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CORBA eTerraTimes for May 2013

eTerraTimes Archive


 

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In this issue...


Two of the participants in April's free Basic Skills Clinic, held the first Saturday of the month in Malibu Creek State Park. The next Skills Clinic will be held on May 4th.

Rules of the Trail - Click for details
Proper Trail Etiquette

New on the CORBA Website
 

 A Message from CORBA’s President by Mark Langton

Shameless Plug Alert. As the coordinator and instructor for the monthly CORBA Introduction to Mountain Biking Skills Class at Malibu Creek State Park, I look forward to the first Saturday each month to help yet another group of eager mountain bikers become safer and more proficient. I also provide private lessons (mountainbikeskills.com) and have gotten quite a few new clients over the last couple of months, which is pretty typical for this time of year, what with the weather getting nice and a crop of races just around the corner.

What continues to amaze me is how many people think they don’t need coaching. As I say all the time, even the best athletes in the world have coaches. I see people in the CORBA classes who have been riding for quite some time who have developed bad habits that are quite debilitating. And they almost always can be easily corrected with a few minor adjustments. But the adjustments aren’t always intuitive or obvious, and that’s where a coach comes in. If there were a better way to improve one’s technique instead of using interpersonal coaching, I think they would have come up with it by now!

So hopefully I’ll see you one of these months at the FREE CORBA skills class. No reservations needed. Come back as many times as you like, it’s always free!


Recreational Rides


    September's Beginners' Ride had 16 participants. Would you or a new rider you know like to join us too?

For a list of upcoming recreational rides, please visit the CORBA Calendar.

Upcoming Beginner - Intermediate Rides (follow the link for details and to sign up!)

See our Rides Calendar for details and for other beginner-level rides. Many thanks to North Ranch Mountain Bikers Michelle and Kevin 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!

Children must be over 7-years old to attend, and children under 14 must be constantly and directly supervised by their parent or guardian who brought them.

2013 Santa Monica Mtns Trail Days at Sycamore Canyon Report from April 20-21. During the annual Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days in Pt Mugu State Park, CORBA volunteers with the help of a few others repaired drains and cleared brush along the entire 1.8 miles of the Wood Canyon Vista Trail, a segment of the Backbone Trail. The SMM Trail Days is a weekend-long event organized by the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council that has taken place at the end of April for 32 years running. As well as helping with trailwork on Saturday and Sunday morning, volunteers are able to camp over Friday and Saturday night at the Danielson Multiuse Area, enjoy a barbecue dinner on Saturday, and win great prizes on both Saturday and Sunday in appreciation for their work. On Saturday morning, 17 CORBA Volunteers and a few others were shuttled from the registration area to the bottom of the Wood Canyon Vista Trail. See our blog article for more of the events of the weekend, the completion of this trail on Saturday and Sunday, and photo galleries.

May 11: Guadalasca Trail, Point Mugu State Park. If you missed your chance to help fix up the trails in PMSP during the Santa Monica Mountains Trail Days in late April, you can come out and help us work on Guadalasca Trail this month. This long singletrack is a mtn biking favorite! For details and to register so we'll know how many to prepare for, see our online registration page on Meetup.com.

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

Temporary Trail Closures In Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons in April and May

The Cheeseboro Reservoir, capable of holding four million gallons of water, can be seen in the distance. Along with a pump station at Palo Comado Canyon, the reservoir will be demolished and removed during April and May. Courtesy of National Park Service

The Cheeseboro Reservoir, capable of holding four million gallons of water, can be seen in the distance. Along with a pump station at Palo Comado Canyon, the reservoir will be demolished and removed during April and May.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. – The National Park Service (NPS) is advising visitors that trails at Cheeseboro and Palo Comado Canyons will be intermittently closed during April and May due to the demolition and removal of surplus water conveyance infrastructure.

Several days of trail closures are expected, though limited to weekdays between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Visitors can find up-to-date information on trailhead signs, by calling 818-889-8996 or by visiting www.nps.gov/samo.

Triunfo Sanitation District (TSD) will be removing the Palo Comado Pump Station and the Cheeseboro Reservoir. These facilities, owned by TSD, were built in 1959 at the behest of comedian Bob Hope, who had hoped to build thousands of homes in the surrounding area as part of a master-planned community. TSD is decommissioning the facilities as part of an agreement with the NPS and other agencies.

Large trucks will be hauling salvaged materials along both the Palo Comado and Cheeseboro Canyon trails to recycling centers. For their safety, visitors are asked to refrain from using these trails when posted as closed.

Entrance to trails from Cheeseboro Canyon, Doubletree and Smoketree trailheads will be periodically closed. The China Flat trailhead and trailheads for Upper Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space Preserve will remain open.

The NPS and TSD appreciate the public’s cooperation with this effort. Additional information is available by calling 818-889-8996.

GirlzGoneRiding News

Bells Bells Bells Bells! In accordance with CORBA & IMBA, GGR will start to incorporate using BELLS on their bikes. Bells and communication on the trails with the hikers and equestrians is key to keeping all users of the trails aware that bikers are coming.

GGR is now soliciting sponsors for their main event Oct 20th at Malibu Creek State Park. This is also a CORBA membership drive and fund raiser. Please email wendy@girlzgoneriding.com for details on becoming a sponsor. It’s EASY!

Please check out the GGR Calender! http://www.girlzgoneriding.com/calendar/

Rides and special events are posted on the FB page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/350083721682365/


Free Mountain Biking Skills Clinic

Saturday May 4 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!)


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