Hello Cape Fear SORBA. I hope you are prepared for your Memorial Day weekend! We have some wonderful news for you to go into your weekend thinking about. Cape Fear SORBA lands Specialized Bicycles Grant Thanks to the hard work of grant writers Austin and Will in association with Bike Cycles, Cape Fear SORBA has…
Don't You Just Love Fresh Trail? Thanks to Sai Collins for the photo!
CFSORBA Seeks Volunteers to staff Booth Feb 4th
Cape Fear SORBA is also seeking volunteers to help us spread the word about our volunteer activities here in the Cape Fear region. On Feb 4th Star News will host the 2012 Conscience fair just down the street from Blue Clay at the North Campus of Cape Fear Community College.
There will be two shifts at the fair. One from 9:30am to 12:30pm and then from 12:30pm to 3:30pm. We would like to see two people per shift. These shifts are obviously suggestions. We can work with you on the schedule if you would like to volunteer. All promotional and display materials will be dropped off and picked up so you won’t have to worry about transporting anything but yourself. In addition, this event is so close to Blue Clay all you have to do is bring the bike and go ride when you are done!
Our goal with events like this is to simply spread the word about what Cape Fear SORBA is doing in both New Hanover and Brunswick counties. We want more people reading about us, riding the trails, and volunteering. We would be very happy if we were able to get someone to signup for a club membership at this event but just spreading the word is a great way to draw interest.
So if you are interested in helping out at the 2012 Conscience Fair please email us at info@capefearsorba.com and let us know what shift you would like to work. Remember that this is volunteer work to!
Don’t forget to Donate!
Also please if you can donate to help Tripp complete his mission to the National Bike Summit March 20th-22nd. You can do so by clicking on the link below and donating to Cape Fear SORBA!
HELP TRIPP ON HIS MISSION TO THE NATIONAL BIKE SUMMIT! DONATE HERE!
That’s all for now CFSORBA! Don’t forget that the first race in the CCORS race series is taking place NEXT weekend at the Brunswick Nature Park. Hit our meetup.com page to RSVP or just show up! We will see you there!
CFSORBA Seeks Delegate for National Bike Summit
Cape Fear SORBA has for the past two years had the good fortune to be able to send a representative to the National Bike Summit in Washington DC from March 20th-22nd. Having that delegate there has had a direct effect on our efforts here in the Cape Fear Region. One of recent memory was the Trail Care Crew. Their visit was a direct result of conversations that were had at last years summit. The summit is an opportunity for advocates and bike lovers to learn more about how to support and advocate for the sport they love. This includes classes on various topics that include organizing, grant writing, and lobbying of elected officials. In addition the delegate has the opportunity to lobby his or her own Representatives and Senators on Capital Hill during the last day of the Summit.
Does this sound like something you would be willing to do? If your schedule is clear for March 20th-22nd and you are interested in participating in the Summit PLEASE email info@capefearsorba.com AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. We must register the delegate by Feb 3rd in order to get the reduced price for their registration. The club and its members intend to pay for the registration, travel costs, and accommodations for the potential delegate. In return we ask that you write blog posts during the summit about the event and provide a full report/presentation upon returning from the Summit. For more information on the summit you can see IMBA’s info here and the League of American Bicyclists information here.
CFSORBA General membership Meeting Recap
Our membership meetings continue to be strongly attended with over 20 people turning out to take part! Our topics ranged but here are the highlights.
President Greg gave a quick over view of our current progress at the Brunswick Nature Park. We will most likely be able to utilize culvert pipes to cross streams to enter the advanced section of trail, which will save Brunswick County $30,000 or more on building one or more bridges. Those in attendance also agreed that the next big trail building weekend would be January 21st and 22nd starting at 9am. Please visit our meetup.com page to RSVP for the trail building days. Greg will lead on the 21st and VP Austin will lead on the 22nd.
The club then heard from the new club organizer of the Coastal Carolina Off-Road Race Series Brandon Davis. Brandon filled the club in on the current goings on and what we should expect for the first event on January 29th, which just happens to be at the Brunswick Nature Park! Check out www.ecvelo.org for more details on the series!
Next VP Austin discussed the current funding situation for the planned pump track and skills area that will be located near the picnic shelter at the Brunswick Nature Park. He is currently working on one grant and recently submitted another (both are for $5000). The club estimates the cost of the area will be $10-12,000. We are hoping to explore more local possibilities for funding the building of this area. If anyone involved with the club has access to lumber (treated or Cypress) or any other materials that we might need in construction of this area please let us know! Anything that we can get donated to the club would drop the cost of building the area dramatically.
Finally we also discussed the possibility of holding a TWO day event at the Brunswick Nature Park this fall as a large fund raiser and social event. A lot of ideas were batted around and they included having races on back to back days, holding a Fat Tire Fest on day 1 and a race on day 2, and having the race be a duathlon (running and biking). One thing was certain: the club members in attendance all agreed that an event of this nature is something that we should work on. We will continue to pursue the possibility of this event in the coming weeks.
So that, in a nutshell was the meeting folks! Soon we will be posting updates on a few things we discussed but for now if you want to help with trail building, trail funding, or event planning let us know. The club is always interested in folks who are willing to help in any capacity. Also, if you really are interested in visiting DC for the National Bike Summit PLEASE email us at info@capefearsorba.com as soon as possible!
See you soon Cape Fear SORBA. Get out and ride!
Great turnout for the classroom session!
Jake and Jenny demonstrate proper tool safety.
Gather round everyone as we demonstrate proper trail construction!
April and John start work. Doesn't look like trail yet!
Starting to look like a trail!
Everyone working together to build one sweet trail!
Group Shot! Thanks to all who came out pictured and not!
Upcoming Events
In other news we need to announce the next club meeting and trail workdays!
The next club meeting is set to occur on Tuesday November 29th from 6-8pm at the Long Island Eatery off of Kerr Ave. Directions are available here: Long Island Eatery
We will be discussing next years calendar, upcoming plans for the Brunswick Nature Park, and other related issues. We invite all club members to come out and enjoy the food and fun as we prepare for the New Year!
The following weekend we will be having the next workday at the Brunswick Nature Park. We will be working on both December 3rd and 4th. On Dec 3rd volunteers will doing a rough cut in of the next section of trail. On Dec 4th volunteers will be fine-tuning and trimming up what was initially cut on the previous day. Greg Brinson will be leading the workday on Dec 3rd while Austin Fenwick will lead on Dec 4th. If you have questions please email info@capefearsorba.com.
It’s important that we get a good turnout for the workdays this upcoming weekend. We all want to ride the next section of trail, but without the help of volunteers it will take a very long time. So lets get together a few weekends a month and pound out some trail. The sooner we all do that, the sooner we all ride! Who is with me? Lets build so we can ride!
Happy Trails Everyone, see you soon!
