Sat July 25 Trail Report - Horses!

I'm sorry to say the club had NO idea there was going to be a horse competition on the trails today -- so my apologies to those who "tried" to ride today. We aren't talking a horse or two -- we are talking 50 or so horses doing "loops" on the trails. Last year, Rick helped the organizer layout a course using a 12 mile, mostly-snowmobile (and some fire road) course and the horses did two loops on this course. So when I started riding, I said to my riding partner, "don't worry, when we jump on the single track, we'll be fine." WRONG! Much to my surprise and disappointment, the course was laid out this year to include the far west end of Rock's Ridge (behind Wolf Pond where its the softest and yes, the trails were soft today), the first half of Wolf Pond Trail before the big rock gardens, all of shale run and Preserve line (ARGH! and it was soft too), and I'm fairly certain Matter single track which may have been fairly solid. The horses were NOT on Rattling creek, Fawn Kill, or Rugged (watershed territory). We were not contacted this year to help with the course and we had no idea it was going on. You can't imagine the frustration when I saw the hooves digging in the soft single track and they were the first 3 of 50 doing two loops on that section. I was truly afraid to go back and check what it looked like when they were done. Not sure what we'll do if anything. It IS public land afterall. But -- its possible the horse folks have a trail work session scheduled to fix what may be rutted (maybe?). In the meantime, watch for horse ruts on Rock's Ridge West (far end), Wolf Pond, Shale Run, Preserve Line, and Matter Single track (unless they fixed it today when they were done).

The RCST Website is Down - Maybe for Good

If you've been checking the RCST1.org website and have been wondering why no recent updates, it's because our other computer died along with the software to update the website and we haven't quite figured out what to do just yet other than maybe use this here Blog, which works fine. Yes, that site was antiquated and needed a faceflift, but we didn't think it would happen this way. One of our wonderful club members offered to do a website -- but for a cost (he works for an IT company), and we really didn't want to take on another monthly cost for the club. Sooo.... after the BASH, that website will likely disappear and you'll see a permanent link to this blog.

July 4 Firecracker Ride

It was a nice turnout for the ride. Some familiar faces, and some familiar faces we haven't seen in a while too! Andy Miller, Andrea Strubhar, Brian Arnold, Shawn Withers, Chris from Mountainside Ski and Sports, Joe Daversa, and some other folks I didn't know showed up for the ride. While Rick nor I could partake in the fun and festivities the rest of the group had on the 4th due to family obligations, I'm sure the group had a great time. Isn't it all good??

July 4 Firecracker Ride - BYOB(urgers)

It turns out we have to make some changes to the July 4 Firecracker ride this year. Yes, we're still doing group rides -- it'll be Rick with a more casual group and Jill with whatever else everyone else wants to ride. Keith won't make it, and Jill and Rick have family visiting from out of town so they won't be able to stay after the ride to cook up dead meat and chat. You all are certainly welcome to bring your own eats. There are charcoal grills at the picnic area you are welcome to use. You'll have to supply your own charcoal for the grills, and of course the dead meat, rolls, and snacks. So come on out for the ride! 10:00 am at the Minnich Hit picnic area. See www.rcst1.org for directions to the Minnich hit picnic area.

Trail Report, June 14, 2009

18 horses, 7 mountain bikers, a family of hikers, 2 turkeys, 1 ruffed grouse, a chipmunk and a tick or two -- not bad for a sunny day in the woods. The horse people were very nice folks on gorgeous animals - I was impressed. The horses were all very well behaved as they passed me -- maybe it's cause I WASN'T in neon? Might make a difference. :) Of course about 15 minutes later I wasn't as happy when I rolled over some leave-behinds of the horses. Nice. My bike needed a good scrubbing anyway. Don't worry, the horses weren't on single track - it was Rim trail. They tend to stick to the roads or snowmobile trail. The trails are still in awesome shape. There are a couple face slappers here and there, but nothing we can't live with. It's also getting easier to get over some of the logs we talked about removing -- maybe we'll let them stay. Have Fun!

Trail Report - June 8, 2009

We have another trail god to thank. If you notice trees removed - thank Emory Ehrenfeld the next time you see him. He spent several hours on the Rattling Creek trails on Sunday not only riding, but clearing trees. Our club has some dedicated folks and Emory is one of them. The trails are still in pretty good shape with everything grown in now. I noticed a couple face slappers on Doc Smith and Rattling Creek that we'll have to get to, but all in all, even with all the rain, the trails were good to go with few wet/soggy spots. There are two really big trees down on Rattling Creek that we'll have to hike in with a chainsaw - but it appears some folks are getting over them with the chain ring marks on them. There's some serious gypsy moth feasting going on and its quite obvious on Rattling Creek and other areas where there's a concentration of oak trees. You can see chewed leaves on the trail and if its calm, you can hear them! No, I'm not kidding. They have voracious appetites and will clean a tree in a couple weeks. And I also noticed two deer INSIDE the Deer EXCLOSURE. Poor things. Rick said water could be a problem for them -- but I commented if they got in, they can get out. They're not so dumb.

IMBA Action Alert - PA State Parks!

From IMBA:

Take Action to Protect Pennsylvania’s Parks and Forests
IMBA’s Mid-Atlantic office urges mountain bikers to help protect vital natural resources, including singletrack, by asking the Pennsylvania legislature to reconsider drastic budget cuts. The proposed cuts would negatively impact 117 parks and 2.1 million acres of forests managed by the state.Take Action by speaking in favor of strong funding for Pennsylvania’s treasured parks and forests. IMBA’s online form allows you to easily contact your state legislator and let him or her know that you support an equitable review off all state programs, and that state parks and forests are critical to the economic well being of the state and the health of its citizens. Additional InformationThe Senate’s current budget plan (Senate Bill 850, now in the House as Bill 1416) reduces the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) budget by about $19 million more than Governor Rendell’s current proposal. This could force DCNR to close between 35 and 50 state parks, and close more than 1,000 miles of State Forestry roads. Prime mountain bike trails in state parks such as Blue Knob, Laurel Summit, and RB Winter would be affected. The list of closures centers disproportionately on the central region of the state, where the state parks are vital to tourism and local businesses. For example, every park that the Wilderness 101 ultra endurance race passes through would be closed. The State Forest system itself would need to close 20 percent of their forest road inventory to meet the proposed budget. Read the DCNR press release. While IMBA appreciates that in these tough economic times we all need to tighten our belts, the Senate’s plan cuts a disproportionate amount from the DCNR budget. The proposal cuts the state park budget by 14 percent and the state forest budget by 30.5percent (a 17-percent reduction to DCNR overall). State parks and state forests have already taken strong cost-cutting measures to accommodate the economic downturn: reduced maintenance, limited purchasing and reductions in travel and training. The next step, should the Senate bill pass the House, would be closure and reduction in programs. DCNR is already facing a loss of their trust to the tune of $174 million, a fund created by resource extraction fees and leases.