Kona Bicycles - Kenda MTB Adventure Series SSingleingleTTrackrackSS JulyJuly 2007,2007, NumberNumber 9292 www.nemba.orgwww.nemba.org y Membership Drive Win a Fox Shox! - details on page 4 - 20th AnniversarGet Free NEMBA Socks! SSingleingleTTrackS NEMBA, the New England Mountain Bike June/ July 2007, Number 92 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. Highland 18 SingleTracks is published six times a year by the New England Mountain Bike Association for the trail community. Mountain Bike ©SingleTracks Editor & Publisher: Philip Keyes Park Contributing Writer: Jeff Cutler Copy Editor: Nanyee Keyes Come experience downhilling at New Executive Director: Philip Keyes England’s newest lift-assisted downhill [email protected] venue.. By Brook Payette NEMBA PO Box 2221 Acton MA 01720 Voice 800.57.NEMBA Creating a North Fax: 717-326-8243 [email protected] Shore Epic Ride Board of Directors Putting together an epic ride from Ward to Harold Harold Green, President Parker to Boxford and beyond. By James Humphrey Rob Adair, Vice-President Anne Shepard, Treasurer Tom Grimble, Secretary 21 Rob Adair, White Mountains NEMBA Bart Angelo, RI NEMBA Norman Blanchette, MV NEMBA Todd Bumen, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBA Holly Carson, Central NH NEMBA Jon Conti, White Mountains NEMBA Peter DeSantis, Seacoast NEMBA SingleTracks Hey, get creative! We wel- Bob Giunta, Merrimack Valley NEMBA come submissions, photos and artwork. This is Rich Higgins, SE MA NEMBA your forum and your magazine. Be nice, and Rich Kordell, Blackstone Valley NEMBA Steve LaFlame, Central NH NEMBA Paper Trail share! Frank Lane, NS NEMBA On the Cover: The Middlesex Fells Welcomes Heather Linscott, Berkshire NEMBA Treadlines — 7 Liam O’Brien, PV NEMBA Back Mountain Bikers. Photo by Lee Hollenbeck. Chris Patrick, SE MA NEMBA Basic Biking —25 Have a pic that would make a good cover shot? Tim Post, GB NEMBA Email it to [email protected] Art Roti, CT NEMBA Chapter News —26 Matt Schulde, RI NEMBA Want to Advertise? Dan Streeter, North Shore NEMBA NEMBA Rides —33 Mike Tabaczynski, Greater Boston NEMBA SingleTracks offers inexpensive and targeted John Vosburg, Blackstone Valley NEMBA Events Calendar — 37 advertising which helps us defray the cost of Calvin Weeks, Maine NEMBA Support our Sponsors—38 producing this cool ‘zine. Call 800-57-NEMBA Jim Wrightson, Wachusett NEMBA or email [email protected] for our media kit. Moving? WWW.NEMBA.ORG Don’t miss an issue! Change your address online at nemba.org or mail it into SingleTracks, PO Box 2221, Acton MA 01720 SingleTrackS No. 92 | 3 20th Anniversary Membership Drive Help us celebrate NEMBA’s 20th year by getting 2007 new members! For each new member* you sign up, your name (and the name of the new member) will be entered to win a Fox Racing Shox Front Suspension Fork! For every two new members you enlist, you’ll receive a pair of NEMBA socks!* Cut out the mini-applications, carry them with you on your rides, and pass them out to every- one you know who’s not yet a member. You can make a difference and help make NEMBA stronger! If you need more cards, go to www.nemba.org to download them! * A “new member” has either (1) never been a member, or (2) has had their membership expire before June 1, 2006. Only member- ships received using the mini-applications will be eligible for the drawing. You may recieve up to 5 pairs of socks! 4 | July 2007 SingleTrackS No. 92 | 5 TREADLINES Come Laugh with NEMBA at the Bicycles Unlimited Offers NEMBA Improv Asylum June 28th Membership with Mountain Bikes Join NEMBA and MassBike for a Night of Laughs and Fund Raising at Bicycles Unlimited is running a promotion that is a benefit for New Improv Asylum. You are invited to join the professional improvisers England Mountain Bike Association . The promotion is designed to of Improv Asylum, Boston’s #1 improv and sketch comedy theater, let buyers of mountain bikes get involved with the programs that on Thursday night June 28th at 8:00 for a night of laughs and NEMBA has. We are the local chapter affiliate and Bicycles Unlimited fundraising for NEMBA and MassBike. 50% of tickets purchased for has sponsored several events that promote trail building as well as this event will go directly to NEMBA and MassBike. trail riding skills. The promotion works this way: We will give a free This is a great opportunity to have a well deserved laugh, meet fel- one year NEMBA membership to anyone who buys a mountain bike low NEMBA and MassBike members, and raise money for the organ- that sells for $500.00 or more. This includes bikes that are on sale, izations that are instrumental in keeping the trails available and road but not used bikes. The promotion will run from February through ways accessible for the two-wheeled set. the month of May. It is our hope that some of you will become active members and continue the good work that Harold Green, El Improv Asylum is located in the heart of Boston’s Little Italy, or Presidente (Liam O'Brien), Philip Keyes and the rest of the NEMBA North End, at 216 Hanover Street. The show is an interactive mix of crew have done over the years. If you want to re-new or join improv and sketch comedy. Voted Boston’s Best Comedy Club 8 out NEMBA, Bicycles Unlimited is also selling memberships. Stop by the of the 9 years it has been in existence, it is often described as a mix shop and fill out the application and you will be a part of the future between Whose Line Is It Anyway? and Saturday Night Live. of MTB riding in New England. There will be a complimentary pasta buffet at 7pm in the front lounge provided by Lucca Restaurant. The bar opens at 7pm and the Help Start a NEMBA Explorers show starts promptly at 8pm. Call the box office directly at 617- 263-NUTS (6887) to purchase your tickets. Tickets are $20 with a Program in Your Area $1.50 handling fee. Seating is limited, so be sure to purchase your NEMBA has long recognized the need for programs designed to meet tickets in advance as there is no guarantee tickets will be available the needs of our youngest riders. In the past many NEMBA chapters the night of the show. and individuals have held kids rides, and most of our major rides Be sure to say that you are purchasing tickets in support of have at least one route designed for kids and families. The Annual NEMBA/MassBike event so that 50% of your purchase will go to Blue Hills Mountain Bike Day, for example, has almost as many kids those organizations. Use the code word "Bicycle"! in attendance, as adults. SE MA NEMBA Partners with REI & Boston Cares at Borderland SP SEMASS NEMBA partnered with REI, Boston Cares and DCR staff on May 6th to build a 160' long bridge on a wet and muddy section of the Friends Trail at But NEMBA has never formally had programs for kids, nor have we Borderland State had in place policies for leading organized kids rides. Now we do. Park. Dane Tullock, NEMBA Explorers © is a program designed to assist NEMBA REI outreach coor- Chapters in organizing kids programs and rides. In addition, local dinator, and Jason groups and individuals may also start up NEMBA Explorer programs Pietroski, of REI without formally being part of a nearby NEMBA chapter. The main Hingham, brought issues of liability and questions about how to organize and host a awesome jerseys, safe, fun ride now have answers. water bottles, and other swag to It is our hope that these youth programs will become as individual- motivate the vol- ized as the people running them and the kids involved. In addition unteers. Dane to many hours of fun riding kids might also become involved in trail arranged for Boston maintenance. They could learn how to fix their bikes, or gain Cares volunteers to advanced map reading or new riding skills. In fact any activities that join us and we're looking forward to partnering with REI/Boston a local NEMBA Explorer Program might want to initiate would be Cares at several other Merlin trail care days this summer. Everyone encouraged and these would be limited only by the creativity of the worked hard and we completed the bridge!. local program. If you'd like to begin a kids mountain biking program, contact Bill Boles at [email protected] to see if NEMBA Explorers © might be a good fit for you. SingleTrackS No. 92 | 7 TREADLINES Learning to Build and Care for Trails with NEMBA While riding your favorite singletrack, have you ever come upon a newly built boardwalk or found that old washed-out, rocky uphill trail gone and replaced with a sustainable winding trail? Of course you have. If not, check out the Indian Hill trail re-route at Great Brook or the new boardwalks at the Fells to name a few. You might not realize it, but much of this work is sponsored by NEMBA and completed by dedicated volunteers lead by NEMBA- trained Trail Crew Leaders. Trail maintenance is an important part of what NEMBA offers the many parks in which we ride. Park and Land Managers alike appreciate NEMBA's work because we design and plan the work, obtain approvals, secure necessary funds, supply the tools and most importantly provide trained Trail Crew Leaders who coordi- nate the on-the-ground work.