April fools or not, it would be a good idea to reroute that end of the trail out of the state park....have it come out up near the yellow gate maybe....
Maybe if reroute the other end too....not essential though...
History: Trail was established ~8 years ago while a local fella was serving his court mandated community service, hence the name. Original trailhead dropped in off of Bendersville Rd. PGF Park officials found it, weren't thrilled...MBM took a role in closing the trail per requests from the man.
Short time passes, new trailhead appears. Nothing is ever posted, nobody catches any grief, trail is used...a lot.
Years pass...and now we're here.
Looking at the map, a new trailhead/reroute to avoid the Park proper would mean a serious effort. Probably about half of that trail lies on the wrong side of the line.....
Sorry. I was proposing a few of us get together to talk through this trail signage / access / mapping thing on Friday April 10th. I think most of us have the holiday off from work.
Morgan, No matter how I say this I'm going to come across as an ass, so I apologize in advance. I've be riding with MBM for about a year now and have not met you yet. Not on a ride. Not at a meeting. Not at a race or volunteering at a race. Not working on a trail... etc. My point here is, I'm having trouble getting on your side of this mapping/signage issue when I feel you are out of touch with the membership. If you'd come out and plead your case in the parking lot after a ride and spend some time with the membership I'd take you much more seriously when you speak of what the club should do.
I understand where you're coming from clownbike (Jody, right?) and I might feel the same way in your shoes. To give you a bit of background on why I don't make that many rides...I live in Gettysburg and work in York. 5pm weekday rides are impossible for me as that's when I'm just getting home. On weekends I wrench for the Velo Bella mountain bike and cyclocross team, and this year the Cyclesports/Fast Forward Racing jr. mountain bike team. This had me on the road every weekend from August through Christmas and this coming mtb season isn't looking much clearer.
I had another obligation that prevented me from making it to the annual meeting in February. I was re-elected club VP despite my absence. With no information to the contrary, I have to assume I was re-elected because the people present trust my judgement.
This mapping/signage issue came up because there are new people cutting trails in Michaux and clearing existing features to make the trails more north-shore like. Many people expressed anger over this, however we don't have a GD leg to stand on when we object. It is my opinion that if we want to preserve our beloved trail network from simplifying or even closure due to safety risks (ladders, jumps) that we need to take a more formal role in their protection.
what is the rule for trail building in michaux? trails are ok in the forest, but not the actual park boundaries? agreed that it comes as a surprise that this trail has been closed, but it does seem like the pine grove area has really grown in the numbers of bikers i have seen on the trails in the last couple years.
i understand that permission is required to build trails in a state/natl forest. i was just curious if the rule is that regardless of permission, bike trails are not allowed in the actual "park" boundaries.
Morgan you made my case for me. You said... "5pm weekday rides are impossible for me." "On weekends I wrench for the Velo Bella mountain bike and cyclocross team, and this year the Cyclesports/Fast Forward Racing jr. mountain bike team. This had me on the road every weekend from August through Christmas and this coming mtb season isn't looking much clearer." You have just admitted that you don't have the time to do any of the work you're proposing. You can call it being an ass or just the hard truth of your situation. You don't have the time. Jody
Maybe a online bike blog isn't the proper place to hash out such issues. Perhaps you two can meet over a cup of coffee. That is, unless it is more important to display your position(s) than it is to actually resolve a problem.
MBM has always had distant members and members who were mostly financial supporters. There never was a litmus test for being a "real" MBM'er - no ride quota, no trail-work quota, etc. Basically, a love of Michaux and its trails was enough. The website has gone a long way to keep these folks in touch with the club and allows a forum for them to participate more.
That said, it may not be enough for someone(anyone) in a leadership position, but that is the issue that I'm arguing shouldn't be argued here.
When can a few of us get together to talk this over? I get the feeling there's a lot of history to this that isn't being said out loud.
ReplyDeleteFriday, April 10th?
April fools or not, it would be a good idea to reroute that end of the trail out of the state park....have it come out up near the yellow gate maybe....
ReplyDeleteMaybe if reroute the other end too....not essential though...
Tom S.
History: Trail was established ~8 years ago while a local fella was serving his court mandated community service, hence the name. Original trailhead dropped in off of Bendersville Rd. PGF Park officials found it, weren't thrilled...MBM took a role in closing the trail per requests from the man.
ReplyDeleteShort time passes, new trailhead appears. Nothing is ever posted, nobody catches any grief, trail is used...a lot.
Years pass...and now we're here.
Looking at the map, a new trailhead/reroute to avoid the Park proper would mean a serious effort. Probably about half of that trail lies on the wrong side of the line.....
whats april 10? not a member of mbm .ride all the time there i see the end soon.how do i get in mbm .edward
ReplyDeleteEdward,
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what April 10th is.
You can join MBM by going to BikeReg. It's only $10. :-) The link is below or you can get it off the MBMblog home page.
http://www.bikereg.com/events/register.asp?EventID=8025
Chuck
Sorry. I was proposing a few of us get together to talk through this trail signage / access / mapping thing on Friday April 10th. I think most of us have the holiday off from work.
ReplyDeleteMorgan,
ReplyDeleteNo matter how I say this I'm going to come across as an ass, so I apologize in advance.
I've be riding with MBM for about a year now and have not met you yet. Not on a ride. Not at a meeting. Not at a race or volunteering at a race. Not working on a trail... etc.
My point here is, I'm having trouble getting on your side of this mapping/signage issue when I feel you are out of touch with the membership.
If you'd come out and plead your case in the parking lot after a ride and spend some time with the membership I'd take you much more seriously when you speak of what the club should do.
ass!
ReplyDeleteThe shoe fits.
ReplyDeleteI understand where you're coming from clownbike (Jody, right?) and I might feel the same way in your shoes. To give you a bit of background on why I don't make that many rides...I live in Gettysburg and work in York. 5pm weekday rides are impossible for me as that's when I'm just getting home. On weekends I wrench for the Velo Bella mountain bike and cyclocross team, and this year the Cyclesports/Fast Forward Racing jr. mountain bike team. This had me on the road every weekend from August through Christmas and this coming mtb season isn't looking much clearer.
ReplyDeleteI had another obligation that prevented me from making it to the annual meeting in February. I was re-elected club VP despite my absence. With no information to the contrary, I have to assume I was re-elected because the people present trust my judgement.
This mapping/signage issue came up because there are new people cutting trails in Michaux and clearing existing features to make the trails more north-shore like. Many people expressed anger over this, however we don't have a GD leg to stand on when we object. It is my opinion that if we want to preserve our beloved trail network from simplifying or even closure due to safety risks (ladders, jumps) that we need to take a more formal role in their protection.
what is the rule for trail building in michaux? trails are ok in the forest, but not the actual park boundaries?
ReplyDeleteagreed that it comes as a surprise that this trail has been closed, but it does seem like the pine grove area has really grown in the numbers of bikers i have seen on the trails in the last couple years.
There is no official trail building allowed in the Forest either without prior permission and a ground survey. Permission is not easy to come by.
ReplyDeletei understand that permission is required to build trails in a state/natl forest. i was just curious if the rule is that regardless of permission, bike trails are not allowed in the actual "park" boundaries.
ReplyDeleteYes, sort of.
ReplyDeleteIn the Parks, trails are closed to bikes unless specifically posted as open.
In the Forests, it's the opposite on the official trails. Open unless posted Closed.
Morgan you made my case for me. You said... "5pm weekday rides are impossible for me."
ReplyDelete"On weekends I wrench for the Velo Bella mountain bike and cyclocross team, and this year the Cyclesports/Fast Forward Racing jr. mountain bike team. This had me on the road every weekend from August through Christmas and this coming mtb season isn't looking much clearer."
You have just admitted that you don't have the time to do any of the work you're proposing.
You can call it being an ass or just the hard truth of your situation. You don't have the time.
Jody
Maybe a online bike blog isn't the proper place to hash out such issues. Perhaps you two can meet over a cup of coffee. That is, unless it is more important to display your position(s) than it is to actually resolve a problem.
ReplyDeleteMBM has always had distant members and members who were mostly financial supporters. There never was a litmus test for being a "real" MBM'er - no ride quota, no trail-work quota, etc. Basically, a love of Michaux and its trails was enough. The website has gone a long way to keep these folks in touch with the club and allows a forum for them to participate more.
That said, it may not be enough for someone(anyone) in a leadership position, but that is the issue that I'm arguing shouldn't be argued here.