Mountain Bike Church

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Apple Season

OK so yes it's been awhile since I really commented on my blog. Life is. While I'm thinking, I've just about hadit with that starving college students story about how that company 'life is good' got started. They're OK now, I won't be funding them anymore. I'll have my own starving college students soon enough. I'd be so lucky that my own would come up with their own pet rock and make us happy for the rest of our days...I guess as parents we never know...

It's (almost )fall now, the air has changed, the tomatoes are finally starting to ripen, the grass isn't growing as fast, nights are bearable, and from what I hear all that freakin rain we got earlier this year is gonna make for a great apple season. Apples fresh off the tree, the varieties, each with a different purpose and micro-season...the Big Apple is next on my list of places to go this week.

I shoulda been an apple farmer.

Maybe I still will.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Top of Mount Mansfield

just under an hour...

same

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Comments Needed! Blue Hills Resource Management Plan

Here is a fwd from Blue Hills decision-makers:

Dear Interested Citizen or Stakeholder,

As part of our agency's commitment to engaging the public in dialogue as part of our Resource Management Planning efforts, the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) recently provided you with notice of a public meeting we held the evening of July 29 regarding the Blue Hills Reservation.

We were pleased to receive a significant amount of input from the audience at that meeting on how they use the facility, the aspects of it that are important to them, and the elements that they feel should be protected and how. Public comment received at the meeting and subsequently highlights issues for our attention and is an important component of our planning process.

We have posted the presentation that was made by DCR that evening at

http://www.mass.gov/dcr/news/publicmeetings/materials/Blue%20Hills%20RMP%2029%20July%202009%20for%20web.pdf. We encourage you to view the presentation and to provide us with your comments by emailing rmp.comments@state.ma.us or calling 617-626-4974.

Over the next several months, DCR will be preparing a draft plan for the Reservation, which we will post on the DCR website at http://www.mass.gov/dcr/stewardship/rmp/index.htm, for public review and comment. Then, in late 2009 or early 2010, we will hold a second public meeting, regarding which you will be notified, to obtain additional input on the draft plan. As the final step in the Planning process, we anticipate submitting the proposed Blue Hills Resource Management Plan to the DCR Stewardship Council in early 2010 for their approval.

We appreciate your interest and input.

Sincerely,

Paul Cavanagh

Resource Management Planner

Comments Needed! Blue Hills Resource Management Plan

Dear Interested Citizen or Stakeholder,

We have posted the presentation that was made by DCR that evening at

We appreciate your interest and input.

Sincerely,

Paul Cavanagh

Resource Management Planner

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Two Mtb Events of Note

http://www.catamounttrail.org/news/secondannualracetothetopofvermont/

http://www.peakraces.com/index.php?inc=bikerace

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Re: [MountainBikeChurch] Fwd: Public meeting for Blue Hills Resource Management Plan [1 Attachment]

Last time we had an opportunity to have our voices heard was back in 1992, when the current mountain bike policy and restrictions were re-implemented. There were about 30 people at the meeting, (Bill, Tim, Christy, Doug, Jeff I specifically recall being there, I think some of the FAT and Merlin gang was there too.) Over 2/3's of those present were mountain bikers. The rest were hikers and horse folk, and there was one particularly nasty representative from the equestrian contingent there. (Whose proclamation of, "I don't hate bikes - I have a hybrid, but the Blue Hills should be preserved for horses only" - brought howls of protest from both hikers and cyclists alike.)

Our input was mostly ignored, although I can fairly confidently say that without that representation there, mountain biking may very well have been limited to paved roads only. (That was what the horse riding contingent wanted).

That meeting was announced last minute - the morning of the meeting. Many phone calls were made that day amongst shops and bike builders. We got about 20 people to show up and be heard.

This is an opportunity to make sure appropriate policy is re-drafted - such as the trail closure being shifted from (12/31 through 4/15 ) to a more reasonable and practical 3/1 until Memorial Day weekend. (Mud Season, as opposed to frozen ground season). Between the advance notice, email lists, forums facebook and twitter etc - we should be able to make this work better - combined with 17 years worth of usage proof showing that mountain bikes have in fact *not* destroyed the Blue Hills. If anything, usage has gone down and many trails that exist are becoming overgrown. It's about time the Chickatawbut section was opened up and bikes were allowed on more single track.

Eric Heinrich

----- Original Message -----
From: "Steve Cobble" <cobblestv@gmail.com>
To: "mtb-semass" <MTB-SEMass@yahoogroups.com>, "Mountain bike church" <MountainBikeChurch@yahoogroups.com>, mtb-boston@yahoogroups.com, mbrclist@massbayroadclub.org, "Blog entry" <cobblestv.mountainbikechurch@blogger.com>
Sent: Wednesday, July 15, 2009 12:28:11 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern
Subject: [MountainBikeChurch] Fwd: Public meeting for Blue Hills Resource Management Plan [1 Attachment]

[Attachment(s) from Steve Cobble included below]

If you enjoy the Blue Hills, please try to attend!

Steve Cobble

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Comments, RMP (DCR) <Rmp.Comments@state.ma.us>
Date: Wed, Jul 15, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Subject: Public meeting for Blue Hills Resource Management Plan
To:

Hello,

Please find attached an announcement for the upcoming meeting on the Blue Hills Resource Management Plan.

This e-mail has been sent to those with a known interest in the Blue Hills Reservation, Quincy Quarries, and Ponkapoag. If you believe that you have received this e-mail in error and wish to have your name removed from our distribution list, please contact us at RMP.comments@state.ma.us; include the words "Blue Hills RMP" in your subject line.

__._,_.___

Attachment(s) from Steve Cobble

1 of 1 File(s)