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Just say “NO!” to mud!!

cemenemba — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:00:45 +0000

The coming of spring is always hard — actually, the problem is that it’s frequently soft!

With rising temps and melting snow, we’re tempted to leap on in with both feet and both pedals. Please — think before you hop on the bike, lace up those hiking shoes or mount your trusty steed. Please — stay off of muddy trails!

Stay off the trails if they’re soft and muddy!

It all comes down to this: frozen is good, hardpack is good … but mud is bad.

This is the month when warm days and freezing nights wreak havoc on the trail. It’s the time when mother nature is in its most delicate state. Please use your head and stay off the trails until the thaw is out of the ground and the trails have dried and hardened. One of the worse things you can do is ride –or walk– on trails before they ripen.

Trails are dynamic and change with the seasons and weather conditions. While during most of the season, the mineral soils that make up a good, hardened trails are fairly stable, spring is the most sensitive time, making the trails vulnerable to erosion and long term damage.

Frost (those pesky ice crystals that form in the upper soil cap) cause the soil to move and shift. Even the most hardened of trails loses density as frozen water molecules push and prod the mineral soils. Trails are very susceptible to damage during the freeze/thaw process. As the frost thaws and releases water, the dirt resettles and realigns in a nice muddy mix and the organic matter for last fall’s leaf litter blends in with the mineral soil to begin to create a a new generation of trail dirt. This muddy mix eventually re-hardens and makes for a primo path through the woods, but it’s critical to let this process happen on its own.

If we ride, hike or horse around on the trails before this process is complete, the damage to the trail could be permanent. The mineral soils will be churned up, and rain and gravity will wash these soils away, leaving a mess of exposed roots and rocks. If the trail is really soft, our wheels leave sunken tracks which could channel into ruts and carry the soils away. If we hike, our heels and boots will dig deep into the trails and help push the soils downhill. Either way, it’s the trail that loses, so please show some respect and patience.

Just because you “can” ride, doesn’t mean that you “should.” Sometimes, if you really love riding, you should stay off the trail and seek other ways to make the new season the best it can be.

Here are some suggestions:

Use your lawn as a trail barometer. Before you think of hitting the trails, take a ride on your lawn. If you can see your tracks sinking in, stay off the trails. They’re not yet ripe.
Use mud season to build fitness by putting in some serious “base miles” on the road. If you don’t have a road bike, put some slicks on your mountain bike and you’ll feel super-charged. Most serious racers train on the road for good reason, and the fitness you’ll develop will make your trail riding that much more pleasureable.
Do some urban or suburban assault rides. This is a great time if you’re into technical riding to explore the neighborhood for ramps, steps and other challenges that can hone your technical skills.
Ride on rail trails or other hardened bike paths. You’ll be away from traffic, get some needed fitness, and feel good about yourself since you’re doing the right thing by staying off the trails.
Use local knowledge to find areas that are free from mud and frost. Internet Forums are a great resource to find great riding. Check the “Trail Conditions” section of NEMBA’s Forum for your state to see where the good riding is… and where it isn’t.

So, as we enter the March/April Mud Months, think about the trails you ride and help to preserve them. A trail is a terrible thing to waste!

……Philip Keyes

Bicycle Coalition of Maine Announces Annual Awards

cemenemba — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:55:51 +0000

Augusta – The Bicycle Coalition of Maine’s board of directors has presented awards to the following individuals for their work to improve bicycling in Maine:

Brian Alexander, founder and president of the Central Maine chapter of the New England Mountain Bike Association (CeMeNEMBA).

Alexander, a self-employed contractor, has played a leading role in expanding the network of central Maine mountain bike trails and encouraging more people to try the sport. Under his leadership, CeMeNEMBA has built more than 20 miles of singletrack in Augusta, Waterville and Hallowell. He has forged good, working relationships with local and state officials to open up more areas for mountain biking, such as the Bond Brook Recreation Area in Augusta and the Quarry Road Recreation Area in Waterville.

Alexander often can be found tromping in the woods with his dog, looking for new places for trails, said Ellen Wells, a chapter member. “He’s a doer,” she said. “He dedicates hundreds of hours to designing and building and maintaining trails…He’s really led the revitalization of mountain biking in central Maine.”

2011 Year in Review

cemenemba — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 02:42:36 +0000

December is a great time to look back and take stock of what the past twelve months have brought to bear. Typically, at this time of year, we are inundated with end of the year reviews about the most popular movies or books, who has died, top news stories and the like. So it’s probably not a big surprise that here, for your perusal, is a look at what CeMeNEMBA was able to do over the course of 2011.

The trail development at both the Quarry Road and Pine Ridge recreation areas in Waterville has progressed in a major way since the fall of 2010. In 2011, trails designed to bring the two networks closer were built thanks to an agreement with Colby College (and others). Nearly 75% complete, these trails will eventually provide a continuous track that runs from one side of town to the other. Some of the work involved bringing in an excavator to correct water issues on the Pine Ridge Loop as well the building of two bridges – one for biking and hiking, the other for both snowmobiles and non-motorized use.

On the Quarry Road trails, a one mile loop was built in the field that allows for some quick jaunts and fun-filled runs. This helps round off the QR experience with a wide range of trails for beginners to experts. These trails saw year round riding and a Winter Festival that accommodated almost 700 people. The number of Fat Bikes showing up at off-season rides has grown and because of that and other good work being done through CeMeNEMBA, there has been a good deal of excellent press coverage. The first Family Mountain Biking Festival was held on the eve of the summer’s big hurricane and despite the impending weather, we still had a healthy number show up to ride and enjoy post-ride festivities that included live music and a hearty cook-out.

Routine maintenance and drainage work was done on both trails and because of the CeMeNEMBA volunteers and dedicated board, these trails will serve our membership well in 2012. Please make sure you renew your membership for 2012 to help CeMeNEMBA continue to provide some of Maine ’s best riding. And while you are at it, invite a friend to join as well.

Then go for a ride….

For those of you that need a tax write-off or another tax deduction (it’s not too late) feel free to write a check to CeMeNEMBA and send it to 40 Nickerson Lane Rome , 04963…………. NEMBA is a non-profit organization.

Thanks for everyone’s support in the past year.

Brian

Pine Ridge Improvement Project

cemenemba — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 01:41:56 +0000

CeMeNEMBA, in cooperation with Waterville’s Parks and Recreation Department, Kennebec Messalonskee Trails and Inland Hospital recently completed a trail improvement project in the city-owned Pine Ridge Recreation Area located on 150 wooded acres in the heart of Waterville. This most recent project was made possible with support from Inland Hospital, Live Healthy and Greater Waterville PATCH, the local Healthy Maine Partnership, as well as in-kind donations from CeMeNEMBA members and other trail groups including the local snowmobile club.
Since the trails opened to the public in the summer of 2010, the recreation area has become a destination for people of all ages, interests and abilities from local communities and beyond. This project involved excavation work and bridge building which helped improve an additional two miles of trail to the popular network. The trail improvement and water removal project required the services of a hired contractor and excavator to repair areas that were substantially damaged by natural elements and inappropriate usage. The excavator improved the surface of the trail, installed culverts, and created rock barriers to keep out unauthorized motorized users. Volunteers from CeMeNEMBA, other trail groups, and the community helped build bridges, water bars, and “bog boards”.
Matt Skehan, Director of Waterville’s Parks & Recreation Department noted his appreciation for the recently completed work: “In today’s economy we sometimes find it difficult to simply maintain what we have, let alone make (major) improvements to existing facilities and structures. Without help from groups like CeMeNEMBA, KMTrails, and Inland, many of our parks and trails would not get the attention they deserve. We’re lucky to be in a community where folks care enough about their surroundings that they’re willing to volunteer their own time to make things better for all of us.”