T Grimble
April 15th, 2004, 08:03 AM
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 who are opposed to bike access at the Fells and cyclists who are souvenir hunters alike would remove the signs causing confusion. To combat this vandalism, the signs were placed up high where they are more difficult to see.
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 of 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 intentional 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 were 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.
Happy Trails
Tom Grimble
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 of 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 intentional 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 were 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.
Happy Trails
Tom Grimble