Creve Coeur/Bangert Island Mini Epic

After driving all the way to Durango and back, I was looking for a ride that didn't involve much driving. The closest trail to me turns out to be at Creve Coeur Park, and I hadn't been there since the workday in the Spring. Now that Bangert Island is above water, and clear, I figured, why not ride both of them?

We started at Creve Coeur and rode that. Brian, Glenn and others have done a nice job getting the rest of the section open to ride after the small turnout at the workday. What's there now is about a mile of twisty, fun singletrack with lots of switchbacks, turns and drainage crossings. After the Fall workdays, there will be around 3.5 miles of singletrack there!

Next, we headed down the steep gravel road by the Corporate Picnic site, and rode down to the lake. Went around the lake, over to the bike path that leads across the Page Avenue Extension to the Katy, and took the Katy to Bangert Island.

This was my first time at Bangert. Knowing only that it was an island that is sometimes underwater, or cut off from the mainland, I didn't really know what to expect. Surprisingly, there was more variation in the terrain than I expected. Don't get me wrong, it was only a few feet here and there, but it's enough to have allowed the designers to give the trail some flow throughout most of its length, rather than just being a flat ribbon as in the picture. Evidence of being underwater is also everywhere, with driftwood, and a layer of dried mud covering most things. Hats off to the GORC St. Charles County Crew for the fine addition of another 2.5 miles of singletrack to our area.

Then it was back on to the Katy to retrace our route. The ride ended up being about 25 miles; a mixture of dirt singletrack, pavement and the Katy. It was a different kind of ride than using the Katy to link Lost Valley, Matson, and Klondike, and a nice change of pace. I rode it on a cyclocross bike and pulled my son in a trailer except on the singletrack, when we traded off riding and babysitting, so you could pretty much ride these trails on any kind of bike you like, when they're dry.

No Monthly Meeting for August

There will not be a monthly meeting in August. Kirby the Grand Poobah, says you can still go to the Tap Room and drink beer with your friends if you like.

Monthly Meeting- Wed. June 4th 7pm

The regular monthly meeting will be at the Schlafly Tap Room. We'll probably discuss the new trail at Creve Coeur Park and other recent projects.

All Trails at Greensfelder Now Multi-Use

As of Monday, May 26th all trails at Greensfelder County Park are multi-use. It's more important than ever now to make sure you're up to speed on IMBA's Rules of the Trail, and practice good trail etiquette when encountering equestrians out there.
IMBA's website has an interesting article about bike/equestrian interaction.

I Am Spartacus

Tom Erb designed Spartacus several years ago to help with much of the rockwork at Klondike, but since we've been using it quite a bit as of late, I thought I'd mention it again.
This is a very clever device, made out of chains arranged in concentric circles, that lets you move heavy objects, usually rocks, when you don't have the luxury of bringing in heavy equipment. The rock is maneuvered onto Spartacus, and then up to 8 handles allow for a number of people, strong of back, weak of mind, to carry or drag it to the desired position.
The plans for building your own have been released under the Creative Commons license, or you can pay Tom to build one for you.

New Trail at Bangert Island

Mike Dunston and rest of the St. Charles County GORC Crew have been busy as usual. May 20th is the scheduled grand opening of a new 2.5 mile trail located near the intersection of I-70 and 5th Street. Here's a preliminary map to give you an idea of the location. We'll keep you updated as we get more details.

Creve Coeur Park Trail Update

Due to a very light turnout for the workday 2 weeks ago we were unable to open as much of the trail as hoped. Brian and Glenn, along with Drew Black, Aaron Coburn, and Eric Walter then went on their own time during the week and grubbed and raked the corridor connecting the 2 largest sections which had been cut. While only a relatively small section of trail is ridable, hopefully it will give you a taste of what's to come at this park. There may be another workday there this Spring, scheduled on short notice, so keep your eyes on the GORC Calendar.

This is going to be a fun place to ride. It's been described elsewhere as being like SIUE with climbing, so if that appeals to you, then please try to make an effort to come out, if not this Spring, then in the Fall.

Castlewood Maintenance Day- April 26th

As most of you probably know, the river bottom trails at Castlewood were under water for quite awhile. As a result Sam's plan for the maintenance day has changed:

The flooding has changed our plan from a half dozen small projects, to two small projects and a new one, clearing the river trails of the logs that floated in.

The plan:

1) One crew to do benching on the rollercoaster and armor one ditch.

2) One crew to modify the uppermost bridge on the 3%LoveMtRidge Trail.

3) I am hoping for four crews to do chain saw work on the river trails. I am putting out a call for Certified Sawyers to lead crews, and we need helpers to clear the logs.

Saturday, April 26th, 9am at the Rangers Office.
Lunch will be served.

As for the rest of it, I'm not quite sure. It sounded like Sam had been drinking a lot of wine, because he was sort of raving. Something about him, Kirby, and MikeD riding endless loops on a Pugsley to flatten everything back into place...

Midwest MTB Festival May 2-4 Reminder

This is a quick post to excite / ignite the upcoming 2wheeled fun-fest. I didn't make it last year but I'm looking forward to the '08 edition.

This is all taken from the official website...

Friday May 2nd, 2008
IMBA Advocacy Summit

8 am – 10 am – Registration open @ Five Points (pre-registrants only)
9 a.m. - 10:30 - Club Care with IMBA TCC
10:30 to 12pm - Plainfield Bike Park presentation
12pm to 1 pm - Lunch
1 p.m - 2:30 - Leadership Roundtable with Ryan Schutz from IMBA
3:30 - Group Ride at Farmdale
4 - 6pm - Registration booth open at Farmdale
7:30 pm - IMBA TCC night ride!!

Saturday May 3rd, 2008
8 am – 12pm – Registration OPEN – Farmdale Reservoir
9 am - vendors open
10 am - Group Rides!! Jubilee & Black Partridge Park
noon - beer sales open!
1 pm - live music!
1 pm - family hash hike
2 pm - Mud Maids Ladies Ride
3 pm - GAMES! stage area
4 pm - Raffle!
7:30 - Night Rides!
9:30 - Movies! - Radical Films - Kackle Factor!!

Sunday May 4th, 2008
10 am - Epic Ride!! Independence Park & Dirksen Park
5 pm - campground closes! Make sure you don’t get locked in!!


Farmdale Reservoir is the host site of this year's festival. It will be the main site of all the festivities, and camping is available. This park offers over 20 miles of tasty singletrack with a balanced mix between multi-use and hike/bike specific trails. It features tight twisty sections, fast open stretches, up-downs, creek crossings, a downhill course, stunt loop, and new mountain-X/dirt jump area.

Jubilee houses the largest single trail system in the area. Most of it is "doubletrack", and the park is frequented by both mountain bikers and equestrians. There is a area on the south side of the park with plenty of singletrack dedicated to hikers & bikers only. This park offers a bit of everything, from blazing fast downhills, gut wrenching climbs, easy flowing sections. Most of the trails are non-technical, but there is plenty for the intermediate rider on the singletrack.

Independence Trail offers 12+ miles of 100% sweet singletrack! It also offers some of the most challenging terrain in the area. Plenty of logs, creek crossings, up downs, and hill climbs. The system is one long loop, but has several outs for the meek of heart.

Creve Coeur County Park Workday- Saturday, April 19th 9 a.m.

The new trail is in blue at the bottom right.

Come and help build the first section of brand new singletrack at Creve Coeur County Park. There is currently 2-3 miles of trail flagged, approved, and ready to build, with more to come. The trail is rollercoaster-like dirt singletrack with a few climbs thrown in for good measure. The first phase consists of a loop connecting to an out-n-back. We'll begin building the out-n-back, and depending on turnout, attack the loop.

Momentum Cycles is supplying coffee and bagels in the
morning, and we'll have schwag from Sunset Cycles and O'Fallon Brewery.

Enter the Park on Streetcar Drive (off Dorsett Rd), follow the road past
the first baseball field and tennis courts, park in the large gravel
parking lot just past the tennis courts on the right. St. Louis County
Parks is providing lunch afterwards - bring gloves, water, work shoes,
and weather permitting, your bike.

GORC Bike Patrol

Over the years GORC has done a number of things to help spread the
word and educate people as to the consequences of their actions on
the trails:

1) Developed a page on the GORC website listing IMBA's Rules of the Trail
which advocates adhering to certain principles while riding.
2) Created Trail Conditions forum on website where users can describe
the current state of each trail.
3) Published blog and newsletter with educational articles intended to
explain how natural phenomena, and riding in certain conditions affect trails.
4) Erected kiosks with signs at SIUE asking that users respect the
rights of others when using the trail.

Taking the next step, we're going to try to reach users more directly, on the trails.
IMBA has created a program modeled after the National Ski Patrol, called the National Mountain Bike Patrol. Although the name sounds a little serious, the intent of the Patrol is summed up by its motto "Assist, Educate, Inform." There is no enforcement component whatsoever to the Patrol. Patrollers will be doing pretty much what most GORC members already do anyway: riding the local trails, offering to help anyone with mechanical or medical problems, and just trying to be goodwill ambassadors for the sport. The difference is that we now have formal approval from the landmanagers to do so officially. To date, we have approval to Patrol SIUE, all St. Charles County Parks, and Lost Valley & the Hamburg Trail.

If you're interested in joining, or have more questions about the NMBP, post your questions on the GORC Forum, or get in touch with Rockboy aka Rob Horn, the program's coordinator.

Diabetes Mellitus, Nutrition & Exercise

It is very important that as a diabetic you get plenty of exercise. Along with exercise there is nutrition. Most of us non-diabetics out there think nothing of hopping on our bike and tool around the park. A person with diabetes needs to have more forethought in the activity. Those with diabetes should carry with them, at all times, a quick sugar(hard candy, raisins, glucose tablets, cliff shot, gatorade) and a longer lasting sugar with protein (package of peanut butter & crackers for example). A medic alert necklace or bracelet could be a life saver as well.
Before performing exercise it is a good idea to take your blood glucose level. Check it at least 30 minutes prior to exercising. If your glucose level is between 100-250mg/dl, then it is safe to exercise. If it is below 100mg/dl then you need to bump up your level before exercising. A snack like cheese and crackers would be good.
If you are planning a long vigorous bike ride you should intake 15g to 30g of carbohydrate every 30-60 minutes. If you are just getting back into shape, it would be a good idea to ingest at least 15 g every 30 to 60 minutes. It is also recommended, until you know how your body is going to react to exercise, to take your blood glucose level during exercise. As always, speak to a physician before partaking of a new exercise program. We are getting to the hotter months in St. Louis and your body starts to react to the heat and humidity.
During exercise if you become nervous, shaky, confused, or just don’t feel right stop! You may be experiencing hypoglycemia. Stop, take off your helmet, eat, drink, rest. It may also be helpful to put your head between your knees or raise your feet above the level of your heart. Do not perform any sudden movements as you may be unstable and could fall.

These are just a few tips, nothing replaces what your physician tells you.

Broemmelsiek, SIUE Make-Up Workdays this Weekend

Due to the wet weather this Winter and Spring, a number of workdays have had to be cancelled. They will be rescheduled if possible. The first of these make-up days will be this weekend with ones at Broemmelsiek on Saturday, and a rare Sunday workday at SIUE. As usual, there will be food provided, and weather permitting, you can ride the trail you were working on that day.

Greensfelder Workday - Sat. April 5th, 9 a.m.

Ok, let's try this again. After being cancelled last week, we're going to try again with another workday at Greensfelder. At this point, the weather looks much better.

The current plan is to try to complete most of the trail that's already been worked on since last Spring. With a large enough turnout, we'll be able to do this and begin working on the next phase of the extension, which will eventually make a loop back to the Roundhouse parking lot.

We'll meet at 9 a.m. at the Radio Tower Parking lot off of Allenton Rd. Weather permitting, we'll ride afteward, and as usual, there will be a meal and schwag provided.

Cancelled -Greensfelder Workday - Sat. March 22nd, 9 a.m.

Due to the precipitation that Mother Nature has dropped on us recently, and the fact that I-44 may not be passable tomorrow, St. Louis County Parks has cancelled the workday.

If you've ridden the section of the new DeClue extension that was built last Spring and Fall, you probably noticed that it wasn't quite ready for prime time. This workday aims to address some unfinished business, and hopefully will allow for the completion of the A & B sections of this extension. If that happens, you will be able to ride the trail out, follow a small lollipop and then retrace your way back up to the old DeClue. This will be slightly better than the current out-and-back, plus the trail should be completely rideable.

After this, work will continue on the extension which will cross the Scenic Loop road and eventually connect back to the Roundhouse parking lot. There's lots of work to be done on this, and it's going to take some time, so come on out and help! We'll be meeting at the radio tower parking lot off of Allenton Rd. at 9 a.m.

A strategy for the future.

To satisfy a wicked fishing jones, I found myself paying to fish a privately owned spring creek on a weekday at the end of a crappy February. I might have been soured by the intermittent freezing rain or still harboring resentment from the distasteful experience of trying to find true "public" salmonid fishing in the UK, but either way I was pretty cold and getting crabby. I spent quite a bit of time sliding around in the deep mud with my felt-soled boots as more unwelcome precipitation continued to drown the prospects of getting to ride my mountain bike anytime soon. I sat (sank) streamside, tied on a new fly, and kicked around a decidedly jaded idea of mine that frequently rears its head when I'm in a foul mood...

One of the first synonyms of the word "mining" is the word "excavation". "Excavation" is any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in an earth surface formed by earth removal. So, as trailbuilders, it seems that GORCsters do quite a bit of "mining" when given the opportunity, right? Those opportunities have created some sweet riding and earned GORC accolades with land managers and land users. Stick with me now, I'm fin'na drop some convoluted logic...

Even with a good reputation, access is the ubiquitous issue for our particular user group. So, let's play some dirty pool and steal a trick from the playbook of the mining industry. Let's just grab some land and do some "mining" of our own. I'm not sure what kind of liquid cash our treasurer has kicking around in the GORC coffers, but utilizing the 1872 General Mining Law (still in place) it seems that we can stake a claim to federal lands at, get this, $2.50 an acre. According to the USDA FS rules, "non-competitive" sales can be made to governmental agencies and non-profit groups (that's us, right?). Apparently, the number of claims we can hold is unlimited and the duration of the claim is indefinite. Hmmm... the MTNF alone is 1.5 million acres, I'm sure we could find something we like for a couple hundred bucks.

Okay, here's the curmudgeonly part that you've been anticipating... not that we'd ever consider doing this, but, following the mining industry's track record, not only can we purchase our federal land at 1872 prices, but we can apparently completely freaking trash it, then declare bankruptcy, and leave it for our fellow taxpayers to clean up... then, we can just start a new club and do the same thing again someplace else.

Obviously, I'm sure there's some prohibition buried in some legalese out there to prevent people who might be good stewards of the land from selfishly snatching up public lands and responsibly providing recreational opportunities for the public (on their own land) ... but no such prohibition exists for some jerkweed mining corporation to come in and screw everything up, take their money and run, and leave the mess for us.

It seems that access and usage of public land are only a "privilege" for some of us, and a "right" for those whose intention is exploitation.

I wonder if REI will let me redeem my dividend check for some acreage?

Monthly Meeting Wednesday, March 5th

Separated at Birth?

7 pm at the Schlafly Tap Room. See you there.

One Trail, Two Days

Ah Winter, one day it's 73 degrees, the next it's 15. Don't you love it? This little story concerns the SIUE trails, but could just as easily be about any of the other trails in our area.

Day 1. Two weeks ago, a group was out reviewing the location of the proposed new trail at SIUE. It had been very cold for the previous week without any precipitation and the ground was thoroughly frozen. The temperature was around freezing when we started, but the forecast was for temps in the upper 50's that day. Now, several of these people in attendance were some of the most experienced trailbuilders in GORC (I'm not including myself here). Not one brought their mountain bike, thinking that with such warm temperatures, the trails would be thawed by afternoon. Well, to everyone's surprise, by the time we were done, even though it was in the 50's, the trails were firm and dry, perfect riding conditions...

Fast forward to Day 2. Yesterday, Kirby and I headed out to SIUE in the early afternoon. Temperature was 19. To our surprise the top layer of soil was a gooey mess. Apparently, with there being so much moisture in the soil from the recent rains, the ground was completely saturated, and the strong sunlight was enough to melt away the top layer even at that temperature. Also, it had only been below freezing for one night. We walked down the trail a bit and could see where someone who was riding had been sliding across the surface at every curve and riding off the trail to avoid muddy spots.

So, what's the moral of this story? Well, it's that even if you think you understand how trails react to certain weather conditions, in Winter, all bets are off. Here in MO/SW IL we're lucky to be able to do some riding year round. Just be aware that in Winter and early Spring, there are more things to consider before you decide to go out and ride. Sure, it may not be a big deal to leave a few tracks on a trail, but when you multiply that by hundreds, or thousands, it's easy to see how real damage can be done.

It's not GORC's place to tell you when you can or can't ride, only the land manager of a particular trail can do that, but you can use your head and the info that's provided on our website to make decisions that will minimize the impact you have on the trails. We'd all much rather be building new trail, instead of having to fix damage to what's already there.

Happy Trails.

First Aid

TRAILSIDE INJURY MAINTENANCE

Mountain biking is an exciting sport. It is both thrilling and exciting. It can also have some bumps, and bruises. This article is going to give you some tips on what to carry on your person or your pack that will help you make it back to your car.

· An anti-inflammatory or Tylenol
· Triangle bandage or bandanna
· Antiseptic hand wipes
· Large and small band-aids
· Gauze pads or 4x4
· Large non-stick pads
· Self adhering elastic wrap (Coban)
· Ziploc bag

All of these items can be placed in the Ziploc bag for quick visualization of the items that you need. You can get fancy and carry Neosporin with you, butterfly closures, benzoin to get stuff to stick, etc. But the list above is a bare essentials list. Coban is nice to have because it does stick to itself and you don’t have to worry about being too sweaty for tape.
The first on the list is a must have! If you fall down, hit a tree, or are just going really hard, it is nice to have a pain reliever on hand to be taken at a moments notice. An NSAID such as Ibuprofen helps reduce swelling incase of injury as well as a mild – moderate pain reliever. Never exceed 2400mg of Ibuprofen in a 24 hour period of time. Tylenol is known for fever reducing as well as mild to moderate pain reliever, but not known so much as a swelling reducer. Never take more than 4000mg of Tylenol in a 24 hour period of time. Also, a well known fact about Tylenol is that it should never be taken with alcohol.
The triangle bandage or bandanna has many uses. The major use is to immobilize a suspected fracture. If you fall on the trail and you suspect that you have broken a collar bone, the bandage can be tied around the neck, with the sling part on the effected side to carry that arm in. This is done to keep from placing strain on the fractured collar bone. In the case of a fractured limb, the limb will swell almost immediately; there may/may not be obvious deformity, continued severe pain, possible numbness below sight of injury. ICE is the acronym for the immediate care of a fracture. Immobilize, cool, and elevate. On the trail you can use the bandage and a strong stick or bike pump to wrap the limb and immobilize it. Then go to the doctor! Another use for the bandage is to help with the covering of wounds, cleaning, etc.
Antiseptic hand wipes are used to clean your hands before working on your wounds. They can be used to clean wounds as well.
Large and small band-aids are used of course to cover your wounds, after you clean them. Or just to cover them until you get to the car or house to thoroughly clean the wound.
Gauze pads can be used to aid in cleaning the wound, or cover the wound. Covering the wound with gauze can be tricky because it tends to stick to wounds. If this happens, use some warm water to soak the gauze to help remove it.
The large non-stick pads are awesome. They are the gold standard in wound coverage. You can impregnate them with Neosporin and plop right on top of your well cleaned cut or scrape. These can be cut to size.
Coban is used to wrap over the non-stick pad. This works better than tape in the sense that it does not stick to your skin. This wrap can also be reused if not a bloody mess.
This is a small kit that can be easily carried on the trail with you. It can fit in a jersey pocket or in your camelback. It should be seen as essential as your spare tubes. In closing, if there is any doubt in caring for a wound yourself, seek help!

This Is Not a Picture of Dug Having His Picture Taken at the Tour of Missouri...

It's a reminder that this month's regular meeting is at the Schlafly Tap Room at 7 pm on Wed. February 6 in the Eliot Room.