Contents:

NEMBA News 2008

What a Season it has Been

Vietnam Rocks with the Sinister Trail Care Tour

CT NEMBA's Paula Burton Speaks at the New England Parks Association's Annual Meeting

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day at the Middlesex Fells

Joe Sloane Named as L.L. Bean Outdoor Hero

Greater Boston NEMBA Awarded Recreational Trail Grant

Maine Junior Bike League Finishes up 4th Season

SE MA NEMBA’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day at Wompatuck State Park

Berkshire NEMBA Begins Trail Construction at Pittsfield State Forest

Philip Keyes Inducted to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame

Re-routing Trail at Lynn Woods

Greater Boston NEMBA Kids Explores Ride the Fells

Rain, Rain Go Away, Don’t Dampen Blue Hills MTB Day! 

NEMBA / IMBA Trail School in the Pioneer Valley

Middlesex Fells Opening Day MTB Celebration

White Mountains NEMBA Purchases a Trail Care Trailer

NEMBA attends IMBA's World MTB Summit in Force

Introducing Midcoast Maine NEMBA

Bluff Point Trail Group Awarded IMBA Grant

Trek Bicycles - NEMBA Trail Care Series 2008

Sinister Bikes Goes Big to Support Vietnam Trail Building

What a Season it has Been!

As 2008 comes to a close, we can be proud of the many things that NEMBA has done to make the world better for mountain biking. Here's the short list:

• We held 100 Trail Care Events in 44 different parks as part of our Trek Bicycles, Jamis Bicycles and Sinister Bikes Trail Care Series. Ask yourself - how many days are there in the summer? That’s a lot of days, then add on to this all of the Tuesday Night Trail Care at Vietnam! Or look at it this way, this represents over 8,000 hours of volunteerism on New England trails, or the equivalent of $80,000 of donated labor, plus materials!
• We had 1350 rides in 2008, by our members for our members.
• We put on five charity rides, the Kona Bicycles MTB Adventure Series, that raised over $8,000 for our parks and advocacy.
• We held two MTB Days at the Middlesex Fells and the Blue Hills, as well as a fabulous Fall Fiesta at Greyville Falls Park in Connecticut to promote family riding and improved trail access.
• We put on three Take a Kid Mountain Biking events, and the one at the Fells had over 120 kids!
• We were contracted for two Trail Building Workshops with the MA Dept. of Conservation & Recreation.
• We built a Pump Track in Camden, Maine and have another one in the works in the White Mountains.

• We are holding at least three Toy Drive rides during the holidays to collect toys for needy children
• We held three trail building workshops, in addition to our weekend Trail Building School.
• We designed and built the first new trail in the Berkshires in years!
• Received two large grants from REI for our Ambassador Program in Rhode Island and for Wompatuck State Park. We also got over $11K for our Ambassador program in Connecticut from the Dept. of Environmental Protection.
• Awarded a $30K Recreational Trails Program Grant for trail building at the Beaver Brook Reservation, and have applied for over $16K for various projects in 2009
• We put on 18 Riding Clinics in addition to three weekly clinics
• Our new NEMBA Explorers Kids Program held four kids rides at the Fells, and our Explorers program with the Pembroke Ski Market has been holding weekly kids rides.
• For fun, we helped organize three movie screenings of Klunkerz and The Collective, helped out with the Redbones Block Party and put on our 20th Anniversary Celebration Banquet

We thank all the hundreds of volunteers who made this possible, and we welcome you to come out and lend a hand in 2009!

Vietnam Rocks with the Sinister Trail Care Tour

The Sinister Bike Vietnam Trail Care Tour 2008 has come to a close. In 2008, we had over 55 volunteers who attended 27 official trail days, dedicating over 700 hours working on the trails this year. This brings the total volunteer hours over the last 4 years in Vietnam to over 3000 hours. This is a testament to the quality and popularity of the trails. I'd like to give a shout out to Don Johnson, who logged the most trail days attended: 25 of the 27 trail days.

The trails built in Vietnam area started with the Milford access trail on the west side of the Upper Charles Headwaters Area, the infamous DLS (Dirty Little Secret), Rubber Stamp (formerly known as TNT), and now Lincoln Logs at the bottom of Rubber Stamp. The trails range from XC to fast-flowing freeriding. The technical trail features include drops, step ups, rock gardens, kickers, and now skinnies. The work this year wrapped up with the building of a 85' log ride, which is challenging and committing with a fair bit of exposure.

Dynamic Bicycles and Blackstone NEMBA hosted the Volunteer Appreciation Event on Sunday, October 26th. The event was for volunteers who worked in Vietnam, and it included a ride, post-ride BBQ, and drawing for the Sinister Bikes Gruitr frame. Volunteers received an entry for the frame for each trail event attended. I am pleased to announce that Dave Riding is the winner of the Gruitr frame. Congratulations DR!

We look forward to continuing the trail work next season. Tuesday Night Trail crew (TNT) will start in the late winter/spring. Sinister has graciously stepped up to support the trail work in Vietnam by donating a frame for the 2009 trail building season. If you enjoy the new trails in Nam, please try to find one Tuesday evening or weekend day to help continue the tradition of building and maintaining high quality trails in the Upper Charles Headwaters Area (aka Vietnam).
The New England Mountain Bike Association thanks you for your support. —John Vosburg, Chair of the Vietnam Land Management Committee

CT NEMBA's Paula Burton Speaks at the New England Parks Association's Annual Meeting
Paula Burton was invited to present a workshop on Designing and Building Sustainable Trails at the annual conference of the New England Parks Association on September 8 in Dennis, MA. Twenty four land managers were in attendance. The attendees designed a virtual trail, incorporating the features and recreational groups found in their parks. Other topics included communicating with volunteers to facilitate high quality trail work. Another topic of interest to the land managers was mountain biking as recreation, which included the full spectrum of mountain biking from casual dirt road type riding, to single track cross country, and to freeriding with constructed obstacles.

Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day at the Middlesex Fells

On Saturday, October 4th, 2008, the Boston area celebrated national Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day with a grand event co-sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, The Greater Boston Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association, and the International Mountain Bike Association. It was a huge success. Approximately 125 children, ranging in age from 4 to 17, brought their parents and adult chaperones to this free event in the Middlesex Fells Reservation to learn to ride off-road and improve their bike riding skills. Kids riding tricycles to bikes with training wheels to BMX bikes to full-blown mountain bikes donned helmets and mounted their wheeled steeds for the perfect autumn day. In all, nearly 300 people participated including children, parents, and 43 volunteers from 24 different towns and cities...

The primary purpose of this event was to encourage kids and parents to use the state's public lands for recreation and exercise. With childhood obesity rampant in the US, the organizers hope to promote cycling off-road as a way to stay healthy for a lifetime. Other goals of the event were to promote respect for the parklands and their regulations, as well as respect for fellow trail users. A serendipitous outcome was that many parents themselves were first introduced to the benefits of this sport and gained confidence in their own off-road skills. They also learned how to instruct their kids to ride safely and reinforce the lessons of care and respect for the park and for other trail users. Many parents commented how they were unaware of the beauty of the Middlesex Fells and envisioned riding in the park together as a family.

GBNEMBA, the event organizers, with major support and help from the IMBA Trail Care Crew, Kelly and Collins Bishop who came all the way from Chattanooga, Tennessee for the event, laid out an extremely well-defined and comprehensive skills course with 11 volunteer-staffed stations to practice off-road skills such as riding through rocks, climbing hills, balancing on narrow trails, shifting gears, and riding downhill with control. Each skill station built upon the foundation of the previous one, and as the course became progressively harder, each rider learned to overcome the successive challenges. Many children learned the two most important principles of mountain biking are "momentum is your friend" and after every excruciating and seemingly impossible uphill climb comes a fun downhill payoff.

Kelly Bishop of IMBA commented, “NEMBA did a great job with Boston's Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day. We heard kid after kid shout "That was awesome!" after they learned a new skill or cleared an obstacle for the first time.”

At the "Toddler Corral" kids on tiny bikes and trikes rode on sidewalk-chalk drawn trail system including a slalom course and bicycle limbo. Other activities included bike decorating, T-shirt making, slow races, and raffles throughout the day. Redbones BBQ of Somerville and Mexico Lindo of Melrose donated lunches of barbecue sandwiches and burritos. The Boston LunaChix Cycling team held a clinic to showcase different styles of biking, and the bike gear relevant to each: mountain biking, cyclocross, road riding, and downhill. One message these kids received was how the right gear can make a difference and that different types of bikes help you accomplish particular skills (climb easier, go over large rocks, go downhill riding). Several organizations were on hand to give parents information about child-specific programs, including Bikes Not Bombs, Allston-Brighton Bikes and Trips for Kids (three organizations who promote cycling efforts for inner-city kids), MASSBike (promoting SafeRoutes for Kids), and SCORE of Winchester (supplemental education). Two local bicycle shops, JRA Cycles of Medford and City Cycles of Stoneham stepped up and gave free bicycle safety checks to all riders.

NEMBA volunteers and partners gave outstanding support to kids and their parents throughout the event and were complimented profusely by the parents. Volunteers managed registration, raffles and on-the-trail instruction. Their continuous good cheer and encouragement helped kids and parents try out new riding skills and gain confidence. This event was even more exciting due to the level of donated gifts raffled off to registered participants. Key event sponsors JRA Cycles of Medford, Bikeway Source of Bedford and Schwinn showed their deeply appreciated support with donated bicycles, while Landry's Bicycles, Eastern Mountain Sports, Ciclismo Classico, City Cycles of Stoneham, Cliff Bar, Fruitabu, Rubel Maps, MASSBIke, Ski Market, SCORE, Fox Racing, Kryptonite, and Quad Cycles, donated a variety of gear and gift certificates. These generous donations thrilled the kids and their parents.

The event organizers, Howie Granat (Event Director and GBNEMBA Kids Program Coordinator) and Tim Post (GBNEMBA President), would like to share the privilege of thanking the event volunteers, without whom all the successes, safety and fun would have been impossible: Mike Tabaczynski, Greg Koch, Adam Glick, Chris Thurrott, Claire Grimble, Tom Grimble, Anne Shepherd, Elizabeth Pell, Kelly Bishop, Collins Bishop, Shari Heier, Bill Piotte, MJ Keeler, Terry Kennedy, Rob Forney, Adrian Berridge, Jenny Tabaczynski, Stephanie Yost, Noah Piotte, Alex Post, David Watson, Steven Major, Andrea Jones, Michael Penza, Sue Neimeier, Nick Barry, Kate Parhiala, Jim, Art Paradice, Susan Whitty, Sam Davis, Jim Frost, James Vogh, Cindy Hickey, Ray DeMarquez, Bob Meuse, Annabelle Kleinfeldt, and Kathi Durning.

Huge thanks go out to the MA Department of Conservation and Recreation for their approval and support of this event and whose staff did an incredible job of helping to prepare the Sheepfold Meadow, repair segments of the course, and promote and participate in the event itself. --by Elizabeth Pell, Howard Granat and Tim Post.

Joe Sloane Named as L.L. Bean Outdoor Hero

Quick. Tell me who this is... He has the power to change the landscape of the planet. He seems to be able to see into the future. He frequently wears Lycra when patrolling. Little kids look up to him. His day job is interesting, but in no way related to the role he plays in regularly saving the Earth.
Did you guess Joe Sloane? Well, you should have.

Sloane is as much a hero as Superman when it comes to land stewardship, biking and maintaining recreation relationships in Massachusetts.
He's one of the founding members of NEMBA and single-handedly created the Trailwatch program now used at multiple parks in the region. It's for this work that he's been frequently praised at annual New England Mountain Bike Association events, and now more people have begun to notice Joe's valuable contributions.
In fact, Sloane is a 2008 recipient of an L.L. Bean Outdoor Heroes® award - a program "developed to thank those who have dedicated their time to preserving the outdoors," according to L.L. Bean.

Blue Hills Reservation Park Ranger Maggi Brown praised Sloane in a written announcement this summer, saying, "As the Volunteer Coordinator with the Blue Hills Trail Watch, Joe has helped create a program that promotes safe and cooperative trail use."

She added, " As a founding member of the New England Mountain Bike Association, and the mastermind behind the DCR Blue Hills TrailWatch volunteer program, Joe has demonstrated tremendous dedication to outdoor recreation."

Sloane said he was speechless when told of the award and admitted, "I'm honored to share a place with such remarkable people."
As is his style, Sloane tried to deflect the credit for the results of his efforts and mentioned a number of other worthy people who contribute to local land access and care.

"I wished that all of the many TrailWatch volunteers present at that volunteer appreciation cookout could be receiving the same award," he said. "The TrailWatch success story is all about the volunteers. I'm so grateful for all of the people who have been a part of the TrailWatch effort for the past sixteen years."
With more than 25 years working with the Massachusetts Dept. of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) at Blue Hills, Sloane has seen TrailWatch grow from one person to a group of 60 dedicated members.

Brown's assessment of the program indicated that it "includes a broad spectrum of trail users, including mountain bikers, hikers, horseback riders, trail runners, cross country skiers, snowshoers and nature enthusiasts who all share a common goal of promoting safe and cooperative trail use."
Sloane agreed and emphasized that trail issues affect all users and that a program like TrailWatch benefits the entire outdoor community. That's what land stewardship is all about.

"To anyone who is unfamiliar with NEMBA's mission or the importance of land stewardship," said Sloane. "I often ask that individuals take a step back and widen their vision. In the truest sense of community, what benefits one benefits us all. People who have never visited a National Park understand the great value of preserving such places."

From the early days of wrangling with the MDC over biking access to the Blue Hills to current land-use discussions at various other properties, Sloane has realized that politics and perception are huge drivers in open-space access issues. He acknowledged that maintaining relationships and being aware of how changes affect everyone is an ongoing challenge.

"One thing I've learned over the years is that the skills of a professional rodeo rider would come in handy when trying to hold on tight to progress," said Sloane. "Budgets and staffing levels in our parks are constantly in flux, so it's been important for me to always remember to be flexible and realistic with expectations. It's always my goal to keep ideas and projects strong so as to weather the unexpected when it comes to the changing identity and focus of our park management system."

Sloane credited the people at Blue Hills for making his work easier. At the top of the list was Maggi Brown.

"I've been inspired by a great many people over the years, but I'm especially grateful for a superb working relationship with Maggi Brown," he said. "She has been the DCR's Supervisory Ranger in the Blue Hills for many years. She has endless patience and tremendous respect for her volunteers. Her good-natured outlook has really brought out the best from an amazing crew of volunteers, from teenagers to senior citizens. I'm convinced that the TrailWatch program could not have been a real success without Maggi's help."

"With enthusiastic DCR support, a new TrailWatch program is up and running at Wompatuck State Park," Sloane said. "And plans are underway to extend TrailWatch into other DCR parks. It's a bit like watching your children grow up and go off to college. I'm really pleased that the TrailWatch model has found its place."

From his first mountain-bike ride in 1987 to numerous occasions "bringing smiles to the faces of kids who have come to Blue Hills Mountain Bike Days," Sloane has invested his energy, enthusiasm and intelligent approach into making the Blue Hills, the region and the Earth a better place to get on a bike and ride the trails.
A component of the Outdoor Heroes award is a donation of $5,000 to the TrailWatch program in honor of Sloane. He sees this money as a way to expand TrailWatch to areas beyond Blue Hills and Wompatuck State Park where it's already a positive success.

Ultimately, according to Joe Sloane, any change to the recreation areas around us affects everyone, not just the regular park visitors.
"When open spaces are lost, we lose fibers from the fabric that has taken many lifetimes to weave," said Sloane. "Threats to the integrity of places like the Middlesex Fells and Blue Hills are real and ever-present. In order to understand the importance of preserving open spaces, people need to understand why they are valuable to all of us. Even people who don't often visit the Blue Hills can understand its value."

With the L.L. Bean award, Sloane's value to our local recreation areas and to NEMBA has also been understood.

Sloane's day job is restoring pipe organs for churches, universities, schools, museums and private homes. He lives in Milton with his wife, Priscilla, daughter Amelia and son Ian.

Greater Boston NEMBA Awarded Recreational Trail Grant
GBNEMBA will be recieving a $30K grant to extend the Western Greenway trail through the towns of Belmont, Waltham and Lexington to connect to the Beaver Brook North Reservation. The chapter will also be constructing a Universal Access trail in the Middlesex Fells Reservation and building a viewing platform overlooking the reservation’s Quarter Mile Pond.

Maine Junior Bike League Finishes up 4th Season
Midcoast Maine NEMBA has been doing all it can to support the MJBL, and he fourth season of the Maine Junior Bike League has now come to a close. What an amazing year it was! Over 70 kids joined the league this year which marks the fourth year of continued growth. This is a great program to get kids into the sport of mountain biking and mountain bike racing.

The MJBL is the only junior focused mountain bike league in the state. It offers young riders between the ages of 6 and 18 a chance to love mountain biking! For more information on the MJBL and to view the 2008 results, please visit www.mjbl.net.

Special thanks go out to the 2008 league sponsors, which include Bikesenjava, Phi Home Design and The Black Bull in Rockland.

SE MA NEMBA’s Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day at Wompatuck State Park
A bright but cool sunny day greeted NEMBA, the Friends of Wompatuck State Park, and the new TrailWatch Wompatuck volunteers as we setup for our first ever 'Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day' at the park.
Steve Cobble spearheaded the event and set up two 10 X10 tents for registration and a space for a volunteer from the Ski Market to wrench and perform bike safety checks for the kids. From 9:30 to 12 noon we offered bike safety checks, skill development lessons, and guided rides in the park.
Custom tours of the park were created to accommodate kids with different riding abilities and to ensure everyone had a great time.
By noon, we had approximately 25 kids and parents participate in the festivities. The Friends of Wompatuck are excited to grow this event in the future to promote an interest in off road riding and to broaden the public's understanding of the sport and our contributions to the community. —Eric Oddliefson

Berkshire NEMBA Begins Trail Construction at Pittsfield State Forest

June 21st was not only the Summer Solstice -- it was also the first day of trail construction at Pittsfield State Forest by the newly re-vitalized Berkshire NEMBA chapter.  The new singletrack will replace the fallline Turner Trail and rise over 1000' to the top of the mountain.  39 volunteers came out to build the trail, and while it's not yet complete, the chapter plans to finish construction so it can be debutted at the Kenda Mountain Bike Festival.  Our thanks to DCR's Western Mass Trails Coordinator, Becky Barnes, and DCR's Gary Briere, for allowing Berkshire NEMBA to build this new trail and help mobilize the mountain bike community.  This is the first new trail created by mountain bikers working with the Department of Conservation & Recreation, and we hope that the partnership will be longlasting and beneficial to all trail users.  Thus far, Berkshire NEMBA has put in 477 hours of volunteer labor into the project and spent over $1000 on trail building tools.

Philip Keyes Inducted to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame
News Flash! Just as SingleTracks was being sent off to the printer, we heard that Philip has been inducted to the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
Keyes has been an ardent, articulate and effective advocate for Mountain Biking for 20 years. He is highly visible and well known to mountain bike enthusiasts and industry folk alike. He has been instrumental in the growth and development of The New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) since its inception in 1987.
“I’ve attended every Mountain Bike Hall of Fame ceremony since Interbike was in Anaheim,” says Keyes, “and I never imagined that I’d one day become part of such an incredible collection of mountain bikers. It’s a really great feeling, and it’s because of NEMBA that I’ve been able to follow my passion for trail protection and cycling.”

Re-routing Trail at Lynn Woods

While DieselBikes has been doing a great job working on the rugged technical trails, a couple of NEMBA members have been partnering with General Electric volunteers to rehabilitate the Cornell Path which connects the Ballfield area to the Ranger Station.

Cornell Path is probably the most used trail in Lynn Woods, and because of the heavy usage and steep topography, the trail had 65 log terraces installed to hold the trail together from erosion - not very cycling friendly. Back in 2003 volunteers re-routed a trail bypassing some of the terraces and closed the worst section down. The new trail has held up well and has required no maintenance in the last five years.

Last month Mike Salerno and Steven Fuchs got the go ahead to finish the project, and the results are good. They closed down another section of trail that had 30 terraces and replaced it with a 900' trail that takes a trip through a giant boulder field, and offers a great view of Breeds Pond that was not available before. This new section along with the old section is still a very technical trail for the advanced or intermediate mountain biker. It is also a popular trail with the Wednesday night trail runners. Initial feedback is the runners are just as happy with the new bypass as we are. Because of the timing of the spring biking season, and the new growth of forest greenery, the trail builders moved in fast to finish this job before biking season started.

The Lynn Ranger, Dan Small, is pleased with the state of the Western side of Lynn Woods, and is happy with the overall state of the trails in all of Lynn Woods.

Greater Boston NEMBA Kids Explores Ride the Fells

On June 21st, nice GB NEMBA RideGuides gave skills clinics to 48 new mountain bike riders, including 30 children and 18 adults. The parking lot at the Middlesex Fells' Flynn Rink was overflowing with mountain bikes and their eager riders. At 10:00 am the adult skills class convened under a shady tree and RideGuide and GB Chapter President Tim Post explained the basics of riding on uneven terrain, best safety practices while riding in the woods, and the importance of trail etiquette and stewardship. At 11:00 RideGuide and NEMBA Explorer Coordinator Howie Granat gathered up the younger crowd and repeated the  skills, safety and etiquette message to the group ranging in age from 6 to 16. The skills clinics were broken into smaller more manageable groups by age and ability, and headed into the woods for fun and learning. Howie and Tim were ably assisted by RideGuides Andrea Jones, Rob Forney, Carol Powers, Adam Glick, Dana Coolen, Alex Post, and Chris Post. Thanks go to Stephanie Goodell and Boston  LunaChix for yummy postride snacks, to Christina Illarmo, Matt Soycher and the rest of the crew from Bikes Not Bombs for joining us and always making it fun, and to Dick Stewart, Lynn Hildenbrand and the rest of the MA DCR Fells District staff for sponsoring the event and making this day of offroad riding education possible.

Rain, Rain Go Away, Don’t Dampen Blue Hills MTB Day! 

Thunderstorms and rain greeted the organizers of Blue Hills MTB Day, and most people in their right minds would have just rolled back in bed for a few more winks of sleep. But not the hardcore.  While the rides were delayed until late morning, many of the mountain bike faithful – and an onslaught of kids! – waited patiently to hook up for group rides and to test their meddle on the skills course.  So in the end, the rain may have put a 'damper' on the event, but not on the fun!

Our thanks to the many volunteers and to the DCR staff at the Blue Hills for making this possible.

Forty mountain bikers from around New England —including ten riders from the Berkshires and seven from the Saratoga Mountain Bike Association in New York — attended our two-day training at Wendell State Forest. The course focused on the fundamentals of building new trails and fixing bad ones, as well as how to construct sold boardwalks and use rock to armor and stabilize wet trails.

NEMBA / IMBA Trail School in the Pioneer Valley
The MTB weather deities were smiling, keeping us dry for a classic work hard / play hard weekend. After a Saturday morning session of trail theory and a hearty lunch attendees spent the afternoon at hands-on clinics. Yet, in typical fashion, everyone was eager to ride, and Wendell offers a wide assortment of wonderful singletrack to satisfy the heartiest of mountain bike appetites. Speaking of appetites, the crew certainly worked up a hunger and gorged on a nice catered meal under the moonlight.
There's nothing like the camaraderie of mountain bikers who have spent a day together talking about trails, building trails and then riding them. As Scott Linnenburger commented the following morning, mountain bikers are doers. We have a lot of energy and a huge amount of passion for both the sport and the land we enjoy. We're confident that this weekend inspired everyone to return to their neck of the dirt to do great things for the sport and our public lands.
This event was part of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation & Recreation's ParkServe, a program designed to spruce up our parks for the beginning of summer. We thank Wendell State Park's supervisor, Bryant Steward, for letting us partner with him for ParkServe day at his park.

We also thank the NEMBA and IMBA trail gurus for sharing their expertise and helping to grow our knowledge base and capacity to do more for New England trails. Tom Grimble, Mike Tabaczynski, Scott Linnenburger, Bill Boles, Paula Burton, Harold Green and Tim Post did a great job as instructors, and we thank them for their service to the trail community.

Middlesex Fells Opening Day MTB Celebration
In cooperation with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, GBNEMBA ran its second annual Opening Day Mountain Bike Celebration at the Middlesex Fells on April 19th. It was a beautiful day with great weather with over 150 enthusiastic mountain bikers joining in. On hand were a number of Ride Guides to show the way and a number of sponsors with Cycle Loft providing freshly grilled burgers to the many hungry riders through the afternoon. Also showing their wares were JRS Cycles, EMS and Ted Wojcik, and the New England Mountain Bike Patrol provided their normal first aid service. Thanks to Tim Post for organizing the event and to our industry partners for showing their continued support.

White Mountains NEMBA Purchases a Trail Care Trailer

WM NEMBA is stoked to be the proud owner of their own tool trailer.  Using a $1500 grant from the Pequawket Foundation, $1000 donation from SNH NEMBA, and a $500 grant from regional NEMBA, the purchased a new 6’ x 10’ Wells Cargo trailer last week. The trailer was put to good use last Sunday, both as a tool hauler and as well as shelter from thunderstorms that hit hard after the trail work was complete.   NEMBA now has four trail care trailers traversing New England, helping to build more trails and making it easier for mountain bikers to help volunteer at our parks.

NEMBA attends IMBA's World MTB Summit in Force

Eight of NEMBA's leaders ventured to Park City, Utah, to attend IMBA's biannual gathering of the world leaders in mountain bike advocacy.  Philip Keyes was one of the summit presenters, and he was joined by Harold Green (NEMBA's president), Bill Boles (NEMBA staffer), Art Roti (board member, president of CT NEMBA and CT IMBA rep), Todd Bumen (board member and president of MTA NEMBA), Kevin Davis (board member and president of McNEMBA), Anne Shepard (NEMBA's fearless treasurer), and Mike Tabaczynski (board member and MA IMBA rep).   With about 400 advocates coming from 22 countries, the summit focused on grassroots advocacy and ways for us to increase our effectiveness at promoting the sport and gaining greater access to public trails.  While the agenda was jam packed with session, attendees got a chance to ride some of the hundreds of miles of trails leaving right from downtown Park City.   Officials from the National Park Service, US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management spoke to the advocates about the potential for greater trail access, and Trek's CEO, John Burke, gave an inspired talk about why cycling --and mountain biking-- is on the cusp of providing real solutions to our nations economic and health issues.

Introducing Midcoast Maine NEMBA

We're excited to announce that Camden, Maine and the surrounding region now has official mountain bike representation with a new NEMBA chapter: Midcoast Maine NEMBA.

Over the course of the past year the new chapter's leadership has identified almost 100 people and families with sufficient and active interest in mountain biking to support a new NEMBA chapter. Midcoast Maine NEMBA has enthusiastic support from the Directors of Parks and Recreation, the Camden Snowbowl, and the Land Resource Manager for Coastal Mountains Land Trust. If fact, these organizations urged that mountain bikers organize to work with officials in developing responsible mountain bike opportunities.

One of the first initiatives Midcoast Maine NEMBA will undertake will be to create a comprehensive trail map and signage system on the trails that span the Camden Snowbowl, the Ragged Mountain Recreation Area and the Coastal Mountains Land Trust Land on and around Ragged Mountain in Camden. The Coastal Mountains Land Trust and the Camden Snowbowl are 100 percent the effort to enhance the trail users’ experience in these lands.

The chapter has already formed an executive committee, headed by Kevin Davis as president and regional board representative, Casey Leonard as treasurer and board rep, John Anders, Steve Koskinen, Michael Hartley and Jeff Kuller. Each memberhas a different set of skills, be it trail maintenance, event planning, working with the youth that form the Maine Junior Bike Lean, and other leadership skills.

We welcome them and look forward to some good riding in Camden! If you’re interested in helping Midcoast Maine NEMBA, contact Kevin Davis at khdavis@adelphia.net or call 207-542-4941.

Bluff Point Trail Group Awarded IMBA Grant
The Connecticut Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association has been awarded a grant from the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) funded by outdoor outfitters REI. The grant will be used to develop a budding group of trail advocates interested in preserving and making sustainable the trails at Bluff Point State Park. The trail group has just initiated development and formation from a coalition of many users of the park. This group seeks to be multi-user based and hopes to preserve the park by mitigating trail deficiencies, designing, maintaining and building trails so they might last indefinitely for many recreation groups to enjoy. We will be working in consort with the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Groton Open Space Association, the Sierra Club, Connecticut Horse Council and any other interested groups. The grant is specifically purposed for club development and volunteer recruitment.

Trek Bicycles - NEMBA Trail Care Series 2008

The longest standing title-sponsored trail care series in the country now has new sponsor: Trek Bicycles. And to show its commitment to building new trails and to the work that NEMBA does to keep our trails in good shape, Trek is donating not one but two high end dual suspension bicycles to the cause.

Want a new Trek Fuel X 8? Yes, this is an incredible bike. The sexy chassis uses Trek's patent-pending ABP technology and is trail tuned with 120mm of plush Fox Float RP2 travel in the rear and 130mm of plush goodness in the front. It's a bike that can basically handle it all. How do you win it? Easy, just by coming to any of the Trek Bicycle - NEMBA Trail Care events in Connecticut, Massachusetts or Rhode Island. There will be lots to choose from, and each NEMBA member who comes will be entered into a drawing for the bike. Want to increase your chances? Just come to more events and you'll be entered to win!

But perhaps you'd prefer getting a Trek Top Fuel 69er. 29-inch bikes are all the rage - and for good reason. The 69er is unique because it features the larger 29" wheel in front but still uses standard 26" rubber in the rear. This could be the best of both worlds since you have tried and true suspension tracking of the rear wheel, yet all the benefits of the larger wheel up front to roll over anything technical the trail throws at you.

The only way to get entered to win one of these Fuel beauties is to come to three or more Trek Bicycle -NEMBA events. It's a truly elite bike for the most dedicated of our trail volunteers. It will be a select crew entered into the drawing - and we hope you'll be one of them.

"Trek has been one of the stronger supporters of bike advocacy nationwide," says NEMBA's Philip Keyes. "They're funding IMBA and trail building all over, so it's awesome that they are focusing some additional attention on New England to help make this great region for mountain biking even greater." Trek will be demo'ing bikes at a number of NEMBA events this season, so you'll get a chance to see these bikes in action for yourself.

So, what does Trek have to say? Trek's marketing guru, Michael Browne, had these words to pass on. "NEMBA's work is appreciated by all - by those who ride the trails, and by those far away who look to NEMBA for inspiration and as a model of successful and meaningful community participation. Trek Bicycles is happy to support such a program in any way possible."

Need we say more? Let's make our 2008 trail building the best ever … and good luck! Check the website for events near you.

Sinister Bikes Goes Big to Support Vietnam Trail Building

NEMBA's property at Vietnam is unique in the mountain biking world. Owned and operated by mountain bikers looking to protect open space and provide for very technical riding, local NEMBA members spend lots of time working to make this a successful model for the larger mountain bike community as well as a superb place to ride black diamond bikes.

For 2008, we are partnering with Sinister Bikes to thank all the volunteers that come out virtually every Tuesday evening to take care of our piece of the dirt and to create something new for technical riders. The new Sinister Vietnam Trail Series will also be holding weekend events for your riding and trail building pleasure. Pick up a shovel, help make us all proud of Vietnam, and do some riding as well! Every time you come to help out, you'll be entered to win Sinister's new Gruitr trail bike.

The Gruitr is as simple as it is strong. It has 4.5 to 5.5" of customized travel of single pivot love floating on needle bearings with Bruce the Firefighter (BTF) inspired geometry. No linkages, pulleys or weird leverages. Not a tank yet not "weight weenie worried" - it's a bike that’s all about big hit fun.
The crew at Sinister is so psyched about helping out with Vietnam this season that they're even planning on putting on some custom Vietnam-inspired graphics for the lucky winner. Come to any of the Sinister Trail Days, and be entered to win a one-of-a-kind bike.
The Gloucester, Massachusetts-based company has a long history of trail building, volunteerism, and advocacy through many channels in the biking world. According to owner, Bruce Linehan, "Sinister is owned and operated by riders first, so we appreciate the land and trails where we ride. We are proud to have the opportunity to support NEMBA with this show of gratitude for all the hard work volunteers do. We strongly support NEMBA's efforts at Vietnam and their dedication to the project. The Vietnam project proved that all of us can make a difference."