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In this issue...
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Riders
from February's Beginner's Ride at the M*A*S*H site
in Malibu Creek State Park. The next Beginner's
Rides are March 3 and March 10.
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Proper Trail Etiquette
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New on the CORBA Website
A Message from CORBA’s President
by Mark Langton
Why?
Good Question! It was recently brought to our attention that newly elected president of Equestrian Trails, Inc. (ETI) Robert Foster, a retired law enforcement officer, donates his time as an emergency medical technician at So Cal High School Mountain Bike Racing League races. Mr. Foster is a staunch supporter of the league, and in his president’s message in ETI’s most recent newsletter he stated that it’s a new era in our public open space trail systems, and mountain bikers are part of the trail user community so we all should try to figure out ways to get along.
 Now I’ve been doing this advocacy thing for over 25 years, and I’ve experienced a lot of encouraging progress in the areas of shared use, especially when it comes to opening more trails to bicycle use. To hear the president of an organization that has historically had some of its members rally against mountain bikes say that we need to get along is truly groundbreaking. But things like this come fewer and more far between than I’d like, and during these 25 years I have often asked myself “why am I doing this?” The answer is always “because it’s the right thing to do.” This might sound insane (insanity once being defined by Albert Einstein as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results), and in many ways this might be true. But then something like Robert Foster’s reasonable position comes along and I think to myself, maybe we have been doing the right thing after all.
Over the years we have heard many reasons people feel mountain bikes don’t mix on shared use trails, but only one is valid; people riding their bikes too fast at the wrong time and place (around other trail users) is just not a pleasant experience for the people being passed at an inappropriate speed. As I’ve said many times before, we all have within our power the ability to solve this issue: slow down. In other words, use caution when around others. Let me put it another way; your actions represent the entire mountain bike community. The smile you create through a pleasant trail encounter goes a long way.
Recreational
Rides
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September's
Beginners' Ride had 16 participants. Would you or
a new rider you know like to join us too?
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For a list of upcoming recreational rides, please visit the CORBA
Calendar.
See our Rides
Calendar for details and for other beginner-level rides. Many thanks to North
Ranch Mountain Biker Michelle for leading these
rides!
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.
 Upcoming
and Recent Trailwork
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!
February 23: Report on Backbone Trail between Zuma Ridge and Kanan
Rd. During a joint trailwork day, CORBA and the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council trail crews cleared brush (lots and lots of it!) and fixed drainages on
2 miles of this 2.5 mile segment of the Backbone Trail. 15 CORBA volunteers grabbed loppers and saws to take on the overgrowing brush. It’s important to clear brush from the trail not only to keep it from becoming impassible, but also to increase the sight distances so approaching travellers can see each other
and have time to react/respond to the other’s presence. In the case of mountain bikers approaching hikers or equestrians, this should mean slowing down and preparing to stop, if necessary, to yield the right-of-way.
fter putting the tools away, CST tires were distributed to everyone who wanted one, as a “Thank-you!” from CORBA, IMBA and CST Tires for helping out. Then we retired to Ubane Cafe where
CORBA bought lunch for all the volunteers.
See our blog
article for the full story. See our photo gallery for photos
of the event.
March 23: Conejo Spring Trailwork Day. Come out and join the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency (COSCA)
for the Annual COSCA Spring Trailwork Day. We will be bulding new trails in the Conejo Canyons Open Space.
At noon, following the morning of trail-building, workers will be treated to hamburgers/vegi-burgers, chips, fruit and drinks while enjoying the camaraderie of fellow trail enthusiasts!
Please register
online for details and so we will know how many people to provide
for.
April 19-21: 2013 Santa Monica Mtns Trail Days at
Sycamore Canyon. Once a year we have an opportunity to work on the trails and then BBQ and camp at Danielson Ranch in Pt
Mugu State Park. It is opened annually for the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days! This is a unique opportunity to work on the trails that we enjoy so much in Sycamore Canyon, and the event is followed by a BBQ and prize
giveaway, with an option for free camping on Friday and/or Saturday night. This is hands down the best day to get in some trail maintenance work! The
main workday will be Saturday and there is a smaller one on Sunday.
Registration by April 17th will be appreciated so we have enough
time to prepare!
May 11: Guadalasca Trail, Point Mugu State Park.
Details will be forthcoming.
June 8: Backbone Trail - Mesa Peak Trail,
Malibu Creek State Park. Details will be forthcoming.
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!
Send an email to Trailwork-Volunteers+subscribe@corbamtb.com
General
News
 GirlzGoneRiding
Upcoming Activities
Saturday, March 2: 25th NRMB Anniversary Ride.
A VERY special ride by the club who started it all! NORTH RANCH! They are celebrating 25 years of riding! Many of the GGR girlz are also North Ranch riders. (This
ride is open to all sexes.)
Sunday April 7th: Wenches with Wrenches workshop!
This is the 1st of our series of FREE workshops for 2013. To be held at Pasadena Cyclery: http://pasadenacyclery.com/.
Saturday April 27th: The next GGR OPEN ride! Beautiful Sycamore Canyon in Newbury Park. Open to ALL levels and beginners encouraged! A sign up will be available soon on the GGR Face Book Page. Sign up IS required.
Sunday April 28th: GGR Girl Jenny Johnson is also doing a fund raiser to help raise funds for materials and tools desperately needed to maintain the trails in the San Gabriel Mountains!
Read our GGR
Update blog article for full details!
Free Mountain Biking
Skills Clinic
 Saturday March
2 is the next 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
 We have set up accounts with Twitter and Facebook to help keep people informed
of the latest developments in our trail advocacy, recreational rides and trailwork days. Join
our events on Meetup
and follow
us on Twitter at twitter.com/CORBAmtb
and Facebook at facebook.com/CORBAMTB.
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.
Support
CORBA
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
- REI:
Use the link at left and REI will donate 5%
of the purchase price to CORBA
- Holmes Body Shop: Get that dent fixed and help CORBA
(Click on the links above to get more details!)
CORBA
News eMail List
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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