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North Trace Creek Ride

The day after Thanksgiving, six of us rode an out-and-back of approximately 22 miles on North Trace from the DD crossing to Hazel Creek. Temperature was pretty nice, but a bit cold in the low to mid-20's at the start.
The trail was in fairly good shape, although there were many surprises hidden under the inches-deep leaf cover. There were approximately 15-20 trees down across the trail, with maybe 3 that will require a chainsaw. The rest can be take care of with packsaws. Most of the creek crossings had very little water in them or were frozen, so didn't present any challenge to keeping our feet warm and dry.
Beavers have been very active at the Hazel Creek crossing. The water there was probably 2-4 feet deep. We tried to get Terbo to cross and find out if it was passable, but couldn't pony up enough cash to get him to do it.

Bender Injured!

Josh Bender was injured during this drop in Utah on Nov 14th. Surgery for a broken ankle, another for a fractured L2 vertebre. That's gotta hurt.

The drop: It's a 35 footer, with a gap to clear. Bender apparently tried to bail just before the landing and was tangled up in his bike.

Don't try this at home...

Get In Touch With Your Inner (Holiday) Beer Drinker

This guy (not the one in the Surly shirt) is drinking 50 Seasonal/Holiday Beers in 50 days. As of today, he's up to number 16. Learn about some new beers. Just don't try them all in one day.

Another easy one...

Who's thin sexy lips are those?

This is easy!

Whose leg is it?

Guess the GORCstar!

Dogwood Loop

Last Saturday was a big day for GORC. The near total reroute of the Dogwood Trail at Greensfelder was completed. The trail, which was formerly a muddy, sodden mess with straight-up climbs is now beautiful, twisty, flowing, and most importantly, sustainable singletrack. Terbo and Bryan, and everyone else involved did a great job with the new design.
After the workday, despite the threat of a downpour, some of us decided to give the new trail a test ride. All I can say is wow! This trail has everything-- climbs, banked turns, rocks, fast descents... There was some talk-- well ok, it was just me, but I'm sure that once you ride it, you'll agree, that this might be GORC's best piece of work.
I had been reluctant to do much work at GF, because while I thought the park had the best terrain for mountain biking in the area, I figured the horses would just trash it. After seeing how well the DeClue reroute and the first section of the Dogwood had held up to the abuse, I was convinced otherwise. Perhaps our "Equestrian Outreach Officer" will have some success in persuading them to pay more attention to trail conditions when they ride. Ha!
According to our own Ninja master, this loop combined with the DeClue is around 9 or 10 miles.
So when you go out and ride this trail, and are having a great time, think about what was there before, and what a difference volunteers can actually make.

Tired of Riding on Roads With Rock & Glass Strewn Shoulders?

Turns out that MODOT will clean the shoulder of roads which they maintain on request. More info on the MOBikeFed website. Anyone know if Illinois will do the same thing?

Greensfelder Dogwood Trailbuilding - Nov 12

We should be finishing two stretches of new trail on the Dogwood trail at Greensfelder Park Saturday, making for a loop that's double what it used to be, better quality and more sustainable of course.

Work goes from 9am to 1pm. Lunch will be provided by St. Louis County Parks afterwards. To preregister and ensure a piece of a sandwich, email Kay at khartzke@stlouisco.com or call 314-638-2100 by Thursday. Please say you're with GORC, as they're already booked full for other volunteer groups. Boots, long pants, and gloves are highly recommended. Gloves and eyewear are available. Bring a mcleod, pulaski, shovel, digging bar or rock bar, whatever you have, as this is shaping up to be the biggest GF workday yet. And of course bring your bike for a ride after lunch!

Meet at Dogwood Shelter (not Muckerman like the original flyer said)

Directions:
* Hwy 44 to Six Flags exit, Allenton Road North
* Go past six flags, into Greensfelder Park, just past the visitor's center, turn left on Hencken Road
* Go past Muckerman shelter and the operations office (it's a house) on your left
* Take the next left into the parking lot.
* Look for the St. Louis County Parks tool trailer.

St. Louis County has really recruited some volunteers for Saturday so we've got a special request out for experienced trailbuilders, anyone who's done this before counts. If you're a biker who's new to trailbuilding, (or if you're busy Saturday) consider SIU-Edwardsville on Sunday instead. It'll be a little smaller and more intimate, and lots of fun. Or just go nuts and do both.

tom

Dope...

Another rider joins the ranks of our Burnin' Team!






Heras' A-sample has tested positive for EPO. In a few weeks, we'll get the B-sample test to confirm his status for next year's Council Bluff Race, maybe a 'fast' team eh Tom?

Here's a great editorial on the whole "dopers suck" thing...good times.

BTW: Last nights ride at LV was fun, the trails were primo and we had 11 riders, not including the folks we saw out on the trail, and the DRJ crew that showed up around 9pm to hit the trail. THese rides are gaining momentum once again, thanks to the nice fall weather. Contrast this to last year when the weather SUCKED A$$ for the entire Nov/Dec riding season.

BTW Part II: COME TO GREENSFELDER SATURDAY AND HELP US FINISH THE TRAIL!!!!

MTB Positioning Chart

For those of you who like to tinker with the position of various components on your bike, here's an article about how to keep track of any changes you might make. Includes a link to a chart from Park Tool where you can record the measurements.
Here's the one for road bikes.