A Word From BMA

A History of Success and Progress... 

Mountain biking has never been as good in Boulder County as it is today. The Boulder Mountainbike Alliance has made huge progress with every land management agency over the last 10 years and we still have big visions for the future. Think about a regionally integrated recreational trail system that would allow you to ride from your home to city open space to county open space to forest service lands and beyond! A carbon-free recreation experience that starts at your front door - that's a  vision worth fighting for, and it is where BMA is focusing our efforts now that the West TSA is over.

The mountain biking community has proven ourselves the best stewards of the land Boulder County has to offer. We spend more time building and maintaining trail, advocating for the passage of open space taxes, engaging in peer to peer education, partnering with County Open Space (e.g. Hall, Heil) and City Parks and Rec (Valmont Bike Park) to accomplish great things.

We even recently had a constructive relationship with the City's Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department - challenging them to get more creative in managing use on their lands and opening up new cycling opportunities in the Marshall Mesa and Doudy Draw area.

... With a Temporary Bump in the Road

Anemone Hill and the rest of the West TSA was in part a disappointment because BMA believes in win-win solutions. We believe that preserving the environment and providing quality recreational experiences are not mutually exclusive goals - in fact they are mutually supportive.

Giants of the environmental movement like Aldo Leopold and John Muir understood that people must experience nature to learn to love and value it. As Edward Abbey once wrote, "it is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it." Mountain biking provides us with a deep connection with nature, an experience our heroes demand we have.

Some environmentalists in Boulder are anti-bike because they believe deep in their bones that man-kind is out of balance with nature. And maybe they are right. Species are in decline, the climate is changing, forests are being eaten by the pine bark beetle and burned by fires.

But the solutions advocated by this narrow group of environmentalists (keep bikes out!) are disproportionate to the challenge they have identified. Mountain bikes are not drilling rigs and trails are not well pads. Our access issues have little to do with the regional and global environmental problems that trouble both of our communities. Mountain bikers are a great partner in conservation efforts, but we fear that bridge has been burned in Boulder - at least temporarily.

From where we sit now, it is reasonable to ask whether it was ever worth engaging with the City of Boulder on bike access in the West TSA. After all, the majority on City Council didn't say no to a trail on Anemone Hill. They said no to bikes. A trail will be built, it will have environmental impacts, it will have parking problems, it will cost money, but it will be open to hikers and equestrians only. The positive value of a near-town riding experience didn't hold water with a majority of city council - they didn't understand that we want to ride to our ride, that our kids need someplace to ride that doesn't involve jockeying with car traffic, that of the over 100 miles of trail in the West TSA, we were only asking for shared access to six.

We came very close to winning reasonable and responsible access, and that closeness is a sign of progress. The Open Space Board of Trustees voted 4 to 1 to give us a 4-5 mile loop on Anemone Hill. Four city council members - just one shy of a majority - voted to give us access to this one small piece of open space. These council members did not just vote yes, they gave passionate testimony on behalf shared access and the recommendations of the Open Space Board of Trustees. We have progressed substantially in educating city officials on the environmental impacts of mountain biking, and several trustees now acknowledge that the impacts from mountain biking are essentially no different than hiking.

We know the unspoken truth - that OSMP staff were split on the issue of allowing bike access. High up on the OSMP totem pole the idea got shot down, but the flesh and blood of the organization has seen that a purely political decision was made. They understand now, better that even before, that this is not about impacts on the resource, this is not about user conflict - this is about maintaining the status quo - no bikes in the West TSA. To city staff that have been open minded, we offer our sincere thanks! We will continue to persuade citizens and government officials that the gap between the conservation and mountain bike communities is narrow.

What Comes Next?

But what do we do now? Do we stick it to the man and start poaching trails? Does BMA give up on the city entirely and focus elsewhere where we have more constructive relationships with the county and forest service? NO! Every single inch of access that BMA has achieved has been done because we have proven time and time again that we are responsible citizens and that we are not going away. We have decided to make Boulder our home. We love it here. We are not leaving.

We were on the cusp of victory in the West TSA - as modest as that victory may have been. We will continue to show up; we will continue to make a difference; we will continue to build and maintain trail; we will continue to demand fair access; we will continue to lead a two-wheeled lifestyle; we will continue to prove that nobody is a better steward of our public lands than the mountain biking community - even when they slam the door in our face.

I and the rest of BMA want to offer our personal and heartfelt thanks to the many, many members of our community that have made a difference. We want to assure you that though we have lost this battle, our vision will win the future. If you are one of the numerous people disillusioned by this entire process, know that we understand. A small piece of our dream has been shattered. But we take heart in the community that we have formed together. It is that community that ensures our ultimate success. It is our willingness to continue taking the high road - even in the face of utterly inexplicable injustice - that has gotten us to where we are at today. And it is that same can-do attitude that will carry us into the future. So chill out, relax, and recover from this madness. Continue to ride. The job is not over yet.

Jason Vogel, President of BMA

president@bouldermountainbike.org

Heil Ranch Wapiti Trail Work Day Coming Up!

(pic courtesy of Daily Camera)

BMA is partnering with Boulder County Parks and Open Space to maintain the Wapiti Trail at Heil Valley Ranch this spring. First workday is next Saturday, March 12 (March 19th if there's snow). They need 15 volunteers to work from 8:30 AM till 12:30pm with an option to stay longer. Contact John Bevans for more info: mtbcolorado[at]yahoo[dot]com

Join th Army! The BMA Guerilla Army!

BMA needs you to make our access campaign in OSMP's West TSA successful.

The mission of the BMA Guerrilla Army is to get mountain bikers off their asses and to public meetings. We'll have some guerrilla actions at strategic moments to bring out the crowds.



We have a lot of work to do to get 500 people to the OSBT meeting this Wednesday 2/9 at 6pm City Council Chambers 1777 Broadway (intersection w/ Canyon). We have a volunteer general for the Army who has some cool ideas for how to get people to the meeting, such as flyering cars with bike racks on them over the next few days. But our general needs help to make this happen. If you'd like to lend some elbow grease to the cause, please click on the "Join the BMA Guerrilla Army" button at the link below. Forward this message on to trusted friends that you think might be interested. More info to come on all the other ways you can help if this ain't your shtick.

http://bouldermountainbike.org/takeaction

What are you talking about?

On Tuesday, February 1st at 9:26 pm, Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks (OSMP) Department recommended the continuation of a total ban on mountain bikes in the West Trail Study Area (the open space between Mount Sanitas and Eldorado Springs Dr). To justify this decision they cited "irreconcilable visitor conflict" and said new shared-use trails were "not a reasonable option from either an environmental or a cost perspective." BMA stands ready to engage with staff to resolve the problems that BMA's modest proposal could cause. Learn more about BMA's position at the link above.

Boulder County Access Politics at their Finest (I)

Let me set the background in this first post. I'll get to my real point in post II, which I'll put up when I feel like typing more. City of Boulder is in the middle of a very long term project that involves revisiting the management plans of all of their Parks and Open Space land. They are breaking these areas into chunks called TSAs or Trail Study Areas. Each TSA is visited seperately to make it easier for city management to make it thru all of their properties.

City of Boulder has already made it thru 2 TSAs already. Those TSAs were manged in the typical way that local land managers use for public input. The process is basically simple:
-initial public info meeting and comment period
-some sort of interim status and comment period
-suggestions A, B, C, D are presented and there's a comment period
-Staff final recommendation based on previous comments and feedback and comment period
-City of Boulder puts the plan into effect

The first involved the Marshal Mesa area South of Boulder and East of 93 and it stayed pretty low key. Key bike related takeaways from that TSA were a new trailhead for Marshal Mesa right on Broadway and new trails like Cowdrey Draw, High Plains, Coal Seam and Marshall Valley. The plan also laid out the initial framework for the "Dirty Bismark," a ride that has been dreamed of by Boulder Residents for years. Things turned out well and the whole project, although it was still very much "on the radar," didn't bring out a ton of press or comments from the public at large. Thanks largely to Boulder Mountainbike Alliance (BMA) for being on the scene and having the job well handled.

Next TSA was the Doudy Draw area, which included all of the park land south of Eldorado Canyon Drive and West of 93. Now we were getting into some touchy territory, as bikes had been banned in about 95% of this area. Until this TSA, bike access was limited to the Community Ditch, and the very bottom part of Doudy Draw so you could ride off of the ditch and down the draw to the parking lot. Basically pretty lame already and we didn't have much to lose. This was a much bigger deal for Boulder area peeps, both mountain bikers and non mountain bikers. Boulder hikers and haters wanted to keep the bikes out. They got banned for a reason after all, right? But bike supporters came out in throngs to the public meetings and made a lot of good, logical, fact based suggestions. Remember how the process works? City management tries to reach a decision, based largely on public input. Because bike support had been vocal, well thought out, logical and based on facts, OSMP staff recommended opening up Doudy Draw in it's entirety (complete with a reroute to make the trail more sustainable). OSMP staff also called for the creation of what is now Springbrook Loops and Flatirons Vista Loop, both of which would be bike accessible. Again bike peeps were happy and non bike peeps were not.

Now, enter the introduction of the West TSA. The "crown jewel" of Boulder OSMP as it's referred to by staff and some Boulder area residents. This is also a TSA where there are ABSOLUTELY ZERO bike allowed trails in the region.

There's the background. Now do some reading, catch up, and form your own opinion of how it all came down. I'll tell you mine shortly.

For a refresher, go here for the official word from the city and here to learn a little about the politics as they have already played out.

BMA Banquet is this coming weekend!

This Friday, February 4 is the 6th Annual BMA Banquet. Put on your fancy duds, head to downtown Boulder and be prepared for a fun, bike peeps party and auction. All proceeds go to BMA. It typically sells out, but there are still tickets available. Check here if you're a FB person, otherwise, find it at BMA's new website!

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday!

Boulder Mountainbike Alliance is a great organzation. We like BMA and think you should, too.

BMA is our regions mountain bike trail advocacy effort. BMA offers a united voice of mountain bikers for municipalities and land managers to hear, their trail work efforts have dedicated hundreds upon hundreds of community service, and they promote social rides for riders of all abilities. The management of BMA comes from a group of extremely dedicated mountainbikers and some of them have been at it for 20+ years.

Redstone would like to offer our thanks to BMA as well as our full support. In light of that, we will be supplanting our normally scheduled Tuesday Ride next week (1/11) with BMA's party to launch their new logo, new website, and membership drive.

Details for the party are here.

Hopefully we'll see some of next Tuesday at Avery's Brewery in Boulder!

Boulder's Valmont Bike Park update!

Valmont Bike Park Update

The City of Boulder's Parks and Recreation Department is making great progress towards a spring 2011 opening of the Valmont Bike Park. While an exact opening date has not yet been selected, the site is still a flurry of activity with workers installing utilities, restrooms, parking facilities, landscaping, and riding elements. Fourteen months ago we were celebrating the Bike Park's ground breaking - now we're very close to it opening. Your donations have made a significant impact in making the park better for the community; we want to thank you not only for the financial support, but your patience as well - as we all await the big day.

Recently, the park was awarded an additional $45,000 grant from Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) for the informational and trail signs at the park. To most observers, this seems like a lot of money for signs. The signage is one of many important safety elements of the park. The park will be teaming with kids and new riders, and safety is of paramount importance. All the riding features must be clearly marked, like a ski area, to steer inexperienced riders away from the expert level elements. Parks & Rec is wisely taking risk management seriously, we not only want a good riding experience, but rider safety cannot be compromised. GOCO is the agency responsible for allocating state lottery proceeds, and we want to thank the state of Colorado's Lottery for awarding us this grant. Between the coordinated fundraising efforts and grant writing of Parks & Rec and BMA, we have added $500,000 to enhancements to the park!

As of the week of December 20th, the restroom building was framed and sheathed, most of the irrigation pipe and sprinkler heads installed, 90% of the trails complete, seeding and erosion control mats installed, and concrete work is complete. The hub plaza is 80% complete. Local artist Christian Mueller was tasked with the design, and his vision is nearly complete. The hub plaza will serve as the gathering space for riders and park users, and is a true work of art. The plaza is shaped like a chainring, and has enormous stones radiating from the center like spokes of a wheel. For more photos and progress report, please see the city's website www.ValmontCityPark.org

Judd DeVal of Alpine Bike Parks is the bike trail contractor. He and his crew have come from Vancouver, BC, Santa Cruz, Boise, and North Carolina to build the bike features. Alpine Bike Parks has built some of the finest parks in the world and we are fortunate to have this crew working on Valmont. They are out there long days sculpting the trails, pouring concrete for the wall rides, and welding the structures for bridges and jumps. They have made impressive progress, and you will be grinning ear to ear when you get to ride the finished product.

Chance Brown of J2 Construction, the site's general contractor, has done an amazing job coordinating the park's major excavation work and overall progress. These two teams are doing a remarkable job to bring make this dream park a reality.

We had poaching problems when the park construction began, but most of these problems have subsided as riders realized poaching was creating havoc for the construction crews and delaying the project. Thanks for being responsive and letting the crews get their job done unhindered.

The single biggest question we hear is "When is the park going to open?" The Parks & Rec Department has been working hard to get Valmont open. They are doing a great job in balancing the maintenance of existing parks, while simultaneously building the Bike Park and installing synthetic turf (and other upgrades) at East Boulder Community Park.

Since we have been working together on the fundraising, we have witnessed the monumental task first hand. There are other city departments involved, various contractors, wildlife and irrigation ditch concerns, and budgets to manage. Park construction is a large undertaking - as they must ensure adequate parking, restroom facilities, landscaping, and information signage commensurate with the number of visitors the park will attract. They must also comply with all clean water, clean air and noise regulations and make required transportation improvements to Goose Creek, Valmont and Airport roads to keep traffic (both bike and car) flowing seamlessly. We hope to be able to pinpoint an opening date in the New Year, but rest assured, this is going as quickly as possible and no one is dragging their feet.

We have had many generous offers to volunteer to help, and we are sorry there has been no opportunity to date. We hope to have some opportunities soon, but most of the construction is beyond the scope of volunteer days. If we had to move 16,000 yards of dirt (a dump truck holds 6 yards) with shovels, we would be out there until the year 2071. With earth movers, cranes and concrete trucks buzzing around and open utilities, the site is not safe for volunteers.

If you see any members of Parks and Recreation, from the guy shoveling snow on the Pearl St. Mall, to the staff behind the desk at one of the Rec Centers, they all deserve our thanks. We have a new appreciation for our Parks and Recreation Department, let them hear it.

Please take a minute to help with Boulder bike access

City of Boulder hasn't historically been the most friendly to bikes. In fact, seems like some of the extremists in Boulder don't like bikes at all. At the end of the day, it comes down to the fact that, even though these folks are grown ups, they haven't learned how to share. Please read the following public service announcement from BMA, the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance...
********************************************************************************

It's been almost a year of discussing the future management of the Boulder mountain backdrop - including the possibility of a bike trail from Baseline Road to Doudy Draw and Marshall Mesa. Community Collaborative Group (CCG) members have spent the last 12 months in meetings, all the while pushing off the really big issues till later.

'Later' comes this Monday, Sept 13

Over the last twelve months, BMA has taken a low profile approach to the West TSA, minimizing our public rhetoric so the CCG can meet and collaborate as intended; with minimal noise from the court of public opinion.

Well, the same can't be said of the anti bike crowd who are dead set against even modest bike access in the West TSA. Click here and here to look at the anti bike propaganda being distributed at trailheads in the West TSA. The goal of this flyer is to inspire fear and get users to overwhelm the CCG mountain bike meeting this Monday. They think they can load the room up using fear tactics and outright distortions and win the day.

That's unlikely to happen. The CCG has heard all the arguments before, and the rules of the meeting severely constrains public input to 30 minutes. There simply isn't going to be an opportunity for the public to engage the CCG and OSMP in this meeting.

We here at BMA have worked hard to take the high road and not engage these scurrilous debates, and we are continuing that tactic. While there is a lot to said for showing up in numbers, we don't believe this type of reaction is productive to the process that OSMP and the CCG have struggled with for a year now.

It's for this reason that we encourage you to stay away from this meeting. But you can still voice your support of modest access for mountain bikes in the Boulder mountain backdrop and your disappointment in the fear tactics and outright distortions of the anti-bike crowd.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

It's not time to show up,
it's time to speak up.

Sign the petition here. Add whatever personal comments you would like and send. We will present the petition and signatures to the CCG

We at BMA care deeply about the outcome of this meeting and hope that the CCG will have the courage and determination to make the hard decisions the Boulder community requires.

Summer riding at Eldora?

I just got this info from the BMA newsletter. Check it out!

Eldora Ski Area Master Planning Meeting

TONIGHT

Wednesday Feb 10th 4pm - 8pm
Boulder Library - Canyon Theater
1001 Arapahoe Ave

or

Tues Feb 16th 1pm - 6pm
Eldora Mountain Resort Main Lodge
2861 Eldora Road

Yesterday in the Daily Camera Eldora Mountain Resort ran a ad inviting the public to attend one of three open houses as they seek input on suggestions for facilities and upgrades at the resort. They are also updating their "Master Plan".

Summer programming at Eldora.... if that is something you would like to see develop at this ski area, NOW is the time to communicate that desire.

Unfortunately, summer programming does not seem to be on Eldora's radar at this time. Comments can be submitted online by clicking here, and there is opportunity to ask the ski resort for a summer program that includes cycling. If this is something you would like to see develop at this local ski area, NOW is the time to do it. Expressing that desire in person is likely more effective than submitting comments, but in either case, we suggest that you ask that you be kept up to date with this process and challenge Eldora to consider implementing summer program.

They will never know what we want until we tell them....

be seen wearing this

I Ride and I Vote BMA stickers available at the shop. These aren't tool box stickers, these are to get the message out that we've got some clout. Come by and pick one up.

Picnic Table is In!

Just got this shot of the Picture Rock picnic table. I'll get another shot of the table next time I'm up - the rock is made of actual "Picture Rock". BMA paid for the table and Boulder County just got it installed. A plaque on the table indicating all the work BMA did for the trail and the county is forthcoming. The views from the table are to the north down the valley to Lyons and are outstanding!

BMA Sufferfest Recap

Yesterday was the 2nd Annual BMA Sufferfest. A few good peeps from BMA started this ride last year and this year was the same route. Riders would start in Nederland, take a quick tour of the West Mag trails, then back up to Eldora townsite, up 505 road to Caribou, down Rainbow Lakes Road, then north on Sourdough. BMA set up camp at Beaver Res road, but riders had the extra option of doing the Middle St Vrain road and Buchanan Pass trail. I wasn't camping, so I parked at Camp Dick/Peaceful Valley. I planned on riding the 19 miles or so on the road to Ned where I would start the ride. The forecast was for highs in the 50s with a 60% chance of rain. Sufferfest.

Skies were cold and grey, but no precip when I started pedaling at 6:45am. I made it about 5 or 6 miles down the road when Debaser, good friend and Sufferfest volunteer, pulled over on his way to Ned. I hopped in for a ride. I was hesitant at first, but was glad I hopped in 2 miles later when the vehicle started to get rained on! Finally made it to Ned with time for coffee and a breakfast burrito at Happy Trails.

Despite the chilly and damp weather, there was a strong turnout. By this time, the rain had let up and the skies were cloudy and gray.

The initial tour de West Mag was great. The trails were in great shape and the dirt was perfectly tacky. We rolled out of West Mag and up the road to Eldora townsite. I had never been on 505 and was eager to get up to Caribou. Skies were holding. The view was great. You can see Eldora ski resort at the top hiding in the clouds.



The climb up 505 was a tolerable 2000' gain on a pretty good jeep road. We rode thru a little rain here and there and a little snow here and there.


So far, conditions were good. We rolled out of Caribou and down to the southern Sourdough trailhead.

After starting the climb on Sourdough things started to get bad. It started with a light drizzle, but quickly turned to wet snow. I was happy to have left my Swobo woolie on. I had a shortsleeve baselayer on underneath. So far that combo was great. I love the natural ability of wool and I especially love my Swobo wool top. I was still relatively comfortable on my upper body. My gloves and shoes were totally soaked though, and I was starting to get chilly.


Further up the climb on Sourdough and conditions were getting more miserable. Sufferfest.


I quit taking pics at this point. My gloves were completely saturated, my shoes and socks completely saturated and I was starting to loose feeling in my extremeties. For the remainder of the ride, I was relegated to taking turns between running and riding. It's a good trick. Running helps get your circulation going. After 5 minutes or so of running, I could start to feel my toes. By now the weather was full on in suckville. Thunder, lightning, and snow dumping down. Sufferfest. Finally made it to Beaver Res road where BMA had officially called the ride. I don't think anyone was up for Buchanan Pass at this point. I stopped for just a bit, just enough to down a mug of hot cocoa. My feet and hands warmed up nicely. From here, I still had to go north to the car but it was all downhill. That was the worst part, as it turned out. By now the snow had turned to grapple and light hail. The trail down to the car was the most technical of the day. I couldn't feel my extremeties again because the trail was 1-2" deep water wherever the trail could hold it. The water was cold, too. It was just about ready to freeze over by the time I'd ride thru it.

Well, I guess that's about it. I was mildly hypothermic by the time I got to the car. Took me about 5 minutes struggling with the clips to get my backpack off. Even longer to take my shoes off. Good stuff. This ride was definitely a character builder, one that I'll look back on fondly after I've forgotten the pain. That ought to take a couple of years. Sufferfest. I'll be back next year.

4th Annual BMA Gala Banquet

It was a good night last night. I mean, every night when we get a babysitter is a good night but last night was really good. A great night for the Boulder Mountain Bike Alliance. We set sails for the St Julien Hotel in Boulder last night for the 4th Annual BMA Banquet.

Local celebrity announcer, Dave Towle, was MC for the packed audience.

Ed Peralt (left) from the USFS on stage bragging about how great our local Bike Patrol is. Here is is awarding Mtb Mike Barrow with most hours patrolled last year. Mtb Mike raises his hands and proclaims that, yes indeed, he is the man.

Unique auction items. From super pimpy pimpin ladies apparel


to blingy blingy wheels from Crank Bros.

This year BMA definitely had more auction items than I've seen at all 3 other banquets combined. There was even a trip to the Galapagos Islands that went for more than $5k. That's a good chunk of change donated to BMA.

After hours in the St Julien bar, BMA officers say "thanks."

A note of thanks for all advocates and volunteers

I'm tired. Tired in a good way, though. In just a week I went from riding about 1.5 times per week to getting 8 hours of riding in over the last 5 days. I cannot believe that it's been so super nice this early in February. Guess we'll have to ride this one out to see what happens.

My good streak started on Sunday. The shop closes relatively early and I sneak out of Redstone as close to 3pm as I can. Gotta maximize daylight, after all. And the days are getting longer, too. Anyway, Sunday was Superbowl Sunday, a date that has always mixed well with riding. It's a day when most folk are prepping for their Bowl party and no one is out on the trails. Antelope was my choice to climb. After riding up the rock garden for years and years, I still appreciate the variety that Antelope offers and I'm thankful for its construction I rode Hall Ranch completely solo that day.


I mean really solo. I didn't see another soul until I was down in the parking lot. I rode from home up Antelope, did one loop, and came back down thru the rock garden. It was great. I was even lucky enough to hook up with Keith in the parking lot to ride back thru town. Keith had to get straight home, but it wasn't quite dark yet. I opted to detour about 2 miles up into Picture Rock. Because I could. Again, more variety of local singletrack. Again, not a soul.

Just me and the deer out enjoying the bliss.
Monday was good, too. I decided to settle unfinished business so I headed from home again. This time to Picture Rock and Heil.



Rode up PR, right on Wild Turkey, Ponderosa Loop clockwise and back down Wild Turkey North and Picture Rock. Again, nary a soul. I did encounter 3 people, though. Guess it was kind of busy. Wild Turkey, especially the north section, is really good, too. I like the way that it is wearing in.
Have I mentioned lately how much I'm loving my Intense Tracer VP? I'll have an in depth review of it up shortly. I promise. Really.
For our weekly Tuesday nighter, we met up in South Boulder at the Marshall Mesa trailhead. GB Matty and I used to ride that all the time 10 years ago when all that was legal and open was Community Ditch and lower Doudy Draw. Now with more trail opened to bikes and more trails built recently, it's actually a pretty good network of trails.
We were thankful to need a map. None of us had ridden down there and we just had to doublecheck that we knew what we were doing. South Boulder has really blossomed into a great riding area. It's only going to get better, too.

Today I was able to sneak out for a quick lunch lap with OBs Chad and Jeremy. We left town heading up 36 for a quickie. Up Antelope and down the Rock Garden and back to town. As we rode out on 36, I couldn't help but recall how crappy that road used to be just a few years ago. It was narrow, no shoulder, and nowhere to go off the side of the road due to a close in cliff. Now we've got a wide on street bike path and a crusher fine trail right beside it. Much mo better now.
So what's all this have to do with Advocates and Volunteers? Without them, none of this wouldv'e been doable. Antelope Trail was a gift from the BLM that stipulated multi use recreation. BMA stepped in and helped get it built. Likewise with Picture Rock and Wild Turkey at Heil. You can thank BMA for those babies, too. Without their persistent lobbying and selfless trailwork dedication, we probably wouldn't have either of those trails in our local aresenal. Ditto that on South Boulder. Same with the bike path on 36. If Lyons pro trails folk had not lobbied for it's existence, CDOT never would've built the road bike friendly. So thanks all Advocates and Volunteers that had a hand in all of this. Mountain biking in Boulder County is alive and well. And flourishing.

weekend wrap up

BMA's Sufferfest was this weekend. Big ride on Sat, starting in Ned and ending at Beaver Res Road for camping and partying. I couldn't make the ride as I had to have the shop open, but I was able to load the truck up with 15 cases of donated Dale's Pale Ale for the campout.
Before I knew it, it was dark, the fire was raging, and focusing was difficult.
I guess that means we had a good time. Sunday morning we rose to a wonderfull egg sammich breakfast courtesy of Botsy and Andria of BMA (thanks!). Chris and I missed the 9:30 start time apparently so we set off by our lonesome. When we realized that we wouldn't ever catch the guys we originally intended to ride with, we struck up our own route. We cut thru a couple of old, old, unknown ski trails back to Sourdough, UP South St Vrain, up Waldrop to Brainard lake road, then back to camp via Sourdough.

The USFS only recently signed Waldrop as a bike legal trail. I try to avoid riding it often due to big marshes, river crossings, etc. Waldrop is on the USFS management plan for improvements (bridges, etc) but I had heard that construction wouldn't start until Little Raven was 100% done, which it is not.

Guess I was wrong.

There's already a couple of really, really nice structures on Waldrop as well as some skinny plank bridges thru the bogs. Sweet!

Tired as we were when we rolled back to camp, we found that our camp had seen a visitor. There was evidence of bear activity and we saw the bear scurry off when we arrived. He was pretty darn big.

Apparently we didn't scare him off much.

After taking a few pics, we were out the door. Didn't want to play Darwin award winner with that one. I think he ate well. There was lots of bagels and beer left over.

I got out for 2.5 hours on the cross bike today. It was chilly.

BMA Sufferfest 2008

BMA's got a new event dialed up for next month. Registration (free!) is going on now and is limited.

What is it? A ride from Nederland, up through Caribou, across the entire Sourdough trail, up Buchanon Pass trail, and back to camp. There's 4 or 5 afternoons of good riding - all compiled into one day. Check it out:


Quote:
SufferFest 2008 is a fully supported epic mountain bike ride to tour the best (singletrack) and the worst (roads) that Boulder County has to offer. But the goal here is universal – to suffer through an epic ride at the hands of Boulder County's rocky, technical trails and jeep roads. The ride will occur September 6th with a campout at Beaver Reservoir. Food (by Chef Jason of the St. Julien) and drink (courtesy of the Oskar Blues Bus) will be provided – as will shuttles back to Boulder or Nederland the morning of the 7th after we camp out (but wouldn't you rather ride down?). If you have the legs to conquer the mountains, this is a ride you do not want to miss. If you can't ride all day and love the hurt, best sit this one out till you've trained up.



More info and registration here:

http://www.bma-mtb.org/events/sufferfest2008.php

Boulder Valmont Bike Park!

Boulder's Valmont Bike Park is finally almost to fruition but they need more help. Buy a brick or donate time or money to this amazing municipal project.

Bobby Noyes, Pete Webber, and Chris Grealish have been instrumental in this happening. They've been working on this for over 10 years. Here's aht Rocky Mounts' Bobby Noyes has to say about the project, regarding an email that Pete Webber had sent out:

On Aug 7, 2008, at 9:06 PM, "Bobby Noyes" wrote:

Pete's email hit the nail on the head, but we need to make the community more aware of some of the history. Valmont has been in the works for a long time.....

It all started out in 1996 when Chris Grealish, Lou Patterson and I got together. The city had just purchased Valmont, and had a public input meeting to decide the future of the park. We decided to do a mailing to every licensed bike racer in the city of Boulder. We sent out 500 letters (pre-internet), and at the first meeting, there were 68 citizens present, 65 of which were riders like us. From this point, the project took on a life of its own. Chris and I had about $18 between us (no joke), and Lou Patterson from Pearl Izumi offered to pay the postage, it's good to have friends. At this meeting, I met Pete and he showed similar conviction.

Besides the obvious benefits to us, the users of the park and the next generation, we have an opportunity to pay Pete Webber and Chris Grealish back for their years of tireless work.

Pete has worked for IMBA for years, putting together the world's best trails for us to ride. Boulder is Pete's backyard, and he wants to implement these in our community. The canvas is blank, he is totally fired up to get to work, and we need to let him paint his picture. I don't know if he is more excited to design the place, or put the screws to guys half his age, history will answer that.

Chris Grealish is a rock star, setting up courses, hanging banners, marshalling corners, sporting the orange vest, and dealing with various agencies in the name of hosting bike races (all under marginal and temporary conditions). Valmont will be Chris's dream, a permanent cyclocross facility, befitting the finest events in the world. One day at Valmont, Chris will be handing a rainbow jersey to a guy like Verveken or Nys, and I will be in the crowd with a big smile on my face.

Bobby