2012 SEMass NEMBA Trail Care Days, so far..

2012 SEMass NEMBA Trail Care Days, so far..


March
11 Ames Nowell
25 Ames Nowell
31 Wompatuck


April
7  Foxboro Roadside Cleanup(with KPTR)    10 am
14 Wrentham Roadside Cleanup(with KPTR)    10 am
15 Ames Nowell
21 Wompatuck
28 Braintree Townwide Cleanup (Eaton’s Pond)
29 Ames Nowell


June
2  Wompatuck


August
18 Wompatuck


Lots of work to do! Do what you can, where you can...
The important thing is that your local trails get local help. Support from local riders goes a long way at Town Halls and ConsComms....




The Ames Nowell days are particularly important, as there's lots of bridge build/repair/trail reroutes necessary in there. Contact Malcolm Neilson for details and to rsvp.


Wompatuck will need lots of help, contact Tyler Eusden about plans there.


Foxboro/Wrentham dates are just the beginning, I'm sure there will be more trail work posted. Contact Brad Childs at bcam64@yahoo.com.


Eaton's Pond and any other Braintree trail work, Steve Cobble


Blue Hills Buck Hill ReRoute may be coming up anytime now, to throw a big weekend of work into the mix. Again, Steve Cobble for updates on that.


All days are meeting at 8:30am, unless otherwise posted.

Eaton's Pond, Feb 25, 2012

Eaton's Pond, Feb 25, 2012, a set on Flickr.

Eaton's Pond #3 Feb 25, 2012

Eaton's Pond #3 Feb 25, 2012, a set on Flickr.

Profile: Trail Builder, Rider, Shop Owner

“I came up with a new motto, Only YOU can prevent trail erosion”,  Hank wryly quips with a nod to the old Smokey the Bear saying about forest fires.

We were having a conversation about the new generation of mountain bikers, who, just like previous generations, are in need of schooling on trail building, care and etiquette. His sense of humor enables him to deal with these more serious issues, and seems to help him convey his values and opinions without alienating riders and landowners alike. He has great working relationships with the town and the abutters of the town forest, that is, they give him carte blanche  to build and maintain the local forest trails. Hank admits that the wink-and-nod relationship with the town and with private landowners could change at any moment—the forest could be “harvested”, or a private landowner could decide to develop the land. At any rate, he is a first-class  “old-school” trailbuilder –designing switchbacks, proper drainage features, wooden bridges and jumps, using only his instinctive eye and riding experience.

Hank Glowiak is the owner of Chuck’s Bikes in Morrisville, Vermont. I’ve had a few occasions to follow him on some of the best singletrack riding anywhere. On basically what amounts to the side of a hill above Cadys Falls, you can ride up that hill with hardly a grunt, rather winding up some of the twistiest, sometimes smoothest, sometimes rootiest stuff in the Northeast…..One of those rides where it’s as fun riding up as it is down….
While on vacation this July, I got to ride again with him. He’s got some unique opinions and viewpoints  about the local riding, the bike industry as a whole, and don’t get him started about politics or the redundant packaging of his egg and cheese breakfast sandwich from Thompson’s Flour Shop( I was forewarned by the owner when I went to pick one up for him after our ride)

 He’s not a board member or president of any local chapter of NEMBA, IMBA, VMBA, in fact the trails he rides and takes care of aren’t even mapped. To know of this riding area, you really have to know Hank or one of his friends. The trails are within riding distance of another huge network of trails in Stowe. the tourist capital of the state and up-and-coming mountain bike mecca in it’s own right. But just like most of Vermont, the geography plays a huge part of who you know and where you ride. Every little valley seems to have its own network of riders and trails. And every little valley is surrounded by mountains and hills that have defined the state since the beginning of time. Morrisville has always been very much a working class town. It’s a crossroads that sees a lot of everyday traffic going somewhere else. Morrisville gets some of the overflow from the ski resort visitors and those wanting to escape the mountain traffic and enjoy the countryside. Morrisville is also the economic center of the region—it has two supermarkets, farmers feeds ’n needs stores, an old-school movie theater  with all the latest hit flicks, a McDonald’s, a skate park, plenty of building contractors, no lack of wi-fi when you need it, and of course, Chuck’s Bikes, well respected in the community for providing great service and sales to bmx’ers, roadies, commuters and local trail riders.…in other words, something for everybody. The one thing lacking in Morrisville is an organized bike club. “Diversity”, another of Hank’s favorite words. “Bike clubs are necessary to draw on the diverse demographic that is biking. Some people need to ‘belong’ to a club. That’s OK ..!. but I am my own bike club. I contribute in my own ways, therefore indirectly being a part of the bike club network”. He explains that he organizes his own trail work days, but digresses that very few of the locals ever show to help. “I get folks who report broken tree branches that are hanging over  the trail—they should bring along a trail saw next time and stop and cut it out of the way…that’ll save the next rider from being impaled by a stick or losing an eye…” Talking to Hank more recently, he reported that after Tropical Storm Irene, he personally cut 33 blowdowns out of the way on one mile of trail, with handsaws!

“I’ve read  in certain club mags that ‘all trails need to be flow trails’  designed with increasing speeds in mind, but some trails just need to be old-school, renegade, twisty gnarly stuff that makes you look ahead to the next turn. Stuff that is challenging, makes you think, and reminds you how dangerous it can be. Keeps you awake. New England doesn’t always fit the models for proper trail flowyness” (One ride on the Cadys Falls trails with Hank will beat that into your rider’s mind! ) Not to say that Hank’s trails don’t flow nicely into one another…and some have that pump-track feel, even when up on the side of that hill.

“Probably 40-50 people ride these trails every weekday. Even more on the weekends and during the peak (fall)season”. But he’s happy that they don’t all know all the trails. There are some that are only known to Hank and those who follow him on a ride. A ride through the ferns to hidden, pine needley  singletrack, seeming at first glance to be virgin trail, but then obvious that these are heirloom trails, some gnarly, some smooth and, yes, some even ‘flowy’, and well-taken care of.

Chuck’s Bikes carries the latest offerings from a very functional assortment of bike companies, like Redline, KHS, with Hank’s personal ride being a Transition. He’s also one of the only Norco dealers in the US…look him up at http://www.chucksbikesvt.com and on facebook or just give him a call 802-888-7642

FireFly Bicycles

Click Mike Ramponi's New FireFly  to read all about it!

GoPro HD Hero2- Mountain Bike Stunts: Mike Steidley

Singletracks SEMass Chapter Update November 2011

(GoogleMap 'Eaton's Pond'....)

Lots of good news lately. The management at Blue Hills has decided to listen to some of our RMP comments—most notably the dropping of the winter ban on riding in favor of a March-only closure. This will give the trails a break when they really need it—mud season—rather than all winter, when the trails are typically frozen solid…..This is a big improvement in policy, the first real change we’ve seen in over 20 years. Another change, that was recently made official, is that the Ponkapoag(affectionally known as ‘Ponky’) section of the Blue Hills(BH) is now open—for now, however, only the ‘Green Dot Loop’(GDL). The GDL circumnavigates Ponkapoag Pond and is the most heavily-used trail in the BH. Some sections are actual dirt road shared by buses, trucks, cars, and park vehicles. A section enters the Ponkapoag Golf Course, so keep your helmet on in case of stray golf balls….You’ll encounter traffic in the form of joggers, strollers, horses (of course), fishermen, and lots of dogs. In other words, you’ll have to keep your speed on a leash for most of the GDL. The good news there is that this is the first of three-stage plan that BH  DCR management assures us that more of Ponky will be open with a year or less. And a lot of that is singletrack (WHAT? Singletrack in the Blue Hills?—yes, kids, we may finally get some!), and includes access over the million-dollar bridge over 24, with more trails on the other side. Most of the trails in consideration are either hardly used or heavily damaged by horse traffic, meaning that either way, they’re in dire need of maintenance. Stay tuned to the SEMass facebook page and yahoogroups list for progress updates and upcoming trail days in 2012.  The section east of rte 28 is still posted with no bike signs, with no legitimate reason why…. Ironically, bikers are responsible for clearing most blowdowns as they happen over there. ‘Maybe someday’ BH management will realize the efforts and concerns of local riders ARE legitimate!

…..in other local news, NEMBA was approached by the town of Braintree to  design and build new mountain bike trails in a small parcel of an old quarry area near the Braintree/Quincy line. Directly behind Walmart and bounded by an active RR line a pond and residential areas, this area is ripe for improvement. The town is rightly concerned about sketchy users including homeless, drug users and party sites. There are other areas in Braintree that local riders would like to explore, so here’s our opportunity to show our stuff and make an impression. It IS a small area, but with the right combination of loops, rocky features,  and access points, it will be fun.(the Braintree Conservation Ranger, who originally approached us and is working with us every step of the way, IS a Mountainbiker!!)
Again, stay tuned to the fb page and emails….we present to the ConComm next week, so if they like our ideas, we’ll be starting work in January, and do as much as we can this winter.

Back in September, the Foxboro crew hosted their 3rd annual MBAS event, on an awesome fall day with record numbers of riders and lots of new members! By the time you read this, the snow will be flying and Winter Buzz(my local fb page)will be buzzing with snowshoe hikes, cross country ski outings, and of course, Snow Biking. Catch the Buzz!
Hope I didn’t forget any other good news, but that’s all I got for now, as I’m heading to the NEMBA Volunteer Appreciation Night at the Harpoon Brewery.
Cheers!,
Steve Cobble  

 side note: since I wrote this, more news:

-the Harpoon V.A.N. was great, with at least 8 SEMass members present, many other chapter movers and shakers, and 12 brews to choose from.
--The Eaton’s Pond Braintree Parcel has been approved ‘in concept’ by the Braintree ConsComm! Barring any major issues, we’ll be able to start work early 2012.
---The Annual Blue Hills Toys Ride is Sunday, Dec 4th, 10 am.
Bring an unwrapped  toy for a child in need, ride like a child indeed!