Final Admin Post

Just a reminder that Mountain Bikers of Michaux has moved to http://www.mtbmichaux.org

Our new club forum is located at http://www.mtbmichaux.org/forum

Please join us over at our new web digs!

Scott
MBM Prez 2014

Sunday 4/6/14 "Ride with MBM Officers" Ride

This weeks MBM ride will start at 9:00am from the Caledonia lot at Rt. 30 and Rt. 233.

All of your 2014 MBM officers will be in attendance at this ride except Brooke who was blindsided by a change in her Master's Degree program.

If you want to talk with the officers about the club's direction this year or if you just want to shake off those winter time blues and get on the bike come out and ride with us!

I'll be sweeping as my fitness level currently makes it impossible for me to do anything else!  :-)

Hope to see you there!
Scott
2014 MBM Prez

PA to require licenses for all bikes.

State of PA to require licenses on all bicycles.

Today the state of Pennsylvania will begin to enforce a law requiring all bicycles used on public property to be licensed according to type.

The law outlines that bicycles will be divided into two major categories with sub categories for each.

State law makers decided to first divide bicycles into two major categories: road bikes and off road bikes. When questioned about cross bikes the lawmakers remarked that the law will require those owning cross bikes to pick a category and get on with it. 

Likewise road bikes will be subdivided into those bikes with the seat lower than the handlebars and those bikes with the seat higher than the handlebars. It was noted that any road bicycle with the seat higher than the handlebars will pay extra. One official was overheard saying that the extra fee will cover all the damaged tow mirrors on passing trucks caused by oblivious road cyclists riding around with their seats too high. This same official, who shall remain nameless, is also quoted as calling those cyclists “tight short wearing leaners who should sit up already!"

The new law includes stipulations which would require any owner of a fixie to sport a mustache with a name, tight tennis shorts and a funny hat incapable of protecting anything but great hair in the event of a crash. In addition, fixie's must be fitted with extremely bright tires. In this way lawmakers feel that fixie cyclists can quickly be distinguished from normal cyclists who may actually obey common road rules. 

Off road bicycles are also subcategorized. While most off road bicycles are equally capable, lawmakers chose to establish specific categories for wheel size, suspension and number of gears. 

It is interesting to note that single speed off road bikes with no suspension will be charged the same fee as a road bike with the seat higher than the handlebars. Lawmakers stated that it is universally understood that anyone owning a single speed, rigid mountain bike also owns a road bicycle with a high seat and is at risk of purchasing a fixie in the immediate future. Lawmakers want to deter cyclists from becoming fixie riders and understand that a rigid SS is a gateway bike to cycling addiction.

When asked why wheel size would be categorized lawmakers responded harshly stating that off road 29ers are used by cheaters and real mountain bikers ride 26 inch wheels. There is also a non related law in the works to officially rename 26 inch wheeled bikes “26ers” regardless of how ridiculous it sounds to virtually every cyclists on the planet. 

For those into gravity, anyone riding a fully suspended bicycle with travel longer than 120mm will be required to prove they can actually pedal uphill.

Finally, anyone riding a XC mountain bike will be given short test in which they will ride their bike and then be shown a life-size picture of a horse. Riders who huck the horse or scream “Strava” and pedal faster will be invited to the next beer run.

April fools…..It’s been a good blog.

A FAREWELL TO THE BLOG

Thursday Evening ride?

 Is there one? Last week nobody from the club (ride leader) showed up but no cancellation was posted. SO what is the protocol? They are posted as weekly rides. Will there be a cancellation posted if nobody is coming? What if some new guy shows up and we Bucsexy him? Who are the"OFFICIAL" ride leaders? Why change the venue if nobody is going to be there? So many questions! Tubes or Tubeless? Water bottles or Camelback? IPA or Pale Ale.......AHHHHHHH!!!!!

 

Thursday Night Ride 3/27/14

Looks like we have some interest in a Thursday night ride this week so I'm posting it here and also in the forums at our new home over at http://www.mtbmichaux.org/homepage

Remember, this blog will be set to read-only soon so please head over to our new page and create an account for yourself.  Go to the forum page and click the "Register" link.

As far as the actual ride on Thursday goes start time will be 5:00-5:15 though we could probably delay until 5:30 if it will help someone make the ride.  We'll be meeting at the Old Reservoir lot at the bottom of Milesburn road on Rt. 233 a mile or so north of Rt. 30 on Rt 233.

We'll have some newish mountain bikers along most likely so this will be a relaxed pace introductory type of ride.  I plan to climb Milesburn Road and then maybe ride over to Breast Trail and descend Blue Trail.  Should be a relatively short ride and we'll take it easy and adjust according to how our newer riders are feeling.

Hope to see you there!
Scott
MBM Prez 2014

MBM Moving to a new web home!

If some of you have bookmarked the http://www.mbmblog.com URL you may notice that it takes you to MBM's new home on the web at:

http://www.mtbmichaux.org/homepage/

The homepage itself is not quite done but the forums are fully functional and ready to go.  You'll need to create an account with an email address and password.

In the very near future the old blog will be set to "read only" mode so I encourage you to head over the new forums and check out the various categories there and to start using them.

The new website and forum hosting that we have is very feature rich and we haven't even begun to scratch the surface of all we can do with it so if you have ideas for improvements please post them in one of the forum categories.

Here is to a great 2014 for MBM!

Sincerely,
Scott
2014 MBM President

3/23/14 Post Ride

Fun day in the woods. We had flats, mechanicals, and saw a big truck stuck in the forest. Here are some pictures from Vista (my finger was in the way). Most of us sissed out at the end but Dave and Darren finished strong. Fun ride! Hope the race went well for everyone else..and happy birthday, Dave W.

Sunday 3/23/14

Pine Grove Furnace @ 9:00

Tuscarora Off-Road Weekend

A number of MBMers will be attending and 'racing' at this event on Sunday the 23rd.
Come on out and join us if you want to put in some early-spring milage in a different forest.
There may be some carpooling going on, so let me know if anybody wants to join us.
https://www.bikereg.com/tuscarora-off-road-weekend

Sunday Ride 3-16

Oh boy! The moment I've been waiting for!
Caledonia at 9.

Trail update

Rode wildcat and Abby this morning. Trails in decent shape. Some crunchy snow but rideable.
Breast trail is clear. Birch run rd. is 80% iced over - avoid if possible.

Ride

Well, I want to ride Fri. 9am at Caledonia, can't wait to get back on my bike.
  (Oxford comma?)                        (Oxford comma?)                           (Period)

Trail Recon Update.....

         Rode Old Forge a little Monday evening... Southern facing slopes were bare and pretty dry. Northern side was a mix, roads are rideable but muddy. Trails on southern are nice, road part of Spooge and it was dry and bare. Road lower suckerpunch and it was 70/30 bare to snow. Tuesday rode Sidewinder? and Virginia and they were dry and bare, very good shape. Have fun and enjoy this break in weather!!

Dave R

First Post, hopefully it looks right?!

Connector and the Old Res. Trail are cleared.

Behold the power of Howard and his unit.

Missing Mountain Biker Found Dead

Click -> Story or Video

The symptoms sound like a concussion. "Words slurred, disoriented..."
He was only going 18 miles that day and from the map it looks like only half of the trip was in the woods and the return on roads.
This is a classic case of underestimating the power of cold weather when you are immobilized from an injury.
This could have easily happened in our forest.

Mountain Biking is dangerous!
1) Please don't ride alone if you can avoid it.
2) Use an app that maps your ride and provides regular links to loved ones so they know you are OK. I use Cycle Meter.
3) Provide the cell phone numbers of other mountain bikers to your family. Tell them to inform other riders of the situation as soon as possible. Large numbers of people familiar with the area and physically capable of performing a timely search will increase the opportunity to successfully find and extract the victim quickly. The more the merrier!
4) Always leave a note with the time you plan to hit the trail and where you plan to go.

Be careful out there.

Milesburn Rd on wednesday

Climbing was good, flats were ok, descending was slow and sketchy. If you decide to ride, get out early while everything is still frozen.

TRAIL REPORT

Has anyone been out to see what the trails/forest roads look like? I know people have been skiing as recently as yesterday but I'm wondering if maybe the gravel/fire roads are clear? Are some trails clear and others snow covered??? Maybe I just need to hibernate until May...

Happy Birthday

Oh the things you find on the interwebz....

Happy birthday, Chief...keep on rockin' in the free world...

Michaux tank for sale

2013 trek rumblefish full suspension
17.5 " Aluminum frame
SRAM x5 crank triple 44-33-22 (replaced May 2013)
Xt rear cassette 11-36 (replaced May 2013)
SRAM x7 shifters front and rear ...
XT hydraulic brakes (added May 2013)
Wheels- stock bontrager duster 29
Set up tubeless with Schawlbe Hans dampf Evo snakeskins mounted and practically brand new.
Rock shock revelation front fork
Fox float rp3 rear shock
crank brother candy pedals mounted but can swap out with shimano spd if wanted.
Bike is a tank and has been ridden and has a few minor battle scars, but everything is solid, works great and has been serviced regularly.
Weighs 30lbs 10 oz.
Asking $1500.00 obo

2014 Officers' Meeting #1

Hello MBM!

Your 2014 Officers met this morning in Chambersburg to discuss the coming year for MBM.

We discussed the blog and google groups.  The consensus of the officers after looking at google groups this week is that maintaining the blog and adding google groups starts down the path of a fragmented club communication system.  Ken has experience as the admin of York Area Mountain Bikers and we took a look at their website/forum system which seems like it would meet MBM's needs very well.  I invite any club members to take a look at http://www.yamba.org.  We'll be mocking up an MBM page and forum with a similar structure to see how club members like it.  The blog history will not need to be abandoned and could be linked to from any new web home we create.

We'll be supporting the Michaux Endurance races this year as we have in the past.  Michaux Maximus is May 4th so please consider coming out and supporting MBM by helping us support these races.

We've decided to move the official Thursday ride location to the Old Reservoir parking lot at the bottom of Milesburn road on Rt. 233.  The hope is that this location is more central and also a bit more "social friendly" than the Mont Alto location.  This ride location is on the map on the right side of the blog.

We'll be conducting some officer led rides of shorter duration to encourage new riders to come out.  The total ride time will be about 2 hours instead of the traditional 3-4 hours which is often too much for new riders.

Lucky and Mike (with Brett's assistance) are already scheduling a meeting with the recreation forester  to reach out and see if MBM can provide some value to Michaux State Forest.

Your officers are excited about working for the club this year.  Please come out and ride with us.  If you want to bend the ear of an officer you are very likely to find one or more of them on the club ride on Sundays.

Sincerely,
Scott H.
2014 MBM President

Trail Report

Went hiking in the Shed. No snow until about 1300 feet. After than all was snow covered. About 4". Very heavy, much of it frozen. Most rides on Michaux are above 1300 feet. Perhaps by Sunday, lower elevation trails such as Southern Gas might work.

Is this a stop right there moment?

Has anyone tried using a mountain bike with very slack geometry for a gravel grinder. I did a quick test ride with no brakes on asphalt and the bike feels pretty odd. Don't know if I want to go to the trouble of putting brakes and cables on if it isn't going to workout. Might try a shorter fork to bring the headtube angle back some.

Greetings from 2014 MBM President

Yesterday's annual MBM Membership meeting at Good Ta Go went well.  There was some clearing of the air regarding recent issues brought up on the blog as well as the regular business of voting on various motions and the election of new officers.  Our club, while not perfect, is not as broken as someone reading the blog over the last few weeks might have been led to believe.

Your new leadership team will have more information for you soon. We are excited about working together for MBM in 2014!  Your new officers are:

President - Scott H.
Vice President - Jeremy H.
Treasurer - Brook H.
Secretary - Ken P.
DCNR Liaison - Lucky
Trail Maintenance Coordinator (formerly Trail Boss) - Mike W.

I'd like to give a big thank you to the outgoing officers for all the hard work they put in to keep this club going.  The best friendships of my adult life have been forged right here in Mountain Bikers of Michaux. I know many of our members feel the same way.

See you on the trails!  (Hopefully soon!)

Sincerely,
Scott H.
2014 MBM President

Did some recon and the trails are pretty bad yet. South side are starting to open up but the north side and valleys are ice and snow

Sunday before Meeting Hike

Some of us will be doing a hike. Snowshoes may be useful. Leaving at 9AM. Penn-Mar, PA. 14609 Pen Mar High Rock Road. 5.2 miles, 1000 feet climbing. Some AT, some off trail. Steepest sections of AT in MD. Park in the Penn-Mar Park parking lot. 2.5 to 3 hours.

I am sorry that you did not get this information sooner, I was having technical difficulties getting everyone's email addresses to work at once. Posting this on the blog is my back-up plan.


As many of you know, the club meeting is this Sunday at Good-Ta-Go, 1:00.
The officers thought it would be a good idea to let the membership know the agenda.
Any 2014 paid member is welcome to make additional motions at the meeting.
We will attempt to run the meeting by Roberts Rules of Order (http://www.robertsrules.org/)
Please become familiar with these guidelines prior to the meeting if you have time.

Also, all 2014 paid members will be treated to one beverage of their choice and lunch.

MBM Meeting Agenda

Date: February 23, 2014

Meeting Agenda

1. Meeting minutes from 2013 (Secretary)
2. 2013 Treasuser report (Treasurer)
3. 2013 trail projects (? Trail boss or DCNR liaison)
4. Summary of 2013 (president)[to include insurance concerns]
5. Elections
   
   
   Motions to be made
   1. Proposed Trail Projects (Brett) (perhaps during this time, a motion can be made to spend $150 for the replacement bridge at the bottom of buckets: $150 should cover a new bridge similar to the one on turtle: concrete center line, 6 beam, 600# max, 30" wide, pressure treated 2X4/6.)
   2. Proposed club forum on Google Groups to include club members in discussions and decisions
   3. Race check points
   4. Pring MBM brochures or cards for placement at local bike shops
   5. Attending event as a group. MBM pays entry fees (Brian will explain)
   6. MBM EZ ups
    

MBM Mission

What is the mission of MBM? Advocacy? Trail building? Group rides? Racing? Trail work? Fund raising? Growing the sport? Protecting Michaux? Where does the money go? What are the benefits to its members? What are the benefits to the community? The blog (for good or bad) is the public face of MBM. Anyone who searches for mountain biking and Michaux will find this blog. This would be the perfect place to let the world know what MBM stands for. Many groups call Michaux home, however this is the most visible. It may be easier to find new or motivated members to take an active role  if everyone knew what the club was about. An open forum that allows outsiders to ask questions and receive answers is key to growing and maintaining any club. If you need to first need to join the club, or attend the meeting to find out what the club is about we have all lost. 
Izzy. 

Moving Forward

Sounds like people on all sides of this quarrel have legitimate complaints and grievances with each other. So where does that leave us? Are we going to let that disband us? Are we going to continue with another year of us vs them, whoever us and them are? People are people and I am sure we aren't always going to agree with each other and get along.

Mountain Bikers of Michaux - We are part of a club that rides in a beautiful part of Pennsylvania forest and uses a resource for enjoyment, recreation, exercise, and social gathering. Notice that last part...If we didn't want to socialize we could all ride alone without the club. We're not all going to be great friends who invite each other on every ride or things outside of mountain biking. If people find good friends, great. The club's purpose is obvious and I think we all agree on our main priority. I met the folks that are officers of the Nittany Mountain Bike Association over the summer and they were having similar issues a few years ago. They had a lot of hard feelings and people fighting back and forth about previous transgressions and inconsistencies. Along the lines of what Larry said, they also had numerous trails that were unmarked and off the grid. In a few years, they have secured tourism grants, permission to build trails, purchased trail building equipment, and have also grown their club in number and in influence. How? Among other things, they got back to what they originated for in the first place....get a group of likeminded individuals together to protect their hobby/sport. Nobody here is getting paid for their time so this thing isn't going to be perfect or to everyone's perception of what it should be all the time. I am okay with that and I hope that others can be okay with that imperfection as well because it is our reality. I haven't noticed that re-hashing old grievances and telling each other what we do wrong to be incredibly helpful, correct me if I'm wrong. So can we forgive/forget/shake hands, and have a beer on Sunday to go forward and not backwards? Here are my 1.5 cents worth of suggestions for what I hope we move toward in 2014 and beyond.

1) More official meetings - I agree with what someone else said that once per year is not enough to air these issues--maybe quarterly, monthly?

2) Legitimize what we do so we can perhaps mark trails with signs, get accurate maps created and encourage a formalization of our trail system

3) Secure tourism grants just as Nittany Mountain Bike did (I'd be glad to lead that charge) so we can improve our visibility and positive impact in the forest

4) Regular input from members as to how things are going and how they can improve (people do pay dues after all) through regular meetings/gatherings

5) Groups separated by more/less hammering for larger group rides with occasional FULL GROUP rides for cohesion that may be slower but include everyone (Army does this with Company Runs)--It is obvious that ride choice is something people are interested in

6) End senseless banter and bickering--nothing brings down an organization quicker (club or company) like talking behind each other's backs or sniping on a message board--let's please stop (self included)

These are just suggestions of what I feel are the more important things that could help our club for next year and beyond. Feel free to agree or not and please don't feel like my suggestions are a slight to anyone who is or has been in an officer position. These are just one man's opinions and I wasn't sure I'd be able to articulate them in the meeting well enough. Anyone up for progress?

Thanks for reading if you made it this far,

JH