Celebrate Mountain Biking, Have Your Say, and a Whole Lot More

MOUNTAIN BIKERS CELEBRATE!

It’s time to CELEBRATE! Why? Because we live in mountain bike heaven and we take it for granted. We’re spoiled. Seriously. With hundreds of miles of trails within a short ride/drive from town, great relationships with the land managers who look after our wonderful trails, limited trail-user conflicts, and a great bike culture, we have it good.


Don’t believe me? Drive down to Jefferson County and ask the mountain bikers about the trails they have to fight to keep open. Pick up one of the monthly mountain bike mags and someone’s always working to keep their trails open. We’ve got it good.


And that’s why we’re CELEBRATING. We’re celebrating the RIDE, the TRAILS, the FUN, and the FRIENDS. Oh, and don’t forget the ANTICIPATION of an upcoming season when the snow is gone and the trails are begging us to roll our knobbies over them.

What’s in it for you? Well, for an hour and a half of your time, you’ll get:

• Area mountain biking 411
• The ability to network with other local mountain bikers
• A clear understanding of who Overland Mountain Bike Club is and what we do. From Group Rides to Trail Days. From Patrolling to Kids Days and Silliness. We’ll cover it all.
• A bit of food and refreshments
• And much, much more.

(By the way, if you're even considering joining the club, which, I don’t know why any of you wouldn’t, throw a $20.00 bill in your pocket. Or, sign your household up for $35.00. Best deal in town. Just ask Pete.)


Miramont Cycling Extravaganza!

As one of our Outreach Events and to get people fired up about mountain biking, we’re joining Miramont Athletic Club on Saturday, March 6th for their ‘Cycling Fair’. We need volunteers in two hour shifts to help run the booth. You’ll meet and greet, tell people about Overland and Diamond Peaks, and pass out some goodies. Sign up on our website and let Monty Seitz know what shift works for you. Email him at montyseitz (at) gmail.com. Set up starts around 7:15. The event runs until 3.

"Have A Say In How You'll Play"

This is huge. This is big. Would you like to see more Mountain Bike Opportunities in our State Parks? Show up to, “Have a Say in How You’ll Play”. Every mountain biker in our region would benefit by showing up to this event. Come out in force!

Colorado State Parks invites the public to “Have a Say in How You’ll Play” by attending one of five public meetings scheduled in the state’s major metropolitan regions during the month of March. Public input is needed to help guide development of the state parks’ 2010-2014 Strategic Plan, which will outline the agency’s top priorities and objectives for the next five years.

In developing the strategic plan, Colorado State Parks will also use the public comments to clarify constituent needs and improve services and programs. The strategic plan will be finalized in late summer 2010. Our local scheduled meeting:

• Fort Collins/Loveland: Thursday, March 11, 2010, 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Harmony Library, 4616 South Shields, Fort Collins.

All meetings are free and open to the public—there is no need to RSVP. For more information, visit our website at www.colorado.gov/parks and click the heading “Have Say in How You’ll Play.” Or, call Scott Babcock, Colorado State Parks’ Planning Manager, at (303) 866-3203, ext. 4306.

Mountain Bike Patrolling is Fun
Find out more on March 22nd


Why do people Patrol the trails they ride? Because it’s fun. That’s right, it’s fun. I've been a Certified Mountain Bike Patroller for 3 years now and each ride I've had has been fun. Besides, there are added benefits. 1. You always have a partner to ride with. 2. You get to help:

• Help the land managers understand who’s out using the trails
• Help people who show up unprepared or who get lost or get hurt
• Help report problems that could cause dangerous situations on the trail.

And really, for most of us, it’s not different from anything we’d normally do on the trail anyways. It’s just a little more formal. The training’s a little more in depth. And you have to keep your eyes and ears open a little bit more when you’re on the trail. It’s not about enforcement, it’s about education. And it’s riding. And no matter how you slice and dice it, riding’s always fun. (And, we give out cool stuff to patrollers throughout the season.)


When: March 22nd at New Belgium Brewing Company. 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Snacks and Refreshments will be served.

High School Mountain Biking UPDATE

This is from Jason Trujillo: There are people in our community who are already working on and thinking about the new Colorado High School Cycling League - please read this ARTICLE - which is new this year and a part of the rapidly growing National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA)  Unfortunately, we are all like “Islands” that need to come together and form one alliance. Ryan Scalva, Rob Nobl, and I want to bring interested parties together and form that alliance.


With the help of a group called NCCE (Northern Colorado Cycling Events) we hope to build a foundation this summer and over the next few years that will help all schools towards having their own sustainable programs in the future. If you're interested, contact Jason Trujillo. You can reach him at: jtrujillo (at) newbelgium.com

Two Mountain Bike Summits
The Colorado Mountain Bike Summit is supposed to be happening the first weekend in April in Salida. IMBA’s hosting it. We’re planning on having some representatives down there. Plan on attending. More details soon...

The National Mountain Bike Summit also sponsored by IMBA hits Georgia the first weekend in May. Read the whole article.  We’re planning on having a rep or two there also. We attended one a couple of years back and it was very worthwhile.

And last, but not least, IMBA's offering a chance to win one of 10 free bikes. 

That's all for now folks. See you real soon.

Winter FAC, Improvements, and a few Reminders

There’s a light dusting of snow outside my house today. Not exactly what I was hoping for… Especially since I drove by Bobcat Ridge yesterday and the signs said ‘Trails Open’. By the way, the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas program keeps trail closures updated on their website. If you’re wondering, check them out.

Aside from trails, we’ve got a few things coming your way. Read on:

We’re working to develop our Facebook page as an online source for shared information regarding trail conditions, etc. The page allows people to share their riding experiences, hold discussions, and post information about trails and other upcoming events. Become a fan today!

Improving our Club
As most of you know, our Trails Committee formed last year in order to help us pinpoint our trail needs. The committee meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Café Vino and is still in need of some people to step up and fill some roles. Stacy Schroeder, the committee chairperson, sent out an email highlighting what goals the committee has for the year and the areas she needs help. If you need more info, or deleted that email, please contact Stacy at schroeder.stacy (at) gmail.com.

We are currently working to develop a Communications Committee whose focus will be to help get the good word out about Overland Mountain Bike Club and it's service arm, Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol. We’ll be looking for some help with this also and will let you know what types of things we need from people. If you'd like more info, contact Monty Seitz. You can track him down on Facebook or by logging in through our website.

By the way, committees are a great way for us to focus our individual talents. If there’s an area not yet being developed and you see a need, contact the Board of Directors and share your ideas. We’d love to hear your ideas.

If you haven't registered your membership for this upcoming season, what are you waiting for? Along with our Standard Membership for $20 ($23 online), we've added a 'Household' membership for $35 ($38 online). You might as well go ahead and SIGN UP NOW! It's the best $$ you'll spend all year long.

Dates to Remember

1. 3rd Annual Winter FAC for all Overland Members. Please login to our website and sign up if you plan on attending. This usually turns out to be a pretty well attended event. Hope to see you there. Event information can be found on that website.


2. Spring Kick-Off is March 8th. That’s less than a month away! As always, we’ll be meeting up at New Belgium Brewery and getting the mountain bike season rolling. Hopefully we’ll have some dry trails to ride by then!


3. First Aid Classes - Monday, March 15th @6:00 and Thursday, March 18th @6:00. Bill Heisterman, our new Patrol Director, has been working diligently to get this stuff planned with Tim Gaines and Thuan Ngyuen. Give these guys a big hug the next time you see them. In the meantime, get these classes on your calendar. We’ll let you know how to sign up in the near future.


4. A service of Overland Mountain Bike Club, Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol kicks off its season on Monday, March 22nd at New Belgium Brewery. Mountain Bike Patrolling really isn't what you might assume it to be. Come find out everything you need to know about DPMBP and the great group of patrollers who volunteer countless hours each year.

Cinema Spun

Thanks to the Fort Collins Club for hosting our first ever Cinema Spin Session last Monday night. It was great to see all the folks who showed up! Not a bad way to get in some pedal time when it’s cold, cold, cold. I can’t wait to see you all out on the trail mastering some of those monster drops and other tricks. Thanks to Monty for the use of his dvd player, Josh for the use of his projector, and Matt for his copy of Roam.

Local Youth Competes in World Championships

Overland Mountain Bike Club helped Skyler Trujillo get to Cyclocross World Championships. Check out this VIDEO of him during the race in Tabor. Skyler had a great time and thanks us all for our support.

Summer Trail Job

This just in from Todd Thibodeau, the Grand Master of Trails in Wyoming: Wyoming State Parks has a position at Glendo State Park for a full-time maintenance person who focus will be on trail development. Wyoming State Park plans on developing the next IMBA Epic Trail System at Glendo. This will eventually be a 50 mile trail system that blows anything in this region away. This is a full time seasonal position and will be available from February 15th to August 15. The pay will be around $8 per hour, but it includes housing on-site. If anyone is interested they should contact Paul Gritten at pgritt@state.wy.us or 307-777-8557.

And that’s about it. If you’re just itchin’ to get out and ride that mountain bike of yours, check out the 4:50 Club. That’s right, 4:50 in the a.m. all year long. I bow before them. See you on the 26th, if not sooner.
--Kory

Doesn't Anyone Want to Spin?

Yes. That is correct. You are tired of the snow. I'm tired of the snow. Rumor has it a few trails around town might be rideable. Someone posted something on Facebook about a horse laughing... Someone else visited a bobcat. And others, yes others, yearned so deeply they drove south...and they loved it.

Become A Fan and Tell Us About It
This week looks like it's going to be a bit more clear - 40's during the day. Maybe there'll be some more drying happening. If you are discovering dry trail, please head over to the Overland Mountain Bike Club page at Facebook and post it? We're up to about 70 fans on the page. If you're not a fan, become one. All of us can benefit from your experiences. Attempt a trail and find that it's too muddy? Post it. Find a trail that's rideable? Post it. Have a great ride? Post it. Go over the bars and need to share? Post it.  Not a Facebook member? It's easy enough to sign up.

Cinema Spin Social Ride
Thanks to Todd Heenan, owner of the Fort Collins Club, we're taking over the Spin Room at the Club next Monday night, February 8th at 7 p.m. I posted it last week and got one response. (Thanks Doug.) That either means you aren't reading what I'm writing or you were confused. I'm going with 'confused'...so, let me re-invite you.

Here's the lowdown: It's a group ride - inside. A movie will be shown. It's our version of New Belgium's Bike-In Movie except you ride inside and watch a movie. (This was all inspired by our own Stacy Schroeder) We'll be adding in some sprints and some hill climbs depending on the action in the movie. No one will get 'dropped'. After we've all worked up a sweat, we'll refresh ourselves with cool beverages. (Adult and non-adult refreshments will be available for purchase.) The event is open to all Overland Members but the Spin Room is limited to about 25 riders. You must RSVP to Kory. Entry to the club is free but bring some cash for beverages and snacks. The pedals on the spin bikes are SPD compatible. Not an SPD user? Regular sneakers work fine. That's about it. Fill up my inbox with RSVP's. First come, first served. So far there are two of us. That leaves 23 spots open.

Other Calendar Items:

Winter FAC - At Kory's house, February 26th. 5 p.m. Sign up on the Overland site - the event is listed - so we can plan for food and drinks. Hope to see you all there. This is a members/significant others event.

Season Kick-Off at New Belgium - March 8th. This is where it all begins. Bring your friends. Bring yourself. Bring your colleagues. Great time to talk bikes. Hear about what we have planned for the season. There's something for everyone.

First Patroller's Meeting - March 22nd - Patrolling just might be for you, but how will you know if you don't get the info. Last year we certified 15 new patrollers. They can't all be wrong, can they? Come to this informational meeting on our nationally recognized mountain bike patrol - Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol.

A good deal of events have already been added to the Overland Calendar  All the monthly meetings are listed. The Take A Kid days and the Tour de Fat which is once again going to be held on Labor Day weekend. Get it on your calendar now. We need you.

That's about all. If you're out there riding, beware of the ice, keep the rubber side down, and try not to fall through any holes in the ice. If you're not riding, come on out on Monday and spin the night away. Hope you all have a great week.  

Headin' South in Search of Dirt

Looks like some of our members just couldn't take it anymore and headed south in search of some dry dirt. Thanks to Steve Lacey for submitting. Read on:

Saturday a few of us had enough of the snow and went searching for some terra firma (dirt) in Pueblo. Not only did we find a bit more dirt than we were expecting we found some of the best overall riding we've had in months.

The day started off at 6:00AM Saturday; Doug, Kurt Ireland and myself headed south on 25 heading for the Pueblo Reservoir. A little over 2.5 hours later we pulled into the park and mooched a parking spot in the Bureau of Land Management parking lot. Little did we know a mile or so further down the road there was parking at one of the trailheads. It was a bit chilly to start, 20 degrees, but quickly warmed up as Kurt was eager to put some miles on and we were quickly shedding layers at the Duke trail. We didn't have a decent hardcopy map but pulling up the singletrack.com trail map on Doug's Iphone and zooming in did the trick. The map is colorcoded with the trails' difficulty so naturally we were headed for the black lines. With trail names like Broken Hip, Hooters Alley and Skull Canyon (must have been where Doug picked up his friend in his pack) we had a feeling we may be in for some fun.


Like kids in a candy store we couldn't decide which trail to go down or up so we decided our plan of attack would be to go down each one and turn around and go right back up. Each of the advanced trails are short....but sweet with technical sections to keep them interesting without too much worry of killing yourself. With the right set of lungs all were pretty much ridable in the upward direction as well, except Hooters Alley; I don't think any size lungs could get up that one.....maybe that had something to do with its namesake.


Outer Limits trail is similar in difficulty to our Blue Sky trail binging you close to the cliffs overlooking the reservoir. Tight little turns and small elevation changes makes this trail a screamer and lung burner (if your trying to keep on Kurt's wheel). From the outer most point you return via a dirt road that again is as hard as you want to make it.


To get back to the truck we came back on the South Shore Trail with detours down Keyhole and Stonehenge trails both aptly named but we weren't quite done yet......Watertower and Steep Tech caught our eyes and we just had to try them. Again their names say it all but "Steep Tech"? more like Steep Stairs. Finally we arrived back to the truck and were happy to see it without a ticket....4:00 right on time. A quick change, a quick stop at Arbee's and we were back to the snow by 7:30.


Photos from our day

Hope you enjoy!

Steve



After what seemed to be hours of checking our course on the map at each intersection it was now time to get some miles in and we headed out towards the Vodoo trail. On our way we took a look at the log drop trail but a thick bit of ice kept us from riding the whole thing but we were able to try the logs and can't wait to come back for a try for a full assent. Failing to heed the detour sign on the Vodoo trail we quickly found ourselves having to cross a small frozen finger of the lake (hey a couple locals were with us at the time) and I'm sure glad I wasn't the heaviest one; there was evidence of a previous failure. If we knew these locals didn't really know the trails we may not have listened to their advice but we did and never made it to the Vodoo loop and opted for the Outer Limits trail instead.

February Events and Upcoming Season Info

I just about hopped in the truck this weekend and headed south with only my mountain bike, my bike gear, and a handful of Avett Brothers cds. Like most of you, I'm ready for some dry dirt trails. (I know I'm preachin' to the choir here, but please don't ride our sloppy trails. Ruts're bad, bad, bad...) Even though the trails are less than welcoming, that doesn't stop the fact that our upcoming season is just around the corner. Check this stuff out and don't forget to check out the fun calendar items we have listed below.

The Trail Committee has been meeting and discussing projects for the season. They're in need of more able bodies. Stacy Schroeder sent out an email discussing what's going on. They meet the 2nd Tuesday of every month at Cafe Vino. All are welcome and if you need more info, contact Stacy.

The Communications Committee will be forming and working to get the word out about all the great things Overland does for the community. We'd like to make Overland a household name, attract new members so we can get all our great activities done, and have a lot of fun. Monty Seitz and Jim Fu will be the main contact people on this one.

Skills Clinics - New board member, Corey Rhodes, is working on organizing several skills clinics this year. I'm sure he'd love your help if you're interested. We're planning clinics for kids, women, and men.

DPMBP - A service of Overland Mountain Bike Club, Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol is always looking for folks who want to get out and help. Check the calendar below to find out when the first Patroller's meeting is.

New Membership for Families - We'll be adding a Family Membership this year for $35. Awesome deal. Look for the new online membership listing soon. (Family memberships are for immediate family members living in the same household.)

Sloppy trails do not have to equal no fun. Get out your calendars. Here's what we've got in store in the near future...(Don't forget to check our CALENDAR regularly. We'll be adding stuff as it comes up.  In fact, we've already added quite a bit for the upcoming season, including the Kick-Off)

February 8th, 7 p.m. - Cinema Spin - Slip into your chamois, velcrotize your feet to your shoes, and join us at the Fort Collins Club for a little movie on the spin bikes. We'll spin for awhile, watch a movie while we're at it and when we're good and sweaty, we'll climb down off of those stationary torture devices and socialize. (Due to the limited number of spin bikes available, we'll be taking reservations on this one - Overland members only to start. If there's space, there'll be another email. And yes, we're keeping the movie a suprise for now.) To reserve your seat, email Kory. (The Spin bikes at the club accomodate shimano type cleats or regular shoes.)

February 26th, 5 p.m. - 3rd Annual Winter FAC - Can you believe this'll be our third Winter FAC? Join us for a couple of hours for some food, drinks, mountain bike chatter, and to catch up on all that's gone on since the Costume Cruise. Hope to see you. (This is also a members/significant others event and will require sign up on our website. Not a member? Sign up now. Place: Kory's house.)

March 8th, 6:30 p.m. - Season Kick-Off at New Belgium - Come find out what Overland Mountain Bike Club is all about! Social rides, trail days, Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol, skills clinics, and more! We're a great group of people dedicated to making sure mountain biking has a place along the northern Front Range. This event is open to the public! Snacks and refreshments will be served.

March 22nd, 6:30 p.m. - Patroller's Kick-Off at New Belgium - Want to ride your mountain bike and help others? Come and check out what Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol, is all about. We certified 15 new patrollers last year! Whether you're just thinking about becoming a patroller or you are a returning patroller, this is the meeting for you. Diamond Peaks Mountain Bike Patrol is a service of Overland Mountain Bike Club. This is event is open to the public. Snacks and refreshments will be served.

April 2nd and 3rd - IMBA's Colorado Mountain Bike Summit - Meet in Salida for a weekend devoted to mountain bike advocacy in Colorado.  Information to follow.

April 24th, 9:00 a.m. - Patrol Training Picnic at Lory State Park - Need a patrol refresher?  Working towards becoming a Certified Patroller? This picnic's for you. 

One quick note before you all start making plans - The Tour de Fat will once again be held on Saturday, Sept, 4th which is Labor Day Weekend. This is our annual fundraiser and requires a ton of volunteer hours. Start recruiting your friends now. FYI - We'll be going back to the 3 shift schedule of previous years. Please get this on your calendar. We need all hands on deck. And of course, a huge THANKS to New Belgium Brewery for their generous support!

Mountain Bike Inside...

If you hadn’t noticed, SNOW’S HERE! And the COLD’S HERE! Okay, so we're not really mountain biking inside...but we do have some cool stuff going on. Check out these bike related activities going on in this great city!

Here’s a quick list of cool stuff happening around town…

BOARD ELECTIONS – Final two days to vote for either Doug Baker or Corey Rhodes for the empty Board of Directors Seat. If you haven’t voted yet, please get your vote to Ron Chambers before midnight tomorrow night, December 8th.

KLUNKERZ Movie Night – Tonight, December 7th, Overland Mountain Bike Club’s hosting the first in a series of free Winter MTB Movie Screenings. We’ll be meeting up at The Tap Room at Catalyst Coffee, talking bikes, talking H.S. MTB League, having a beverage or two, and watching the MOVIE about the guys who started this whole crazy mountain bike thing. The General Public is invited. Door Prizes will be given out. Club apparel will be for sale.

Light Up the Night – Overland Mountain Bike Club, in partnership with FC Bikes, handed out close to 400 sets of Knog Lights this past Friday night! Great turnout even though the temps were heading towards ZERO. Thanks to everyone who came out and enjoyed the event down in the Gallery Underground. And if you haven’t yet gotten out to hear our very own BluChris, (Chris Whitman by day) spinning tunes, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Bikes for Tykes - Lee's Cyclery is looking for donations of bicycles (new or near new), and volunteers who can help make them safe and presentable. Please help by donating your time, energy and a new bike. Lee's contact person on this project is Colin, at the south Lee's Cyclery store. Call Colin at 970-226-6006 or email him at colin@leescyclery.com for more details. All bike maintenance and beautification needs to be completed by December 10th.

Training Somewhere Warm – Dan Porter over at YourGroupRide, the area’s most complete electronic bike news resource, has made available a training domicile for those of you who’d like to get out of the winter and ride somewhere warmer…Tucson, to be exact. Check out the info HERE. Pretty sweet rates, pretty sweet temps.

IMBA News - Colorado Mountain Bike Summit, April 2 and 3, 2010 - Salida, Colorado. Mark your calendars to attend the Colorado Mountain Bike Summit. Hosted by Bicycle Colorado, IMBA, and the Bureau of Land Management, the two-day event provides opportunities for advocates, land managers, and trail builders to network and create strategies to improve mountain biking around the state. Is there a topic that you would like to see addressed at the 2010 Colorado Mountain Bike Summit? Please let us know by replying to this email! Stay tuned for registration information in early 2010.

Eye Candy – Because I know everyone needs a little break at work…Here’s a little SOMETHING to make you go, “Wow, I’m amazed at what some people can do on a bike…”

And that, my friends, is about it. Kudos to those of you who’re getting out and riding in this cold….

Berthoud-Roubaix

Yeah, it's cold, but if you work up a sweat and wear the right clothes, biking's still darn fun. Check out this FUN RIDE this weekend and get after it.