A Message from CORBA’s President
Recieve email notices of upcoming events
CORBA’s 25th anniversary jerseys are now available at the CORBA store!
Celebrating 25 years of CORBA’s mountain biking and trails advocacy,
these attractive forest green and gold jerseys are availble in BMX and
club cut. Also, the 25-year anniversary socks have arrived. To round out
your wardrobe of support for CORBA, we still have some 25-year T-shirts
available. So go to the online CORBA store, order some new duds and show your friends you care about the future of mountain biking!
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New on the CORBA Website
By Mark Langton Resolve to Solve in 2013 How many of you have New Year’s Resolutions that you are hoping to keep? There is one you can make and keep, guaranteed. It will help you, the mountain bike community, and the trail community at large. Ready? Slow down when passing others! How many things in life can you do that actually solve a problem? On our trails, the one justifiable complaint about mountain bikers is that they sometimes go too fast when passing others, which can be scary and upsetting, even to other cyclists. So all you have to do is slow down when passing, and you SOLVE THE PROBLEM! Slowing down while passing others on our shared-use trails is a pure win-win proposition. The people who you pass feel good about mountain bikers. WIN! You feel good because you didn’t scare anyone, and everyone has a pleasant exchange. WIN! Here’s a suggestion: Treat others you are passing on the trail as if you are holding the door open for them. That brief pause is a show of consideration, courtesy, and humanity that will come back to you and the mountain bike community in many positive ways. It’s up to you. Would you rather finish your ride knowing you did something positive for mountain bikers and trails users, or that you made it worse for yourself and the mountain bike community? You CAN make a difference. And all it takes is slowing down when passing other users! Ride and Mingle on December 15th! We’ve been getting a lot of interest in our Ride And Mingle. There has also been some confusion as to where to to ride in from and where to meet. First, there are several locations you can ride to The Hub from, such as Trippet Ranch in Topanga State Park; Caballero Canyon (Reseda Blvd.) or at the top of Reseda Blvd.; Westridge Fireroad from Brentwood (please note that Sullivan Canyon is closed to the public until the end of December, see details). There are already a couple of groups leaving from a couple of different locations posted on our Meetup event, but the idea here is not to meet at one location, it is to ride in from several locations and meet inside Topanga State Park at The Hub. Stay tuned for more information, and see below for location and map info. In celebration of CORBA’s 25th Anniversary, on December 15 we will Ride up to The Hub in Topanga State Park and Mingle for a photo opportunity to show land managers and the trail user community that mountain bikers can and do coexist on the trails. We are hoping for 250 (or more) riders. Save the date and spread the word! We’ll converge at The Hub (you have to ride in, what a concept!) 10am and around 10:30 we’ll take the group shot. We’ll then hand out cash prizes, with the top cash amount being $1,000 and lesser amounts of $500 (2) and $100 (5). We’ll also be having a 50/50 drawing, so bring $20 in cash and put it into the pot, with the lucky winner getting half of whatever is collected and the other half going to CORBA. How do you get to (as in RIDE TO) The Hub? There are several trail head locations you can start from. Reseda Blvd., Trippet Ranch, Mulholland Drive (dirt) from the east (Encino) or west (Woodland Hills), Will Rogers State Historic Park, Westridge Fireroad, and San Vicente Mountain Park (Nike Site), to name a few. Check this map with all the trails and trailheads. The Hub is marked with a blue dot and the letter "z." Even easier, download this map. The Hub and the major trailheads are circled. Print it and bring it with you so you don't get lost! Now you can show your support by signing up for the Ride and Mingle event on CORBA's Meetup group! The benefits of using Meetup are described elsewhere in this newsletter. Editor's note: This event was originally scheduled for November 17th, but we had to postpone it because of the weather. CORBA Using Meetup.com for Managing Events CORBA has started using the facilities of Meetup.com to manage and publicize our events. You can get to our Meetup group at http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/. We plan to use this Meetup group for events like recreational rides, trailwork days and fundraisers. Currently we are not planning to use it for the monthly free basic skills clinic. The first Meetup has already been added for the Ride and Mingle event on November 17th at Topanga State Park. Group members (people who have joined CORBA’s Meetup group) will enjoy these capabilities: Of course this is all free! In order to join our Meetup group, go to http://www.meetup.com/CORBAmtb/ and click on the “Join Us” button. Fill out the requested information (it’s very short) and click on the “Submit” button at the bottom. If you are already a Meetup member for another group, make sure you’re logged in first so Meetup knows who you are. Once you’ve joined us on Meetup, you won’t miss hearing about any of our fantastic activities! 25-Year Jerseys: Now in Stock at the CORBA Store!
For a list of upcoming recreational rides, please visit the CORBA Calendar. CORBA’s Recreational Rides calendar provides a full monthly schedule of mountain bike rides for all skill levels. Mountain bike rides are organized by CORBA member clubs and led by experienced and knowledgeable guides. Recreational rides are a fun and social way to experience a variety of trails in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and beyond. For many years, most trailwork has been done by volunteers because of budget cutbacks at our parks systems. So come out and help CORBA and other volunteers keep our trails in top riding shape! You can learn more about what to expect and what you'll need to bring with you on our Trailwork web page. Keep in mind that CORBA now provides prizes and lunch after the event for volunteers who register in advance! And by registering in advance, you'll help us prepare by knowing how many volunteers to expect. If you come out to two or more trailwork days in a year, we'll give you a cool long-sleeved CORBA trail crew shirt - be sure to ask for yours! To see all trailwork dates, including those of other groups, visit the CORBA trailwork calendar. Join our mailing list to get updates on trailwork
opportunities! Sullivan Canyon Winter 2012 Maintenance Completed CORBA has learned that the pipeline maintenance that forced the closure of Sullivan Canyon to the public is now completed. This means that you may access the canyon, but please remember that the trail is used by all types of users. Your courtesy and slowed speed around others is appreciated. We also learned that the concrete “mats” that have been laid over the pipes have been covered with aggregate material so that the potential hazards of riding (bicycles and horses) and walking on them is reduced. The suggestion to cover the mats was made by Brentwood Hills Homeowners Association members Eric Edmunds (runner) and Mike Leslie (mountain biker). Be The Solution I agree with hikers. I agree that when a mountain biker goes by me too close and too fast, it’s scary and unsettling. And they don’t have to be going fast, just too fast for the conditions. If a mountain biker goes by me at 15 mph on a fire road, no problem. If a mountain biker goes by me at 15 mph on a singletrack trail less than six inches from me, then I have a bit of a problem. I agree with hikers right up to the point when they say all mountain bikers should be banned from trails because some of them go too fast around other users. See the remainder of this story on CORBA's blog. Free Mountain Biking Skills Clinic
The CORBA free skills clinic is held on the first Saturday of every month at Malibu Creek State Park. Mountain biking is a lot like tennis or skiing. Just a few minor adjustments in technique can make a huge difference in your control and proficiency. If you want to get better faster, you need to know the fundamentals of mountain biking technique. Whether you're just getting into mountain biking or have been riding for years, you'll learn some valuable tips from our Introduction to Mountain Biking skills class that is offered each month. Check out our Skills Clinic web page for all the information. After the clinic, see photos of your new skills on the CORBA web site that you can share with your family and friends! Follow CORBA on Meetup, Twitter and Facebook
Get Our Blog Articles Delivered to Your Desktop Have you ever wished you could get our blog articles without having to check the CORBA website every day to see if there’s anything new? Well, you can! Even though our blog software won’t send articles by email, you can still get them delivered to the inbox of most email readers like Microsoft Outlook. You use the “RSS feed” functionality for this. In fact, you can read our articles in any software that receives RSS feeds, such as Internet Explorer and other web browsers. This blog article on RSS feeds shows you how. Join or Renew your membership today on our membership web page. Join Our Team! Do you have any ideas about mountain biking recreation in the L.A. region? Would you like to apply your skills and manage projects that contribute to the sport and lifestyle that you love? Is there an advocate in you? We are recruiting motivated individuals who work well with others. Send an email to info@corbamtb.com or come to a monthly Members Meeting to find out more about what we do and how you can help. Check the calendar for the next meeting. Other simple ways to support CORBA (Click on the links above to get more details!) Please do not reply to this email as the corbanews mailbox is not monitored by people. To contact CORBA, email to info@corbamtb.com or visit our 'Contact Us' page for other addresses. |
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Upcoming
and Recent Trailwork
Saturday January
5 is the next skills clinic.
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