$$$ for trail signs

We were able to raise $3500 at this year’s Puzzler.  We have contacted the state park superintendent to let him know we have this money and we want to buy signs.  We are not going to send this money to Austin and have it disappear.  We are hoping we can have the signs made locally. 

We have decided to cancel the monthly group ride as attendance and organization was nil.  It seems that most riders in El Paso have their own groups to ride with and they never wanted to participate in our rides.  Beginners would show up to a parking lot and see a lot of activity but no organization.  That is partially our fault.  We’ve decided to host three group rides a year.  They will be announced in a few weeks.

 

Is this really happening?

Stanley Jobe has committed two 40 hour per week employees to the construction of the Lower Sunset reroute.

The Puzzler was a huge success and the buzz is much bigger now.  It will be a huge event next year.

The Hitt Canyon trail switchbacks were almost entirely rideable on race day….even though I was cramping horribly.

Coyote Classic will be held at the Bowen Ranch on March 21.  What an awesome venue for bike racing.

The Roughriders are hosting their freeride fest Feb. 5-7 and it includes a loop race up the big jeep road climb then a gnargnar descent back to the start finish.  They also finished a sweet skills park/jump track in the 3 Hills area.

Life is good!

 

Presidential Message

 Hello mountain bikers,

Just to let everyone know…..Brent Sanders is this year’s lead for the Puzzler. Don’t believe everything you read in the newspaper. Brent, myself, DJ Singh, Jennifer Wilson, and the Dane have put in a massive effort to bring you this event, but Brent is the head guy this year.

I’ve heard a lot of good comments about the new Hitt Canyon trail, but I’ve also heard some other grumblings….”It’s way off camber….It’s super rocky….the switchbacks are too sketchy for my taste…the east side isn’t all downhill….”. The majority of hours put in on the east side trail are from 72 year old Robert Newman. His efforts are amazing. I only hope I can do the same after I retire. The Bowie ROTC did the majority of the work on the switchbacks on the west side. They have been working in some seriously difficult terrain. It will be highly unlikely that those kids will ever mountain bike that trail. BMBA members cranked out the straights in between the switchbacks so we could have this trail at least as a hike-a-bike for the Puzzler. As most of you who have ridden it know……much of it is rideable. As you ride this new trail, remember the efforts of those who wrecked their hands, shoulders, and backs to get it cleared and passable. Hikers have even put in some sweat equity and their easiest access is an hour plus hike from NM 404.

I would also like to thank Mike Santa Maria for his financial contribution to the club. Mike stated to me that he did not have the time help with labor, but he didn’t want to feel like he didn’t contribute. His timely donation went directly to Robert Newman whose Jeep was not meeting emission standards. If you have ridden the route that Robert drives into the area, you’d be suprised that his Jeep ran at all.

After talking to some commercial trail builders, we estimate the dollar value of the new trail to be close to $50,000. I encourage all of you who have been unable to put in some labor to the trail to make a financial contribution, mainly through membership renewal. This can be done on our website using a credit card through our Paypal donation link. If you haven’t renewed your membership and can’t make it to any of our activities to renew, make a $25 contribution and indicate that it is for membership. Include $5 and your address and we’ll send you a t-shirt or a pair of socks (indicate the size needed).

Racing the Puzzler is NOT a financial contribution. We do not make a good profit from the race. Brent and I along with some other “hard core” types felt that hosting the Puzzler would be a great way to get more people riding the more distant trails in the park and to improve the level skill level and endurance of El Paso mountain bikers. I think most of our mission has been accomplished in that regards and hopefully all of you will continue to improve and grow to love the sport as much as we do. What little profit we gain goes towards trail projects.

We are pushing hard for official trail names and signage for ALL the trails in the state park. It’s a slow process, but we are proceeding faster than I ever imagined. We will soon have a full loop around the range that will easily qualify as an IMBA epic as soon as we get names and signage complete. Please remember that the $60 yearly State Park pass is an awesome bargain and the more they sell to El Pasoans, the more funding the park gets from other funds.

I know many of you are planning on joining us this weekend to either race, volunteer, or party. If not, hopefully I’ll see you on the trails enjoying our amazing winter weather and rippin’ singletrack.

Dave Wilson

BMBA President

 

Hitt Canyon trail….almost finished!

The Hitt Canyon/Hitt Pass trail in the north end of the Franklin Mountain State Park is almost complete.  The club has finished working on the east side.  If you know the right people, you can be riding 2 miles of it this week.  Robert Newman is going to finish up the east side this week and all efforts starting December 12 will be on the west side.

Today’s efforts were propelled a great deal by Carol Brown and two volunteers from the El Paso Ridge Walkers.  They spent their time in the extra nice (less windy and a bit warmer) side canyon near the top of the end of the main canyon.  They buffed out this SWEEEET bench cut!

It was a gorgeous day and the ground was extra soft and even muddy in spots.  Club members Brent Sanders and David Wilson worked with park ranger Jesse Kapanga in a super rocky section.  Most rocks were popping out of the soggy ground like champagne corks.  Jen Wilson took pictures of them stuggling with a large boulder that after about 30 minutes of fighting, they gave up and put in a nice trail around it.  That sucker was like a curvy rooted wisdom tooth.

Despite the wasted energy on that rock, we were able to make that section much more rideable. 

At noon, we hiked up canyon to meet up with the Ridgewalkers who were being led by our super trail guru Robert Newman.  We posed for pictures, hiked tools out to Robert’s Cherokee, then hiked out with the Ridgewalkers. 

Everyone had an awesome day and Carol commented on what an amazing adventure she had as she, her grand daughter, and Louis all got to ride up Hitt wash in Robert’s Cherokee.  It’s quite a squeeze!

If you would like to help the BMBA finish this trail, contact us bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com

 

VOLUNTEERS….WE NEED YOU!

We need as many volunteers as possible for the following events:

• Puzzler Volunteers – January 17, 2010.  We need all interested in volunteering to email bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com or come to our volunteer meeting Dec. 7 at Sunset Pizza on Mesa.  7 pm.
• Dec. 6 Trail Work Day – Hitt Canyon – Meet at the Bowen Ranch Round House Gate on MLK at 8 am. 
• Dec. 12, 19, and 20 Trail Work Day - Meet at the Flying J at Exit O on I-10.  8 am.

The Puzzler course is almost complete, but we need help on the trail days to make it a fun course. 

 

More Digging…and Rock Moving

November 15th’s trail day was an amazing experience. We found the brand new rock bar that Robert Newman had stashed next to the trail and immediately put it to use. We were able to remove some very large rocks and completely modify the trail from a non-rideable difficult to hike trail to a really nice trail that will be fun and flowy as soon as we start riding it on a regular basis. When will that happen? If you come out and help us build, it will happen before you know it. I’m speculating that if we can get three or four more crew members (in addition to the five that have been coming) for the next couple weekends, we’ll finish by Christmas.

Next trail day is this Sunday, November 22 at 8 am. Bowen Ranch round house gate on MLK.

 

Dig dig dig

Today’s trail day was a success despite only having 5 on the crew.  We made it through the toughest section that was loaded with catclaw, lechugia, and jagged rock. 

Next trail day is November 15th.  8 am at the Bowen Ranch gate on MLK.

 

November 8 Trail Day

It looks like we are finally going to be able to construct a bunch of trail this Sunday.  So far we have a crew of about 6 people.  We will meet at the Bowen Ranch Round House gate on MLK just north of the North Hills neighborhood at 8 am.  It’s where the road changes from four lanes to two.  We’ll have some trail tools, but bring your own if you have one.  You’ll also need water, lunch, gloves, hat, sunscreen, boots, etc.  We’ll have room for bikes so you can ride from the end of the road to the trail work area which will save about a half hour of walking.  If you have any questions, please leave them as comments here as they may be questions others may want answers to.

 

Trail Reroute On Lower Sunset

As many of you know, the Lower Sunset trail south of shortcut #1 has been rudely interrupted by Jobe Materials.  There are now No Tresspassing signs posted and many bulldozed roads/paths crisscrossing the desert in that area.  We met with Mr. Jobe Monday night to discuss a compromise.   He agreed to construct a reroute of the trail.  This reroute was being flagged by Robert Newman and yesterday I joined him to check out the reroute.  Robert’s new trail would have brought us right to the boundary of the quarry property. 

I suggested a completely different route that would keep us far away from the Jobe lease.  The new route will come a few hundred yards from the picnic area at the top of the park.  This will allow two new loops to be formed from the one old loop, establish our own “buffer” between the trail and the quarry, allow easier access to the trails, have a view of the trail from a fantastic viewing area, and make the trail stay above some neat cliffs and along a sweet ridgeline providing some excellent descending.  I think all will be pleased.

I have run into some problems.  Robert injured his foot last night.  Taking him out for the afternoon after he had worked so hard with Jesse that morning was a bit too much.  Cesar wants to GPS the route as soon as possible.  Unless Robert has a rapid recovery, I won’t be able to get out there until this Saturday.  When I do get out there Saturday, I’ll need a partner to help me flag and sight grades.  We’ll also need some volunteers to remove the flagging Robert put out.

Please email me at fastmtnbiker@hotmail.com, bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com, or call me at 471-9232 if you want to help out this weekend.  We’ll probably have to work both days to get this done.

If you really want to ride through the destruction on Lower Sunset, you need to sign Jobe’s waiver and fax or email it to him, then call everytime you want to go through.  Click here to get to that info.

Dave

 

October Group Ride

The BMBA group ride has been switched to Heinrich Park this weekend.  Meet at 8.  Mike Rossen will be recruiting people to clean up the area around the Bowen Round House for the 12 hour race after the group ride around noon. 

There will also be a crew headed up to Hitt Canyon to build new trail over the pass tomorrow morning at 8 am (Saturday).  …..AND…..Robert Newman will be out with the park guys flagging a new trail to bypass Jobe’s destruction of the trail on Lower Sunset.

If you would like to join with any of these events and need more info, please feel free to call me at 471-9232.

Dave

 

Dave