CT NEMBA Chapter News
SingleTracks, February 2008
Winter arrived in full force just before Christmas here in Connecticut. As with most of New England, we got hit with a storm that dumped upwards of 12" of snow over a very short period of time. It took some of the people that I work with over 5 hours to complete a commute that normally takes 45 minutes. I guess it's good that I did not ride my bike to work that day!
Paula Burton had a great Turkey Burner ride the day after Thanksgiving. 14 people showed up and rode at Huntington State Park. It was an all levels ride. Look for more of these next year.
Not only is winter a good time for breaking out the studs and hitting the snowmobile trails, and cross country skiing with friends and family (see picture of the author hitting the snow with his 3 month old son in tow), but it is also the best time for planning out the coming year of advocacy and rides. Here are some things that are on the schedule for 2008:
1. Weekly rides
2. 14 + TM events
3. The Happening at Huntington
4. The Fall Fiesta
5. A possible visit from the IMBA Trail Care Crew
6. Trail Ambassador training
With the general plan in place we have had a great start to 2008 thus far. David Singleton e-mailed me the other day to let me know that we received a grant from IMBA/REI for $500 toward club development, exposure, and volunteer recruitment. The grant money will be put toward further developing membership and relationships at Bluff Point in Groton. Bluff is a very popular recreation area for all user groups. At times this has caused some friction but through the efforts of Dave and several other people we have begun working toward improving the relationships. Last fall Dave kicked this all off with a user group summit in Groton and has plans for more meetings and trail days soon!
We have also been active in developing closer ties to the State DEP as well as other trail user groups. We will be attending the Connecticut Forestlands Council Recreation Committee meetings as representatives of the Mountain Bike Community. This group is influential in setting the Resource Plan for Connecticut State Forests. In addition the group is putting together a master calendar of events in the State Parks and Forests so that we can schedule accordingly and also attend other types of events.
Paula Burton met with Laurie G. (Trails and Greenways) during the first of January and she and the DEP are very interested in learning more about promoting and managing mountain biking in Connecticut. It is likely that we will have a gathering of the DEP land managers, CTNEMBA representatives, and also the IMBA crew to discuss next steps with further developing mountain biking in CT.
After our Board meeting on January 8th we will have a better schedule of events for the season so keep your eyes on the website (It will be updated soon!). Trail Ambassador training will be taking place in Southern Connecticut in the next 2 months.
Until then enjoy the snow and avoid the mud when it arrives. --Art Roti
SingleTracks, December 2007
Fall and Winter riding have crept up on us again. It seems to happen quicker every year (especially now that I have a newborn son). This past week (the first week of November) has greeted us with winter like temperatures in the mornings. While it is hard to let go of those warm days where you can dress for a ride in about 2 minutes, I really look forward to doing those winter rides with the studded tires while wearing all of the cycling clothes that I own! It is also a great time of year to reflect on the accomplishments of our chapter and plan for next year.
We have had a great fall. The Fall Fiesta was a great success. We had a spectacular day with sunny skies and temps in the 60's. Over 100 hundred people attended. With a large group interested in the epic ride, we ended up having two led epic rides. Both of the rides had 15+ people. The rides covered different areas of the Gay City and Case Mountain areas and both were about 3.5 hours long. The rest of the riders checked out the beginner and intermediate loops, and after we finished some great riding, we all enjoyed a sub from Subway. To wrap up the day we had a raffle of schwag supplied by several local shops, and our annual meeting where we elected the new Board of directors for 2008. The new board consists of Arthur Roti, Mark Lurie, Eric Mayhew, Glenn Vernes, Tren Spence, Paula Burton, and Al Tinti. It was a great way to wrap up the 2007 season.
On November 7th we had our first meeting with the new board to plan out next year and elect officers. For the 2008 year we have the following:
Arthur Roti - President, IMBA rep.
Mark Lurie - Vice President
Glenn Vernes - Treasurer
Al Tinti - Secretary
Eric Mayhew - NEMBA rep
Tren Spence - NEMBA rep alternate
Paula Burton - At Large
We have many things in store for next year. Since the board is spread over a large part of the state we each plan on championing our respective areas of the state with trail maintenance, the trail ambassador program, and, of course, group rides. Each board member will lead at least 2 TM events and help coordinate TAs in that area. Once again we will have two premier events: The Happening at Huntington and The Fall Fiesta. Shortly you will see an updated website that will be more of an information portal. We are eliminating our forums due to the amount of spam traffic and the challenge of managing it. However, we encourage everyone to use the NEMBA.org forums to communicate rides, TM, TA and everything else.
As always we are open to other events as well. Please contact us with your ideas. —Art Roti
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