Monthly Meeting in Review

Great turnout for our meeting last night. I think I counted 45 people. Great to see so many faces interested in banging their shins on rocks and going over the bars:)
Here’s a quick report on what was discussed…

1. Kristy Wumkes of the USFS attended the meeting and announced a new trail system that has just opened for mountain bike use up in the Red Feather area. Park at the Mount Margaret parking lot and look straight across the road. The entrance to the Molly Moon trail system is right there. At this time, trails aren’t marked. Trail maps and a kiosk are in the works. If you plan on riding or patrolling up there, check in at the Forest Service’s Visitor Center off of Centre street for more detailed info. Or, do as our fearless leader, Barb Allan, did and head up there and explore. Sounds like a variety of trails are up there, some similar to the Mt. Margaret trails and some more challenging.
2. Database Issues: Info from our database seems to have mysteriously disappeared. Please check your patrol rides and event participation for the first couple of weeks of July. If something is missing, please re-enter it. We are now doing nightly back-ups of our database.
3. Certified Patroller Issues: Have you completed all of your requirements for becoming a Certified Patroller but the info isn't registered on the website? Please contact a board member if this is a problem. We’ll get it taken care of as soon as possible.
4. Group Rides: Saturday Group Rides have been assigned to Teams. This Saturday, Team 1 is responsible for having someone at Soderberg to lead the ride. Remember, these are ‘No Drop’ rides.
5. Nathan from Pedal to the Point Bike Tour is in need of 10-15 volunteers for the August 9th event that raises money for Turning Point. Sign up on our website if you can volunteer.
6. October 10th has been designated for the Crankin’ Competition – Overland Team Games with a bbq to follow. Get it on your calendar. More details to follow.
7. Rob Foster talked about the goals of the Trails Team. If you are interested in being actively involved in trail building, maintenance, and access issues, the Trails Team meets the 2nd Tuesday of every month at Café Vino. Note: yesterday's blog stated that it was next week. This is not correct. Check the calendar for the correct date.
8. Shoreline Trail at the top of Maxwell continues to erode. We are in discussion with the County as to how to go about fixing it. We’ll keep you posted.
9. This Sunday, August 2nd, Barb Allan will lead the Adopt-a-Highway Clean Up. She needs a handful of people to help out.
10. Overland MTB Club jerseys are available for $40.
11. If you have an idea for a project that the club can help fund, please contact one of the board members.
12. Tour de Fat is right around the corner. This year there will be 2 shifts instead of 3. TIPS Training info is on our calendar.
13. There are a ton of events coming up. Check the calendar for dates. Trail days at Hewlett, Wathan, and Curt Gowdy. Lou’s Cruise, Outreach at DBB, etc.
14. Results for some Fort Collins Riders at Nationals in SolVista. Congrats to 4 local riders!

• Fellow Overland Mountain Bike Club Member, Georgia Gould took the Gold Medal in the Women’s Pro Short Track.
• Jon Vivolo, CSU Cycling, took the Gold in the Cat 1 Men’s 19-24 Cross Country Race
• Teenage Phenom, Skyler Trujillo took home two Silver Medals – 1 in the Cat 1 Men’s 17-18 Cross Country Race and on in the Cat 1 Jr. 15-18 Short Track Race.
• Heath Garvey over at Lee’s Cyclery took home the Bronze Medal in the Cat 1 Men’s 30+ Short Track Race.

15. Todd Thibedeau announced that Curt Gowdy has been selected as an IMBA Epic Trail this year. A celebration will happen in September some time. Keep an eye out for details. Congrats to Todd and all the trail builders and volunteers who have put untold hours into making Curt Gowdy a great place to ride.

Oh, and here's a quick update on points for the season so far.
Events Points Leaders: Doug Baker and Pete Skram, tied at 62 points
Patrol Points Leader: Dave Frisbie with 43 points
Total Points Leader: Pete Skram with 88 points
Team Points Leader: Team Two with 573 points

Weekly (Hopefully dry) Outlook for July 27th

Greetings Singletrack Souls,

Curt Gowdy showed it to us all this past weekend. Great trail riding, big blue skies, a curious horse at 3 a.m. and a fear-inducing, duck and cover thunderstorm. A good time was had by all. Todd T. took great care of us and Doug and Mary M. made sure we had plenty of food to eat. Great teamwork getting the fire started on a soggy Saturday afternoon. If you haven’t made a point to getting up to Curt Gowdy to ride yet, get on it. The trails make the hour or so drive worth it. By the way, here's a little video starring our very own Steve Lacey and some of his riding buddies the week before up at Gowdy. (Picture: Soggy patrol clothes from a short-lived ride on Saturday)

This week’s events make for plenty of time to get out and patrol some trails. If you haven’t made it up the Poudre Canyon to patrol any of the ‘Gulches’, why not this week? It’ll be cooler up there and the trails always make for a good ride.

Colorado Trail Teen Returns

Remember Cassi Mason and her dad, Tony heading out to ride the Colorado Trail? They’re back. Here’s a bit of info from an email from them:

“We are back from our mountain bike tour of the Colorado trail. We had a wonderful 16 day adventure. You can check it out on our website. Thanks for everyone who helped to make it happen. We could not have done it without you.

Also thanks to everyone who helped us raise money for the Fort Collins Bike Co-op. For those who pledged but have not paid you can go to their website and contribute online or you can mail them a check. For those of you who may have missed the earlier emails, we were riding to raise money for the Bike Co-op, a local nonprofit that fixes and recycles bikes for folks here and in developing countries overseas.

Have a great summer and keep pedaling,” --Cassi and Tony Mason

And here goes the calendar stuff for the week:

Monday, July 27 – 6:30 pm, Monthly Meeting at Catalyst Coffee,

C’mon out and talk mountain biking. Check out the areas latest issues and upcoming events. Catalyst is at the northwest corner of Shields and Horsetooth.

Wednesday, July 29 – 5:30pm, Singletrack Social - Group Ride
More and more folks have been strapping on their helmets and coming out to ride. Last week we broke into two groups one heading around Pineridge for a bit mellower ride and one that headed up Maxwell and down Shoreline. We’ve been meeting for socializing afterwards. If you plan on sticking around, bring something to share – food or beverage. Hope to see you out there.

Saturday, August 1 – 7:30am, Trail Day at Hewlett Gulch with New Belgium
Once again, our fine friends at New Belgium Brewery will head up the canyon to give Hewlett Gulch some much needed TLC. These trail days tend to be fun, productive, and are also a great way for us to give a little back to our main sponsor. If you plan on going, please email Tamar Smolowitz at NBB ( tsmolowitz [at] newbelgium.com ) and let her know you plan on being there. Also, please remember to sign up on our website. You can meet at NBB at 7:30 a.m. or be up at the parking lot of Hewlett Gulch by 8 a.m. Heck, throw your bike in and be up there early, get in a ride or a patrol, and then work. Or, ride afterwards and check out your fine work.

Saturday, August 1 – 8:30am, Singletrack Social - Soderberg Trailhead

Sunday, August 2nd – 4:50 p.m, Six Day Races at the CSU Oval
Come on out and race pell-mell around the CSU oval. Fun to watch too! Lots of speed. Kids are welcome to race too!

Tuesday, August 11th - Trails Team Meeting @ Cafe Vino. Interested in helping out on the trails? This is the meeting to go to.

Enduro Riders: Several of us (at least 10 or 12 that I know of) will beat ourselves up on Saturday also. (At this point, I think at Trail Day at Hewlett Gulch sounds better.) If you plan to ride, show your club spirit and wear your Overland jersey! See you at the start and finish.

Remember, the Tour de Fat rides into town on September 5th. As far as I know, they're still looking for someone who wants to trade their car for a sweet, homegrown Black Sheep bike. Get it on your calendars and tell your friends. We need all hands on deck.

See you on the trails.

--Kory

Weekly Outlook for July 20th

Greetings Fellow Knobbyists,

A couple of things before I get into the calendar:

1. If you happen to venture down the Shoreline Trail – the one that is part of the Foothills Trail system that you can access from the Rotary parking lot up off of Centennial Drive – be careful. Several sections of trail have been hit hard from the rains and have taken the trail down to a tire’s width. We’re currently in talks with Larimer County to come up with a solution to those problems and may be looking for some help to do some maintenance.

2. The Trails Team meets the first Tuesday of each month and it sounds like the meetings are going well. Interested? Check the calendar for details.

3. As we get closer to August, the Tour de Fat looms in the not-so-very-far distance. Get it on your calendar. Get it on your family and friends’ calendars. We need ‘All hands on deck’ and then some. This is our major fundraiser for the year and it enables us to continue to do great advocacy and trail work.

4. Sometime in September, we’ll be having some friendly Team Games followed by a BBQ. We'll keep you posted. If you have ideas for any fun bike-related games, email them to Kory.

5. Looking for some variety? Soapstone Natural Area has great trails that connect with Red Mountain Open Space and the Big Hole Open Space. I highly recommend descending the Cheyenne Trail. The picture up top is from Tom W. and Jeff S. who did a patrol up there on Thursday. We rode on Friday and easily connected about 35 miles of trail. It's beautiful. The trails twist and turn and roll and make you smile. The Plover Trail just opened last week and is the only trail I'd recommend against. It wasn't much fun as it's all flat and out in the middle of a prairie. Much of the trail follows a dirt road. One important note: There is no water at either Soapstone or Red Mountain. Bring your own.

And now the Weekly Happenings:

Wednesday, July 22nd – Singletrack Social with socializing afterwards. We’ve had good turnouts lately. C’mon out and join the fun. If you plan on socializing, bring something to contribute.

Friday, July 24th – Sunday, July 26th – Curt Gowdy Campout. Bring your family. Bring your bikes. Bring a smile. We’re heading up to Curty Gowdy for some good ol’ fashioned riding and goofing off.

Saturday, July 25th – Singletrack Social. The Social Ride relocates to Curt Gowdy this week and is in conjunction with the campout. The ride is open to anyone.

ATTN: The Beaver Meadows Mountain Bike Fest’s date has been changed. More info here: http://www.fccyclingfest.com/beaver-meadows-mountain-bike-festival

Monday, July 27th – Monthly Meeting – Catalyst Coffee – 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there.

That’s about it. Enjoy your week and get out and ride.

Weekly (Sorta) Outlook for the Week of July 13th and Beyond

Greetings Dirt Pedalers,

Sorry for the layoff between posts. Vacation got in the way…oh…and that job hunt thing. So, it’s Monday, July 13th and we’ve got a bunch of stuff on the mountain biking radar. So, here it goes… Calendar of events for the week(s) first and Other News following.

Tuesday, July 14th: Trails Team Meeting at Café Vino – 6:30 p.m. Anyone concerned about trails is welcome to attend.


Wednesday, July 15th: Singletrack Social leaving Maxwell Parking Lot at 6 p.m. Always a possibility for socializing afterwards.
Wednesday, July 15th: Ben Ollet continues his Skills Clinics over at Lory State Park. Sign up HERE for info.


July 17th – 19th or so: Apparently, Team 3 wants to do some serious team building this weekend. Many of them are rallying in Breckenridge for some good ol’ fashioned riding and other silliness. My guess is they’re planning to figure out how to win the Teams Point Contest…Any other Teams going to answer?


Saturday, July 18th and 19th: The Curt Gowdy Music Festival. Ride, camp, listen. Enjoy.

Saturday, July 18th: Singetrack Social leaving Soderberg Parking Lot at 9 a.m.

Saturday, July 18th: Trail Day on Wathan with Team B.O.B.

Sunday, July 19th: Urban Assault Ride. Check HERE for info. This is a fundraiser for the Fort Collins Bike Co-Op. Voluteers are needed to help with the event. Contact the Co-op to offer your time.
Saturday, July 25th and Sunday, July 26th: Overland’s Summer Campout!! Woo hoo! Come on up to Curt Gowdy. Bring your family. Bring your bikes. Ride. Play games. Have fun in the sun. Big ol’ BBQ on Saturday night. If you plan on coming, sign up on the club WEBSITE so we know what types of supplies to acquire.

Monday, July 27th: Monthly Meeting at Catalyst Coffee. Extra points will be awarded to the Team who shows up with the most members.

In Other News…

While up in Breckenridge for the 4th of July, I observed a few club members heading out for torture of the Firecracker 50. Kudos to Jim Fu, Rob Foster, and Jo VanCutsem. Check out the pics up top from the event.

FYI: Mountain Bike Patrolling can lead to rather ‘prickly’ moments. One of our very own had the ‘pleasure’ of assisting an injured rider whose lycra just didn't seem to ward of an attack by a hungry cactus. Any guesses as to who the lucky patroller was? And his/her patient

Rode Lory State Park on Saturday. Nice work on the trails everybody. Your hard work seems to be holding up well.

Riding the Laramie Enduro? A whole gang of Overlanders have signed up for the punishment of the Laramie Enduro. We’d like an accurate count of who will be out on the trail that day. The list, that I know of so far consists of: Ron Chambers, Josh Shafer, Corey Rhodes, Jim Fu, Matt Solley, Tommy Berglund, Mike Nosler, Dewayne Norvill, Bill Heisterman, Kory Swanson, and Scott Lamons. Registered and I don’t know? Shoot me an email. Also, several riders have mentioned how cool it would be for all of us to show up in our new jerseys.

Reminder: The Tour de Fat is September 5 and we need every single one of you and your closest friends and family. Get it on the calendar and start getting after your friends and family to get it on theirs too.

The Fort Collins Bike Co-Op has received $3500 in grants to train League of American Bicycling Instructors. Contact Rick Price at the Co-op for more info.

What do you think of this? Some Saturday or Sunday in early Fall, an Overland Teams Competition including a ride, games, food, etc? Sounds like fun to me. We'll see if we can get something like this put together...

I think that’s about it. Hope you’re making time to ride. Hope to see you on Wednesday evening.