T Grimble
May 30th, 2003, 09:08 PM
I need everybody to help out with something. I just got back from a ride over at Belmont and noticed a small section of trail on the McLean property that had a new berm built on it. The berm was very poorly constructed without any cribbing and the dirt to build the berm was mined from a section of the trail bed which left a large whole for water to collect. Because of the adolescent building techniques, I believe that it was built by a school kid not a mountain biker. The reason I am writing is to let everybody know that when you see this kind of thing, you need to let somebody know about it. The week after next, there is going to be a meeting of the McLean Land Management Committee where they are going to walk the trails and determine which if any will be left open to cyclists. Our future access to this property would certainly be jeopardized if they were to see this. If you come across any suspect trail work, the best thing to do would be to let somebody know. Contact the Land Manager if you know who it is or contact me if it is in the Greater Boston area. If you don’t know who to send a note to, send a message to this list, somebody will see it and determine what needs to be done. I don’t mean to imply by this that NEMBA is going to tear out everything that is suspect. We couldn’t do that if we wanted to and I can assure you that we don’t want to. We do need to address issues in sensitive areas such as the McLean property.
A little update on what is happening at Belmont.
As you all know we were successful at changing the legal status of the property so that mountain bikes are not restricted by law but they can still be restricted by the McLean Land Management Committee. The committee will shortly decide the land use policy for the property. I feel that the current consensus of the committee is to allow cyclist access but to limit it in some way. NEMBA has attended every committee meeting for the last two and a half years and has come to be respected by the committee members. We are fighting to maintain access much as it is today but it has been and is going to be a tough battle. Change happens very slowly in Belmont but a lot could happen in the next couple of weeks. Please be overly respectful during the next few weeks as these issues get sorted out. If you would like any information on what is happening at Belmont, the Fells or Lynn Woods, feel free to contact me at tgrimble@alum.syracuse.edu.
Tom Grimble
Greater Boston NEMBA
A little update on what is happening at Belmont.
As you all know we were successful at changing the legal status of the property so that mountain bikes are not restricted by law but they can still be restricted by the McLean Land Management Committee. The committee will shortly decide the land use policy for the property. I feel that the current consensus of the committee is to allow cyclist access but to limit it in some way. NEMBA has attended every committee meeting for the last two and a half years and has come to be respected by the committee members. We are fighting to maintain access much as it is today but it has been and is going to be a tough battle. Change happens very slowly in Belmont but a lot could happen in the next couple of weeks. Please be overly respectful during the next few weeks as these issues get sorted out. If you would like any information on what is happening at Belmont, the Fells or Lynn Woods, feel free to contact me at tgrimble@alum.syracuse.edu.
Tom Grimble
Greater Boston NEMBA