Contents:

NEMBA News 2004

Partnerships with US Army Corps of Engineers

NEMBA Helps Start Friends Group at Wompatuck SP

TrailWatch is Part of the Solution

Pioneer Valley NEMBA donates to Firefighters

NEMBA Debuts MTB Kids Day

New Trail Construction at Vietnam

Stellar Blue Hills MTB Day

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visits Connecticut

National Trails Day Partnership at Tarrywile Park, CT

NEMBA's Big Ring Leadership Summit

K2 & Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA Donate Bike to Land Manager

2004 Boston Mountain Bike Video Awards

Tomac Bicycles Rewards Trail Builder

NEMBA Re-Blazes Fells MTB Loop

Making Singletrack Single at the Fells

RI NEMBA Big River Clean-up

Blackstone Valley NEMBA Helps Sudbury Valley Trustees

Rocky Mountain Trail Care Series Winner

NEMBA joins CT Outdoor Recreation Plan project

Rutland State Park to Allow MTBs

NEMBA Partnerships with US Army Corps of Engineers

The US Army Corps of Engineers is one of the nation's largest land managers, caring for 12 million acres of land and more than 4300 recreation sites. In New England there are dozens of extensive Corps properties that have great potential for recreational trail development and maintenance.

To help build upon NEMBA's relationship with the USACE, Rich Kordell of Blackstone Valley and Philip Keyes made a presentation to many of the region's managers at the USACE's Park Ranger Conference on October 28th in Southbridge, Massachusetts. The goal was to explain NEMBA's area of expertise and our willingness to take part in developing projects that would benefit trail recreation on Corps properties. As a result, it is likely that NEMBA will hold its regional trail building school on the Corps property at Hodges Village Dam in Oxford, Massachusetts, and invite USACE personnel to attend. Blackstone Valley NEMBA has been involved with care for the trails at Hodges Village Dam and has held a couple of Harpoon MTB Adventure rides at the property.

A couple of weeks later, Keyes visited a USACE property in West Hopkinton, NH to meet with Manager Alister R. Shanks and Ranger Jennifer Samela, and help NEMBA's Glenn Kirby in his work to develop non-motorized trails at the Elm Brook Park facility. Glenn has been working with the Corps at Elm Brook for over a year, and now has permission to construct trail that would augment the work done by Ranger Samela.

With the help of Manager Shanks of the USACE, NEMBA's goal will be to provide mountain bikers and other non-motorized users with an extensive trail network to be constructed over the next several years. This large management area of 10,000 acres has an existing trail network that NEMBA will incorporate into the overall plan of the project. NEMBA's Glenn Kirby believes "This management area could develop into the largest non-motorized recreational trail system in Central NH or the entire state.” Those who are interested in assisting Glenn with this project may reach him at gkirby@tds.net.

NEMBA is excited at the prospect of forming concrete partnerships on USACE properties and helping them promote more recreational opportunities

NEMBA helps start Wompatuck State Park Friends Group

Bill Boles and Steve Cobble of Southeast Mass NEMBA have become founding members of the Friends of Wompatuck State Park. The new group will be a multi-user volunteer citizen's organization to help improve the park for all the many users and assist Ranger Steve Gammon find solutions for improving access, providing maps, and promote the park in the local communities. Also taking part in the first organizational meeting were representatives of the equestrian group, Bay State Trail Riders Association, and the local dogsledding club. NEMBA’s executive director, Philip Keyes, was also present at the organizational meeting. Anyone interested in joining should contact Steve Gammon at 781-749-7160

TrailWatch is Part of the Solution

On October 13, 2004 the Trustees of Reservations sponsored an environmental conference at the new Doyle Conservation Center entitled "Managing Land and Visitors: Stewardship Challenges of Natural and Historic Places". The conference was well attended with more than 175 public and private land managers from across the state. Workshops ranged from working with volunteers and contractors to managing grasslands and cultural landscapes, managing tree diseases, using GIS for mapping and managing user conflicts on trails.

The DCR Blue Hills TrailWatch volunteer program was showcased during the workshop on "Preventing and Managing User Conflicts on Trails". Presenters Maggi Brown, DCR Supervisory Ranger from the Blue Hills, and Joe Sloane, TrailWatch Volunteer Coordinator, provided a comprehensive view of this peer education model that has been used successfully in the Blue Hills for over ten years. The focus of the workshop was to understand that there is no single recipe to eliminate user conflicts, but creative approaches to help minimize problems are most successful when they incorporate user-group volunteers.

In the 1960's it was said that "if you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." The Blue Hills TrailWatch program was created to be a part of the solution. When the land managers of the Blue Hills Reservation were faced with the task of developing policies to balance the recreational needs and expectations of hikers, horseback riders and mountain bikers, a handful of dedicated and diplomatic citizens led by NEMBA’s Joe Sloane, Bill Boles, and Sue Lee, stepped forward to help. Joe, Bill and Sue suggested a volunteer education program to assist the park rangers in promoting cooperative trail use, and Blue Hills TrailWatch was born. Now 50 members strong, the dedicated volunteers teach by example, role modeling proper trail etiquette and environmental ethics while educating visitors to the beauties of the Blue Hills.

Keep an eye on the trails in the Blue Hills for a TrailWatch volunteer and be sure to check out the offerings at the Trustees of Reservations Putnam Conservation Institute, created to increase the ability of the conservation community to protect and interpret the natural and cultural resources of Massachusetts. Become a part of the solution! —Maggie Brown

Pioneer Valley NEMBA Donates to Volunteer Firefighters
The Pioneer Valley chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA) has given a $300 donation to the town of Granby, Massachusetts to benefit the Granby Volunteer Fire Department.
According to Chapter President, George Willard, the fire department volunteers have provided exemplary service to the town, and on occasion, have been called on to assist injured trail users at the Batchelor Street area. "We as a user group, certainly appreciate the work and degree of professionalism shown by this fine group of volunteers. This donation is a token of our appreciation for their fine efforts."

NEMBA Debuts National Kids MTB Day

The first Saturday of October is now officially IMBA's Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day, and to kick off its inauguration, NEMBA staged three great events.

Greater Boston NEMBA had planned on holding their event at the Middlesex Fells but when this was nixed at the last moment, they moved the venue to Great Brook Farm State Park. Fifty-five kids and hundreds of dads and moms rode through nice skills stations where the kids learned to ride over (and under) obstacles, read maps, negotiate sharp turns, brake without skidding, trackstanding, and be friendly to other trail users.

Southeast Mass NEMBA partnered with Urban Parks to hold a great event at the Blue Hills Reservation, and CT NEMBA worked with the Recycle Bicycle Clinic in New Britain to hold a stellar event at the MDC's West Hartford Reservoir. The Recycle Bicycle kids work in the clinic bike repair shop earning credits toward the purchase of a new bike, and learn repair skills, proper work habits, and improve social interactions. The bikes they create go to a homeless shelter to help the residents get to work and group meetings.

We thank Massachusetts' Department of Conservation and Recreation and Connecticut's Metropolitan District Commission for allowing us to provide safe and enjoyable locations to get kids off their couches and out on to the trails. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the US, and with city streets becoming too dangerous to ride on, mountain biking offers a perfect solution to the threatened health of our youth. Check out pictures of this year's event.

New Trail Construction at Vietnam

On October 24th NEMBA met to build the first trail designed and built by mountain bikers in "Vietnam."
An assortment of about 30 people showed up to build an access trail through Milford Conservation property. Old hands and new faces pitched in to build almost 3/4 of a mile of new trail. It was amazing how much was done by early afternoon—people were shuttled, blowdowns were removed, and trails were cut. An industrious group attacked a stream crossing with rock armoring.

The Tuesday Night Crew (John Goeller, Dan Ibbitson, Dave Mitchell, Mitch Steinberg, and John Vosburg) had worked with Bob Buckley of the Milford Conservation Committee over the previous several weeks scouting out the area and then ultimately flagging the trail. NEMBA greatly appreciates the effort of Bob Buckley in allowing us to build a new access trail.

In the weeks prior to the trail construction, members of the Vietnam Land Management Committee spent a lot of time designing and flagging the proposed trail. Since the trail is located on Milford Conservation property and will serve as an access trail to NEMBA's parcel, the committee worked in close consultation with Milford's Conservation Commissioner, Robert Buckley. A final walk through was done with the commissioner the day before the event.

Greater Boston NEMBA generously provided their tool trailer so that all 30 volunteers would have the right gear for the job. Among the volunteers was nearly the entire staff of Milford Bike, the local bicycle retailer. With such a good turn out of helping hands, three-quarters of a mile of new singletrack was cut in a little over three hours. The new trail leaves the abandoned rail bed near Route 85, which will eventually be a paved bike path, and heads over to "Condo Rock." The trail has several fast flat sections with some flowing turns, some technical rocky section and a very difficult rock bridge. It should prove a worthy addition to the trail system and help alleviate some of the access problems.

Our thanks to everyone for coming and we look forward to undertaking some new projects in 2005.

Stellar Blue Hills MTB Day

Believe what you've heard - the Ninth Annual Blue Hills MTB Day celebration at Houghton's Pond was the best ever! Over 600 riders converged on the Blue Hills to experience what has become the premier family mountain bike event in Eastern Massachusetts. From tandems to training wheels, it was wall-to-wall smiles on June 20th.

The DCR's Blue Hills staff, under the superb direction of Ranger Maggi Brown, teamed up with volunteers from NEMBA's SEMASS chapter and Blue Hills TrailWatch to present an expanded 2004 festival. Shifting the event to June from its previous place on the fall calendar brought a ton of early-season energy to a glorious day with clear blue skies. A new and much larger location at Houghton's Pond enabled organizers to include more industry sponsors as well as expand the skills areas to host Bill Piotte's Incredible Technical Playground for young and old alike. A superb article that appeared the next day in the Quincy Patriot Ledger pointed to the skills building aspect of the event and featured a cool photo of nine-year-old Noah Piotte nimbly hopping his bike over one of his Dad's barrels! Blue Hills staffers John Jacoppo and Nate Skrocki were also able to expand their popular Kid's Obstacle course that saw heavy action all day long. The Pit, The Teeter-Totter and The Ramp of Bumps are now famous with kids throughout the land.

In preparation for a day of rides, "The Old Coot," Bill Boles, assembled a team of helpers who scouted, mapped and arrowed various routes for riders of all abilities to either follow on their own or as part of a group ride. TrailWatch's Steve Cobble and his ride leaders put together an amazing schedule of rides that went off every half-hour under the watchful eye of Ranger Tom Bender who kept everyone on schedule all day. Ranger Dave Furey and TrailWatch's Ian Sloane teamed up to lead several hugely popular rides for families and kids.

Bike Limbo was as popular as ever, with hard-fought contests in all divisions from the tallest 26" wheels to the lowriding Super Modifieds and limbo newbies on training wheels. The Trackstand Contest took on a new twist as expert finalists from the ranks of the Wheelworks and Independent Fabrication staffs balanced their way through on-mike sponsor interviews to the delight of the crowd.

SEMASS President Rich Higgins recruited new members with offers of serious swag and hot burgers from the official NEMBA barbecue grille. As soon as word got out, the NEMBA tent was the place to be and be seen. Prior to the event, Rich took on the responsibility of making sure that no rider in New England missed out on an invitation to the Blue Hills fun. Through forum postings and broadcast e-mails, Rich worked with Philip Keyes to bring all of NEMBA's publicity resources into play.

Rich was also instrumental in making this the first year that SEMASS NEMBA took on a primary role in the planning and organization of the Blue Hills festival. In the weeks before MTB Day, Rich actively supported the efforts of Chris Patrick and Bill Moeller to craft a new SEMASS website to help get the Blue Hills message out. The www.semassnemba.org site now has some great photos from this year as well as the Patriot Ledger newspaper article.

It also enables SEMASS to provide direct links to the websites of sponsors who make this event possible each year.
This year, over thirty industry sponsors and local businesses extended their generosity to participate in person with tents and staff as well as offering awesome donations of swag. Several new sponsors joined the established ranks and added exciting new energy to our efforts. Be sure to check out the 2004 sponsor list on both the NEMBA and SEMASS websites. Visit these sponsors' sites and their shops and offer thanks by bringing them your business.

Blue Hills MTB Day is all about encouraging families to discover the joys of biking outdoors together. It's also about riders making connections with old and new friends. The strong partnership between the DCR Blue Hills staff and the mountain biking community transforms the dream of an event like this into a sweet reality. . —Joe Sloane

IMBA Trail Care Crew Visits Connecticut NEMBA

We had waited with great anticipation and months of preparation for the blue and white IMBA Subaru to drive into our neck of the woods for a four-day, action-packed trail care visit. Amazingly, every event went off without a hitch.
CT NEMBA is one of the first visits of the newly hired crew from Oregon, Chris Bernhardt and Jill Van Winkle. On the first day, we hit the ground running by performing two trail site assessments at Osbornedale State Park and Pequonnock State Park. We also did a walk-through with Jon Peterson of www.Bikerag.com, and Doug Eli, a CT NEMBA trail boss.

The projects were chosen, and then we were off to Cycle Fitness in Monroe for an evening slide show highlighting some of the best places to ride in the world. Wales looks like an awesome place to ride, but then I think I have to go to Oregon first. So many places to ride!

The next morning, we packed the car with tools and headed over to Kellogg Environmental Center. Alex Sokolow (CT NEMBA board member and IMBA representative) arranged for the trail workshop for twelve land managers, some from CT DEP and a few from municipal parks. After the lecture and lunch, we hit the trails for some hands-on training.
One group learned how to use a clinometer to determine the appropriate grade of a trail so it won't erode, while the other group learned how to benchcut a trail to expose the mineral soils and create a long-lasting trail. IMBA has just launched their new trail building bible, Trail Solutions, and most of the land managers bought a copy.

Despite a dreary start to the next day, eight intrepid trail volunteers arrived at Calvary Church in Trumbull to learn about trail maintenance. The crew talked about a number of topics, from getting land managers' permission, to grade reversals to free riding stunts. Doug Eli, NEMBA trail ambassador, arranged for the inside portion of the workshop, and in the afternoon the sky cleared and the group did some serious rock work, armoring an approach to a stream crossing while maintaining the technical features of the trail. We also placed quite a few "choke stones" or rocks placed to keep a rider on a narrow section of trail. Dave and Kathy Herde, trail ambassadors, brought excellent food, and helped direct the project. Others who helped with the project were: Laura Nowack, Bobbi Stak, Mike Wallace, and Jim Scheef.

Sunday was all about riding and fun. Dave and Kathy Herde led a three-hour ride at Trout Brook, making sure we hit every technical section in the park. Dave Cleveland and Ed Perty, trail ambassadors, joined us, and even Chris and Jill admitted they were tired after the ride. I know I was!

It was a great long weekend, and if you ever have a chance to catch one of the TCC visits, do so. I learned a lot, rode a lot, and best of all made some new friends. —Paula Burton

National Trails Day Partnership at Tarrywile Park, Danbury, CT
CT NEMBA helped lead a National Trails Day event at Tarrywile Park in Danbury, CT, along with Eastern Mountain Sports, Appalachian Mountain Club, Letterboxing, Western Connecticut Orienteers and equestrians.

The land managers are interested in improving the trails of this 700 acres urban park, and a new map and re-blazing project are in progress. All the groups worked together on a variety of projects, and CT NEMBA focused on improving a stream crossing. Rocks were placed to allow passage during high water, and a new approach was built, cribbing the treadway with rocks, and moving the treadway out of a wet area. The manager, Sandy Moy, was impressed with the work, and we have been asked to come back again. She also attended the recent IMBA land managers' workshop held in Derby, CT, and NEMBA looks forward to a continuing good relationship with the park management.

If you live near Tarrywile, we are seeking trail ambassadors and other folks willing to volunteer at Tarrywile. Please contact Paula Burton. A meeting will be scheduled sometime in the next several months. —Paula Burton

NEMBA's Big Ring Leadership Summit

April 16, 2004 – Acton, MA – Sixty of the New England Mountain Bike Associations's key advocacy leaders participated in NEMBA's Big Ring Leadership Summit at Cape Cod's Camp Lyndon in Sandwich, Massachusetts on June 11-13th to discuss the future of the organization's advocacy efforts.

The summit resulted in scores of concrete plans to improve advocacy and the organization as a whole, including producing a land manager conference, a freeride summit and large youth-focused riding events.

"It was an inspiring work hard / play hard weekend," says NEMBA's executive director, Philip Keyes. "Never before has NEMBA brought together its brain trust for a weekend of problem-solving, leadership training, and networking, and there was incredible synergy between all the participants, who collectively have more than 500 years of advocacy experience under their belts."

Jim Hasenauer, past president of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) and Hall of Fame inductee, agreed. "It was great working with these NEMBA leaders. These folks love mountain biking. It's amazing to watch an organization both fight the good fight in preventing closures and at the same time be so proactive in developing new riding opportunities. The future of New England mountain biking is in good hands." IMBA staffers, Brandon Dwight and Scott Linnenburger, also shared their expertise at the event.

Key topics included strategies to prevent the imminent closure of parks to mountain biking, ways to deal with the creation of unapproved trails and constructed trail features (aka, "stunts"), developing and managing a volunteer base, and how to be politically effective at the local, state and federal levels.

According to NEMBA's new president, Tom Grimble, "As the largest regional advocacy organization in the country we strive to push the envelope of mountain bike advocacy, and this summit provided both the training and focus to allow us to push those boundaries even further."  See pictures of the event...

K2 Bikes and Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA Donate Bike to Land Manager

June 16, 2004 – York, Maine – The Mt. Agamenticus Chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association (MTA NEMBA) today announced that through the generosity of K2 Bikes, the association presented a Zed 2.0 mountain bike to Mt. Agamenticus Conservation Manager, Robin Stanely. The mountain bike will be used by Mt. Agamenticus' trail crew to help maintain over 50 miles of trails in this watershed region in southern Maine.

According to Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA's director, Steve Cole, "we're excited with the recent success in forging a partnership between NEMBA and the land managers, and we're grateful to K2 Bikes for helping to get land managers using mountain bikes to take care of their parks. K2's bike donation will help them maintain the more remote areas of the watershed as well as give them a inside view about what mountain biking is all about." Stanely is interested in getting a trailer for the bike to faciliate trail maintenance.

K2 was excited to make the donation. "We pleased to have a land manager on one of our mountain bikes, and we all realize how important it is to take care of the places that we ride," said K2 Marketing Coordinator, Matt Peternell.

MTA NEMBA plans two more trail care days at the park and will be helping lead over 100 volunteers from Tom's of Maine on July 13th.

2004 Boston Mountain Bike Video Awards
The New England Mountain Bike Association announces the winners of its annual amateur filmmaking event, the Boston Mountain Bike Video Awards. The winners were selected at the award ceremony presented by JRA Cycles of Medford, MA and Rocky Mountain Bicycles of Vancouver, BC on April 24th. The event featured special guest Wade Simmons, professional mountain biker from British Columbia; Redbones Barbecue; "mountain bike bingo" with prizes from the sponsors; highlights from last year's finalists; and a screening of the best local amateur cycling films of the year.

The house was packed, with 250 attendees, topping last year's attendance. In order to encourage attendees to join NEMBA, an anonymous donor matched all membership up to $1,000, and the event brought in 47 members and $8170 in proceeds. All proceeds will benefit the advocacy efforts of NEMBA.


The Winners:

Jeff Udell, "Ride Like a Girl"

Best Production

Best Riding
Jim Ioannidis, "From Dawn Till Dusk"

Most Entertaining
Ben Haulenbeek and Jade Jenny, "Ground Rush preview"

People's Choice
Sean Sullivan, "Lord of the Chainrings"

The other finalists were Lucas Brunelle, Paul Girard, Tom Guilmette, Mark Halliday, Jon Kibler, and Justin Schroth. Films included a documentary-style "adventure" film, an excursion on the frozen Charles River through Boston, a production featuring talented local area female riders, and a take-off on a classic French film that originally featured a Ferrari. The winners split $500 in prizes from JRA Cycles.

"The variety of video styles made for a fun evening," said Krisztina Holly, the event's emcee. "Attendees ranging in ages from 6 to 66 took part in this celebration of local New England riding culture, and the event has raised some much-needed funds for NEMBA."

The evening started with an interview with Wade Simmons, professional mountain biker and freeride pioneer, who had just recently been voted in a reader poll as one of the top three most popular mountain bikers in the world. Simmons regaled the audience with stories of his work and, when asked for tips on how to become a professional rider, he suggested, "You just need to keep riding, and get better and better. Everything I do is calculated. It's the young riders, who try to get noticed at all costs, that get hurt. You have to build up to it." He also debunked some myths, when he described the very rigorous procedures necessary to build trails in the North Shore of Vancouver. Simmons was available all evening to sign autographs and chat.

Tomac Bicycles Rewards Trail Builder (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
Of the 250 volunteers that turned out to any of the 32 Tomac/NEMBA Trail Care Events, Alexis Arapoff of Stow, MA was the lucky winner of a Tomac Bicycle Revolver Pro dual suspension bicycle.

This series harnesses the energies of mountain bikers to build and care for trails in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Maine, and is the largest title-sponsored trail care series that has been sponsored by a single company. The series began in 1996 under the auspices of Merlin Metalworks, and last year the sponsorship transitioned to Tomac Bicycles. The American Bicycle Group owns both Tomac and Merlin.

Tomac Bicycles has renewed it sponsorship of the series for the 2004 season, and there are more than 38 events already planned, with many others to be announced in the near future.

"We're fortunate to be able to provide such a wonderful incentive to our volunteers out on the trails," says NEMBA Executive Director, Philip Keyes. "Last season was especially meaningful since our trail care program was the first in the country to be given an Environmental Merit Award by the Environmental Protection Agency."

NEMBA Re-Blazes Fells MTB Loop (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
The Mountain Bike Loop at the Middlesex Fells has a new look. The look is Green. For 16 years the loop has been marked with square red signs with a picture of a bike and the words “Bike Loop” on them. These signs were very clear to understand but were also a target for vandalism. People opposed to bike access at the Fells as well as those looking for souvenir would remove them, causing much confusion.

Working with the DCR, NEMBA purchased and installed green blazes marking the 6 mile loop in both directions. The new blazes are 2" x 6" aluminum painted emerald green and are clearly visible along the entire route. Before anybody fires off an e-mail to tell us that we forgot to pound the nails in all the way, they are that way on purpose. The special aluminum nails are intentionally left unseated to give the tree room to grow without popping the sign off. The aluminum is also found to be less toxic to the trees and will not destroy saw blades if the tree ever falls down and needs to be cut up to be removed.

As I already mentioned, the new blazes were purchased by NEMBA using your membership dollars. Like the boardwalk we built in the Fells last year, this is a highly visible way to see your support of NEMBA helping the parks where we ride. I want to give special thanks to some folks from RAGE who once again showed up to help out with this project. I am really encouraged by the way NEMBA and RAGE have been working together recently.
NEMBA will be hosting six trail maintenance days at the Fells this year. Details can be found at www.gbnemba.org or www.nemba.org. As these days proceed you will see some changes to the trail. Re-routes will be put in to avoid the real bad sections and other sections will be worked on to make them narrow again. When riding the Fells, do your best to keep the trails narrow. —Tom Grimble

Making Singletrack Single at the Fells (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
On April 25th the Greater Boston Chapter of NEMBA kicked off this year’s Tomac Trail Care Series with a great day in the Middlesex Fells. 25 people showed up on Sunday, many, shaking off the affects of the previous night’s video awards, to do some much needed repair work on one section of the Fells Mountain Bike Loop down by the water treatment plant. This particular area has very limited parking immediately adjacent to the trail but the DCR rep was kind enough to open the gates to allow us to park along the fire road, thereby avoiding those nasty tickets!

This section of trail, also part of the Orange Trail, has seen many trail days over the years. The original trail was a straight shot, up and over the hill with no turns at all. Much of it ran directly along the fall line causing an extreme erosion problem without any help from the extra wear and tear of hikers and bikers. This was also a real problem in that at the bottom of the hill, this trail crossed a road frequented by large trucks from the water treatment plant and the idea of riders getting rundown had the MDC very concerned. Through our efforts, this stretch of trail has lengthened as we have added switchbacks and long traverses to reduce the grade of the trail and provide needed drainage points to minimize erosion. Even with this though, through the last year the trail had widened out in many places as people would go around a wet spot or along an easier line. Cut throughs had also developed as walkers would make a beeline up or down the hill. Once these lines became visable, they were ridden and hiked so often that they needed attention.

Over a hard three hours of work we were able to narrow this entire ~200 yd section of trail back down to a 3-4’ width, chosing the line most likely to hold up to future use. Rolling grade dips were put in to improve drainage to the sides, long standing water bars which had been filled in with washdown were dug out and repositioned. The most striking changes though were seen at the two sharp corners where the trail had taken a beating. Through major bench cutting and the placement of anchor points to keep people on line, and in one case, extensive hardening through the placement of a layer of busted rocks, we now have some beautiful corners which are way easier to navigate and should hold up very well! All of the cut-throughs are gone, with fallen trees hauled in and “randomly” placed to make off-trail adventures way less inviting. We also planted quite a few trees, some of which, we hope, will survive to further help define the trail. With a variety of riding skills in mind, we were careful to leave as many interesting and fun obstacles on the trail as possible while still providing a line ridable by most anybody with the lungs to make it over the hill. It will never be easy but is sure is nice!

Thanks to everyone who gave up their lovely Sunday morning to help and a special thanks, as always, to Claire Grimble for an awesome after-work luncheon! —Chris Harris

RI NEMBA Big River Clean-up (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
Rhode Island celebrated Earth Day in a big way this year. On Saturday, April 24, 2004, 77 people showed up to help clean-up trash and tires in the Big River Management Area. This hugely successful event was hosted by the West Greenwich Nature Conservancy, the Friends of Big River, and the Pawtucket River Watershed Association in conjunction with the RI-Trails Advisory Committee. The event organizers were excepting about 40 people, but many user groups rallied their troops to double their estimates. Hikers, horseback riders, dog sledders, motorcyclist and mountain bikers split into smaller groups to remove trash from 5 different sites, recording well over 200 volunteer hours. Dumpsters were filled to capacity as the volunteers pulled paper, bottles, tires, stoves, car parts and lots of other junk from the woods. Afterwards many people joined together for a cookout, a raffle with lots of great prizes and a chance to meet all the user groups who helped out.

Mountain Bikers should feel proud of themselves as we contributed between 25 and 30 volunteers to this event. (The exact number is unknown as many people did not indicate what group they belong to.) The time and numbers we put in has not gone unnoticed; someone from another user group commented that initially he was against legalizing mountain biking in this area, however seeing us willing to work on this day and the other positive PR we've been done has begun to change his mind. So a very huge thanks to all the mountain bikers who showed up and worked hard to make this day a success. —Tina Hopkins

Blackstone Valley NEMBA Helps Sudbury Valley Trustees (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
On May 1st Blackstone Valley held a trail maintenance day to help the Sudbury Valley Trustees (SVT) control erosion on a steep section of the Pipeline Trail that is within SVT's land adjacent to Callahan State Park. Eighteen NEMBA volunteers, led by Mark Lamkin and Anne Shepard, plus several members of SVT and the Appalachian Mountain Club, installed seven grade dips on the Pipeline and improved several more on the Pioneer Trail. These two trails are the primary access routes to other parts of Callahan State Park from each of the major Callahan Parking lots. The SVT’s Land Steward, Dan Stimson, worked along side the crew throughout the day and seemed much appreciative to get the help.

We hope our efforts will increase the acceptance by SVT for mountain bike use on a couple of major trails near Callahan. SVT will soon install new trail markers which will help to clarify which trails are open to bikes. Please help us continue to foster the growing goodwill with SVT by complying with their existing trail restrictions. —Rich Kordell

Rocky Mountain Trail Care Series Winner (SingleTracks #74 July 2004)
Before we mention the lucky person of the Rocky Mountain bike, we first want to thank this great company for their support of the NH Trail Care Series. Entering into its third year of sponsorship, Rocky Mountain Bicycles’ generosity shows their commitment to preserving the sport and their belief in NEMBA's efforts.

But if you're not the chosen one don't feel left out. This past year the New Hampshire NEMBA chapters had a tremendous number of projects throughout the state, so competition was tough. We created new trails, opened up areas that were closed to cycling, built boardwalks, improved trails and forged stronger relationships with land managers. The end result is we have more places to ride, so we all win! Thank you to all who helped make this possible.
So without further a-do, drum roll please….The lucky winner is Mike Lanigan!

Mike pitched in at our very own Rocky Mountain Bicycles sponsored NH Trail Care Event at Ft. Rock (Henderson Swasey). Congratulations, Mike, and we look forward to many more people coming out an helping make the trail better for everyone. Check the calendar for a Rocky Mountain Bicycles Trail Care event near you…. and good luck! —Len Earnshaw

NEMBA joins CT Outdoor Recreation Plan project (SingleTracks March 2004)
NEMBA has been invited by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection to join with other recreation groups in the development of a federally mandated outdoor recreation plan.

It's been ten years since the CT DEP last formulated an outdoor recreational plan. Referred to as SCORP, or Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreational Plan, it is a planning tool designed to respond to the goals and desires of our recreational community. It's also the principle planning tool that enables CT DEP to take advantage of funds offered by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund (LCFW). The LCFW funding provides a significant means to secure open space land acquisition and protection. This in turn increases outdoor recreation opportunity for all of us. I hope that I've got your attention. SCORP is important.

Over the next six months, CT DEP will work with an array of outdoor recreation advocates to develop a SCORP plan for presentation to the National Parks Service, the administrator of the LCFW. In direct response to NEMBA's efforts across Connecticut as a trail advocate and the de facto MTB community representative we have been invited to participate in process to develop this plan. This is an excellent opportunity to allow the MTB community to be heard. Stay tuned for updates. —John Turchi

Rutland State Park to Allow MTBs (SingleTracks March 2004)
Wachusett NEMBA Vice President, Alf Berry, and member Michael Morin, made a formal request to the Ware River Watershed Advisory Committee to allow mountain bikes on certain trails in the park. While certain details still need to be finalized, the committee voted unanimously to accept the proposal. According to Berry, “NEMBA has a great reputation outside the mountain bike world. One member of the committee was also involved with a hikers group that is in charge of managing the Midstate Trail. He said that his experiences with NEMBA specifically and MTBers in general have been positive. He made specific mention of trail work that NEMBA has performed on the Midstate. Another member who was a horseback rider said that he has always had positive encounters with MTBers, particularly in Leominster State Forest.”

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