and to plan around:

(All TCD's are NEMBA/Trek Bicycles Trail Care Series--in other words, all NEMBA members that participate in work dates get a chance for the free Trek bikes EVERY time they volunteer for any of those dates! So don't forget to sign in every time!)

This list is SEMASS NEMBA-biased, so for complete NEMBA listings, go to the above link.

Feb 21 Klunkerz Trips for Kids Benefit with Gary Fisher, Somerville Theater, 7 pm

Feb 18 Friends of Wompatuck meeting 7 pm

March 16^th Trail Care Day (TCD) Wompatuck 8:30-12:00

March 30th TCD Ames Nowell SF 8:30 am-12:00

April 5th TCD Foxboro--roadside cleanup AM, Blowdown Ride PM

April 6th, Wompatuck TCD 8:30am-12:00

April 13th TCD Borderland 9 am 

April 14th, Friends of Wompatuck Meeting 7 pm

April 26 NEMBA general meeting and fundraising Gala at Holiday Inn, Boxboro

May 4th TCD Ames Nowell SF 8:30 am

May 10th Friends of Blue Hills(FoBH) Trail Work Blue Hills(BH)

May 17th DCR Park Serve Day(DCR-all parks) Wompatuck 8:30 am-12:00

May 17-18 NEMBA Spring Trail School Wendell SF tent., maybe with the IMBA TCC in attendance

May 25 Wendell SF, Kona Bicycles MTB Adventure Series (KBMTBAS)

June 7^th National Trails Day (this MAY be a Wompy work day)

June 7th FoBH Trail Work BH

June 8 Bear Brook Boogie (KBMTBAS)

June 15^th, Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day

June 22 Happening at Huntington, CT (KBMTBAS)

Aug 10 Bradbury Mountain ME( KBMTBAS)

Aug 24^th TCD Wompy 8:30-12:00

Aug 29-Sept 1 Labor Day NEMBA Camping Trip possibly KT

Sept 6 NembaFest at Wompy (KBMTBAS)

Oct 12^th TCD Wompy 8:30-12:00

Oct 26 Wicked Ride of the East, HPSF (KBMTBAS)

Another great quote

"Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!"  --author unknown