SSingleingleTTrackrackSS January 2005, Number 77 www.nemba.org Est. 1977 YOUR NEW ENGLAND BICYCLE SOURCE! U NPARALLELED S ELECTION, SERVICE AND S UPPORT F OR C YCLISTS OF A LL L EVELS AND R IDING S TYLES! ALL TERRAIN BICYCLE BRANDS Hardtails: Specialized, Trek, Gary Fisher, Cannondale, Santa Cruz & Introducing Norco! Cross Country Race: Specialized, Trek, Gary Fisher, Cannondale, Santa Cruz Women’s Specific Design: Specialized, Trek, Gary Fisher, Cannondale, Santa Cruz Free Ride / All Mountain: Specialized, Trek, Gary Fisher, Cannondale, Santa Cruz & Introducing Norco! Downhill: Specialized, Cannondale, Santa Cruz & Introducing Norco! OUR CLOTHING DEPARTMENTS ARE FULLY STOCKED FOR WINTER AND SPRING RIDING! TIGHTS • JACKETS • GLOVES • SHORTS • LONG & SHORT SLEEVE JERSEYS • SHOES FITTING SERVICES AT WHEELWORKS Wheelworks’ Fitting Services: Cleat Fittings • Bike Fittings • Advanced Bike Fittings Advanced Triathlon / Time Trial Fittings • Custom / Size Cycle Fittings Location Fittings (Done at your home or office) www.wheelworks.com/fitting.htm REPAIR CLASSES AT WHEELWORKS Wheelwork’s Repair Classes: Park Tool School 6 or 12 Hour Courses • Individual Classes - You Choose The Topic! For Class Descriptions, Prices and Schedules Visit: www.wheelworks.com/class.htm AS LIFETIME NEMBA MEMBERS , WHEELWORKS IS COMMITTED TO THE N.E. MOUNTAIN BIKE COMMUNITY. BELMONT WHEELWORKS ACE WHEELWORKS 480 TRAPELO ROAD | BELMONT, MA 145 ELM STREET | SOMERVILLE, MA (617) 489-3577 (617) 776-2100 www.wheelworks.com SSingleingleTTrackS NEMBA, the New England Mountain Bike January 2005, Number 77 Association, is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organi- zation dedicated to promoting trail access, maintaining trails open for mountain bicyclists, and educating mountain bicyclists to use these trails sensitively and responsibly. 10 SingleTracks is published six times a year by the New England Mountain Bike Association for Canyonlands the trail community. ©SingleTracks National Park Tour Editor & Publisher: Philip Keyes NEMBA members love to travel, ride new trails and Staff Writer: Krisztina Holly meet new friends. This tour is perfect for couples who Contributing Writer: Jeff Cutler like12 to ride together and see some of the country’s Copy Editor: Nanyee Keyes best scenery. By Alexis Arapoff Executive Director: Philip Keyes NEMBA PO Box 2221 Acton MA 01720 18 Voice 800.57.NEMBA Fax: 928-395-7759 [email protected] The Biggest Board of Directors (Bike) Show on Dirt Tom Grimble, President Bill Boles, Vice-President Anne Shepard, Treasurer In this episode, Hunter S. Bumen infiltrates Interbike Tina Hopkins, Secretary to see what all the fuss is about. He laughs, he cries, he drools on bikes —all in a week’s work to help Rob Adair, White Mountains NEMBA NEMBA secure sponsorship for 2005. Here’s the Odin Adolphson, Berkshire NEMBA Norman Blanchette, MV NEMBA skinny on all that’s phat. By Todd Bumen Todd Bumen, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA Bob Hall, SC NH NEMBA Steve Cole, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA Brian Condon, Maine NEMBA Jon Conti, White Mountains NEMBA Lisa Coté, Maine NEMBA SingleTracks Hey, get creative! We wel- John Dudek, Pioneer Valley NEMBA come submissions, photos and artwork. This is Rich Higgins, SE MA NEMBA your forum and your magazine. Be nice, and Dan Ibittson, SE MA NEMBA share! Krisztina Holly, At Large Tina Hopkins, Rhode Island NEMBA On the Cover: Winter riding is a dream. Get Rich Kordell, Blackstone Valley NEMBA out there an enjoy it. Photo donated by Bob Frank Lane, North Shore NEMBA Paper Trail Joe Levine, Greater Boston NEMBA Allen. Check out his great pictures at www.mon- Heather Linscott, Berkshire NEMBA tanabob.com. Rob Macgregor, VT NEMBA Treadlines —7 Tom McCrumm, Berkshire NEMBA Want to Advertise? SideTracks —27 Jonathan Melzar, Seacoast NEMBA SingleTracks offers inexpensive and targeted TJ Mora, VT NEMBA Matt Mueller, CT NEMBA Chapter News —28 advertising which helps us defray the cost of Scott Nixon, SC NH NEMBA producing this cool ‘zine. Call 800-57-NEMBA Bill Rogers, RI NEMBA NEMBA Rides —34 or email [email protected] for our media kit. Mitch Steinberg, Blackstone Valley NEMBA Dan Streeter, North Shore NEMBA NEMBA Sponsors—38 Moving? John Turchi, CT NEMBA Roger Wharton, Cape Cod NEMBA Don’t miss an issue! Change your address online George Willard, Pioneer Valley NEMBA at nemba.org or mail it into SingleTracks, PO Box Jim Wrightson, Wachusett NEMBA 2221, Acton MA 01720 WWW.NEMBA.ORG SingleTrackS No. 77 | 3 TREADLINES NEMBA Debuts Take a Kid Pioneer Valley NEMBA Donates Mountain Biking Day to Volunteer Firefighters The first Saturday of October is now officially IMBA's Take a Kid The Pioneer Valley chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Mountain Biking Day, and to kick off its inauguration, NEMBA staged Association (NEMBA) has given a $300 donation to the town of three great events. Granby, Massachusetts to benefit the Granby Volunteer Fire Department. Greater Boston NEMBA had planned on holding their event at the Middlesex Fells but when this was nixed at the last moment, they According to Chapter President, George Willard, the fire depart- moved the venue to Great Brook Farm State Park. Fifty-five kids and ment volunteers have provided exemplary service to the town, and hundreds of on occasion, have been called on to assist injured trail users at the dads and Batchelor Street area. "We as a user group, certainly appreciate the moms rode work and degree of professionalism shown by this fine group of through nice volunteers. This donation is a token of our appreciation for their skills stations fine efforts." where the kids learned to ride over (and under) obsta- cles, read maps, negoti- ate sharp turns, brake without skid- ding, track- standing, and be friendly to other trail users. Southeast Mass NEMBA partnered with Urban Parks to hold a great event at the Blue Hills Reservation, and CT NEMBA worked with the Recycle Bicycle Clinic in New Britain to hold a stellar event at the MDC's West Hartford Reservoir. The Recycle Bicycle kids work in the clinic bike repair shop earning credits toward the purchase of a new bike, and learn repair skills, proper work habits, and improve social interactions. The bikes they create go to a homeless shelter to help the residents get to work and group meetings. We thank Massachusetts' Department of Conservation and Recreation and Connecticut's Metropolitan District Commission for allowing us to provide safe and enjoyable locations to get kids off their couches and out on to the trails. Childhood obesity has become an epidemic in the US, and with city streets becoming too dangerous to ride on, mountain biking offers a perfect solution to the threatened health of our youth. CT NEMBA Joins Expo at CT Parks and Recreation Conference Paul Bassett and CT NEMBA president David Singleton staffed an outreach booth at the annual conference attended by 450 parks and recreation profession- als from all around Connecticut. Events like these help put NEMBA on the map. 4 | January 2005 TREADLINES Rhode Island North-South NEMBA Members Appointed to Adventure Trails Committee in Groton, MA On October 2 and 3, 2004, RI-NEMBA raised $550 on our first NEMBA Members Mike Andersen and Joachim Preiss were recently annual North-South Trail Ride to help a close friend of a num- appointed to the Groton Trails Committee. The 9-member committee is ber of RI NEMBA members pay for hospital bills after she expe- selected annually by the Town of Groton Board of Selectmen. rienced unexpected health problems. The committee is responsible for creating and updating maps showing The North-South Trail uses over 80 miles of singletrack, fire the current trail system on public property, developing policies or tech- roads, dirt roads and paved roads to take you from the niques for acquiring trails through acquisition and expansion, ease- Northern Boarder of RI in Burriville to East Beach in ments, and other methods, and, last but not least, building and main- Charlestown, RI. We had 9 riders (6 nutcases on single speeds) taining trails. There who completed the entire length of the trail while 4 other rid- currently are over ers who were willing to pay full price were only able to partic- 1100 acres under ipate on one of the two days. conservation restriction, which Day one brought us from the Northwest corner of RI to Arcadia equates to more Management area where we had rented a campsite to spend then 25% of the the night. Day two brought us from Arcadia to the Southeast land in the Town of coastline of RI. Volunteers again greeted us with food and Groton, drinks. What better way to spend the weekend then riding, Massachusetts. eating, drinking and relaxing? Joachim Preiss said: We are already planning next year's event for early October "Mountain bikers 2005 so start thinking about riding it. It is quite an accom- have an excellent plishment that you can brag to your friends about. We are lim- relationship with ited to 25 riders so sign ups next summer will be taken on a Groton conservationists already. But instead of taking that for granted, first come basis and will be open to all NEMBA members. — Mike and I decided to get involved and put the message from the recent Tina Hopkins NEMBA Big Ring Summit to work. Our goal is to establish mountain bik- ers in Groton as a user group that cares about the trails we are using. We also want to get the message out that there are attractive trails beyond the Groton Town Forest." The existing trail system is scenic and, in part, historic. One area improvement would be to add more tight, twisting singletrack that appeals to various trail users, including mountain bikers. There are trail maintenance days organized by the trails committee almost every other weekend, which will be posted on the Wachusett email list soon.