CAMBA Calls For Meeting Regarding Syncline Mountain Biking

                 photo by Carl Warren

Sorry about the short notice, but we have scheduled a meeting to discuss the Syncline and any other local bike issues that need attention.

When:  Thursday, Feb. 12
When:  5:30 PM
Where: Double Mountain brew pub

We hope to see you there for an in-depth discussion of the proposed management plan for the Syncline and how it will affect mountain biking in the area. 

Source Kay Kucera, CAMBA

Columbia Area Mountain Biking Association

SOS! 'Save Our Shuttles' at Syncline

                         

On Feb 4th, 2009 a meeting regarding the use of Syncline/Coyote Wall has resulted in a few guidelines the landowners of the area asked the MTB Community to adhere too: 

1) Please refrain from relieving yourself (that includes #2) on the Atwood Road  drop off. 

2) No parking a car and leaving it on Atwood Road. No Parking signs have been installed. 

3) Dunno why I have to write this but- Please, no garbage. Its a major buzzkill to see garbage being dragged around by giant Black Ravens and other wildlife. 

4) Hikers are complaining the most about the 'shuttle' crowd. So please SLOW DOWN when near/close/insight of any hiker. They said "we feel violated", so lets show them allot more courtesy in the future. 

5) STAY ON EXISTING TRAILS!! Major complaints against MTB'ers in general for 'braiding' and making new lines, damaging wildflowers, wildgrass, etc- (area under most scrutiny is the lower rock drop.) Hikers call it a 'visual eyesore'.

6) Dogs, KEEP THEM AT HOME OR LEAVE THEM IN THE CAR. Don't bring them to Syncline anymore- Wildlife has been affected greatly already. 

7) Leave NO BRAKING SKID MARKS! If you can't stop without dragging the rear tire- then you shouldn't be in such a sensitive area- stay on asphalt if your a 'skidder'. If you do- restore the trail to the condition it was prior to your 'Lobster-style' braking. 

During the winter months of November, December, January, Febuary and March- Syncline is the only place to ride and prepare for upcoming bike events and gatherings. If you have any questions regarding 'Smart Shuttling' at Syncline contact Mike Estes at michael_estes@hotmail.com. 

For more information- check out the CAMBA website here. 

Syncline Meeting Reminder - Tonight

(source Doug Van Zandt of CAMBA) 

Mt. Bikers

Important Meeting Reminder

What: Syncline - Forest Service Meeting

When - Tonight Tuesday 2/3/09

When: 6-8:00 PM 

Where: Pioneer Center in White Salmon Washington

Why: Your favorite winter riding area will be changed soon - 

Those who show up get to vote/provide input.

Please come and hear the Forest Service's Dan Harkenrider introduce the alternatives and the rationale behind them followed by an Open House format during which you can ask questions and submit your comments. 

The Forest Service has completed the Environment Assessment for the Burdoin, Coyote Wall, and Catherine Area Recreation Plan. You can view the document at the following link: 

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/columbia/projects/ 

Look for the Environmental Assessment under the heading Recreation Use at Coyote Wall (Syncline), Burdoin Mountain and Catherine Creek 

Cure Mid-Winter Blues By.......

Donating materials or product to auction off here on the GFRA Blog for the continuous building process. Contact the 'Gorge FreeRide Association' at gfra@gorge.net and help get more features built for all skill levels of mountain bikers here in Hood River, Oregon.

Currently, most of the area is still under snow and lots of wind debris has things in a mess here. We highly recommend checking out the Seattle WA Bike Park called 'Colonnade' under the I-5 Bridge (for all weather reasons) off the Lakeview Drive exit, once you leave the highway- you would have to be blind not to see the signage and obvious biker population present. Great place to ride for a 'mid-winter' blues break.  

We will update the blog soon with a 'ride-able' trail report. Work has been done over on Syncline's on 'Lil' Maui' and reports of rides going up and down are looking good for the no snow people. Happy New Years! 

Middle School Drop Out

When we made this video- it seemed as if the fall riding season would never end. Tonight as I write this- some snow flakes have begun to fall in the mountains. High winds are expected to hit us late tonight and all the trailbuilders are on edge to see what happens in this storm. Dave Bisset wrote to me "Its in gods hands now."

Enjoy the short clip!

BRMBA Hosts A Falls City Work Party Dec 13th

Our brethren in Falls City Oregon are hosting a work party. Here's the information provided by the Black Rock Mountain Bike Association. So if your chasing some ride time this weekend- We at the GFRA are expecting a hard hit of weather, enough snow might be shutting down this entire  area. 

The work season has arrived!  Now is the time to do maintenance and work on new projects (trail and features)!   BRMBA can use your help! We will have one build day each month on the 2^nd weekend of the month rotating Saturday and Sundays. 

Here is the schedule:

Oct 11^th Sat                 Jan 11^th Sun                 Apr 12^th Sun

Nov 9^th Sun                  Feb 15^th Sun                May 9^th Sat

Dec 13^th Sat                 Mar 14^th Sat                 Jun 14^th Sun

 

The First 3 work days will be dedicated to maintenance the remaining (if maintenance is complete) will be dedicated to new projects. 

 

Normal Rules for work days:

Start time @ 9:00 AM

If you are working only then drive up, if you are riding and working then please ride up and we’ll get you where you need to go.

No parking in the camp field!

Bring liquids and lunch unless other wise noted!

You may want gloves (we try and have extras just in case)

If you want to work on a specific project contact volunteer@brmba.org so Sean can get you in touch with the trail manager.

There are projects that beginner, intermediates and advanced riders can work on so come work on what you might ride next! 

 

Thanks for your help and come on our and make the 08/09 build season successful… it’s just more items for you to ride!

 

Questions contact Rich at richb@brmba.org or Sean at Volunteer@brmba.org

Trail Report: 3 Blind Mice

Its official folks....the new warm up trail called '3 Blind Mice' is ready for ripping. Today during an extended lunch break I met Shovelpick's Miles Sullivan for a session on the new trail. We started self filming this cool little one minute long video to show you all how fun it is- enjoy! 

Local beginner rider and poster boy for this trail- Steve Hutchinson became our guinea pig and successfully managed to navigate the first 2 features and then he busted out a triple strength Rockstar to celebrate. 

The final lines are complete. 

Support the GFRA by donating- contact us at gfra@gorge.net.