Category: Trail News

Mar 13 2011 March 13, 2011 September 27, 2016 by Austin Fenwick

SORBA update: Race Rescheduled, BCNP work day, elections coming soon

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Hello Cape Fear SORBA and welcome to this edition of the page update!

First I would like to announce that the recently postponed race at Blue Clay from the CCORS series has been rescheduled.  Due to heavy rains we have had lately the decision was made to hold off on the race until May 1st, giving Blue Clay a chance to dry out before the next scheduled race there. For now remember that the next race in the series is scheduled for April 3rd in Greenville at the Bicycle Post. We hope to see you there!!

Next on the agenda is an update on the Brunswick County Nature Park (or BCNP if you like). First though, a little video for you all.

 

Over the weekend we had the first chance to have some mini excavators at the park to help us cut in the new beginner trail!

Jere and President Greg work on the new Beginner Trail

We estimate that once the new section of trail is cut its going to be about 1.5 miles long making the total trail cut about 3 miles. Check out a couple more photo’s from the work.

This is what the land looked like before the trail cut began

The intial cut by the mini excavator. Now the hard work will begin..

Of course the mini excavators can only do part of the work for us. The hard work for the rest of us will be forming and shaping the trail properly. We have to take into account the width we want the trail to be, the angle we shape it so that water will run off, and of course we must worry about how the trail rides. All of that means alot of shoveling, raking, and tamping. Something like…

The hard work: shaping new trail

We estimate that it will take another 2 weekends to finish the initial cut with the equipment. From that point we will need manpower to finish the rest of the trail. The more people we have out for the work the faster it will go. Currently we are discussing scheduling a big work day for sometime in April to do the work. In addition, that work day will double as a club meeting and election day for the new year. Expect an email about elections in the coming week.

Of course though, no work day would be complete without riding over the new stuff we just built. Michael, who was the first to ride the first section of trail we built at Brunswick, just happened to have his bike handy! So for without further adieu I give you the first rider to ride the beginner trail!

Michael tests fresh trail

Just remember everyone, when we get the new workday scheduled the more people that show up the faster we will have this new section up and riding! I hope to see you all very soon!

Mountain bike or die everyone, stay safe on the trails!

Austin Fenwick

Vice President: Cape Fear SORBA

(new email) austincycles@gmail.com

 


Mar 06 2011 March 6, 2011 March 14, 2011 by Austin Fenwick

Race at Blue Clay for 3/6/11 postponed due to threat of thunderstorms

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The race scheduled for today at the Blue Clay Bike Park has been postponed due to threat of thunderstorms. The current forecast has the thunderstorms starting up heavily at 2pm (the race start time) and running through till 5pm. Basically the entire time racers will be on course. In addition, we have no covered shelter to place all the racers and volunteers in the event we have to stop the race in progress.

 

The Race will be rescheduled as soon as possible. Hope to see you at the next scheduled race at the Bicycle Post on April 3rd.

 

Austin Fenwick

VP Cape Fear SORBA


Feb 08 2011 February 8, 2011 November 26, 2015 by JeremyC

Workday 2/12/11 at Blue Clay

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From Barry Wray:

There are less than 4 weeks until the first race of the year at the Blue Clay Bike Park! There is a lot of work out there we can do to improve the trail and help make it possible to ride sooner after it rains. So, we are going to have another work day at Blue Clay Saturday morning (2/12/11) from 8:30 am until ?. Please come out and help if you can. Bring work gloves, wheelbarrows, shovels, even an ax if you have it.

BTW, the BC trail is still very wet from all the rain we have had. We worked on rerouting one section of trail this past weekend. The reroute was completed but is still very soft and needs time to dry and firm up. how to determine value of domain name . We put in a temporary ride around until this new section has a chance to dry. Might be a good idea to ride UNCW until the entire trail at BC can dry out.

Thanks and I hope to see a good turnout for the workday on Saturday.

Barry A. Wray
Director CFS BC Trail Care Crew
Cape Fear SORBA


Jan 31 2011 January 31, 2011 February 2, 2011 by JeremyC

UPDATE: Blue Clay Trail Care Crew Meeting from 1/25/2011

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From Barry Wray:

CFS had the first meeting of the Blue Clay Trail Care Crew on Monday 1/25/11. Twelve of us went over the attached PowerPoint presentation. We identified some items that we will be addressing in the coming months. The first item is to bring the beginner trail back to where it needs to be to accommodate beginner riders. We will continue to remove roots on the trail and bring in dirt and gravel to repair trail damage due to trail compaction from use over the last couple of years. We are planning to have a work day after we get enough dirt trucked in so hang tight on that but if you would like to help before then send me an email and I can meet you at the park and show you where to begin removing roots.

Another immediate item is some maintenance on a trail section that has become an issue. We may start working on that this week. I’ll send out an email when we have a day/time. One thing is for sure…we live in an area with no mountains and very little terrain so we have to have some (most) of our trail on flat ground and we will always be battling with issues like compaction, roots, and water. Mountain bike trails are composed of dirt…if the dirt has too much sand it will be good when we have wet conditions but too soft for dry conditions…if we have a trail with too much clay it will hold water and be wet and slick during rainy times which is not good but it will be good in dry conditions…BC is somewhere in between which is good and bad…so we face a long term battle (unless we give up and build a concrete sidewalk through the woods L) and we will have to try to stay ahead of changing conditions on the trail. IMBA offers advice on how to build a trail system to create good experiences for diverse visitors, minimize user conflict and environmental damage, and hold up in the future. Our goal is to follow their advice and create a unique trail that is challenging yet enjoyable for everyone.

I meet with Andy Johnson from New Hanover County Parks at BC last Friday. Andy reiterated the County’s commitment to BC (they have spent over $45,000 on the park in the last year).  He emphasized we need to identify issues at the park needing attention and submit proposals to him for solutions. He is committed to work on securing funding for the projects that are approved. Some of the projects we are working on now are:


  • Identify what additional signs are needed at the park. The County would like to see mileage markers in place. This has been a long time safety issue that we need to address. What signs would you like to see at the park?
  • Keep up with the monthly trail reports. I’ll be taking on this responsibility.
  • Andy offered a possible workday on April 16th with “free labor” from a local organization (we will have to look at this because we have a race scheduled for BC the next day)…more on this later.
  • Replace the standard portable bathroom with one with handicap access. This was a request by a CFS member that came up during our meeting.  Do you (or anyone you know that uses the park) have a special need?
  • Identify safety conditions around the park that need attention. Know of any?
  • We have submitted sealed engineer plans for changes that need to be made on the very first bridge on the trail. The County has committed to buying the wood we need as soon as we put together a materials list and forward it to them. Once we get the wood we will then start on the construction.  We will also be rebuilding some of the short crossovers on the trail and 1 or 2 more bridges. We have club members who have worked on other bridges but we can always use more help (especially skilled help!). If you can help with the construction let me know.
  • Begin plans for a picnic shelter at the park. Do you have any skills that you would like to volunteer to help plan and build a shelter?


If you are a Cape Fear SORBA member I consider you part of the “trail care crew” so please send me you suggestions. We will be looking for you at our club workdays…or working at the park when your schedule permits…or contributing to the park in whatever way best fits you.


Thanks for your commitment to CFS.

Barry A. Wray
Director CFS BC Trail Care Crew
Cape Fear SORBA


Downloads:
Cape Fear SORBA meeting 1_25_2011