Outlook for the Week of June 1st

Hey Dirt Pedalers,

June's here and so are lots of activities. Check out new member, Pete Skram, helping out at Take-A-Kid Mountain Biking Day.

This week's stuff:

Monday, June 1st - Monthly Meeting @ 6:30 at Catalyst Coffee - NW corner of Shields and Horsetooth. Following the meeting, we will congregate at my house (2100 Bronson Court) and head out for a Night Ride. If you are interested, make sure your lights are charged and that they are at least 10w or the equivalent. We will ride Pineridge, Maxwell to the top, possibly Shoreline or Ridgeline and back. This ride's usually about 13 miles. Bring a cold beverage for after the ride. Please RSVP if you can make the ride so I know how many to expect.

Monday - Friday - Spring Canyon Bike Park Remodel - Join Jason and Pete from IMBA and help them redesign the Bike Park to help make it more sustainable. If you can help out, bring a shovel, gloves, rock bar, rock cradle, etc. They're volunteering their time, let's volunteer some of ours. They'll be working roughly 9-5.

Wednesday - Singletrack Social followed by a Social Hour - Meet at the Maxwell Parking Lot after 5:30. We leave the parking lot no later than 6. We'll meet at Josh Shafer's house (right across the street from the CSU Stadium afterwards for food and beverages)

Saturday - WHOA - Lots of Stuff

Grand Opening at Soapstone Natural Area and Red Mountain Natural Area. We need help with the tent and rides. Sign up on the website.

Summer Slam at Curt Gowdy - Great Family Event. Staff the tent, go for a ride, have your kids participate in all sorts of cool activities. This is a Saturday and Sunday Event. Help is needed both days. Sign Up on the website.

Singletrack Social - 8:30 a.m. at Soderberg - We need someone to lead these rides. Preferably two people - one to lead a 'chill' ride and one to lead a more 'advanced' ride. We've had some beginners showing up and want to make sure they have a good time, their questions can be answered and that they don't get hammered into the ground. Please sign up on the website.

See you all tomorrow night.

--Kory

Giving Our Trails Some Respect

Some of you may already be aware that last Tuesday, May 19th, we had our first ‘Trail-specific’ meeting for Overland Mountain Bike Club/Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol for this season. For those of you who aren't aware, Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol, and now Overland Mountain Bike Club, has been working with local land agencies and looking after the trails in our area for more than a decade. In recent years, we have finished the Kimmons Trail and the Howard Trail over in Lory State Park. We have funded trail projects. Recently, we've given a grant to the USFS for a crucial re-route on Hewlett Gulch, a trail we helped maintain also. We helped build alternate lines on the Ginny Trail at Bobcat Ridge. The photo above is from last fall on our Bobcat Trail Day. And these are just to name a few.

That being said, it was nice to finally have a meeting dedicated to discussing our local trail networks and our long term vision for putting Fort Collins on the national map as a mountain bike destination. Although the turnout wasn’t as big as I’d hoped, the people who did show up brought plenty of passion and knowledge to the discussion.

Our first meeting was pretty laid back. We mostly just started the discussion about our trails -where we are today and where we want to be in the future. Some of the topics that were brought up:

1) The need to start a Trail Committee within Overland Mountain Bike Club with monthly meetings and social gatherings to build camaraderie.

2) Start a “Big Picture” plan for the greater Fort Collins/Northern Colorado area by mapping out where we would like to build trails in the future in an effort to make our area a world class mountain bike destination.

3) Applying for grant money to help fund our vision

4) A real need to perform routine maintenance to currently existing trail networks, Shoreline, Maxwell, Horsetooth Mountain, etc.

5) Building an experienced Trail Maintenance Team within the group

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday June 9th, location to be announced. If you're passionate about trails and are interested in furthering the role of mountain biking in Northern Colorado, please show up and bring a friend. We'd like to hear from all interested riders from XC to DH. Check the calendar at http://www.overlandmtb.org/ for more details about our gathering place.

Thanks again to all dedicated members, including our hometown hero, Georgia Gould and her husband Dusty, who took time out of their schedules to come meet with us.

~Rob Foster

Outlook for the Week of May 25th

Hey Dirt Pedalers,

The next couple of weeks offer plenty of opportunities to get out and share your love for mountain biking. Here's a quick rundown from Monday to Monday:

Wednesday, May 27 - Singletrack Social - Group Ride (Weather permitting, of course. It could be a bit sloppy out there.)

Saturday, May 30 - Lory State Park Mountain Bike Festival (We still need volunteers to lead rides and staff the tent.) Please note: The Singletrack Social will be a part of the Mountain Bike Fest. It will not be held at Soderberg this week. The ride will begin at 10:30 a.m.

Saturday, May 30 - Westridge Trail Day - Trail work day. Check out our website calendar for more details if you feel like digging in the dirt.

Monday, June 1 - Monthly Meeting at Catalyst Coffee, 6:30 p.m.

Also, the following weekend,

June 5th - Northern Colorado Outdoors and Full Cycle host a Summer Kick-Off.

June 6th, looks to be pretty busy. The City's Soapstone Natural Area and the County's Red Mountain Natural Area will host their Grand Openings. Overland will be hosting Group Rides. And, Curt Gowdy State Park hosts its 'Summer Slam' - an outdoor extravaganza with all sorts of activities for families, including mountain biking! Both events will need volunteers.

See you out on the trails!

When a Rattlesnake Bites

The weather's warming up, people are on the trail and so are RATTLESNAKES. There seems to be plenty of wives tales out there regarding rattlesnake bite treatment so we went straight to people who know. Tim Gaines, our resident First Aid/CPR expert and our resident E.R. doc, Matt Solley get us up to speed on rattlesnake bites.

The best advice? Don't let it happen. Stay alert when you're on the trail.

That being said, if you encounter someone who has been bitten or you are bitten by a rattlesnake bite, here's what to do:
Rule #1: Call 911 (If your phone doesn't work, go immediately to Rule #2)
Rule #2: GET TO THE HOSPITAL AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
Rule #3: Monitor the patient's AIRWAY, BREATHING, & CIRCULATION but don't forget the goal of Rule #2.
Rule #4: Remove jewelry, watches or tight clothing. The bitten extremity will swell dramatically and hinder circulation. They'll also be much more difficult to remove.
Rule #5: Remain calm and limit movement of the bitten part if possible. This becomes complicated for the leg or foot, especially if you're alone. If you have a SAM Splint or something similar, quickly splint the bitten extremity. Use common sense and don't do anything that will prevent or delay the Goal of Rule #2. If you're alone get to a phone or get help as soon as possible.
Rule #6: Do not try to suck out the venom. It doesn't work. Remember the Goal of Rule #2.
Rule #7: Don't use a tourniquet. It only wastes time. Remember the Goal of Rule #2
Rule #8: Don't ice it. It only wastes time. Remember the Goal of Rule #2
Rule #9: Leave the snake alone after it bites you. If you want to prove that it was a rattlesnake take a picture.
Rule #10: Monitor the progress of the swelling of the bitten extremity every 15 minutes. You can do this by drawing a circle around the swelling with a pen or marker but make sure you're working on the Goal of Rule #2.
Rule #11: Keep your cool. You'll probably be fine if you get to the hospital and get anti-venom in you.

One last bit of advice: Get some medical insurance if you don't have any. Rattlesnake anti-venom is very expensive. You'll get taken care of in the ER regardless of your insurance status, but I'd hate to see you get slammed with a 100k doctor bill later on. As an aside, if you're reading this then you're pretty active so have a decent chance of getting hurt anyways in some other way, shape or form.

Miles and Miles of Kid Smiles

Not drizzle, not clouds, not gloomy weather could stop forty or so eager kids from strapping on their helmets and throwing a leg over their mountain bikes for some great dirt riding fun last Saturday, May 16th. Overland Mountain Bike Club's first Take-A-Kid Mountain Biking Day, the Spring Event, turned out to be a great success.

Kids, parents, and volunteers alike headed into the Pineridge Natural Area from the Maxwell Natural Area parking lot with smiles on their faces and rode a mixture of double-track and singletrack. Some, who upon return to the parking lot, hadn't gotten enough time on their bikes, eagerly headed up the Maxwell trail for a little bit longer ride before the pizzas showed up.

Of course I'm biased here, having a couple of kids who took part in the event, but there's nothing better than seeing eager kids look at a rocky downhill section of trail and just let it fly. How great it is for them to look down that trail, at the turns, at the rocks, at the uphills, at the downhills and make it through it all and return to the parking lot with a sense of accomplishment.

A quote from one parent regarding the day, "I just wanted to say thank you for everything that you did to put together the Spring Take A Kid Mtn Biking day today. My children, as well as myself, enjoyed it immensely. We have only been in Fort Collins for about a year so this was such a fun way to find a new great trail and make some new friends. My daughter made best buddies with a little girl in her group and even got invited to her birthday party. What a wonderful community this is. And that's a lot in part because of people like you. Thanks so much.

And that pretty much sums it up. Many thanks to all our volunteers, Team BOB for lending support, Lee's Bike Shop for offering mechanical support, the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Programs for being such gracious hosts, REI, Full Cycle Bikes, Recycled Cycles, and Performance Bike for goodies for the kids, Domino's Pizza, and Tweek'd Gear for the awesome t-shirts.

Oh, and some photos from the day are posted HERE. Open the Gallery called 'Events on the Trail'. More photos will follow....

Lonely Coffee Cup

A very nice, old, and abused coffee cup followed me home from one of the medical classes this year. If it is yours, send me a note and it will come home to you.
tim

Friends of Lory Trail Day

One of our signature events, Friends of Lory Trail Day, digs in on Sunday, June 28th. C'mon out, grab a shovel and get dirty with us. No need to be a member of the club, although we won't discourage that. All you need is a willingness to lend a hand.

Last year we built a bridge and finished the new Kimmons Trail, a little over a mile's worth of new, intermediate trail designed by our very own Greg Mazu, sole proprietor of Singletrack Trails.

Sign-up for this year's event is here: FRIENDS OF LORY SIGN-UP

Outlook for the Week of May 10th-17th

Hey Dirt Pedalers,

Here's a quick rundown of what's going on this week.

Wednesday, May 13th:

Trail Day on the Wathan Trail w/Team Bob ( 9 a.m - 2 p.m.) Get out and work on a great trail!

Singletrack Social - Meet at Maxwell at 5:30. Great opportunity for an after work ride. Group leaves the parking lot no later than 6. Rides tailored to abilities and Barb will be leading a Beginner Skills Clinic for those who are interested.

Saturday, May 16th:

Singletrack Social - Meet @ Soderberg @ 8:30 a.m. Group rides no later than 9 a.m. We need a couple of people to lead this ride who aren't volunteering for Take A Kid.

Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day - 9:30 - 2 p.m. - Meet @ Maxwell Parking Lot. If you're signed up to work, check your times. Set-Up crew needs to be there a bit earlier

Sunday, May 17th:

Community Classic Bike Tour - Volunteers needed. Contact Bill Heisterman for more details. You can find his email on the patrollers list on the Overland website.

Yeti Demo Day @ Devil's Backbone 9 a.m - 2 p.m.

Hope you all are finding time to ride. Look for the full newsletter later this week.

Medical Class Update

The first round of CPR and First Aid classes for 2009 has been completed. Once more i need to grovel - sorry about the scheduling snafu(s).
If you didn't get your CPR or First Aid card at the class, the rest have been mailed out and should be along to you in a couple of days. If not, send me an email.
If you took a class with me this year, the medical and CPR fields for you on the online roster should be correct. Again, if not, send me a note and i will research our records.
Any suggestions for next years classes anyone?
Beginning this Friday, i will be working somewhere near Gould, so you SHOULD come up for a ride!
tim