August/September 1999, Number 45

Magazine of the New England Mountain Bike Association

Ride Like a GoddessRide Like a Goddess

NEMBAFest Rocks the CapeNEMBAFest Rocks the Cape

WWin an Indy Fab Dream Machine!in an Indy Fab Dream Machine!

Plus: More Places to RidePlus: More Places to Ride

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Support NEMBA topreserve trails and trailaccess!Don’t wait, buy Raffle Tix Now!

All money raised goes to the trails!

DRAWING TO BE HELD OCTOBER 3RD AT THE PEDROS MOUNTAIN BIKE FESTIVAL

CALL 800-57-NEMBA TO ORDER YOUR TICKETS BY PHONE

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FestivalsOct. 1-3 Pedros Mountain Bike Festival, Oct. 3 Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day, (617) 696-3533

TripsSept. 12-19 NEMBA Durango Trip, 508-583-0067

MTB Skill ClinicsTBA NEBC/Cycle Loft/NEMBA Beginner Skills Clinic, 978-251-3176

PartiesSept. 9 Trail Care Crew Party/Ride at Cycle Loft, 781-272-0870Sept. 25 GB NEMBA Ride, Brew, BBQ Party, 978-369-5597Oct. 24 Fall Fiesta II Rides and Party, CT NEMBA 860-676-9721

1999 NEMBA Events Calender

NEMBA’s Save the Trails Maintenance Series

Blackstone Valley NEMBASeptember 12 Callahan SF, 508-877-2028November 6 Noanet Woodlands, 508-651-7075

Cape Cod & Islands NEMBAOctober 17 Sandwich, 508-564-4807November 7 Mary Dunn, 800-233-6155November 21 Otis, 508-564-4807December 12 Trail of Tears, 508-477-4936

Greater Boston NEMBASeptember 11 Lynn Woods, 781-231-1497September 18 Fells, 978-657-0557September 25 Great Brook Farm SP, 978-369-5597September 25 Belmont, 617-924-4539 October 9 Lynn Woods, 781-231-1497October 16 Fells, 978-657-0557October 23 Great Brook Farm SP, 978-369-5597

Merrimack Valley NEMBASeptember 18 Lowell-Dracut SF, 978-453-9212October 17 Lowell-Dracut SF, 978-453-9212

North Shore NEMBASeptember 12 Bald Hill Reservation, 978-462-4605September 26 Harold Parker State Park,978-462-4605

SE MA NEMBASeptember 12 Wompatuck SP, 781-925-2512October 24 Wompatuck SP, 781-925-2512November 7 Freetown SF, 508-993-5920November 14 Foxboro State Forest, 508-255-0806

Wachusett NEMBASeptember 12 Leominster SF with the TCC, 800-576-3622October 17 Leominster SF, 800-576-3622

NEMBA / Cannondale Trail Maintenance SeriesCome to any CT NEMBA work day and your name will be entered into a hat to win a 1999 Cannondale SuperV!

August 21 Huntington State Park, Redding, 203-778-9265Sept 15-18 IMBA Trail Care Crew, (events to be determined)October 23 Gay City State Park, Hebron, 860-870-8748November 6 Penwood State Park, Bloomfield, 860-653-5038

NEMBA / Merlin Trail Maintenance SeriesMerlin and the Massachusetts Chapters of NEMBA are joining forces to save the trails! Come work the trails and get entered towin a Merlin Mountain frame! Come to three or more events and you'’ll be entered to win Merlin's new Fat Beat full suspensionframe! You can check these bikes out at http://www.merlinbike.com. The Merlin Series encompasses all of MassachusettsNEMBA chapters!

(Key

es)

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RI NEMBA Trail Work / Fun Rides

September 1 Bridge building on Browning Mill, 401-397-8127September 18 IMBA TCC Visits, project TBA, 401-782-0162September 19 Fun Ride, Browning Mill /Arcadia, 401-364-0786October 2 Arcadia Trail Maintenance, 401-397-8127

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NEMBA, the New England Mountain BikeAssociation, is a not-for-profit 501 c 3 organi-zation dedicated to promoting trail access,maintaining trails open for mountain bicyclists,and educating mountain bicyclists to use thesetrails sensitively and responsibly.

SingleTracks is published six times a year bythe New England Mountain Bike Associationfor the trail community, and is made possibleby riders like you.

©SingleTracks Editor & Publisher: Philip Keyes

Singletracks Committee: Bill Boles, KrisztinaHolly, Nanyee Keyes, Mary Tunnicliffe, Brian

Smith

Executive Director: Philip KeyesLetters/Submissions:

SingleTracksPO Box 2221

Acton MA 01720

Phone: 800.57.NEMBAEmail: singletracks@nemba.org

Board of DirectorsKrisztina Holly, PresidentMary Tunnicliffe, Vice-PresidentDan Murphy, TreasurerJohn Dudek, SecretaryMark Bialas, Merrimack NEMBANorman Blanchette, Merrimack NEMBABill Boles, SE MA NEMBAJack Chapman, EFTA LiasonBob Croston, Public RelationsBrian Croteau, Seacoast NEMBARichard Donoghue, Wachusett NEMBAErik Evensen, Greater Boston NEMBAJeff Gallo, Blackstone Valley NEMBATina Hopkins, Rhode Island NEMBAMark Jenks, White Mountains NEMBAKen Koellner, WebmasterRich LaBombard, Pioneer Valley NEMBAChristie Lawyer, SE MA NEMBARob Roy Macgregor, VT NEMBADeb McCulloch, Cape Cod & Islands NEMBAJon Pratt, Wachusett NEMBAJason Record, Seacoast NEMBABrian Smith, CT NEMBADan Streeter, North Shore NEMBAJim Tasse, VT NEMBAAdam Thomas, Cape Cod & Islands NEMBAAndy Thompson, Blackstone Valley NEMBAJohn Turchi, CT NEMBARuth Wheeler, Berkshire NEMBA

We are also dedicated to having fun!NEMBA, P.O. Box 2221,

Acton MA 01720800 57-NEMBA

WWW.NEMBA.ORG

SingleTrackSSingleTrackSAugust/September 1999, Number 45

NEMBAFest Rocks the CapeNEMBA’s premier festival brings out the mountainbiking tribe for a rip-roaring good time. By DebbieMcCulloch

Ride Like a GoddessYou may not know it, but improving your balancecould be your secret weapon to attain mountainbike immortality. By Brion O’Connor

Riding the Blackstone RiverLet a professional guidebook writer lead you onsome wonderful trails at the Blackstone River andCanal Heritage State Park. By Stuart Johnstone

DepartmentsEvents Calendar -3Off the Front - 5Chain Letters - 6Treadlines - 8Dr. Chainsnap -11SideTracksTrail Etiquette - 14On Patrol -16Trail Building - 19Chapter News -27NEMBA Rides -34Members Page -38

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SingleTracks welcomes submissions and artwork fromour literarily-minded and creative membership. This isyour forum and your magazine, so please send us stuff!Send to SingleTracks@nemba.org or call 800-57NEMBA.

I can't stand all this talk about Y2K.Stockpile provisions, already. Build a gen-erator-equipped bomb shelter—I don'tcare! The skies are not going to fall, andthese folk should get a grip, get a life, andgo for a ride!

In the meantime, NEMBA has reached its own milestone: M2K,that elusive membership number which matches the upcomingmillenium. While having a couple of thousand members is a

significant achievement for our modest organization, it's really justthe tip of the mountain biking iceberg in New England. For everymember, there are probably more than a hundred mountain bikerswho have yet to join.

So, what to do? I would submit that the answer lies with you.We need you to help us keep building NEMBA, member by member. Ask your friends and riding buddies to join.Give them an application; heck, even offer to mail it in for them! I beseech each of you to sign up a couple of mem-bers and help us triple our membership before the apocalyptic arrival of Y2K.

We have great programs and are dedicated to having a lot of fun. But more importantly, we are a critical part of thesolution to the problems plaguing our sport: we ride the trails and save the trails. There really is no such thing as afree ride, and your membership —tax-deductible— ensures that the trails are kept in good shape and that moun-tain biking will always be part of the New England trail scene.

So, bug your buddies and get them to ante up. Help us make NEMBA the largest mountain bike trail conservationgroup in the universe. A trail is a terrible thing to waste: ride it and take care of it ...before it’s too late!

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O F F T H E F R O N T

Y2K / M2K: So many numbers, so little time!

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C H A I N L E T T E R S

Never too old to live on the edge...Last year, at the age of 59, this female was introduced to thewonderfully wild world of mt. biking by a friend in their twen-ties. After just one 'eventful' ride on a relatively easy trail, I was"hooked"...hook, line, and sinker! Immediately, I went out andbought a full-suspension Cannondale SV400 (RED), with clip-less pedals, and proceeded to get totally trashed (so that nextmonth I am having a small hematoma removed from myhip)...but not before taking myself to Waterville last year (still anovice) and doing some very exciting downhilling.

I've improved considerably over the past year...still crash...butam also trying more difficult maneuvers; but love it more thanever...scratches, scrapes, endos, and all.

To all who are sitting on the sidelines waiting for life to cometo them; for all who are embracing Senior Citizenship, I say:"Life is not a video you get to rewind...it's a one-time show!"Aging is all a matter of attitude, and there is absolutely nothingyou can't do...to a lesser or greater degree...if you really havethe desire. Each day is not only a gift, it is a great adventure.

RoseMary LeMay, Windham NH

Riding with KidsSo my wife gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Kassidy, 9months ago. From the day she was born I knew that I wouldcherish every moment with her and do my best as her fatherto raise her well. I also knew that my saddle time was goingto decrease dramatically. I went from riding 5 days a week toriding 2 days a week. This was particularly difficult in thewinter when more time was logged indoors.

While all the while I was thrilled to be raising my daughteras a stay at home dad, I did miss the freedom of jumping onmy bike and just doing whatever. I knew that there had to besome middle ground. So I figured when she was old enough Iwould put her on the back of my bike and go. Originally Iplanned on doing it when she was six months. But I wasn'tyet comfortable with the idea so six months became sevenand seven became eight. Finally at eight months I loaded upa bike seat with a ton of cushions behind her and on theside of her, put her helmet on, took some really cute photosand took off. We went about ten miles and all was goingreally well. We stayed on the beautiful country roads ofVermont (no, I didn't even consider offroading with her onthe back). I'll tell you this was one of the happiest momentsfor me as a parent to date. Enjoying a day on the bicyclewith my family. However, I didn't have any glasses for herand something got in her eye. Nothing serious but enoughto end the day’s ride.

I knew that sunglasses on my daughter were not going tohappen for she would certainly turn them to roadkill. Wewent and bought a solo trailer from Burley and that thinghas been really cool. I felt comfortable enough with that pro-tection to head out again and she is really enjoying the rideeven though she sleeps through most of it. The trailers are alot like carseats so I felt she was safer and you can switch itfrom one bike to another easily. This is important because Iuse 2 mountain bikes, a road bike, and a tandem (you shouldsee us in this set up, we’re huge). So now my daughter and Ican jump out whenever and with the added weight it makesfor more efficient training and get my legs race ready.Because of the buzz I get from riding I also have a ton moreenergy to be a good parent. So good benefits for baby andme.

I do have a dilemma however. I just moved to Boston and Iknow very little about the riding there. What I'd like to do isform a group of parents who want to ride and start doingsome group rides with our little ones. It doesn't matter whatlevel you’re at cycling wise. Its about getting out of thehouse. I know that there are many people who would bene-fit from this on many levels. Firstly, to stay or get fit, sec-ondly, support we'd receive from other parents like we do inplaygroup, thirdly, the camaraderie of other parents/moun-tain bikers (we are so cool), lastly, as NEMBA members wehave an opportunity to show others that mountain bikersare not just a bunch of wackos (it’s pretty hard to table topwith a trailer or bike seat attached).

I hope that people will respond to this letter. My plan is togo to the ability of the group. These probably will not bedeathmarchs but more cruising along local rail trails, green-belts, and quiet roads so I encourage all to reply. NEMBAmembas only please.

Kenji Freedman, Boston MA, k.freedman@cwix.com

We Love Letters! Send ‘em in to:SingleTracks@nemba.org

SingleTracks, PO Box 2221Acton MA 01720

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C H A I N L E T T E R S

Decent article on DescendingI just joined the Greater Boston NEMBA and love readingSingleTracks. I wish that I would have received the March oneearlier — the article on descending could have saved a torn upelbow I recently received! I am just starting, so I have a lot tolearn!

Vickie Choitz, Woburn MA

NEMBANs are OK!I gotta tell you, I feel privileged to know such a diverse group ofdedicated, passionate, hard working, hard playing trail folk! Itwas great to finally put faces to names and personalities to e-posts and ST articles. I especially enjoyed getting to better knowour trail savvy women.

Hey Mark Jenks, I want to build a trail with you, Mary and Becky!Hey Rich, I want to build you an asylum. I can't wait to see youall again! Philip, Outstanding job!

Debbie McCulloch, Cataumet MA

Come ride my Forest!Last year, around this time, I spoke with you and invited, hell,encouraged your group to "more fully utilize the resources atErving State Park". That is, we have lots of trails, over 30 milesand nobody is using them. I am happy to say that I think I'veseen more mountain bikers last year and I'm writing to encour-age you to continue to spread the word about Erving StateForest.

Most of our trails are forest service type dirt roads, but some aresingle tracks with some very interesting habitats. New this yearis an opening up of a "snowmobile" parking lot for summer timeuse. Now trail users don't have to fight the crowds at the mainparking lot. This "new" parking lot offers great access to the inte-rior of the park and trails. A new road was put on the map toprovide this access, it's called Foster Road (that's what they getwhen they give me a pen).

Enclosed is a bunch of newly updated trail maps. They aren'tperfect yet, but I'm working on them. Also, there are copiousamounts of dirt roads and trails that are contiguous to the park.As an example, Erving SF is bordered by Warwick SF, NorthfieldSF and Orange SF. The maps I've enclosed doesn't show all of thePark and none of the surrounding areas, a little Topo work willbe helpful. I've been at the park for, this my third season, andhaven't been on half the trails.

John Foster, Park Naturalist, Erving State Forest, Erving MA

Free NEMBA T-Shirt for a CoverShot!Send in your pictures and if we use one for the cover, we’ll sendyou our spanking new NEMBA t-shirt!

On this cover, Penny Davidson, Two-time National DownhillChampion share one from her archives. Ain’t she awesome?

Send your pictures to: SingleTracks, PO Box 2221, Acton MA01720.

NEMBA member Deb Kirchwey at the races (Kathleen Krier)

HELP! NEMBA seeks the donation of a PC Pentium computer,233 Mz or higher,with plenty of memory and disk space for thelayout of this fine publcation. Can you help? Call 800-57NEMBA.

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T R E A D L I N E S

510 N. Main St.Leominster MA 01453978-534-BIKE (2453)Located at Rt. 2 & Rt. 12N (Exit 31B)Next to StaplesOpen 7 Days a Week

The Best in Mountain, Road, and Cyclocross Bikes

Power Bars, Water bottles,Socks, Gloves, Tool Kits,Pumps, Gift Certificates.

We specialize in Custom Fits!

Gear Works Cyclery is proud to announce the addition of the SPECIALIZED line of bicy-cles, clothing, helmets, shoes and accessories to our list of high quality manufacturers.

Time to Apply for a NEMBAGrantNEMBA is proud to announce that the application period for the Fallround of NEMBA Trail Grants is open. NEMBA trail grants are fullyfunded by the proceeds from NEMBA's annual Land Access Raffle.(For more details on this year's raffle see page 2, or visit our web-site, www.nemba.org.

NEMBA Trail Grants have been used to build bridges, repair trails,fund bike patrols and for many other trail related projects. All appli-cations for NEMBA Trail Grants will be judged on an equal basis, sodon't be limited by what had been done in the past. Be creative.Parties interested in applying for a NEMBA Trail Grant have only tosubmit five copies of a short but detailed description of their pro-ject. Photos are OK (and usually worth a thousand words.). Anitemized list of the materials that will be bought with or paid for bythe grant must be included.

Also include a letter of support from the land manager or owner ofthe area that you wish to use the grant in. NEMBA Trail Grantrequests can be for any amount between $100 and $500. You donot have to be a NEMBA chapter to apply for a NEMBA Trail Grant.

Grant applications will be accepted until 8/31.Grants will be awarded by 9/10.Grant applications should be mailed to Bill Boles at the followingaddress:NEMBA Grantsc/o Bill Boles43 Lisa Dr.Brockton MA 02302

Wachusett Brewery, WachusettInn Sponsor NEMBA RidesWachusett NEMBA has cooked up a win-win deal with WachusettBrewery and the Wachusett Inn to beef up their Tuesday rideseries. After every ride, the crew hangs out at the Inn to enjoy amuch needed swim, burger, fries and 22 oz. handcrafted WachusettAle. All for $7! Rich Donoghue (Wachusett Brewery's first officialcustomer!) worked out the arrangement, and David Devore devel-oped the Tuesday ride series at Leominster State Forest. The ridesleave promptly at 6pm from the Rocky Pond parking lot, andpresently there are two levels, intermediate and ballistic. For moreinfo, email wachusett@nemba.org.

NEMBA needs Volunteers forPedrosfest, Oct.1-3This year's Pedros Mountain Bike Festival will be taking place in theBerkshires, and NEMBA will be organizing the festival's rides andtrail maps. NEMBA members traditionally come by the droves tothis festival and we all camp and hang out together to have a rock-ing good time. So if you've never made it, but always wanted to,here's your chance. When you arrive, ask the attendent for theNEMBA compound! NEMBA members will receive $5 off admission!

NEMBA needs Fest Volunteers! NEMBA needs many volunteersto help lead all levels of bike rides, staff our booth and run the bikewash and raffle. There are some seriously excellent perks for volun-teers, so please call 800-57NEMBA to sign up for volunteering.

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T R E A D L I N E S

Cycle Loft to Host IMBA TrailCare Crew Party and RideCome welcome the IMBA/Subaru Trail Care Crew to Boston at aride and party hosted by Cycle Loft on Thursday, September 9th.The ride will leave at 6PM, returning to the Loft by 8PM to enjoyslides and tall tales by Jan and Mike Riter. Cycle Loft is on Route 3in Burlington - for more information about the shop, call (781)272-0870.

Besides partying and riding with us, the TCC also plan to visit MetState with the MDC to discuss future land use plans, mapping, andmanagement issues as they take over this popular riding spot inWaltham. They will also visit Lynn Woods to meet with Lynn rangerPam Snow. Hopefully the TCC will be able to help Pam and NEMBAwork through some access issues at Lynn as well as discuss pro-jects for the work day on the 11th. —Krisztina Holly

Greater Boston Ride and BBQGreater Boston NEMBA will host a big shindig on September 25 at aprivate residence near Great Brook Farm State Park in Carlisle, MA.There will be various levels of rides and we’ll all get together after-wards for a BBQ and party. Look for more info online(www.nemba.org or mtb-boston@nemba.org) or call 978-369-5597for info and directions. Be there!

New MTB Loops in theMiddlesex Fells?What began with the Fells Forum in September took another stepforward when the Greater Boston Chapter presented the MDC witha proposal to expand riding opportunities and develop a solid long-term relationship among all user groups of the Fells. NEMBA pro-posed a three-stage implementation plan, with the initial stagerequesting the opening of additional loops to meet riders’ desires fora varied riding experience in the Fells. The additional loops request-ed include a smaller loop in Lawrence Woods targeted for less expe-rienced riders or those looking for a shorter ride and a larger loopwhich would circumnavigate the entire Fells, including both theWest and East sides. This first stage was targeted due to the ease ofimplementation and the goal to move forward as quickly as possiblein addressing mountain bikers’ concerns. NEMBA also looks for-ward to helping with an expanded Fells Family Day this May.

The second stage of the proposal continues NEMBA’s efforts to openall sustainable singletrack for use by all user groups, includingmountain bikes. Separate ongoing trail evaluation and naturalresource projects by the MDC and NEMBA will be among the factorsincluded in NEMBA’s requests for which trails should remain openfor all users of the Fells. NEMBA believes that long-term trail viabil-ity is critical to the success of an open trail policy and for the futureof the Fells as a whole. The final stage of the proposal reflects theongoing project relationships that exist with the Fells – includingthe Merlin Trail Maintenance Series and New England Mountain BikePatrol – and NEMBA’s desire to expand the relationships as theynow stand. Suggestions include expanding the trail maintenancebeyond the Mountain Bike loop to other worthy trail sectionsthroughout the Fells and supplying additional reference materialthroughout the park to aid riders as needed, such as maps, direc-tions or riding tips.

Early response from all parties appears favorable and the GreaterBoston Chapter will continue to press for expanded opportunitiesfor mountain bikers throughout the park. Thanks are to be extendedto the Fells Committee and others who put forth the time and effortto form the ideas and especially to Jeff Hyland for turning the finaloutput into a professional and succinct proposal. —Rob Follansbee

EFTA's Jack Chapman JoinsNEMBA BoardIn an effort to work together to promote more opportunities forNew England mountain bikers, the Eastern Fat Tire Association andNEMBA now have a liaison member on each other's board of direc-tors. Jack Chapman, a long time EFTA board member, is thefounder of the Friends of the Massabesic Bicycling Association(FOMBA), a mountain bike advocacy group which is building trailsand good relations at the Massabesic Watershed outside ofManchester, NH. One of the first ideas to come out of this newlyinvigorated relationship between EFTA and NEMBA is a joint FunRide Series which may begin next season. Len Earnshaw ofSeacoast NEMBA will represent NEMBA on EFTA's board. Weaboard, Jack!

IMBA Trail Care Crew Comingto a Trail near You!Mike and Jan Riter, IMBA's Trail Care Crew will be peregrinatingthoughout New England this fall and taking part in some ofNEMBA's fall trail maintenance events. These dedicated folks are alot of fun and have extensive knowledge to offer about trails andadvocacy, so we hope a lot of new faces will come out to meet andwork side by side with them. Contact your chapter to find outwhat's planned.

Aug. 19-23 Maine 603-742-9462Aug. 26-30 Vermont 802-824-3642Sept. 2-6 New Hampshire 603-356-0233Sept. 9-13 Massachusetts 781-643-4747Sept. 16-18 Rhode Island 401-364-0786Sept. 19-21 Connecticut 860-676-9721

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T R E A D L I N E S

NEMBA donates Bike toNoanet Woodlands LandManagerWhat do you do when you arrive at your favorite playgroundand the landowner tells you to get to work? You give him abike. All right, so we asked if we could do the work. And theplayground is really a reservation managed by The Trustees ofReservations. And the landowner is Jeff Montgomery, theSoutheast Region Superintendent for TTOR.

Despite a good early relationship with the folks at Noanet,NEMBA had little involvement with the park over the last half

dozen years. A lotof that was due toNEMBA’s decliningparticipation withTTOR, and some ofit was due to thecrossed arm atti-tude of a few of the(since departed)rangers. Shortlyafter Jeff took thes u p e r i n t e n d e n tposition, NEMBAmet with him and agreat relationshipwas renewed. Herewas a land managerthat welcomed usinto his park andcounted on ourexpertise to make itbetter. His rangershand out NEMBAapplications at their

station and even help out on our work days. Working withJeff is a perfect example of how fruitful an alliance betweenNEMBA and a land manager can be.

Although we work hard to enrich our organization, NEMBAalso likes to give back to those who make our jobs easier.Occasionally a generous member donates a bike so that wecan reward our favorite land managers. In this case, it wasGeorge Adams who stepped up to the plate. Thanks toGeorge’s contribution, we were able to show our appreciationto Jeff in the form of a shiny red Proflex. With the generosityof members like George, and the cooperation of land managerslike Jeff, the trails will continue to be enriched for all users.

Postscript: The bike was last seen under the butt of Jeff’s son.Also, if you have a bike you are no longer using, please con-sider donating it to this worthy cause. Give Philip Keyes a callat 800-57NEMBA. —Andy Thompson

Rhode Island NEMBA buildsBridges to AMCThe Rhode Island Chapter of NEMBA has been building bridges, bothfiguratively and literally, in the Arcadia Management Area, the state'spremier riding destination. RI NEMBA has had two joint work days withthe AppalachianMountain Club toreplace washed outculverts and replacethem with smallbridges. They havealso built a large bridgewith handrails, fundedby NEMBA's Trail GrantProgram. Both theAMC and NEMBA havemembers on the state’sTrails AdvisoryCommittee, and thereare plans to co-host aGreenways Trails confer-ence. RI NEMBA's involvement with the AMC is key, not only for thetrails of Arcadia, but also to better the image of mountain bikers withthis traditional organization which until now has been one of the onlygroups caring for the trails in this area.

TrailSabotage inBelmont,FellsWhile there has been along history of anti-mountain bike senti-ment in the Boston-area, dangerous inci-dents of sabotage are on

the rise on the trails of Belmont and the Middlesex Fells. This spring,NEMBA got a call from the Seven Cycles guru, Rob Vandermark, that hehad sliced his tire open on a utility knife blade that had been embeddedinto the trail in Belmont. That same day he ran across some hikers whohad discovered and removed handfuls of fishing hooks and line that hadbeen strewn along the trail in hopes of snagging an unsuspecting vic-tim. Over the next few weeks other bikers and walkers discovered simi-lar objects, and while the target of the attacks appears to be mountainbikers, any person (or dog) stepping on the razor-sharp blades couldface serious injury. Vandals have also destroyed and, later, burned a newbridge installed on these trails. NEMBA is working with the authoritiesin an effort to discover and to stop the perpetrators.

Sabotage In the Middlesex Fells Reservation is alsoincreasing. Therehave been at least three occasions where hundreds of nails have beensprinkled along the trails and fireroads, causing numerous flats, andNEMBA's bicycle patrol has discovered many logs dragged across thetrails to dissuade bicycle riding. While it's difficult to catch those benton booby trapping the trails, NEMBA is working with the land managersand the local police. If you have any knowledge of these incidents, callNEMBA at 800-57NEMBA or the local police. Read the Greater Bostonnews for more details.

NEMBA Bike Shop DiscountsDid you know that many bike shops offer 5-15% discounts toNEMBA members? Well, many do! This isn’t something thatwe include as part of the value of your NEMBA membership,but many, if not most, shops do offer discounts. Make sureyou ask the shop what their discount is, and if for some rea-son they don’t yet offer a NEMBA discount, recommend themto do so!

Jeff Montgomery get a new ride! (Anne Shepard)

(Jim Grimley)

Hundreds of nails found in the Fells (Tim Post)

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D R . C H A I N S N A P

Situation #1:Showing Up fora New Ride.Gallant –

Introduces himself toeveryone. Compliments

them on their bikes.Describes his riding level as

"intermediate but willing toride at all levels." Before heading

out, asks if anyone needs to use any of his tools for last minutetuning, and offers the extra water he has in his car to an apprecia-tive crowd. Makes polite jokes to start, staying away from politics,sex, and religion. He volunteers to ride in the back of the pack topick up stragglers.

Goofus-

Screeches into the parking area seconds before start time yelling,"yo, hold up!" Instead of introducing himself, demands a pump,chain lube, and a helmet from people he’s never met. After he’sdone making someone true his wheels, announces he will wait forno one once out on the trails. Turns to a female rider and says,"honey mamma, I’m right behind you all the way! Hey baby, it’scool even if you are, you know, as long as I get to watch…"

#2: At the Bike Shop.Gallant-

Cleans his bike before bringing it in for service. Patiently waits histurn. Asks the mechanic for his/her expert opinion after describingthe problem with his shifter. Asks the manager’s permissionbefore posting a poster for an upcoming trail maintenance day.Greets all the store employees with whom he has cultivated warmrelationships with over the years. After some more congenial smalltalks, buys a magazine and a pair of socks.

Goofus-

His wreck tracks mud and fresh canine fecal matters into the store.Interrupts a sales person helping a woman pick out a helmet forher little girl by saying, "go to Wal-Mart! There ain’t nothin’ herethat’s gonna fit that mutant." Whips out a Nashbar catalog anddemands he will pay no more for parts than what is listed there.Insists all he needs is a new cable, even though the rear derailleurarm is obviously bent 90 degrees – parallel to the ground. Blowshis nose on the trail maintenance poster, and stuffs packets of GUin his pocket on the way out.

#3: At a Certain Mountain Bike Festival inVermont.Gallant –

Shares his large tent with strangers who didn’t bring one.Volunteers to lead rides for young people, teaching them valuableriding skills. Participates in bike polo, mud riding contests, andbike limbo. At night, sounds of laughter from shared tales of pastepic rides emanate from the tent. During the morning ride nextday, ecstatically yells out, "my new frame is sooo bitching!"

Goofus-

Shares his tent with a bong. Volunteers to teach children valuableskills of keg tapping. Officiates and films WOMBAT Mud Wrestlingand naked dual slalom. At night, the campground is filled with anoddly sweet smelling smoke, and strange bubbling noises emanat-ing from his tent. In the morning, handcuffed and bummed, hetells the police officer as he is being dragged away, "yo, my newbitch framed me!"

#4: At a Post-Ride Pool and Dinner Party.Gallant-

Is the last one in the pool as he distributes towels and other watersport amenities. Dries off outside completely before going insidefor the sumptuous meal that awaits him and his tired buddies.Compliments everyone on their riding tonight no matter how theyactually rode. Makes polite conversation during dinner that inter-ests everyone but offends no one. Compliments the host and thehostess one more time on their beautiful home. As usual, he is thelast one to leave as he helps out with the dishes.

Goofus-

Pushes and shoves people out of his way as he submerges his mudencrusted body in the jacuzzi first, then cannonballs into the pool.Yells, "gang way, last one in sucks!" Shake-dries his body like a doginside. Empties the first pitcher before everyone else gets inside,and replaces it with haphazardly poured suds. Takes great pleasurein mockingly describing his friend’s riding as being "anemic andsickly." Burps loudly and compliments the hostess once again onher tightly fitting t-shirt. Leaves the screen door wide open, lettingall the insects inside to feast on the half-eaten plates he had leftstrewn on the floor. Jumps in his car and takes off.

So friends, don’t YOU be a Goofus!

Dr. Chainsnap, aka, Shorta Yuasa watchs re-runs of Jerry Springerby day, enjoys other people’s pools, and takes care of his ridingbuddies at the local Emergency Room by night. His one word phi-losophy: “Singlespeed!”

Goofus and Gallant by Dr. Chainsnap,

Wachusett NEMBA

Don

na D

onog

hue

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F E A T U R E

On June 27th, fat-tire fanatics fromall over New England descendedupon the Cape in search of fresh

singletrack and frivolity. Judging by all thesmiles seen, laughter heard, and storiesshared, they got exactly what they camefor with Cape Cod NEMBA's first forayinto festdom.

This year’s NEMBAfest had something foreveryone, from the hard-core rider to thehard-core beach bum, and everyone inbetween. It was a true family affair. Notone of the 400 folks in attendance seemedto mind that the event occurred on thehottest, most humid day of the summerthus far. Beating the heat was a cinch ifyou were just hanging out, as the festivalwas hosted on the site of YMCA's CampLyndon, which provided respite with itsacres of White Pine shade, and invitingwaters of Lawrence Pond.

There were guided and non-guided ridesthroughout the day, and reports indicatedthat the trails weren't just hot...they werescorching. But that's okay when you havethe Greater Boston Mountain Bike Patrolout there manning the aid stations andgiving professional first aid attention to all

who needed it. Not many required theirservices, but just being there to encourageriders to fill up on water, apples and

bananas was a nice touch.

Said Charlie Genatossio, president of theCape Chapter, and one ofthe festival’s organizers, "Ithink they were the realsuperheroes of the event.David Watson, and the restof the mtb patrollers spentthe whole day out on thetrails keeping an eye onthings. I made two tripsout to the water stationsto replenish the suppliesand the relief many ridersfelt when they saw thoseguys, words can notdescribe."

After returning to thecamp from the Trail ofTears, many riders com-

mented how they now understood the ori-gins of the trails' name. You see, despitepopular belief,... the Cape ain't no freakin'

sandbar. It's clam packed with hundreds ofshort climbs that require repetitive quickbursts of muscle. Though the singletrackwas 90% shaded, even in the winter, theTOT can be brutal. Staying hydrated waskey. A special thanks to NEMBA's officialH2O sponsor, Aquacool, for giving us allthe water we could guzzle. The riders alsoreplenished their lost glucose and sodiumreserves with some generous donationsfrom sponsors, Cape Cod Potato Chips,and Coca-Cola Bottling of Cape Cod. Andwe can't forget Debbie Packer, from CapeCod Ice, keeping us cool!

While the riders were out getting their 'fix'on guided and self-guided tours, Theentire camp area was rocking to greattunes spun by the master of ceremonies,our friend, Mr. Bob Korn, of Fat Boy, andSurf-n-Dirt fame. Throughout the day,folks visited the well represented bikeindustry expo area to look for merchandisedeals, experiment on demo bikes and pickthe brains of business insiders likeCannondale, Independent Fabrications,Pedro's, Seven Cycles, and especiallySpecialized, who has been a tremendoussponsor to the Cape chapter.

Matt Kasetta, our Specialized connection,made a special trip down to New York topick up the Specialized trailer filled withdemo suspension bikes and on his wayback, got stuck on the Braga Bridge, inNew Bedford, for more than five hours inbumper to bumper traffic, in swelteringtemperatures. A 9-alarm fire in a ware-house that closed I95 to any traffic,helped to hasten the demise of his truck'sclutch. He had to hire a tow truck to deliv-er the goods on time to the festival. The

NEMBAFest Rocks the Cape! by Debbie McCulloch, Cape Cod & Islands

Greater Boston’s New England Mountain Bike Patrol made sure everyone has afun and safe time on the trails. (Andrea Donovan)

(And

rea

Don

ovan

)

(And

rea

Don

ovan

)

Kids were the real winners! They won all the bikes raffledoff at the Fest! (Deb McCulloch)

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truck is now toast, but ,You the man, Matt!

Other booth sponsors included Sport Tobin,functional and fun woman's cycling clothes;Crosskate, that funky new design that will

be bringing roller blading offroad; andBelmont Wheel Works.

Many other activities took place simultane-ously, throughout the day. The kids playedbike toss, bike limbo, and played greasedwatermelon polo. Prizes were awarded toall. And the free kayak demo was a tremen-dous hit. The guyz from Billington WaterCraft generously supplied a fleet of 12boats, and 4 instructors, from their shop inPlymouth. Ellin Boorus of Billington statedthat over 100 festival attendees were able

to test ride a kayak.

A large audience was captivated by twotime down-hill champion Penny Davidson,when she shared her winning memories andtraining tips from her successful career dur-ing an informal question and answer period.We were all charmed by her personality andeasy to approach manner. Penny, we hopeyou decide to stay in New England!

A raffle was held to benefit our good friend,Nathan Carr. Nathan is a dedicated cyclist,and was Don McCulloch's first bikemechanic at True Wheel Cycles. Nathanhad just recently moved to Japan where hewas teaching English, and was involved in atragic accident last December, while hit by avan while riding his motor scooter. He suf-fered major head trauma, and isnow at Braintree Rehab, wherewith the love and devotion of hisparents Vicky and Arne Carr, andfriends, is making slow, but posi-tive progress. Nathan has a longroad ahead of him and we knowthat someday we will ride withhim again.

Becauseof theg e n e r -o u sd o n a -tions from all ofour booth spon-sors, and WZLX,we were able toraise $800.00 forthe Nathan CarrMedical Fund. Ourbig grand prizesincluded 2 moun-tain bikes fromSpecialized, andtwo Schwinnmountain bikesgiven to WZLXfrom Landry's BikeShop, a couple oftickets toMountain Bike

Camp in Wellfleet for kids, and 2 free pass-es to the Back Country Excursions Mtb/Beerfestival held in Maine this August. Winnersof the bikes included Noreen Baronowski, ofBourne, Nick Dube Botsh, of Attleboro, andNatan Keyes , all kids! The BackcountryExcursion tickets were snagged by luckyRob Zellner of Wellfleet, and tons moreswag was given away to other lucky souls.

If you would like to help our friend Nathanand his parents defray the costs of hisextensive medical treatment please send

your donation to Cape Cod Bank and Trust,Pocasset Branch 2 Barlows Landing Road,Pocasset, MA 02559.

Of course we have saved a special thanks toall our main sponsors, Mad About Cycling,whom presented $2000.00 in DonMcCulloch/MAC scholarship money to col-lege bound kids who have a passion for andhave contributed to the sport of cycling;The RIDE Magazine, The east coasts bestsource of cycling information; TracyVolkswagon and 100.7 WZLX- ClassicRock.

There were many other companies thatmade this festival such a success like,Mountain Bike Magazine, Hammer gel,Quality Bike Parts, and Cape Cod HealthCare. And it was a success, due to the hardwork of the Cape Cod NEMBA memba's,and our local bike shop members like theBike Zone, of Falmouth, Cove Cycle ofHyannis, and the two shops who have beenour supporters for the last three years, TrueWheel Cycles, of Pocasset, and VillageCycles, of Buzzards Bay. The money weraised goes back to the cause, so we mayfurther our goals of saving the trails, and.preserving open space. Thanks for coming,because of people like you, mountain bikingwill live on forever!

CC & Islands NEMBA VP, Mitch McCulloch, depantsed by a crazed Wachusett NEMBAmember. (Deb McCulloch)

(Deb McCulloch)

Brian Croteau of Seacoast NEMBA was the recipient ofthe Don McCulloch/MAC Scholarship (Deb McCulloch)

Cape Cod & Islands NEMBA President, CharlieGenatossio worked hard, along with the other volun-teers, to host a premier event (Andrea Donovan)

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We humans are social animals. Weidentify with our groups andsometimes that identity is drawn

in opposition to other identifiable groups.That's at the root of all kinds of national,ethnic and racial conflict and that's at theroot of trail conflict. We stereotype others;exaggerate their differences, sometimes wefear them. Heck, sometimes we hate them.It doesn't take too much of this to polarizeus. Then, the very sight of the other arous-es fear, anger, and the rest of our humanunderbelly. It seems like the only reliefcomes when the other isn't around at all.

Certainly, we mountain bikers have beencast as the other often enough. I wasrecently at a meeting where riders wereaccused of almost every kind of criminaland dangerous intent. The capper camewhen an anti-bike realtor claimed thatcyclists would drive down property values.Geesh.

All this points to the fact that it's difficultto build a community, and harder yet ifthere are already bad feelings. Still, wehuman beings have to share this planet andthere are some things that make a differ-ence. Since we're trying to heal here, let'snot forget the first tenet of the Hippocraticoath, "first, do no harm." The number onehiker complaint that I hear is about speedespecially when the hiker is startled. Wehave to do everything we can to anticipateothers and act accordingly. Signaling thatwe're coming (I use a bell), slowing downand establishing communication is at thevery heart of yielding to other users. Notdoing this is just selfish. We'll probablykeep up our pace and keep the trail, butwe'll leave bad feelings behind and anyone

who's been to an access meeting knowsthat bad feelings come back to bite us.

Small talk is a social lubricant. Slowing andsaying hello goes a long way in breakingdown anonymity and fear. If it seemsappropriate, comment on what's blooming.If you're stopped, and time allows, talkabout some upcoming workday or pro-trailpolitical work. Compliment their dog ortheir horse, their pack or their walkingstick. This way, they'll see that you sharetheir values. We can treat each other nicelyon the trail and then be on our way.

I'm not advocating haranguing our fellowtrail goers and when trails are crowded,continuous greetings may be intrusive, butif we act like strangers, we'll be treated thatway. Patience and humility come into playhere too. Most of us have had the experi-ence of having our friendly greetings met byscowls or silence. It's easy to get resentful,but that's their problem. If we focus on ourside of it, do the right thing, sooner or laterwe'll break through their defenses. Beinghuman is contagious.

Research says that the best way to over-come conflict is to work toward goals thatrequire cooperation. Working togetherrequires us to join other group's activitiesor invite them to ours. It's great that moun-tain bikers have been so amazingly proac-tive in trailwork and other programs, butit's better yet when we're working shoulderto shoulder with non-bikers. That buildscommunity.

It sounds too simple, but being nice helpsovercome stereotypes, quell fears andbuilds community with other trail users.

It don’t hurt to be nice on the trails by Jim Hasenauer, IMBA

T R A I L E T I Q U E T T E

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The killer singletrack. Nastydrop-offs, slick off-camber roots,steep switchbacks littered withtombstones. Every rider has afavorite. On a real good day,when you’re riding that flowtrain, you clean about 75 percentof it. Most days, it’s closer to 50.But you know guys that regular rip the whole thing without a dab.And you can’t figure it. What’s the difference? In a word — bal-ance.

Bike shops, book stores and mail order catalogs are brimming withfitness how-to books and magazines for cyclists. You can find outeverything about yourself (maximum heart rate, resting heart rate,lactate and anaerobic thresholds), and how to get better on thebike (interval training, periodization, weight training).

Remarkably, though, it’s almost impossible to find anything aboutbalance. Even The Cyclist’s Bible, the highly regarded training tomeby Joe Friel, fails to mention balance in the table of contents, theglossary or the index. Perhaps we take it for granted. But balance,or lack of it, can rob cyclists of valuable energy when they tenseup, fight the bike, or, at worse, crash. Enter Blair Lombardi, the 42-year-old Goddess of Balance, a West Coast native who believesyour improving balance is the fastest way to improve your riding,on- and off-road.

"It’s simple, really," says Lombardi, an elite cycling coach. "The keyis to recognize balance errors and replace them with balance tech-niques."

No problem, right? Well, yes and no. Lombardi’s techniques willpay immediate dividends. But a complete transformation may takea bit longer, depending how much time you put into it. After all, ittakes a while to disconnect your brain.

To Lombardi, the biggest obstacle facing mountain bikers is fear,and our natural survival instincts that kick in when we get scared,

which explains "panic braking." Fear forces us to look down at thevery rock we want to avoid, to tense up when we need to stayfocused and relaxed. Lombardi believes that by honing our innatebalance skills, and getting centered on the bike, we can retrainthose survival instincts.

"Riders have to let their bodies sense and feel over the terrain," shesays. "We need to let our mind go on remote control. The trick isto not trigger our survival response. Our survival instinct’s job isto stop us."

Lombardi’s techniques are rapidly gaining popularity in cycling cir-cles. Team Ritchey star Caroline Alexander of England won a break-

through World Cup race shortly after adopting some of Lombardi’sbasic principles. Mountain bike guru Gary Fisher has signed on forlessons, and former national coach Chris Charmichael is beginningto employ her methodology.

Here’s a snapshot of Lombardi’s methods, a half-dozen tips to rip-ping the singletrack:

Analyze mistakes. Too many cyclists offer up crashes to theCycling Gods and just go on their way, feeling fortunate that theycan still pedal. What they need to do is take a hard look at whythey went down in the first place. Lombardi doesn’t claim to haveinvented a new training technique. But she was able to rediscov-

ered basic balance tenets learned through danc-ing and gymnastics by studying her mistakeson the bike.

Trust the big picture. Central to Lombardi’smethodology is our basic sensory organs —eyes, inner ears and proprioceptors — and our

ability to use them to find the sweet spot and stay centered on ourrigs. The eyes, relying on reference points and peripheral vision,help riders stay oriented by pointing the head in the right direc-tion. The intricate workings of the inner ear (or vestibular appara-tus) adjust balance by determining head position. Finally, the pro-prioceptors are the meat — the muscle, tendons and ligaments —that employ the "muscle memory" which allows you to handle thebike while the brain focuses on the trail ahead.

Lead with your chin. Bad in boxing, great in bicycling. Keepingyour chin up allows the inner ear to do its work. It also naturally

the biggest obstacle facing mountain bikersis fear, and our natural survival instincts thatkick in when we get scared. . .

RIDE LIKE A GODDESS by Brion O’Connor, North Shore

F E A T U R E

Continued on page 26

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Greater Boston Patrol Expands Operations by David Watson, Director, Greater Boston Patrol

O N P A T R O L

The Greater Boston Patrol has expanded its operations once again.This time it’s not a new park (we already serve the Middlesex Fells,Lynn Woods, and Great Brook Farm), but a new kind of challenge.For the first time, the Patrol provided full First Aidservice to an event – NEMBAfest on the Cape onJune 27, 1999.

We provided Patrol coverage at the last NEMBAfest(in 1997), but this time we were able to provide alevel of service beyond what we can do on a regularpatrol. We brought out our new patrol packs(donated by Cycle Loft), pitched new aid stationtents (donated by REI), and set up radio and cellularphone communications. Eleven patrollers travelledfrom Boston to the Cape to staff the aid stationsand patrol the trails.

It turned out to be a very hot day at the ‘fest, so wewere particularly concerned about heat-related emergencies. Aftera review of procedures for treating heat exhaustion and heatstroke, we broke into five teams to set up the aid stations and hitthe trails. Patrollers staffed a base camp and two remote aid sta-

tions, each of which was equipped with communications gear,extra water and food, and expanded First Aid kits. We also rodethe beginner and intermediate loops looking for people in need of

help.

Much to our relief, the extra water (thanks, Aquacool) didthe trick, and we did not see anyone stricken by theextreme heat. The Cape NEMBA people did a lot of greatwork shuttling supplies and people back and forth from theremote aid stations. We treated a few minor injuries, cuts,scrapes, and bumps, but that was it. Our job done, we fin-ished up with a well-deserved swim and an impromptuBBQ.

Special thanks go out to the patrollers who trekked downto the ‘fest and spent long hours out at the aid stations:Colleen Haggerty, Scott Briere, Steven Fuchs, Mike Salerno,Joe Merlino, Erik Evensen, Kristen Bjork, James Vogh, Craig

Watkins, and Andrea Donovan.

The Patrol hopes to provide services at several more events thisyear and in the future, so be sure to look for us!

"You lead the way, and if you have difficulty finding the trail, then Iwill know that area needs to be marked" delegated Bill Stevens, TrailGod of the Moab Bike patrol and Bureau Land Management (BLM).Anyone who knows me realizes I would still be trying to find myway back if I had take the suggestion, but thus began my trail main-tenance day in Moab, painting trail signs on the Poison Spider MesaTrail.

The Moab bike patrol goals are quite similar to the New EnglandMountain bike patrol. Both lend assistance with mechanical andmedical problems, on-trail directions, trail maintenance and educa-

tion being a key component for safety and preservation of the envi-ronment. In Moab the gardens of pinyon trees, cactus, and cryptobi-otic soils are easily damaged by bike and jeep tracks. (jeeps are per-mitted on all the biking trails) Cryptobiotic soils, the building blocksof the desert, can be overlooked as they are dark and often have acrusty appearance. Markings on the rocks are very important to helpbikers and jeeps stay on the designated trails.

Russell Von Koch, Recreation and Wilderness resource Advisor, fromMoab District BLM and Moab bike patrol volunteer organized theopportunity for me to work with Bill Stevens, another Moab bike

patrol volunteer, who also works for BLM as a Seasonal RecreationTechnician. With the bikes in the truck and lunch packed we left theBLM parking lot at 9:30a.m. First we stopped at the patrol office,located near the entrance to the Slickrock Bike Trail. We picked up atrail map, firstaide equipment, cellular phone and trail marking sup-plies consisting of cans of spray paint, brushes, and stencils. Onlythe Poison Spider Mesa Trail still has a specific stencil. Dinosaurtracks for Klondike Bluff Trail, and twin stickmen characters forGemini Bridges are examples of other previously used stencils. TheMoab bike patrol in cooperation with BLM and Utah State Parks andRecreation provides trail guides for ten of the most popular trails. Apercent of the proceeds helps fund the patrol operations. As weascended several switchbacks on the Poison Spider Mesa Trail, westopped periodically to apply some new jeep stencil markings. Oncea relatively flat surface was noted, the surface of the rock wasbrushed cleaned. While I held the stencil on the site, Bill Stevenswould spray with the white paint. Although a relatively easy task; itwas definitely a two person job with wind gusts 30-40 miles anhour. (see photos). Once we reached the top we parked the bikesand walked the 100 yards marked by painted "footprints" to the arch.After lunch in this picturesque setting we started the ride back,which was mostly downhill.

Exhausted, we returned to the BLM office approximately 5:30p.m. Ithad been a lengthy, but worthwhile trail maintenance adventure. Myred New England Mountain Bike Patrol Jacket is now fashionablyadorned with Moab white paint. It is the tangible remembrance ofthe Poison Spider Mesa Trail maintenance day.

This Moab trail maintenance day did not automatically enter me intothe year end drawing for a Merlin frame, but the experience didenrich the sense of pride and unity we all share as mountain bikepatrollers. Although terrain is different and thousands of miles aparteach is blessed with nature's beauty. The mountain bike patrol unitsshare a common goal: to protect and to preserve the natural environ-ment as well as mountain biking as a sustainable activity. We can"Make a difference." "A Positive Impact."

New England Mountain Bike Patroller does Trail Maintenance Day In Moabby Anna Kleinfeldt, Greater Boston

Anna and a member of the Moab Bike Patrol sign the rock (Kleinfeldt)

When the idea for Blue Hills TrailWatch was conceived nearly tenyears ago, the picture of mountain biking in the Blue Hills was avery different one than appears today. The MDC’s new MTB policyhad emerged, yet many people were skeptical. Mountain Bike mag-azine ran a feature story, headlined Land Grab, telling of the ten-sion among trail users around Boston. Local newspapers printedarticles detailing the "conflicts" inthe Blue Hills and political car-toons parodied the situation.Riders who had previously enjoyedunrestricted access to the entirereservation suddenly felt cheatedout of nearly half of the Blue Hillstrails. To cap things off, the MDCfaced a budget crisis and staffinglevels were seriously low. None ofthe Blue Hills staff had any first-hand experience with mountainbikes and were understandablytentative about taking even thesmallest step forward into a per-ceived minefield.

Three tireless NEMBA volunteerstook the initiative and proposed theTrailWatch program to work withstaff to implement the MTB policy and to help insure that moun-tain biking would remain a safe and accepted trail use in the BlueHills. Initial efforts were successful and TrailWatch has now

become an important part of the MDC’s public education programwith a long term goal of helping all trail users to enjoy the bestpossible Blue Hills experience.

From its early beginnings, TrailWatch has grown to thirty memberswith approximately one third from the Blue Hills Walking Club.

When the goal of adding equestrians toTrailWatch is reached, the program willbe truly unique in its ability to reach thewidest range of people in the reserva-tion.

In contrast to those challenging earlydays, a new bulletin board at Houghton’sPond proudly announces, "WelcomeMountain Bikers". Two new bikes areavailable to the MDC rangers and severalstaffers bring along their own bikes toweekly ranger rides. The TrailWatch rideseries has entered its second year withseven rides scattered throughout theseason for all levels of ability. Capping offthe season, the third annual MDC BlueHills Mountain Bike Day will be held atHoughton’s Pond on October 3. Don’tmiss it!

TrailWatch riders are sporting cool new VOMax jerseys this sea-son, thanks to generous grants from NEMBA, Ted Wojcik Bicyclesand Bike Express of Randolph. When you see these riders, take aminute to say hello and thanks for all of their dedicated hard work.

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Greg Jordan, Jerry Geribo, Joe Sloane, Eero Kola, Bill Boles, AndrewWalter and Bo Walter sporting their new TW Jerseys! (Sloane)

Blue Hills TrailWatch by Joe Sloane, Greater Boston

Don t Miss the Third Annual !!!

Blue Hills Mountain Bike DaySunday, October 3, 1999 10:00 am – 3:00 pmMDC Blue Hills Reservation at Houghton’s Pond, Hillside Street in Milton, MA

> Marked loops and led rides for all abilities > Kid’s Bike Rodeo with prizes!> Mountain Biking Skills Clinics> Reps from local builders and shops> Meet the MDC Land Managers> Bike Limbo and Free Raffle

For more information, call Joe Sloane at (617) 696-3533 or MDC Ranger Maggi Brown at (617) 698-1802

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Disclaimer: The followingaccount is somewhat grisly andcertainly embellished. Pleasekeep your hands and feet insidethe vehicle at all times.Have you ever made a decision that seemed quite sane at first?Crafted a plan that was obviously well thought-out and intelli-gent? Something as stupid as my GU Packet weekend? Haven’t weall?

It began on a Thursday. My bank account was depleted and thefridge held a year-old frozen pizza, a bag of moldy Monterey Jack,one can of O’Doul’s, a pickle that could learn algebra, and somehamburger that was trying to turn back into a cow.

The cabinets were in the same state—a few Ramen Noodles, fourboxes of cereal with 1/8th of an inch remaining, and one box ofKraft Macaroni and Cheese. It seemed I had my dilemma solved.

With payday on Monday, I could stretch the Mac & Cheese overthree dinners. The Ramen would become my lunch, breakfastwould be a mix of Captain Crunch, Special K, Fruity Pebbles, andCount Chocula moistened with water. The remaining meal wouldbe the pizza. It seemed so simple...then tragedy struck.

My main meal had bugs in it. Little squirmy pasta eating creaturesthat rendered my main meal inedible. After a minor freak-out, dur-ing which I cleared out the cabinets and the fridge with very littlemachismo and even less maturity, there remained the pizza andsome ice cubes. I was in trouble. I had one meal to last me untilnoon on Monday. Couldn’t think on an empty stomach so I cookedthe pizza. The infusion of food worked. I sprung from the chair andgrabbed my gear bag! Inside I found 14 GU Packets, a few tubes ofClif Shot, and two expired Power Gels. I was saved.

It was 6:53PM Thursday. There were 89 hours 7 minutes until real

food would pass my lips. That meant doling out the riding rationsat a rate of one packet every 4.7 hours. Monday would arrivebefore I knew it.

Packet 1, 11:30PM Thursday: Expired Power Gel – StrawberryBanana – The packet was somewhat crystallized, but still edible.Made a mental note to stop leaving gel packs on the dash of thetruck. Went to bed.

Packet 2, 4:03AM Friday: Vanilla GU – Woke up to the sound oftrash cans being slung by municipal workers, Decided a schedulewas worthless if it wasn’t followed. Good taste, nice consistency,no caffeine.

Packet 3, 8:29AM Friday: Chocolate Espresso Clif Shot – Late forwork and needed the caffeine. Only spilled a third of it on mypants as I pulled out of my driveway. Brown spot-white pants.Perfect.

Packet 4 and 5, 1:15PM Friday: Orange Burst GU and Vanilla GU–Orange Burst is like spraying citrus degreaser into your mouth. Theonly difference is that the degreaser has no awful aftertaste. Had toeat a vanilla to get rid of the heinous orange flavor.

These first few ‘meals’ were a true sampling of what the weekendheld in store. Over the course of nine more packets I realized thetrue essence of the words "eat to live, live to eat."

I felt weak on Saturday, couldn’t make sense of the Sunday comics,and would have called in sick Monday if I could have dialed thephone, and if I didn’t need my check so badly. Perhaps the funniestthing, if anything can be humorous about a grown person doingsomething so foolish, was the way everything I looked at turnedinto a food mirage just like on the cartoons.

In retrospect, GU and assorted gels are perfect for bike rides. Theycan be expected to fill the void that forms during a two-hourexcursion. They cannot be expected to substitute for a steak andcheese sub, a taco dinner, or even a package of worm-infestedmacaroni and cheese. Anyone want to buy a nicely aged Clif Shot?

The GU PacketWeekend - A Tragedyby Jeff Cutler, Southeast MA

S I D E T R A C K S

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T R A I L B U I L D I N G

Geoweb is a versatile material. In this project, we used geoweb to create a raised turnpike in a muddy area next to a pond. It's not cheap -for this 4 x 40' section of trail, the materials would cost about $500. But sometimes it's the only solution if you can't reroute the trail orbuild a boardwalk. It keeps the trail looking natural and mud-free. Unlike throwing into a puddle rocks and corduroy, which would just dis-appear into the muck, this is a permanent solution. Materials: 6x40' sheet of geotextile fabric, 8x20' piece of geoweb (cut in two), gravel tofill geoweb, 3-4" of duff (from surrounding landscape) Tools: loppers, mattocks, shovels, wheelbarrows, rakes Time: This took approx 8-10people 4.5 hours to complete.

Working with Geoweb: Six Steps to a Better Trail by Krisztina Holly, Greater Boston

Mike, Mary, and Geoff play inthe muck. Normally you remove4-5 inches of mud and dirt touse later, but (surprise!) therewere so many roots that we justleveled it off as best as possible.

Kurt and Ryan spread out thegeotextile fabric. The fabrickeeps the gravel from sinkinginto the mud, but allows water topass through

Geoweb is stretched out accor-dion-style to make a large hon-eycomb structure. The "pockets"hold the gravel in place, and thematerial is perforated to letwater pass through.

Kurt holds the geoweb openwhile volunteers take turns fillingthe pockets with gravel. Onceyou get the first few pocketsright, starting from the end (criti-cal!), you can just dump it by thewheelbarrow-ful

After the geoweb is filled andthe edges smoothed out withthe rest of the gravel, we cart inextra dirt and rake duff from thehillside onto the trail to concealthe materials. (If there is a bigproblem with water runningacross the trail, you might useanother sheet of fabric beforecovering it.)

Look, Ma, no mud!Brian rides the trail.

(Photos by Z)

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M O R E P L A C E S T O R I D E

Together with the public land atneighboring West Hill Dam, this parkoffers interesting historical relics,

beautiful natural scenery, and 10 miles oftrails that range from easy to difficult. Insummer, bring a swimsuit and/or a picnicand plan to stay a while.

Background: The Blackstone River hadbeen described as one of the hardestworking rivers in the country in the late1700's and early 1800's when it powereddozens of small mills that produced flour,boards, and iron goods. It was also hometo America's first water-powered textilefactory. Between the years 1828 and 1848the river supported a 45-mile canal thatlinked Worcester and Providence with atransportation source for exporting localproducts and importing foreign goods fromaround the world.

A railroad eventually killed the canal'sbusiness but a 3.5-mile stretch of thewaterway is preserved in this heritagestate park and brought back to life with aninterpretive brochure and visitor centerexhibits. Bikers, hikers, canoeists, andother exercisers now draw strength fromthe Blackstone as they travel its courseand admire the views.

Trail Policies: Mountain biking is permit-ted on all trails. Bicyclists should note,however, that hikers are the predominantuser group at both Blackstone and WestHill Dam, especially on weekends. Many ofthe park's trails are narrow so travel at anappropriate speed and be ready to yield.Dogs must be leashed.

Orientation: The park's natural features

provide helpfulpoints of refer-ence whenexploring forthe first time.At Blackstone,the river andcanal are thebackbone to theproperty and,together withs u r r o u n d i n ghills and inter-secting roads,guide the trailsalong a north-south corridor.Numbered his-torical siteslocated alongthe canal aredescribed in an

interpretive brochure (available at the visi-tor center) that can also help determineyour location. At West Hill Dam, the trailsystem forms a simple loop around a pieceof the West River with roads crossing atthree points. Maps and signs are posted tohelp guide visitors.

Double-tracks: Starting from the StanleyWoolen Mill, the park's southernmostpoint, the Blackstone Canal Towpathheads northward beside the waterway,now an idle pool in the shade of surround-ing trees. Towpaths, built on the banksalong the entire length of the canal, wereused by horses to pull loaded boatsthrough the water. Today tree roots ripplethe towpath's surface in a few places butit is an otherwise flat, smooth and easyride.

A mile from the mill is a wooden bridgeacross the canal leading to the visitor cen-ter, once a barn of Riverbend Farm. Whenit is open, the staffed building offers toiletfacilities, drinking water, and information.

Continuing north, the towpath runs foranother quarter-mile to Hartford Ave.,where two magnificent stone archesbridge the river and canal. Cross the pave-ment and look for the Goat Hill Trail head-ing across a small field and into the woodsat a trailhead sign. Rocks and roots aremore plentiful on this trail but they aresporadic and avoidable so the riding isintermediate, even when the treadwaynarrows to single-track near the midsec-tion. Goat Hill Trail follows a shelf of landabove the open wetland known as RiceCity Pond.

Site 5 on the map marks the Goat HillLock, one of many points that joined sec-tions of the canal that were at differentelevations. Here boats could either ascendor descend in elevation by the emptying orfilling of water inside the lock.

Plummer's Trail, named for a local mer-chant during: the canal's boom years, runsalong a towpath for 1.8 miles from thelock to Church St. The trail is bumpy withmore tree roots and narrows to single-track for a brief distance but remains agenerally easy ride.

The land surrounding nearby West HillDam harbors a swimming beach, picnicarea, and about 5 miles of trails in a floodcontrol area managed by the U.S. ArmyCorps of Engineers. Constructed in thelate 1950's, this dam is designed to holdwater only in times of flooding to preventdamage downstream and is usually highand dry. During periods of river flooding,do not expect to be able to use these trailssince they could be under water.

Marked in orange, the Woodland Trail is a3.6-mile loop through the area with most-ly easy riding, although one avoidable sec-tion has intermediate conditions.Following the loop in the clockwise direc-tion from the parking lot off Hartford Ave.,ride up the paved access road, turn left,and pass through a yellow gate on a gravelroad that travels along a low extension ofthe huge, earthen dam. Turn right after aquarter-mile and continue for a half-mileon an old farm road that has a smoothsurface of processed stone, then crossWest Hill Rd. at a small parking lot andcontinue northward into the woods. Thenext mile of trail to Mendon St. is mostlyflat with tree roots creating a few bumps.

Ride out to Mendon St., turn right, andfollow the pavement across the river. Theorange dots of the Woodland Trail reenterthe woods after a quarter-mile on the rightand run southward for almost a mile backto West Hill Rd. with mostly easy rolling.A few spots are rough but they are short-lived and easily walked. The remaininghalf-mile single-track to the dam is inter-mediate riding from a combination ofroots, rocks, and slopes but can be avoid-ed by turning right on West Hill Rd. andreturning on the trail's first leg. The picnicarea and beach at the river's HarringtonPool makes a nice rest stop at the centerof this loop.

Single-tracks: Most of the single-trackoptions are at Blackstone. The path that

Blackstone River & Canal Heritage State Park, Uxbridge MA by Stuart Johnstone, Greater Boston

Hot off the press in its fifth edi-tion, Mountain Biking Near Bostonhas been expanded to new areasand updated with current trailpolicies as well as miles of newly-cut singletrack. The book is avail-able at bike shops throughouteastern Massachusetts. Theauthor, Stuart Johnstone, is anactive NEMBA member who hashelped coordinate NEMBA’s trailmaintenance activities in GreatBrook Farm State Park in CarlisleMA. Stuart’s other guide booksinclude Mountain Biking NewHampshire and Bike Paths ofMassachusetts. We thank Stuartfor sharing one of his chapterswith NEMBA!

21

loops to the top of Goat Hill is difficult toride but manageable for experts who canhandle steep slopes and maneuver aroundplentiful rocks. An open ledge near the topallows a slight view. The trail is most ride-able from the south where the slope is abit more gradual.

Across the river, the King Philips Trail pro-vides another difficult ride for over a mileto one of the park's most spectacularpoints. It starts at Park Headquarters witha broad, smooth surface but narrowswhen it enters the woods and struggleswith trees and roots, slipping past a wet-land at the foot of a hill. At the end climbatop Lookout Rock for a great view overthe Blackstone Valley. Be aware that this isa popular destination for hikers and thatthe surrounding trails will require goodtrail manners. For a less-traveled alterna-tive, try the single-track that climbs overWolf Hill.

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:

From 1-495, take Exit 20 if southbound(for Rte. 85 south) or Exit 19 if north-bound (for Rte. 109 west) and follow signsto Rte. 16. To reach the park's southernendpoint, take Rte. 16 west for 8 milesfrom the intersection of Route 85, thenturn right on Cross St, The parking lot isahead on the right. For the visitor center,continue on Rte. 16 to Oak St., turn right,and find the parking lot on the right after amile. For West Hill Dam, drive for 4.5miles west on Rte. 16 (from Rte. 85), turnright on Hartford Ave., and the dam'saccess road is 2.3 miles ahead on theright.

BIKE SHOPS:

Blackstone Canal Bicycles, 2 S. Main St.(Rte. 122), Uxbridge, Tel. (508) 278-3080

Milford Bicycle, 71 E. Main St. (Rtel 6),Milford, Tel. (508) 473-7955

Specialty Ski & Bike, 267 Hartford Ave.(Rte. 126), Bellingham, Tel. (508) 966-5000

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Blackstone River & Canal Heritage StatePark, 287 Oak St., Uxbridge, MA 01569,Tel. (508) 278-7604

West Hill Dam Project Office, RR#2, Box45E-1, Uxbridge, MA 01569-9608, Tel.(508) 278-2511

22

978.468.1301Supporting Trail Advocacy on the North

ShoreInfo on Some of the Greatest Riding

Around!

S I D E T R A C K S

Here's a sobering thoughtfor those of you who will bedoing trail work this week-end: you can get hurt.Really! Yeah I know, you’re thinking that, if you'recareful enough, and experienced enough,and quick enough, and fit enough, it could-n't happen to you. I thought that way too,until I broke my ankle doing trail work onMemorial Day. And let me tell you — Itcould happen to you too.

Memorial Day was one of the most perfectdays in New England this spring. It was aday full of Summer's best promises: the freshgreen of fern and leaf, brilliant sunshine,delicious air. It was a perfect day to get in aquick hour of branch lopping on a trail I’mcutting on family land before going for aride. My brother-in-law wanted to see thetrail, so he joined me as we hiked up the hillbehind the house.

We trimmed as we walked up the trail, final-ly stopping to concentrate on a part of thetrail that crossed an old crumbling stonewall. As I worked to clear brush and branch-es from the trail’s right-of-way, I shifted myfeet, and suddenly my foot twisted inwardand rolled over. I felt a dull chunking sensa-tion in my ankle as I fell to the ground.

My bro-in-law shouted, "Hey, are you allright?"

"I don't think so," I answered. "Go get thetruck."

While he hiked down to get the jeep, I layon my back and stared up through theleaves of the hickory tree overhead. The per-fect day slipped away. And I knew that mysummer had taken a definite turn for theworse.

The gory facts: I broke my fibula, cracked mytibia a little, and tore my deltoid ligament,among others. I needed a plate installed onmy fibula to pull the ankle joint into properalignment so that my ligaments could grow

back. I've got two moreweeks in my cast, andthen another sevenweeks of being mellowbefore I can really starthammering a moun-tain bike again.

‘So what?’, you arethinking. What doesthis poor jerk's injuryhave to do with me?

Just this. It happenedso fast I couldn't react.It happened while Iwasn't doing anythingstupid. (‘Yeah, right!’ Ihear you all mutter-ing). It happened eventhough I was awarethat I was near loosestones. But hey it was

an accident. And like they say, ‘S—- hap-pens.’

Replaying the event over and over in mymind though, I have concluded that therewas at least one thing that I could havedone differently. One thing that might havemade a difference.

I could have worn burlier shoes. I was wear-ing a low cut, all-leather light hiking shoebecause I was thinking about comfort andwas not going to be doing serious work likedigging. A boot that laced up over my ankle,might not have totally prevented my injury,but I am confident it would have spared mesome damage.

So here's some advice from a broken man:even on the most casual of trail work ses-sions, wear the proper foot gear. Like workboots. Trail work is NOT just walking. We allwear light shoes into the woods to go run-ning or hiking, but we should remember thattrail work requires a heavier, more stableplatform for secure footing. If you're goingon a walk, leave your tools at home. But ifyou're doing trail work, even a little, lace upyour heavy boots.

God knows you don't want to wind up likeme, stuck in a cast, picking out the words toa story for Singletracks. Instead of riding.

Hey man: Trail work is serious and highlydangerous business. It takes muscles ofiron, nerves of steel, skin of aluminum,bones of, uh, titanium, a brain of lead, andorgans of brass. It requires insect-proofclothing, and blister proof gloves. It requirestools of steel and wood, the sweat of yourbrow, the blood of your veins, and the gird-ing of your loins. It requires faith in man,the hope of eternal reward, and an unim-peachable moral character. But most of all, itrequires sturdy foot wear.

Oh, and beer afterwards. Lots of beer.

It’s a Dangerous World by Jim Tasse, VT NEMBA

PO Box 226Fryeburg ME 04037

Supplying bicycle shops and supporting trail advocacy since 1982

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S I D E T R A C K S

Day to day life is filled with so manydifficult challenges it can becomeoverwhelming. To soothe the soul

many of us look to mountain biking as asavior from insanity. Oh yeah, it's funalright. But even out on the trails, far wayfrom the maddening world, you'll still facechallenges...

For example... the hill climb. I've come to theconclusion that riding a bike up a gnarlyincline is far easier than pushing it up...Forsome damn reason, hiking it to the top justseems physiologically harder on the bod.When you finally hoof it to the peak, theprofuse huffing and puffing makes a bluefaced, three pack per day, chain smoker, ONOXYGEN, look healthy. So the past few yearsI've specifically concentrated on improvingmy bike climbing skills. However, skill alonedoesn't always get me over the top.Developing a "Never give up" attitude ismost essential.

To conquer hill climbing, I have developedmy own unorthodox brand of alternativeself-help crap... A type of holistic, self-guid-ed imagery meets Godzilla... During theascent, I'll start visualizing myself hangingoff a ledge of a 18 story building, whiletelling myself over, and over, that if I letgo...I'll fall violently, and, most horrifically,into the jaws of death! This makes me hangon to the bike and climb as if my lifedepends upon it. All psychological mumbo-jumbo aside...It works, if I do say so myself,and has helped me to become quite the littlemountain goat. (So modest too!)

Despite all that, there are those few hillsthat'll always GETCHA... no matter howhard you try. Like my arch nemesis, 'HolyGrail...' I have never beaten it, though I'vecome close. I've tried bullying it... buildingspeed towards it...I even backed way off thepower to go with the balance and finesseapproach. (Lets just say my crouch was socosmic the nose of my saddle could registera healthy 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, fluctuat-ing only for different levels of dehydration or

ovulation.) Even the arrival of winter'sfrozen tundra traction didn't do any good.Perhaps it was time to face the cold, hardtruth... 'The Grail', would never be mine.

To massage the sore ego, I told myself it wasbecause 'Grail', was gone. It had eroded pastthe point of doable. Being an old, straight upand down, motorcycle trail, it had seen bet-ter days, and was now horribly scarred withdeep ruts and loose, sandy, soil. The widthof the trail had migrated outside of its origi-nal boarders times four, and growing. OhSure, now and again, a few of the guyswould make it, and some felt strongly thatwe should just leave the hill alone as, "Weneeded more challenges." But seriously, itwas time to repair, with the only optionbeing blockage, and bypass. (Or possiblythis was my way to exact revenge. Youknow...I had been spurned...rejected...Awoman scorned?...) Nah!

Anyway...The chapter had talked abouteventually targeting Grail, but there wereother priority projects. With some time off, Idecided to start work on a fix myself byheading out on a solo-mtb trail redesigningexpedition.

Reaching the base of 'His Holiness', I dis-mounted, and though generous quantities ofendorphins were coursing through my veins,I couldn't help feeling a bit saddened aboutit's fate. This was however the right thing todo. So I spent the next hour carefully sur-veying the surrounding terrain, familiarizingmyself with each nuance, and curve. Thenchose the perfect fix. A wide ridge sweep,with a gradual, but much longer climb thatwould still tear at the heart and sole of eachmuscle fiber within the quads, (withouttearing up the earth.) And sweeter yet... Inreverse, would provide a decidedly deliciousdescent. Really, I told myself, this was notgiving up on Grail... If anything, the trailwould be even more challenging.

Pleased with the results, it was time to headhome. I picked up my bike and started walk-ing up the hill, knowing I would never find

the sacred chalice I was looking for, so whyeven try. Nevertheless, I was compelled to.Legs cold and stiff, I held on to a tree lookingstraight into the face of defeat, and clippedin.

I took a deep breath and began pedaling, upthe left side, making it past the first obsta-cle, a slippery root into loose sand... Icrossed to the right, over a rut...No big deal,I had made it that far before... Passing thetwo tree's, I crossed over to the leftagain...Still on the bike, at the steepest partof the hill, my rear wheel started losing trac-tion. I some how miraculously shifted someweight aft, and while grimacing, grunting,pushing , and wincing , I slowly and unbe-lievably crested then screamed, "HolySheets!!!, I just climbed Holy Grail!!!"Grabbing a tree and grinning ear to eat Ilooked backed saying, "Guess this trail does-n't need fixin' after all!!"

Now of course, I didn't really mean that...Well... at least not for very long. But WOW!Riding to the top of Grail, was like... beingon top of the world! And as you know, theoxygen is a bit thin up there, so I wasallowed a brief moment of selfishness. Myconscious would allow me to savor the vic-tory only briefly, as deep down inside, Iknew this icon of my religion had to go. Ordid it?... I had finally found the cup, andtaken a sip from it...and oh... the wine wassweet. Could I now ascend high enough tomeet the larger challenge? The return of Grailto it's rightful owner... Mother Earth?

Thank God, I'll never have to answer thatquestion. But I'm almost positive I wouldhave done the right thing. After telling myhoney about my now questionable, plannedfix, and my huge climbing accomplishment,he disappeared on April 14th, for nearly 8hours. When he returned, I asked him howthe taxes were coming along. He grumbled,"I haven't done them yet, but I built yourdamn trail!" He evades stressful challengeson the trails too.

In Search of the Holy Grail by Deb McCulloch, Cape Cod & Islands

24

S I D E T R A C K S

Iwas thinking, —that always gets me in trouble— maybe Ishould get some alternative transportation. You know, give mywife Gail a break. I could drive it to the mountain bike rides and

not have to tie up the only car for hours.

Soooooooooo, I thought I'd buy a rusty but trusty. A pickup truckwith an old rag for a gas cap, bald tires, a big rock for an emergencybrake, and stickers covering the cracks in the windshield. I can dowonders with Bondo, duct tape, sheet metal and pop rivets. Imight even be able to get the wreck past inspection by getting theengine REAL hot and going on a rainy day!

My son Scot thinks that "Rusty but Trusty" sounds like a goodreplacement for another car we had, the "Rolls-Canhardly" (It rollsdown the hills with ease but can hardy make it up the other side).That car left the yard, (sucker bought it for parts through the WantAd), with flames shooting out of the remnants of the exhaust, gasleaking from the patches on the tank, and my prayer that it would-n’t blow up in the yard. I’d been looking for awhile, then I ran intothis real bargain???? O.K. So I paid more than I planned on, but itwill "fix up" real nice. So I picked up the "rusty but trusty" pickuptruck, now I have three questions:

1. Do I still have to brush my teeth?2. Should I get a tattoo, (where)?3. Will people follow me into restaurants and think, "that's thebest place to eat?"4. How do I find the J.C. Whitney catalog?O.K. Four questions but my math is starting to get messed up.(Sumbitch!)

I’ve driven the truck a bit;smoking out the side is OK, especially ifyou are a pickup truck. But I think this heap is changing my per-sonality. Now I have a bike rack on the outside and a gun rack onthe inside.... AND I have this desire for chewing tobacco!!!!!!!!!!!!Sumbitch I'm gonna get me some hash and eggs!!!! You say; "That’sabsurd...just because you have a truck.... Well now that I do I waswondering if my CB Radio can reach other truckers?

Just so that you can see that I haven’t gone completely crazy.. trythis Math Test. Question #1. If you add the cost of two gallons ofBondo to the price of a large bag of pop rivets and a piece of sheetMetal, add in the price of three cans of primer paint what do youget???

A. Double the value of "rusty but trusty"B. Double the weight of "rusty but trusty"C. Have just enough cash left for an "economy" gun rack.D. All of the above.

I have more to say but I just ran out of chewing tobacco and haveto rush to the store... well maybe rush is the wrong word for"RUSTY BUT TRUSTY." O.K. back from the store, a wad of tobaccain the cheek. I’m thinking, maybe "SPOTS" is a better name. Spotsof touch up paint and Bondo. Spots of oil in the driveway. Spotsthe police at a speed trap and laughs! And talk about encourage-ment, my friend Steve says; "Oh my God.....A pick-up truck.... Isthere a visor on your cowboy hat?"." So I’m thinkin, maybe a songtitle for a truck name. "Lookin for rust in all the wrong places?" Oh!And my mountain bike looks perfect riding around in the truck'sbed. But only if both tires are flat. I wonder why?

Rusty but Trusty by Marty Grassie

FAT BEATYou Can Beat ëEm, You Can Join ëEm

It took two great companies to develop the new Merlin Fat Beat.Up front, we developed a special frame to accomodate a FattyHeadshok, Cannondale’s innovative, lightweight suspension

system. On the back, we incorporated the best rear suspensionsystem available: the Moots YBBeat. And in the middle?

It’s all Merlin. And it’s all the rage.

40 Smith Place, Cambridge, MA 02138617-661-6688 www.merlinbike.com

25

S I D E T R A C K S

Golfing vs. Mountain Biking: Is there a Choice?by Todd Tannehill, Southeast MA

We see them everyday when the weather gets nice; funnyshorts, stupid looking head gear, and the clanking of themetal cleats on the bottom of their shoes. No, I’m not

talking about mountain bikers. This is the after work golf groupthat play a few holes to unwind.

It is important to note that golf is an accepted reason for an after-noon late lunch. It is also a politically correct outing for closing asale. I can’t help thinking that, as a mountain biker, I am feeling"sports prejudice!" Maybe I should buy an old set of clubs to carryout of the office at noon, throw them in the trunk and go for a ride!How would I explain the mud on my face when I return? "Oh I hadto bail on the third hole!"

I can’t wait for the day when an important client comes into townwho does not golf. Instead the customer wants to close the sale inthe woods. Signing the deal in mud, sweat, and sometimes pain-less rosebush blood. We could celebrate a merger over Power Barsand Gatorade in the parking lot. The contract would be notarizedwith a knobby mark across the bottom!

You can tell a lot about a person’s character by their sport. Whenthings get tough who would you rather do business with; the per-son that walks 18 holes following a little white ball through flatgreen pastures, or the one that can clear the Rock Garden atWompatuck State Park without breaking a sweat (or anything else

for that matter!). Should you trust the person that settles for paror the one who stands on a hill and refuses to get off and walk?What is more impressive; a five foot putt or a five foot bunny hopover a mud bog?

I ride to relax and forget about everything from the big presenta-tion tomorrow to the missed opportunity of today. As a mountainbiker my focus is the three foot clear path in front of me with notime to think of anything else but clearing the next log. Somethingtells me that walking between holes does not give you that samemind clearing effect. A golfer comes off the course upset abouthole five and his or her total score. A mountain biker returns to thecar happy to be in one piece and looking forward to the next ride.

So the next time you have a big presentation in the morning, pre-pare yourself with the self confidence that only New England singletrack can provide. As a closing note, golf is not all bad. Think ofhow many people it keeps out of the woods!

ED Note: Maybe there is a choice after all. Consider the Golf-Mountain Bike Biathalon. Eighteen holes of golf pulling your clubson a mountain bike equipped with a BOB Trailer. Competitors(who may duke it out with their clubs) are given points basedupon both strokes and speed!

26

helps the rider to shift his weight back, lightening the load on thefront wheel. Lombardi suggests imagining a line strung from yourchin to the top of your front wheel. As you pull up, the front wheelfollows, allowing it to roll over obstacles more easily. "Mountain bik-ing is all about weight shift, balance and finesse."

Whistle while you work. One of Lombardi’s favorite tricks is to takestudents on a windy trail, and have them start whistling a tune asthey ride. "I’m distracting their mind, and they immediately startapplying balance techniques. They’ll start flowing through turns andover obstacles. It’s effortless."

The mental con game. Once you’re comfortable with you brain disen-gaged, Lombardi wants you to reconnect it. "Exceptional athleteslearn to deal with fear, not deny it. Even if you’re not completely con-fident, act like you are, and you will be more confident. It’s a positiveself-fulfilling prophesy."

Practice stationary balance. For most riders, balance refers to keepingthe bike upright while moving forward. This "momentum" balance isall fine and good, but it won’t help you much on really technical sin-gletrack. Lombardi advocates learning trials routines, such as a trackstand, to develop "stationary" balance, or the ability to stay uprightwhen you’re not moving. "Stationary balance improved my dynamicbalance. It sharpened my balance sensory organs, and increased myinnate ability to balance."

Shelve Mr. Macho. Hey, it’s OK to admit you don’t know it all, regard-less if you're man, woman or child. Lombardi says the biggest road-block for riders is taking advice. Must really sting when she goesscreaming by them.

Lombardi offers a number of training sessions through three Marin-area recreation centers. She’s also available for private coaching. Shecan be reached at 415/456-4251.

Ride like a goddesscontinued from page 15

CT NEMBA presents...

SECOND ANNUAL FALL FIESTA! That’s right. We’re having our 2nd annual big Ride, Meeting, and Party all rolled intoone afternoon ...and you’re invited!! Come have some fun with fellow mountain bik-ers before we slow things down for the upcoming winter season. Come join us forone, two, or all three events! All NEMBA members and their families are welcome!Non-members are encouraged to attend and join at the door.

· MOUNTAIN BIKE RIDE at Cockaponset State Forest· Meet at 9:30 a.m. under the CT NEMBA banner for group rides of all ability levels!· Tons of trails, from scenic fire roads to sweet single track!· PARTY at "The Casino", a gorgeous lodge near Cockaponset· TRIALS DEMONSTARTION BY KEVIN BRODY!· TONS OF FOOD AND LIQUID REFRESHMENT!· Games and activities for kids and adults, lots of toys to raffle off!· ANNUAL CT NEMBA MEETING

DETAILS/DIRECTIONS CONTACT NANCY MARTIN

Phone: (203) 772-2859 Email: nancy.concelman@snet.net

Sunday, OCT 24th, Chester, CT·Rides start at 9:30 a.m. ·Party following ride

27

Berkshire NEMBAPresident: Mary Tunnicliffe, 413-298-0073, mtunn@berkshire.net Vice-President: Herm OlgunickSecretary: Jan Marcotte Treasurer: Rex Channell

Calling All Riders Looking for a Deal atPedrosFest

Coming up in early October, PedrosFest will bepitching camp in OUR backyard! Rob Steele'sfarm, Noppet Hill in Lanesboro is the new siteof the very popular Pedro's Mountain BikeFestival. No longer held far away in Vermont,this is the mountain bike fest of the year —industry sponsors, NEMBA raffles, food,bevvies, music, and hundreds of riders campingout and riding from the venue in the gorgeousrolling fields in the center the Berkshires.

Even sweeter than not having to drive three-plus hours to the venue is getting in for HALF(or better) price and getting material rewardsfor you efforts and time. Want to know how?It's easier than doing an endo off ledge: lead aride or two. Sign up as a ride leader (for any rid-ing ability) and enjoy a half-priced ticket of anadult admission fee (that's normally $60)Depending on how many hours you donate,you may be eligible for a larger discount.

To get you acquainted with the trails, you mustattend a Ride Leader Workshop before the festi-val. You will learn the trails suited to your ridegroup, get a map, and then be eligible for thediscounted admission ticket. And you'll get topreview the awesome riding in this area beforethe crowds hit the trails. Ride LeaderWorkshops are planned for every Saturday inSeptember, leaving from the site in the morn-ing. If you would like to make arrangements forlater in the day, or on a Sunday (if you arebringing a group of other volunteer RideLeaders) that can be arranged. It will also be alot of fun.

Volunteers will also be eligible for a larger dis-count by assisting with trail marking or rideorganization. Please inquire.

For more information and to sign up (BEFORESeptember 27th), please call/email MaryTunnicliffe at 413-298-0073/mtunn@berk-shire.net in the evenings, or email GregChapman at chapmgre@hvcc.edu. Thank you!And plan on having a great time at PedrosFest!

Of Waterbars and Waterfalls

On June 6th, there was a Trail Maintenance Dayat Savoy State Forest, coordinated with theBerkshire Trails Council through the DEM. Thelast time I was in this particular state park waswith my parents and siblings on a cross-coun-try ski outing — a very long time ago. It's a bigplace, full of trails with interesting twists andturns, and lots of areas to build rolling gradedips and install waterbars.

This day was coordinated with the BerkshireTrails Council, another trail advocacy group, inan attempt to join forces to keep trails in goodcondition. On the motorized two wheel side,there were about ten or twelve people withtools in hand and a good idea which areas ofthe Tannery Trial needed attention. This area ispopular with the motorcycle crowd, and theydo their part to keep the DEM happy with theiruse of the trails. Due to an event in Vermont onthe same day, they had low attendance (usuallyabout 30 to 40 people show up for their traildays).

I would like to thank Shaun Harrison, HermOgulnick, and Trish Watson for joining me inrepresenting the Berkshire Chapter of NEMBA.It's too bad that such a small number of peopleshowed up because we had a great time out inthe woods on such a beautiful day. After intro-ductions, we loaded into the back of Shaun'struck and drove to the trail head. We met upwith Phil Hiser, of Lee (incidentally, Phil is the1998 Trail Worker of the Year, and has beeninvolved with trail maintenance projects forover 20 years) with his ATV, full of tools andaccessories. He took the rubber strip waterbarmaterials to the designated spots, passing uson the way. I began to think of Phil as the BillBoles/Bob Hicks of trail wizardry in the ATVworld.

I took advantage of the skills I had learned atthe Trail Building School a few weeks earlier inthe spring, at certain locations on the trail. Weall learned to assess the situation at hand,decide upon the best approach for the problem,

and then got to work. By mid-afternoon, wewere all chanting the "rolling grade dip" praises,admiring our work on the way back to thetruck. It really was a painless way to spend themorning. We convened at 8am, and were fin-ished at noon: a productive morning, good forthe trails and good for us. Herm and Shaun hadridden the trails in Savoy before, but we alldeclined to partake in our efforts on our bikesas other duties called us back home. Beforeheading out though, we took a short hike toadmire the incredible waterfalls in the forest. Asweet reward for a job well done. Thanks againShaun, Herm and Trish!

Becky Barnes, of the DEM, was very apprecia-tive of our contribution, as was the BerkshireTrails Council. The next trail day is scheduledfor sometime in the fall, and I hope more peo-ple will be able to lend a hand. All those greattools the Berkshire Chapter got at the TrailBuilding School are just itchin' to be used andloved!! — Mary Tunnicliffe

October Mountain has great trails

Now that I live adjacent to October Mt I amgetting pretty familiar with the trails so volun-teered to lead the ride June 27. A small butenthusiastic turnout (Including one person onhis second ride ever!). The good news aboutOctober Mt is the immense amount of workthat has been done there since the institutionof the Memorandum of Understanding with themotorized vehicle users donating 400 hours perstate forest. The bridges are great for us and theenvironment. The other good news is that thereis a NEW map which is pretty good. I stilladvise a compass, spare food and water and abuddy system before you venture too far. Wehave informally named the trails that areunnamed on the map, including MonkeyMotion, The culvert trail, Contour trail to namea few. Everyone is invited to come ride outhere. Email me at Meanwheels@aol.com and Ican send you a map or ask the DEM for one. —Ruth Wheeler

Hey, NEMBA Members: Get Connectedwith NEMBA’s Email lists!

NEMBA now has numerous emails lists for all mountain bikers who wantto hook up for rides, talk bikes and keep abreast of the latest NEMBAhappenings. Hundreds of mountain bikers are now subscribed, and thelists are growing everyday. Joining the lists is a perfect way for you tomeet other mountain bikers and check out new trails! Join online atwww.nemba.org by clicking on "Email Lists." Here's the line up:

blackstone@nemba.orgctnemba@nemba.org

mtb-boston@nemba.orgseacoast@nemba.orgsemass@nemba.org

wachusett@nemba.orgwomen@nemba.org

Subscribe at WWW.NEMBA.ORG

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Blackstone Valley NEMBAPresident: Jeff Gallo, 508-877-2028, gallojp@yahoo.com Vice-Presidents: Andy Thompson & Gary WhittemoreSecretary: Anne Shepard Treasurer: Mitch Steinberg

Chapter Meeting- Great Success

The second annual Blackstone Valley NEMBAchapter meeting was held on June 19th.. Theweather couldn't have been better, and the daystarted off with new and old members becom-ing acquainted. Funrides followed with riderssplitting into both beginner and more experi-enced groups. I had a great time leading thebeginner group although, I did spend most ofthe day eating 9 yr old Patrick Border's dust.

Gianni's pizza was nice enough to deliver atruck load of pies right to the parking lot? (Youwant how many pizzas delivered where?) Whata day, great riding, pizza waiting for you whenyou finish, what more could you ask for? Howabout a raffle where everyone is a winner. Yes,that's right, thanks to Landry's Westboro andFramingham we had enough gift certificates, T-

shirts and prizes to put a smile oneveryone's face.

After everyone had their fill of popand pizza the chapter officer's wereelected during a brief business meet-ing. No surpises here, all encumbentswon by a landslide. Better luck nextyear for all you hopeful candidates.

The meeting ended with an openforum. It was nice to hear all the sug-gestions from the membership on pro-jects and goals for the upcoming year.In addition to our dedication to trailaccess and maintenance, my personalgoal is to double our membership overthe next year. I certainly think this ispossible but I need your help.Whenever the occasion arises, men-

tion NEMBA, Blackstone Valley, and all thegreat work we do. It's as simple as that. JoiningNEMBA will then be a no-brainer.

Thanks to everyone who made our meetingsuch a great success. —Jeff Gallo

Trail Maintenance

The Bay State Trail Riders and Blackstone ValleyNEMBA had successful events at both Upton S.P. (5/23) and Douglas S.P. (6/12) It's great to seedifferent user groups working side by side topreserve our trails. I hope these are the first ofmany combined events to come. These eventsgo a long way to promoting understanding andco-operation among trail users. Special thanksto Mitch Steinberg (NEMBA) and BeckyKallagher (BSTRA) for making these events pos-

sible.

It's not too late to to be included in the rafflefor the Merlin Fatty SL or titanium hardtail.Three events and you have a chance at the FattSL. Any one event will enter you in a raffle for amountain frame. Blackstone Valley has twomore events this season. Callahan S.P. on Sept12th and Noanet Woodlands on Nov. 6th. Ifyou can't make our events participation in anyMassachusetts maintenance day is fine. You'llnever find odds to win like these at your cornerdrugstore. —Jeff Gallo

Cape Cod and Islands NEMBAPresident: Charlie Genatossio, 508-477-4936,cgenatossio@webtv.net Vice-President: Mitch McCulloch, 508-564-4807Secretary: Ellin Boorus Treasurer: Margaret Moore

CT NEMBAPresident: Brian Smith, 860-676-9721, bnemba@home.com Vice-President: John Turchi, turch@snet.netSecretary: Joe Ortoleva Treasurer: Rich FletcherCT NEMBA Website: http://members.aol.com/joeorto/index.html Address: PO Box 290956, Wethersfield CT 06129-9956

Chapter News

First off, I'm sorry to announce that our secre-tary, Joe Ortoleva, is stepping down from hispost due to outside commitments. Joe hasbeen, and will certainly continue to be, a highlyvaluable part of CT NEMBA; we are grateful forall his contributions, his dedication, and hiscommitment. He still vows to maintain our website, which began as the Southern ConnecticutMountain Bike site, his own. I'm sure we'll seethe "squishster's" head popping up at TMevents and meetings from time to time. Wewish him all the best in his pursuits! Anyonethat has an interest in filling this vacancy onthe CT Board is encouraged to contact any

other CT Board member or me. On the plusside, there are some additions to CT NEMBA:some sweet new single track at the infamousWest Hartford Reservoir! This is an awesomenew trail, dubbed the "Antler Trail" and the"Antler Trail Extension" that not only offersarguably the best single track the Reservoir has,but also the only view of a large marsh, teemingwith turtles, herons, frogs, and numerous otherbirds. Helmets off to it's creators (the trail, thatis) Steve Clarke, John Turchi, and the merryband of Trail Bosses and maintainers! Ourthanks go out as well to the MDC for their per-mission to cut it. The years of working andnegotiating together with them has really paid

off! Our hope is to have more news of newtrail(s) in upcoming issues...stay tuned! TheSpring TM session is over, having logged rough-ly 400 hours on the trails. A whole new groupof Trail Bosses were trained and plans made forthe Fall series.

You might soon find some of these very trailsposted on our web site as CT NEMBA pur-chased a GPS this year and the softwarerequired to overlay rides onto CT topo maps.We are currently mapping, of course, theReservoir, as well as Penwood State Park andothers, with plans to do the legal riding oppor-tunities in other areas such as Nepaug,Meshomasic, and others in the near future. We

Thank you, CC & Islands NEMBA, for putting on such a great festival! Go fishing, ride your bikes, kick back and marvel at the awesomeevent that you’ve staged! Just remember to come home in time for next trail maintenance days this fall!

(Anne Shepard)

(And

y Th

omps

on)

Get Out and Ride! by Rob Folansbee &Krisztina Holly

As the spring trail maintenance season hasbeen winding down, the fun has been heatingup! Local riders have been hooking up for ridesvia our new email listserve, mtb-boston@nemba.org. To join up, go towww.nemba.org, click on "email lists," and fol-low the directions.

Even our monthly board meetings have taken alaid-back spin this summer: starting with a ride,ending with a BBQ and brews. June's meetingin Arlington started with a great tour ofBelmont and Waltham led by DavidKleinschmidt. When given the chance for amoment, Rob Follansbee took the helm anddropped us like a rock… and Jeff Hylandshowed us some of his very impressive log-hopping moves. Our meetings are generally onthe third Wednesday of every month. If youwant to have a hand in what's going on, pleasedrop us a line to find out the next meetinglocation.

A new roving ride series has started up onThursday nights, usually a fast ride that meetsat different places all over the Boston area.(When possible, we try to find a second rideleader to also lead an intermediate group.) Theidea is to explore new places to ride in theBoston 'burbs, followed by some tasty brewsand food. The bar was raised in mid-June,when Wes (don't know his last name! Justcalled him "that masked man"!) and HarleyEricson led a great ride at Callahan. After theride, Wes whipped out his two charcoal grills,

along with a vast array of bugers, sausage pat-ties, dogs, condiments… even peppers andonions wrapped in foil to slow-roast on the fire!Don't expect quite that treatment every week,but we do have a good time. To find out aboutthe next ride, susbcribe to mtb-boston (seeabove). And we're always looking for more rideleaders to share their local knowledge.

Trail Maintenance

OK, so we're not ALL fun and games. In addi-tion to all of our riding, we actually get somework done, too! This last spring, we had eighttrail maintenance events in the Boston areaalone, including two joint events with theAMC. Thanks a zillion to all of you that cameand participated.

Don't miss our Fall trail work days: so pleasecheck the calendar for all our upcoming events!

Sabotage!

Earlier this spring, several reported incidents ofsabotage occurred in both the RockMeadow/Met State area and the Fells.

At the Fells, three separate incidents of nailsbeing strewn across the trails or fireroads havebeen reported, leading to flats and bent rims.Unfortunately, there is not much we can doabout this, except to warn people to be carefuland to pass the information along to theauthorities. If you see any suspicious behavioror encounter similar sabotage, please contactthe Medford barracks of the State Police at 781-396-0100, and you can also notify the MDCNorth Region at 617-727-5380. Also, please

tell us so we can keep everyone informed: emaileastma@nemba.org or call Scott Briere, ourFells coordinator, at 978-657-0557.

As for Belmont, as many of you may havenoticed, the bridge between Rock Meadow andMet State was burned and destroyed. This actoccurred in several stages, as concerned userswould re-construct a crossing and the resultingwork would continually be removed. At pre-sent, the stream crossing is nothing more thana couple logs and a few rocks.

On an even more disconcerting note, several

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Greater Boston NEMBAPresident: Bob Croston, 781-275-2351, rac@kauppforte.com Vice-President: Michael Good, teamgp@aol.comSecretary: Colleen Haggerty Treasurer: Scott BriereEmail: Eastma@nemba.org Meetings: 3rd Wednesday of each month

found the GPS a very useful tool when mappingthis year’s Multiple Sclerosis Mountain BikeRide for the Cure at Hurd State Park in MiddleHaddam. (Thanks to Joe Banning and DaveDunn for showing me all the GPS could do andhis assistance in mapping the course!) We hadanother successful fund raising raffle! Well, inactuality, it's not over, although it will be bypress time, or very shortly thereafter. I'm writ-ing this before the drawing date of July 19th, solook for an announcement of the winner nextissue, but all signs point towards a successfuloutcome. Thanks to all those that purchasedtickets! Look elsewhere in this issue for info onour upcoming Fall Fiesta, the second annual,that promises great rides, food, beer, a loadedraffle, and turch passed out....just kidding,Squishy T! Thanks, by the way, to CC&INEMBA for a really fun NEMBA FEST! Welldone, Deb! Thanks to Bill Boles, Mark andCathy Jenks, and Bob Winot for their companyon the ride. i look anxiously forward to the nextFEST for the answer to the question on every-one's mind...."Y" did Philip take off his clothes?—Brian Smith

NEMBA-Cannondale Trail Maintenance

Well the Spring Trail Maintenance session haswound down. Pretty interesting accomplish-ments. We've recorded something in the neigh-borhood of 400 hard hours which is not badthing, tracking with last years accomplish-ments. Notable activities this season include

supporting Westwoods (a private, nonprofit,land trust in southern Connecticut) for the firsttime (very well received, I might add); new trailcuts at West Rock State Park and at the MDCReservoirs in West Hartford; we building rela-tionships with peer user groups (i.e. see June'99Singletracks, Building Bridges); we held anothersuccessful Trail Boss clinic producing a fine cropof spirited T.M. leaders; and we have hitNepaug State Forest for the first time. Speakingof Nepaug, aside from it being a blast to rollaround in, the recent TM event was meant tobe brush out and garbage pickup details. Sparkplug Pam Bonin and her crew of beastly ham-merheads went off with DEP supervisor, BobPalmer, on litter detail. I knew that there were afew car carcasses about, but was dumbfoundedwhen we all regrouped at days end to find twocars, some appliances, and more car parts, allchained into a large dump truck. WonderWoman, step aside. There's a new sheriff intown. The folks supporting CT NEMBA T.M.operations are numerous. All participants desirea hearty thanks for their energy and enthusi-asm. In particular, I'd like to thank event leadersand supporting Trail Bosses: Joe Ortoleva, AlexSokolow, Steve Clarke, Paul Wetmore, PamBonin, Karl Strauss, Greg Schwalm, and ScottBorrus. These folks are the keys to our T.M. pro-gram. Seek them out. Offer help. Wash theirbikes. They deserve this and more. Lets recog-nize the newest additions to our stable of TrailBosses. Here are a group of folks who demon-

strate a desire to step up to the task of givingback to the community in a big way. Pleasewelcome: Paula Burton (Sandy Hook), GeneKulak (New Britain), Rob Devaux (MansfieldCenter), Karyn Young (Danbury), and RichPineda (Waterbury). Oh, and CT NEMBAKahuna, Brian Smith finally got his merit badge,too. Think that we are done for the year? Not.We've got a guise on yet another trail cut tolink the MDC Reservoirs and Penwood withbona fide singletrack. Can you say epic ride? Ifall goes as planned, this will kick off with theIMBA Trail Care Crew visit in September.Beyond this, we will expand operations into theDanbury area and we continue to build rela-tions with the hiking community out inHebron. New events will crop up this fall.Please keep an eye on the WEB site or check inwith me (860-653-5038). —John Turchi

Got Light?

How about a legal NIGHT Fun Ride? While wecouldn't get a firm schedule by Singletrackspublication dates, we are finaling plans to run apair of night rides in Nepaug State Forest.Should come off in the late August - Septembertimeframe. Keep an eye on the WEBpage, or callJohn Turchi at (860)653-5038 —John Turchi

TM Day at Great Brook Farm (Andrea Donovan)

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utility knife blades and handfuls of fish hooksstrung from trees have been recovered bycyclists and hikers. The hooks snagged at leasttwo mountain bikers, including a six-inch gashto one’s leg. Two others reported flat tires.Several trails were covered with debris, includ-ing old auto parts and brush.

A detailed report of all the incidents has beenpassed along to the State Police and at presentlocal representatives of NEMBA are workingclosely with them to resolve the problem.Several strong leads exist and it is believed thatthe saboteur in question has been identified.Based on the evidence, it does not seem thatthis sabotage is aimed at any one user or groupin particular. Luckily, no reported incidents haveoccurred in the area since the first week of June.

Needless to say the possibility of injury to hik-ers, pets, and to mountain bikers from theseacts is substantial. Please be extremely carefulwhen using the property and if any other inci-dents are discovered, please contact the StatePolice immediately to complete a report. Andpelase notify us, too: email eastma@nemba.org,or call our Belmont coordinator, DavidKleinschmidt at (617) 924-4539.

Met State Property to Change Hands

With the impending transfer of theMetropolitan State property to the MDC, con-cerned users of the property now have theopportunity to help protect and shape thefuture of this important piece of open space in

the greater Boston area. There is a grassrootseffort to form a Friends of Met State group tohelp protect access to the land. The Friendsgroup is encouraging all trail users to getinvolved, including people who can share per-sonal knowledge and experience with the area.A first meeting is planned for early to mid-August (exact date to be determined). Tobecome a Friend or find out more details aboutthe meeting, you can send an e-mail tofriends_of_met_state@yahoo.com. If you rideBelmont/Met State, please get involved!

Middlesex Fells Update

Last spring, the Fells committee of GreaterBoston NEMBA put together a proposal to theMDC to improve mountain bike access andreduce conflicts at the Middlesex Fells. This pro-posal was put together based on a well-attend-ed open forum last September and hours andhours of meetings to determine what would bethe best proposal for mountain bikers and theFells. See story under in the Treadlines sectionfor more information about our Fells proposal.—Krisztina Holly and Rob Follansbee

Lynn Maintenance Day, June 26, 1999

If you look down at the earth from space andpick out Massachusetts, then zero in on TheLynn woods, it is just a fraction of a pixel onyour TV monitor. Lucky for us that we’re actual-ly down here kicking up dust. Dust it sure was.After 25 odd days without any significant rain,the woods are dangerously dry. This didn’t stop

a bunch of core (maybe even hard-core ) indi-viduals from coming to the last spring workdayat Lynn Woods.

This was a day of trimming, grooming and yes, abit of digging. We continued our past work onthe Over look trail area. Cleaning water barswas the order of the day. This was pre-emtivework in hopes that when (if) the rain comes, wecan avoid a serious erosion issue. We moved abunch of rocks in preparation for a fall work day,when we will likely dig out a known water /mud hole and build up the area with the rocksto allow the water to exit rather than accumu-late.

On the path going up to the big flat rockbetween Weetamoo Clif and Balance Boulder,we added a drainage dip and two terraces. Thisalso is to move water off the trail and keep thetrail from washing down. All in all it was a rela-tively easy day that all could enjoy, yet still feelproductive. Thanks to Aqua cool for the watersupply, Cliff Bars for the munchies, MerlinCycles, for their continuing support and toColleen, Bill, Mike, Pam, Neil, Scott, James, Eric,Ellane and the three or four people from thefriend of Lynn Woods who came and worked. Toall a job well done! Now the hard part. Go homeunpack the truck. Repack the truck with tentsand bikes and stuff and head out to NEMBAfeston the Cape. Hey, it’s not just a job, it’s anadventure. —Steven A. Fuchs

Merrimack Valley NEMBAPresident: Mark Bialas,, 978-452-1590, rush@netway.comVice-President: Norman Blanchette, 978-453-9212, nblanchette@earthlink.net Treasurer: Hugh Folsom

A New NEMBA Bridge at Lowell-Dracut SF

Merrimack NEMBA has built its first fully func-tional boardwalk! Constructed by the com-bined efforts of about 20 different volunteersspread out over two Trail Maintenance days.While not exactly a technological marvel, werestill feeling pretty good about ourselves and arealready looking forward to our next project.Thanks again to CLIF BARS and all our volun-teers. The next scheduled Trail Maintenance forthe Dracut State Forest is Saturday Septemberthe 18th. The ride schedule for our local chap-ter can be found in the back of this newsletterand I remind people to call a few days ahead fortimes and location.

Careful with Horses

I'd like to pass along a little heads up here for

all riders who may encounter horses out ontheir favorite trails. I was out at Great BrookFarm a few weeks ago in Carlisle. It's notunusual to see horses out on those trails andthis day was no exception. I was out in aremote area, and came across a woman on abeautiful Arabian. (Or was that a beautifulwoman on an Arabian. Oh, never mind.) Itturns out she was with a group ride and gotseparated from her group. She asked me forhelp with directions and handed me a map. Herhorse got a little spooked as the map was beingpassed back and forth. Before I knew what washappening, the horse was doing these 360degree turns on a tight piece of singletrack. Thewoman attempted to hang on but was thrownunder the horse! The horse continued to do adance over the woman and then bolted throughthe woods.

To my surprise the woman jumped right up andwithin seconds had a plum size lump on herforehead from an encounter with a shod foot. Istayed with her and together we went lookingfor her horse. The story has a happy ending.Her horse was grabbed before it got out onConcord Road in Carlisle. The horse needed afew stitches and the woman needed an ice packon the forehead. The punch line here is I'velearned to expect the unexpected whenencountering horses on the trails. Stop and givethem plenty of room to pass. If your in doubtask the rider on the horse how they want youto proceed. It only takes a couple of secondsand can make a world of difference. Here's hop-ing that Patty and Precious are doing all right.—Norman Blanchette

Pioneer Valley NEMBAPresident: John Dudek, 413-772-0496 Vice-President: Rich LaBombard, 413-527-7427Secretary: Greg Coccoluto Treasurer: Russ Benson17 Pleasant St. Greenfield Ma. 01301 Email: shaysmba@juno.com

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Pioneer Valley Membership Triples!

Things just keep rolling here in the HappyValley. New shops, new work areas, new mem-bers, and a bunch of new positive energy.

Nonotuck and the Holyoke range are now onour "been there, done that" list. George, up onhis soap box stumping for new members at theEasthampton races. The Laughing Dog andHighland Hardware & Bike Shops have steppedup in support of the cause. Tons of new faces atour work days with our membership TRIPLINGsince spring!

Let's keep this momentum rolling. Hit up yourriding buds who haven't signed up yet, speak toyour local bike shop, talk to your team.Remember, as a chapter we are only as strongas our membership, so see what you can do toup our numbers even higher. And hey, get outthere and ride! —John Dudek

Nonotuck Park, Easthampton May 22nd

Pioneer Valley NEMBA held a work day on thistown-owned park system to address severalproblem areas. Nonotuck Park is home to a

weekly race series and consequently the trailsystem needs to be very durable. Six peopleparticipated in this work day in which we con-structed two bridges over wet trenches andadded 14 feet of boardwalk over a low-lyingstream. The two bridges were 10 feet and 16feet in length. We also constructed a smallrolling grade dip and rebuilt a bench platform.

It has also become obvious that more workneeds to be done on the bridges since theybecome very slippery when even slightly damp.As was suggested by the Trail Care Crew,maybe some epoxy paint would solve the prob-lem..

Holyoke Range, June 26th

Twelve people and five chain saws met at theNotch Visitor's Center for this trail day. Thereare a lot of dead hardwoods on these moun-tains, probably from the dreaded gypsy mothcaterpillars in the early 1980's.

We split into three groups and headed out indesignated loops. There were some very large,precarious trees down, some chest high abovethe ground. We were very lucky to have Ben

Brown, an experienced woodsman, among usas he not only had the right equipment, but theexpertise to deal with these large trees. In oneday's work, we cut out around 30 trees andopened up several trails which had beenblocked for years.

Four members also went back to this trail sys-tem and cleared another trail on July 3rd.

The Holyoke Range has excellent mountain bik-ing but some problems do exist. Because of theamount of foot traffic from the Visitor's Center,the main trail accessing the system is closed tobikes. This means that riders arrive at theNotch, look at the map and see no trail avail-able for their use. There are a couple other trailswhich could be designated for mountain bikes.They are a bit roundabout, but ideal for riding.A much better access area is Batchelor Street inGranby and it is only a few miles from theNotch. Signage in the Visitor's Center parkinglot would be helpful in directing riders to opentrails and alternate starting points.—RichLaBombard

North Shore NEMBAPresident: Dan Streeter, 978-462-4605, dwstr@shore.net Vice-President: Joe DizazzoTreasurer: Ron Corporan Secretary: Dan Walsh

NS NEMBA sets fall maintenance dates

As a part of the NEMBA/Merlin TM Series, wewill be doing some needed work at Bald HillReservation on Sunday September 12 [8:30AM,Middleton Rd. parking area], and at HaroldParker State Forest on Sunday September 26[8:30 AM, Forest HQs]. Sunday October 17 willbe reserved as a rain date for either of thesemaintenance days or as a possible ad hoc workparty if needed. NEMBA volunteers could win aMerlin Ti frame! Anyone interested in eventplanning or project selection, your assistancewould be welcomed.

TCC to Visit

The IMBA Trail Care Crew is coming to theNorth Shore. With the recent acquisition ofChebacco Woods (a portion of the area former-ly known as Gordon Woods) by the towns ofManchester and Hamilton, this fine riding loca-tion is moving forward with a managementplan. The visit will be a combination assess-ment of the property and a field demonstrationof some maintenance techniques. We expectthat the management committee will be wellrepresented. In addition, we hope a number ofland managers from the North Shore will attendand that local cyclists will take advantage of the

visit as well. For more info about the TCC visitsee Treadlines.

Forest River Conservation Area - Salem

As mentioned in the last issue, this area is nowclosed to bicycles. A recent report indicatesthat the area is signed now and patrolled tosome degree. It is not clear whether this policymight be open to some change. Cyclists whomthis closure immediately affects, particularlySalem residents, need to come together toaddress this situation. If you are interested inpursuing this issue, please contact me. —DanStreeter

Travis CycleJoin NEMBA! We did!

722 N. Main St. 508-586-6394Brockton MA

Southeast MA NEMBAPresident: Christie Lawyer, 508-279-2707 mtbher@aol.com Treasurer: Bill Boles, 508-583-0067, nembabill@yahoo.comSecretary: Eero Kola V.P Freetown, Dennis Lewis V.P Wompatuck, Paul Peasley V.P FVP Foxboro, Dan Ibbitson V.P. Wrentham, Kevin DelaneyMeetings/Rides: Every third Wednesday of each month, call Christie Lawyer for directions.

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Chapter News

Southeast Mass NEMBA’s Spring season of trailmaintenance is complete. SEMASS’ memberscompleted over 180 hours of trail maintenancein the Wompatuck and Foxboro State Forests.People riding in these two state forests havealready noticed a number of neat new single-track trails that now replace 5 long, perpetuallywet, sections on some of the older trails. Andthere are more to come.

Fall dates for SEMASS trail maintenance so farscheduled are 9/12, 10/24, 11/7 and 11/14.There is no better way to get to ‘love’ a trailthan to spend a little time ‘fixing’ it. And whenyou do, every time you ride it, you always seemto smile and say, "I did that."

SEMASS’s ride/meetings are held on the thirdWednesday of every month. Our August &September meetings will be held outdoors, at alocal state forest. After the ride, we usuallyhave a brief business meeting, maybe at a local

pizza parlor. Lights will not be necessary forthese ride/meetings, which will start PROMPT-LY at 6:00 pm so that we can get in a full ridebefore dark. (Be sure to get there early!) Wealways break up into groups on these rides. Formore info and, or directions call Christie Lawyerat 508-643-3453, days.

In October we will return to our practice ofhaving the meetings at the Bridgewater PublicLibrary at 7:00. A ride will follow each meeting,but you will need lights for those rides.

The SEMASS@NEMBA.org mailing list is alive,active, and newly automated. It currently keepsabout 100 people appraised of local CyberTrailhappenings on a daily basis. If you have e-mailand would like to be on this list, go to NEMBA’shome page at http://www.nemba.org, click onemail lists and then click on the SEMASS list.

The list can be used to set up rides, to ask fordirections to a local riding area, to get technicalhelp, or equipment recommendations, to buy

and sell used components or bikes, and or, justto keep in touch with your fellow riders.

Major upcoming bike dates to keep in mind...

NEMBA Durango trip week of 9/12Wompatuck Trail Maintenance 9/12New England Mountain Bike Festival, Randolph,VT 9/17-19Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day 10/3/99New England Mountain Bike Festival lanesboro,MA 10/1-3Wompatuck Trail Maintenance 10/24/99Freetown Trail Maintenance & ride 11/7Foxboro Trail Maintenance & ride 11/14—Bill Boles

Seacoast NEMBAPresident: Jason Record, 603-742-9462, jrrecord@concentric.net Vice-President: Len Earnshaw, learnsha@vanstar.comSecretary: Charles Purwin Treasurer: David HeathSNEMBA Website: http://jblair.ne.mediaone.net/

Seacoast NEMBA has a full lineup of trail maintenance days and rides lined up, so please come on out!

Rhode Island NEMBAPresident: Jim Grimley, 401-782-0162, RINEMBA@aol.com Vice-President: Tina Hopkins, vcycles@efortress.comSecretary: MaryAnn Martinez Treasurer: Sara McEnteeRI NEMBA Website: http://members.aol.com/rinemba99/RINEMBA.htm

RI NEMBA Trail MaintenanceWow, What a great season to do projects andride. We are very happy about what we have

done, so far thisseason. One of ourprojects, in May,was to fix orreplace a culvertthat we and theAMC put in lastfall. Because theheavy rains, lastwinter washed thepiping away. So,Tina and her crewbuilt a 4 footbridge over thestream which is ariver when it rains.Our last project, ofthe spring seasonwas anotherbridge. I have beendreaming aboutbuilding a bridge inthis spot for many

years. Ever since, I was riding one day, after ahurricane, to check out the damage it hadcaused. I came to this fast flowing, waist deepriver and decided to walk on a tree which

crossed the river. Well, about half way acrossthis slick tree I dropped my bike into the drink!@#$%^& The river then took the bike andjammed it under the tree that I was standingon. While trying to free my bike I to went intothe drink!@#$%^& At that very moment, Ithought to myself that, "Someone should put abridge here..." 10 years later, WOW! Thisbridge is SWeeeeet.

A big wet sloppy kiss of thanks, to Mike Shea,for all of his help. He designed the bridge,ordered all the supplies and pre-fab'ed it in hisdriveway. The 20 foot span took about 3 hoursto snap together. It was great! I Also, like tothank, Sara, Jon, Tina, Ron, Lori, Jim, andGeorge. Thanks Guys!

And a Hugh thanks, to Jay Aron of the R.I.,D.E.M. without his, Approval of the projectand his help on getting us access to the sitethrough Alton Jones Research Center, I wouldstill be in the drink! We have 3 dates plannedfor the fall season and a fun, fun ride. All weask, is for one day a year to help. Is that tomuch? —Jim Grimley

(Jim Grimley)

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Wachusett NEMBAPresident: Rich Donoghue, 978-425-2067, dld@net1plus.com Vice-Presidents: Jim PlumbSecretary: Russell Burdett Treasurer: Jon PrattWachusett NEMBA Website: http://geocities.com/Yosemite/Meadows/1441/ Email List: wachusett@nemba.org

Wachusett NEMBA Rocks!

Wachusett NEMBA is rockin’, people, and if theother NEMBA chapters are having half as muchfun as we are, New England is absolutely goingto RULE as the place to be for mountain biking!We have a growing group of riders dedicated toall aspects of mountain biking, the most impor-tant being to have fun! The reason we all have atleast one fat-tire bike in our stable is becauseplaying in the woods is a blast, and it doesn’tmatter how old you are or what you do for a liv-ing. The reason we are NEMBA members is welike to hook-up with people to ride with, findnew trails, find new areas to ride, and to do our

best to make sure the trails stay open. It takes alot of organization and energy to get somethinglike this happening, and the president/socialdirector/motivator/sponsor of Wachusett NEMBAis Richard Donoghue. Richie welcomes everyoneto the rides and the work days, organizes every-

thing, works on trails, rides up K-Mart hill likeit’s too easy, and, last but not least, arranges forpost-ride festivities. You know, I always thoughtthat working hard, riding hard, and then spend-ing some time to relax and hang-out was a greatway to get to know people and have a great time,and I’d like to thank Richie for setting the exam-ple and making it happen.

Starting in early May, Wachusett NEMBA hassponsored a Tuesday night ride at LeominsterState Forest. The ride usually breaks up into twogroups: "moderate", and "fast". To me, the mod-erate ride seems pretty fast, but it is always anawesome ride on incredible trails. I think my rid-

ing has improved radically since lastyear. It’s a challenge to ride with peo-ple who are faster and better thanyou, but you learn so much abouthow to ride and how to handle techni-cal sections that your own techniquesand endurance improve substantially.One caveat: don’t believe Richie whenhe says "that was the last hill".

Wachusett@nemba.org

The Internet has been a great tool forarranging rides and impromptu workparties. NEMBA has organized differ-ent email lists for each chapter, and Istrongly encourage you to go to theNEMBA page on the web,

http://www.nemba.org, click on "email lists", andsign up for the lists that interest you. We’ve hadsome great discussions on the Wachusett list;it’s a great way to keep in touch, discuss lastnights’ ride, get directions to next weeks’ ride,talk philosophy and mathematics, etc.

Trail Maintenance days are another great way toget involved in your chapter. My first experiencewas last fall at Leominster State Forest (LSF). Iwent up there not knowing anyone, but I wantedto do some trail work, and it was close by, so Igrabbed my work gloves and some tools andheaded up. I didn’t know what to expect, but itturned out to be really cool. There were about20 people there, some bridge building material,and two piles of gravel that needed to be spreadon some low-lying, muddy trails. Some peoplebrought their children to help, some broughtdogs; everyone brought smiles and hellos and asuper attitude. We worked really hard ( I shov-eled more gravel than I care to remember), andaccomplished more in one morning than I everexpected. After the work was done, we had apizza party in the woods on a beautiful after-noon, and life was definitely good.

LSF Trial Maintenance

Building and taking care of trails with WachusettNEMBA is great fun. Everyone has a welcomingattitude and they are a bunch of very friendlypeople. W e also have great rides after the workis done. The May 23rd trail day concentrated onlaying out some new singletrack (love it!) andflagging some other new trails.

TM with IMBA’s Trail Care Crew!

IMBA’s TCC will be joining us on September 12thto kick off our fall NEMBA-Merlin TM Series atLeo, so mark your calendar. We also will beworking on October 17th at LSF. Guaranteed tobe too much fun, and I’m sure you know that"too much ain’t enough"! Be there! —GrayHarrison

White Mountains NEMBAPresident: Mark Jenks, 603-356-0233, jinxbery@landmarknet.net Vice-President: Steve Burdett

Vermont NEMBAPresident: Rob Roy Macgregor Phone: 802-824-3642, LLmtbacs@webtv.netTreasurer Cyndi Kilday

VT NEMBA / National Trails Day

A small but hardworking crew of 5 peoplerepaired about a dozen drainage dips and dugsome new ones on a 3 mile loop in the HaydenBrown Memorial Forest in Grafton, VT on June5th, National Trails Day. Braving bugs and ahot, humid day, Kevin and Betty Nielsen, SamStern, Joan Ambusk and Rob Macgregor put ina solid work day to improve this multi-use trailon town land accessible from the Grafton PondsMountain Bike Center Trail system.

Thanks to Colin Lawson at the center for host-ing the event. (see photo) Peter Heyniger isorganizing a trail work day for the Timbersidetrail system in Windham, a network of cross-country trails being upgraded for multi-use.Stay tuned for details. —Rob Macgregor

Green Mountain Bike Trail update.

Vermont Mountain Bike Advocates (VMBA) andVT NEMBA organized a meeting at the Cortina

Inn and Mountain Bike Center on Killington,June 19th, to jump start the state-long GreenMountain Bike Trail. This idea was first popular-ized by Dave King and the earlier incarnation ofVT NEMBA. Around 15 people were presentfrom different parts of the state. Two alternateroute possibilities were penciled in, one oneach side of the main spine of the GreenMountains Following the Catamount XC trailmodel, approximately 15-16 sections wereidentified and now volunteers will be found toact as section leaders. The southern end of thetrail will co-ordinate with the MA. section ofthe APEX trail in the Deerfield Valley. Thanks toTravis Cousino of the Cortina Inn for hostingthe meeting, to Joe Segale of VMBA for therevival of the idea, and to all who attended. —Rob Macgregor

(Harvey Serreze)

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Cape Cod & Islands08/01 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490508/07 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29808/08 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490508/14 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29808/15 Cape Cod Int. & Adv. Int. Cape NEMBA 508-564-480708/15 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490508/21 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29808/22 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490508/28 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29808/29 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490509/04 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29809/05 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490509/11 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29809/12 Cape Cod Int. & Adv. Int. Cape NEMBA 508-564-480709/12 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490509/18 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29809/19 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490509/25 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29809/26 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490510/02 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29810/03 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490510/09 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29810/10 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490510/16 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29810/17 Cape Cod Int. & Adv. Int. Cape NEMBA 508-564-480710/17 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490510/23 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29810/24 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490510/30 Otis Beginner - Adv. Novice Ted Rowan TedRowan@massed.net 508-540-2200 x-29810/31 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon 508-693-490511/14 Cape Cod Int. & Adv. Int. Cape NEMBA 508-564-4807

Central, Wachusett & Western Mass 08/01 Savoy SF Advanced Int. Rich LaBombard blr@javanet.com 413-527-742708/03 Leominster SF Women & Men All David Devore David@ThompsonAdventures.com 508-755-1738

NEMBA RIDE SERIESBill Boles, Ride coordinator

NEMBA rides are led by individual NEMBA members for other members and prospective members. So if you haven’t yet joined NEMBA,please do. Rides are usually for small numbers of people and vary with the location and the personal style of the host. Rides have beenknown to change location or time at the last moment. So be sure to call the ride’s leader, both to sign up, and to find out more about theride. If you commit to a ride, go, since space is limited. That way the rides will stay manageable and be enjoyable for everyone. Helmets arerequired on all NEMBA rides. Contact the ride leader if the weather looks questionable.

HEY! - Why not lead a NEMBA ride yourself? Contact Bill Boles at 508-583-0067 or nembabill@yahoo.com for more information.(d) Indicates a weekday daytime ride.(*) Indicates a Freinds of the Blue Hills Ride.

Kids/Family: 2-10 miles, usually easy pace & terrain. These rides are aimed at parents with young children.Beginner: 2-7 miles, easy terrain, easy pace. These rides are aimed at riders with little or no riding experience.Novice: 4-8 miles, mellow pace, easy terrain, frequent stops.Advanced Novice: 6-10 miles, mellow pace, either mostly easy terrain, or could be technical terrain done slowly,

frequent stops.Intermediate: 2-20 miles, moderately technical, somewhat faster pace, occasional stops and bail out points.

Intermediate rides are designed for people who ride frequently, and have some skills, but whoprobably don't enter races.

Advanced Intermediate: The same as intermediate except faster and harder terrain.Advanced: 20-30 miles, high technical difficulty, fast pace, few stops or chances to bail out. These rides are intended for

advanced riders or racers who would like to go for a challenging ride at less than an all out race pace.Women’s rides: Can be any level of difficulty. Call for more information.

These ride categories are only general guidelines. You should ask the leader exactly what type of ride he or she is planning in terms of dis-tance, pace and technicality. Also, be realistic about your level of riding skills and don’t join a ride that is beyond your present ability orfitnes level.

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08/10 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859408/05 Leominster SF Intermediate Peter Vincnet Peter.Vincent@compaq.com 508-467-299108/07 Skinner/Holyoke Range Advanced Int. Rich LaBombard blr@javanet.com 413-527-742708/10 Southampton Advanced Int. Rich LaBombard blr@javanet.com 413-527-742708/12 Leominster SF Intermediate Peter Vincnet Peter.Vincent@compaq.com 508-467-299108/17 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859408/17 Southampton Advanced Int. Rich LaBombard blr@javanet.com 413-527-742708/19 Groton/Ayer Advanced Int. Tom Mahoney tom.mahoney@wang.com 978.779.837308/21 Lenox Women Mary Tunnicliffe mtunn@berkshire.net 413-298-007308/21 Grumpie 50 -Shirley Advanced Richard Donoghue did@net1plus.com 978-534-176308/22 Grumpie 50 -Day 2Advanced Richard Donoghue did@net1plus.com 978-534-176308/24 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859408/24 Southampton Advanced Int. Rich LaBombard 413-527-742708/25 Greenfield area All Bicycle World blr@javanet.com 413-774-370108/31 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859409/04 Dalton Women Mary Tunnicliffe mtunn@berkshire.net 413-298-007309/07 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859409/08 Greenfield area All Bicycle World 413-774-370109/14 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859409/18 Beartown, Lee Mary Tunnicliffe mtunn@berkshire.net 413-298-007309/19 Groton/Ayer Advanced Int. Tom Mahoney tom.mahoney@wang.com 978.779.837309/21 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859409/22 Greenfield area All Bicycle World 413-774-370109/28 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859410/02 Lenox Women Mary Tunnicliffe mtunn@berkshire.net 413-298-007310/05 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859410/12 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859110/16 Lenox Women Mary Tunnicliffe mtunn@berkshire.net 413-298-007310/19 Leominster SF Intermediate James Amidon jami@net1plus.com 978-939-859410/20 Greenfield area All Bicycle World 413-774-3701

Connecticut & Rhode Island08/02 Meshomasic S.F. Intermediate Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078908/09 West Rock Rdige S.P.-Hamden Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078908/11 Glastonbury/Meshomasic Intermediate Steve Clarke steven.clark@snet.net 860-529-997008/15 Meshomasic S.F. Intermediate Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078908/17 MDC Reservoirs W. Hartford Intermediate John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-503808/20 Mianus, GreenwichAdv. Nov.-Int. Paula Burton pburton@aol.com 203-426-536908/23 Branford Supply Ponds Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078908/28 Big River RI Women Beg-Int MaryAnn Martinez TaskArts@classic.msn.com 401-464-4167(W)08/30 Brooksvale/Naugatuck Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078908/31 Huntington, Reading Adv. Nov.-Int. Paula Burton pburton@aol.com 203-426-536909/04 TBA RI Women Beg-Int MaryAnn Martinez TaskArts@classic.msn.com 401-464-4167(W)09/07 West Rock Rdige S.P.-Hamden Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078909/13 Branford Supply Ponds Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078909/14 Penwood S.P.-Bloomfield Intermediate John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-503809/20 Brooksvale/Naugatuck Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078909/27 West Rock Rdige S.P.-Hamden Adv. Nov-Int. Alex Sokolow asokolow@snet.net 203-281-078910/19 Penwood S.P.-Bloomfield Novice John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-503810/31 MDC Reservoirs W. Hartford Beginner John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-503811/26 MDC Res W. Hartford- Turkey Burner Beg&Int John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-503812/18 Penwood S.P.-Bloomfield Intermediate John Turchi turch@snet.net 860-653-5038

Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont08/03 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/05 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/07 New Hampshire Beginner Len Earnshaw 603-895-663308/10 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/12 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/15 New Hampshire Beginner Len Earnshaw 603-895-663308/17 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/19 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/22 Lake Massabesic Int & Advanced Jack Chapman j-bchap@xtdl.com 603-483-295108/24 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-7500

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08/26 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750008/29 New Hampshire Beginner Len Earnshaw 603-895-663308/31 Henniker Advanced Int. Brent Bell bikingx@conknet.com 603-428-750009/05 Pelhham NH Intermediate Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921209/19 Bartlett NH Advanced Int. Mark Jenks jinxberry@landmark.net 603-374-305110/16 N. Conway Benefit All Mark Jenks jinxberry@landmark.net 603-374-3051

Metro Boston, Merrimac & North Shore08/05 Harold Parker SF Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018508/05 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474708/07 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)08/08 Groton Town Forest Intermediate Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921208/12 Gordon Wddos, Wenham Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018508/12 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474708/14 Dracut State Forest Intermediate Mark Bialas rush@netway.com 978-452-159008/19 Horn Pond, Woburn Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018508/19 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474708/22 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)08/22 Great Brook State Farm Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921208/26 Lynn Woods Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018508/26 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474708/28 Dracut State ForestIntermediate Mark Bialas rush@netway.com 978-452-159009/02 Middlesex Fells Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018509/02 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474709/05 Pelhham NH Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921209/09 Lynn Woods Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018509/09 Boston area Intermediate Krisztina Holly mtb-boston@nemba.org 781-643-474709/11 Dracut State ForestIntermediate Mark Bialas rush@netway.com 978-452-159009/11 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)09/16Middlesex Fells Novice-Adv. Novice Bill Redford 781-944-018509/19 Towsend Forest Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921209/25 Dracut State ForestIntermediate Mark Bialas rush@netway.com 978-452-159009/26 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)10/10 Dracut State Forest Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-921210/16 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)10/24 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)10/24 Dracut State ForestIntermediate Mark Bialas rush@netway.com 978-452-159010/31 Dracut State Forest Norman Blanchette nblanchette@mediaone.com 978-453-9212

11/13 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)12/04 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)

South Shore & Metrowest Boston08/01 SE Mass Advanced Int. Bike Barn 781-447-446908/03 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251208/05 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442808/07 SE MASS Women Kristen Weisker KWEISKER@valuequest.com 508-801-6628(W)08/07 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-006708/08 SE Mass Advanced Int. Bike Barn 781-447-446908/12 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)08/10 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251208/12 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442808/14 SE MASS Women Kerri Audette 401-658-1290(W)08/15 Wrentham SF Intermediate Kevin Delaney KMDMAC@aol.com 508-226-346708/15 SE Mass Advanced Int. Bike Barn 781-447-446908/17 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251208/18 SE Mass All Bill Boles NEMBAbill@yahoo.com 508-583-006708/19 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442808/19 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)08/21 SE MASS Women Harley Erickson cydavia@gis.net 508-872-2470(W)08/22 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)08/24 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251208/26 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442808/26 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)08/28 SE MASS Women Cathy Ray cray@nfpa.org 508-699-6753(W)08/31 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251209/02 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442809/02 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)09/04 SE MASS Women Kristen Weisker KWEISKER@valuequest.com 508-801-6628(W)09/07 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251209/09 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442809/09 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)09/11 SE MASS Women Kerri Audette 401-658-1290(W)09/11 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)09/12 Wrentham SF Intermediate Kevin Delaney KMDMAC@aol.com 508-226-346709/14 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251209/15 Foxboro All Christie Lawyer mtbher@aol.com 508-643-245309/16 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)09/18 SE MASS Women Harley Erickson cydavia@gis.net 508-872-2470(W)09/19 Wrentham SF Intermediate Kevin Delaney KMDMAC@aol.com 508-226-346709/21 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251209/23 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)09/25 SE MASS Women Cathy Ray cray@nfpa.org 508-699-6753(W)09/26 Blue Hills Novice David Hodgdon 781-326-0079(*)09/28 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251209/29 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442809/29 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)10/02 SE MASS Women Kristen Weisker KWEISKER@valuequest.com 508-801-6628(W)10/05 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251210/07 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442810/07 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)10/09 SE MASS Women Kerri Audette 401-658-1290(W)10/12 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251210/14 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson dnostibbi@aol.com 508-543-442810/14 Callahan SF Intermediate Jeff Gallo gallojp@yahoo.com 508-877-2028(d)10/16 SE MASS Women Harley Erickson cydavia@gis.net 508-872-2470(W)10/16 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)10/19 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251210/23 SE MASS Women Cathy Ray cray@nfpa.org 508-699-6753(W)10/26 Wompatuck SF Intermediate Paul Peasley 781-925-251210/30 SE MASS Women Christie Lawyer MTBher@aol.com 508-643-2453(W)11/13 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)12/04 Blue Hills Intermediate Bill Boles nembabill@yahoo.com 508-583-0067(*)

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JOIN NEMBA MEMBA HEROESNEMBA is fortunate to have a membership which cares deeply about mountain biking, the environment and our organization. These folksare NEMBA’s Heroes, and we hope that you’ll join their ranks. Your donations and membership are fully tax-deductible to the full extent ofthe law, and we urge you to contribute what you can. We thank all our members and supporters in keeping NEMBA financially strong, sothat we may better serve New England’s trails.

Master Trail Builders,$1000+Bill BolesKrisztina HollyRick Smith

Trail Builders, $500+Michael & Winnie GnazzoStuart JohnstoneAllison Salke

Benefactors, $250+Jeffrey GalloPeat KrimminJoe ScozzafavaDan StreeterAndrew Thompson

Sponsors, $100+Jim AmidonThomas ArrainSam BartlettDavid BelknapStephen BoninScott BosleyAndrew & Carolyn CoffinPeter ColeDon CummingsRichard DonoghueDavid & Tammie DunnPeter DureyDavid Eggleton FamilyTim EliassenRichard FletcherSteven FuchsDaniel GinsburgBob GirvinMark & Pamela GunsalusDorothy HeldBob HicksJohn HoffmanMargaret & Jefferson JellyJoyce Lockert & Sharon LambRobert & Domenica LevinsonJohn LevyScott LewisEric LorentzenWharton Pisacano MargoMarla Markowski

Carolyn & Scott MenzelDan MurphyAlison Wald & John MustardMatt O'KeefeMark PolomskiJoachim PreissChris & Diane RanneyDavid ReichmanThomas RiihimakiE.C. RobertsonMichael RomneyRichard SchatzbergErik & Liz SchoepkeJoe SloaneBrian SmithJack StarkMitchell SteinbergTim SykesMichael TonryCarl WeymouthGary WhittemoreFrank WojtasD. Froehlich & K. Young

Supporters, $50+John AldersonMark AndersonPaul AngiolilloBill ArmstrongRon & Diane BeliveauJared BergeronJeff BerlinScott BerryMark BialasNorman BlanchetteCharles BrackettPeter BrandenburgSteven BransonScott & Laurie BriereTim & Hilary BugbeeDave BurnhamThomas CannonTed CapronSteve CobbleDaniel ConsoleJoseph CristaldiRoss CromartyPenny DavidsonTom Deakins

Jacqueline DecourceyMark DenningJoe DiZazzoTom DoucetteMichael & Jason DubeSusan EdwardsVictor EvdokimoffBill FanningRobert FerrellKenji & Kimberley FreedmanDave & Victoria GaudreauJerry GeriboDan GlassSteven GrahamGardner GrayNoreen Casey & Tom GreeneTom & Claire GrimbleKenneth HanChris HarrisJoseph HaywardRichard HicksAllison HurleyJeffery HylandDavid IwatsukiJohn JenkinsWes JewettKevin JohnsonEric JohnsonDave JordanBob JordanBernard KirchnerDavid KleinschmidtEero KolaRichard LaBombardJohn LockwoodDenise O'Grady & ToddLoomisMark LudersBob LudwigTom MahoneyDon Bunker & Becky McEnroeChris McGrathDeborah & Ken MentalChris & Kelly MeuserSteve MillerSusan & Christopher MitchellTom MooreMike MoraitesMichael Morgan

Don MorinR. Badura & Egbert MostMichael MulhernJon MurphyDonald MyersAnne MyersonPeter NelsonJoseph OrtolevaTrish PalmiereJason PareJohn PewsJim PizzaJay & Mary Beth ProsnitzCharles PulaskiCharles RatcliffeRuss RecordMarian ReynoldsRichard RobbinsStephen RoweJonathan SainsburyRobert SalamyMichael SalernoJonathan SalingerDaniel Salmon Jr.Don & Kristen SeibHarvey SerrezeAnne ShepardSteve ShrinerGary SmithMark SponauerKeith St. DenisJoe StadelmannDoug StotzJohn TurchiConrado VellveGlenn VernesSteven WalkerDan & Kathleen WalshMike WalshRichard WarnerLeonard WeissDavid WhitmonJames WilliamsScott WilsonJim WinstonD. Chin & Sue Zimmermann

Thank you for your support! Not only is your generosity tax-deductible,but many companies will also match your gift, doubling your contribution.If your company has a gift matching program, please make sure you include

NEMBA. NEMBA needs the financial support of Riders Like You!

39

SOS: Support Our Sponsors. They Support Us!

Membership ApplicationJoining NEMBA is one of the most important things you can do to help preserve New England trails and keepmountain biking part of the New England outdoor experience. We are a non-profit 501 c 3 organization dedi-cated to maintaining trails and educating mountain bicyclists to ride sensibly and responsibly. We need yoursupport to accomplish these goals.

With your membership you will receive a membership handbook and card, a NEMBA sticker for your bike orcar, and six issues of our bi-monthly newsletter, SingleTracks. NEMBA membership will open up to you hun-dreds of different places to ride through out New England. You'll also receive the satisfaction of knowing thatyou are helping the trails on which you ride!

Name _________________________________________________________________________________

Address _______________________________________________________________________________

City ____________________________________________ State _______ Zip _____________________

Homephone _____________________________ Chapter _______________________________________

At Large Berkshires Blackstone Valley MA Cape Cod & Islands CT NEMBAGreater Boston Merrimack MA North Shore MA Seacoast ME/NH Pioneer Valley MASoutheast MA Rhode Island Vermont Wachusett MA White Mtns NH

New:____ Renewal: ____ Visa/MC# _________________________________________ exp__________

Individual $20 ______ Family $30 ______ Supporting $50 _____ Sponsoring $100_____

Benefactor $250_____ Trail Builder $500 ______ Master Trail Builder $1000 ______

Dealer Memberships:Basic $100 _____ Supporting $200_____ Benefactor $500_____ Lifetime $1500_____

Industry Memberships:Basic $75_____ Supporting $100 _____ Benefactor $500_____

If possible, please include your company’s matching gift form

Mail to: NEMBA, PO Box 2221, Acton MA 01720OR CALL 800-57NEMBA 08/99

$1000+Belmont Wheel Works, Belmont MABikebarn, Whitman MACannondale, Georgetown CTEastern Mountain Sports, Peterborough NHIMBA, Boulder COIndependent Fabrication, Somerville MAMerlin Metalworks, Cambridge MARedbones, Somerville MASchwinn Cycling & Fitness, Wakefield MASeven Cycles, Watertown MATed Wojcik Custom Bicycles, Hampstead NH$500+BikeTree, Somerville MACycle Loft, Burlington MA$250+Bicycling, Emmaus PADowneast Bicycle Specialists, Fryeburg MEMountain Bike, Emmaus PAPatagonia, Ventura CAPedal Power Bike & Ski Acton MASpinergy, Wilton CTUSEShockpost, Portsmouth NH

$150-200Arcadian Shop, Inc. Lenox MACentral Wheel, Farmington CTGear Works Cyclery, Leominster MAInternational Bike Center, Allston MAMean Wheels Bike Shop, Lenox MAMorning Dew Espresso, North Conway NHNewington Bicycle & Repair, Newington CTRock Shox, San Jose CAVictory Cycles, Wyoming RIWachusett Brewing Co., Westminster MA$100Benidorm Bikes & Snowboards, Canton CTBicycle Alley, Worcester MABicycle World Inc., Greenfield MABikeZone, East Falmouth MACompetitive Edge Ski & Bike, Holyoke MACove Cycle, Hyannis MACycles Etc., Salem NHDirt Rag Magazine, Pittsburg PAEpicycle, N. Attleboro MAExeter Cycles, Exeter NHFrank's Spoke 'N Wheel, Sudbury MAFranklin Bicycle, Franklin MA

Highland Hardware & Bike Shop, Holyoke MAKiron Group, W. Newton MALaughing Dog Cyclery, Amherst MANortheast Bicycles, Saugus MAPig Iron Bicycle Works, Glastonbury CTRiverside Cycles, Newburyport MASilver City Bicycles, Inc., Raynham MASouthampton Bicycle Center, SouthamptonMASouthington Bicycle & Repair, Southington CTThe Bike Shop, Inc., Manchester CTTrue Wheels, Pocasset MATwo for the Road, Georgetown MAVillage Cycles, Buzzards Bay MAWakefield Schwinn ,Cyclery Wakefield MAWheel Power, Exeter NHZigmont Group, Danville NH$50American Bicyclist, Northbrook ILBack Country Excursions of Maine, Limerick Cranmore Mountain Lodge, N. Conway NHNorthampton Cycling Club, Northampton MATeam Douglas, S. Deerfield MA

Join NEMBA for$100 or more andthe good folks at

will thank you witha complementary

subscription!

(good thru April 2000)

Get HookedUp!JoIn a NEMBA

EMail LiSt!HunDreds oFBikeRs arE

aLready oNline!WWW.NEMBA.ORG

New England Mountain Bike AssociationPO Box 2221Acton MA 01720

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

PaidPermit #148

Plattsburgh, NY

A NEMBA MEMBER

We’re Mountain Bike Central!

Here’s an invitation to all Mountain Bikers tovisit the spectacular White Mountains. We’renestled in the National Forest, and you can

ride endless miles of awesome downhill, singletrack, and wide open trailsright from our door. When you return, relax in our outdoor heated jacuzzi,laze in our cool mountain stream, or take a refreshing dip in our 40’ pool!

•Secure indoor bike storage •Rentals & Parts Available•Hose-down area with workstand •Guided Rides•Discounts available at local bikeshops with NEMBA membership

•Non-smoking •Three diamond AAA •All Rooms with private bath and phones •10% Discount to NEMBA Members!

Also ask about our independent hostel • Rates start at $17 including breakfast

Call us! 1-800-356-3596 603-356-2044www.cml1.com Email: mtnbike@cml1.com

Get your Raffle Tix today! Support Land Access and Win GreatPrizes!