May Announcements

Our May meeting was extremely productive and some changes are coming to the club.  With 5 board members present (David Wilson – President, Brent Sanders – Vice President, Steve Ainsa – Membership manager, DJ Singh – Puzzler Committee, and Michael Hall), major changes to membership were approved.  A new set of bylaws are being finalized that focus more on the clubs purpose as a non-profit.  The Puzzler Committee is teaming with the Convention and Visitors Bureau, the EP Sports Commission, and the directors of the EP Marathon to incorporate a marathon trail run into the Puzzler weekend.  This will create a weekend of ENDURANCE MADNESS in El Paso that will hopefully open the eyes of our local population to hardcore endurance sports.  When we decided to host the first Puzzler, we had 26 participants.  Many El Paso riders told us we were crazy and that nobody would want to ride 50 miles in the Franklins.  Now it seems that the Puzzler is on the radar of even beginner level riders who want to push themselves to new limits.

So here are some things you need to know about in regards to changes in the club.  Most people should be pretty excited.

CLUB MEMBERSHIP

It was decided that we would significantly reduce the cost of club membership.  $10 covers a one year membership. Memberships expire May 31.  If you pay in May, it will last a full year.  Membership gives you a ballot for elections and allows you to be an officer.  We also have a discounted membership for military and students ($5).  No merchandise will be given away with these memberships except the membership special which is on the Membership page.  If a business wants to show its support, an annual membership is $100 and the business will receive a window decal.

ELECTIONS/VOTING

Candidacies to be an officer need to be announced at the meeting on June 5 where you will need to announce your intentions to run for an office and provide us with a bio or statement.  The positions available are President, Vice-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.  Election ballots will be sent electronically to all active members via email sometime in August and the winners will be announced at the September meeting.  New officers will take over October 1.

VOLUNTEER COMMITTEES

We currently have one volunteer committee….the Puzzler Race Committee consisting of David Wilson, DJ Singh, and Brent Sanders.  We would like to start a Social Committee.  If anyone would like to be on the Social Committee please email us.  The main purpose of the Social Committee would be to host an Annual Group Ride/Picnic and organize any other events that may benefit the social aspect of the club and draw more active members.

REDD RD. PARKING LOT

Brent Sanders, Steve Ainsa and Dr. Rick Bonart have been toiling away on the parking lot project.  Stanley Jobe is donating almost all of the materials necessary for the project.  We are currently trying to find an affordable (aka FREE) way to remove the illegally dumped material that is currently at the site.  If you can help us with removal of fill dirt/rock, please email us.  This space, which will help ensure legal access to the Redd Rd. trail network and provide mountain bikers with the only non-State Park trail head, has been a long time dream for these three volunteers.  Thanks to their hard work we are going to soon see an official trail head that is a direct result of the club’s efforts….not the city or the State Park.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We are always at a loss as to what people expect from the BMBA.  Take a second to answer this poll.

 

OFFICIAL MEETING MAY 1st

Over the past few years we’ve attempted to hold meetings at restaurants in order to fuel people and provide a socially inviting setting that interested folks may want to join.  This model has not been as effective as we’d like it to be, so we’ve secured a board room to hold our official meetings.

This next meeting will be an official board meeting consisting of myself, Brent Sanders, DJ Singh, Rick Bonart, and Steve Ainsa.  I would like to invite anyone else who may be interested in becoming more involved with the club, whether you’ve paid your membership dues or not.  If you are interested in taking a more active role in the mountain bike community here in El Paso, I invite you to join us to help us revamp our membership management, continue towards our goal of becoming a 501c3, and improve the mountain bike experience in El Paso.

Check out the power point here for more information on what will be covered in the meeting.

The meeting will be held at the Candlewood Suites next to the Carmike Theater in Northeast El Paso.  We’ll get started at 6.  You are welcome to bring your own food and non-alcoholic drink as food will not be provided.

 

Quality of Life in El Paso

The city of El Paso is planning to bring a quality of life bond to be brought to the November election.  This bond would cause a small increase in your property taxes.  The main purpose of the bond is not known, but there are some specifics that have been put on the table that fit in to two categories – SIGNATURE PROJECTS and Parks and Recreation.  Signature Projects are big projects like a new arena….downtown…to maybe try to draw in a Major League Soccer team.  Other things would be funding for a Children’s Museum, a new Bookmobile, or more improvements to the zoo.  Parks and Recreation would include more grass fields for soccer which costs enormous amounts of money to maintain….not to mention the amount of water required to keep them green.

To help develop their list, the city is asking for input from the community.  One of the suggestions was that the bond be split into two separate bonds.  Not separating them causes those who are strongly against an arena but in favor of things that would get El Pasoans off their couch and into the outdoors to possibly vote it down.  That’s politics and there’s not a whole lot the average citizen can do about it.  What we can do is provide them with input, and as a mountain biker, I’m hoping other mountain bikers will join with me to flood the idea box with some good projects that will help our sport.

You can contribute these ideas by going online here.

As one of the leaders in the mountain biking community, I have created a list of specific ideas that will improve the mountain biking experience in El Paso.  When you go online to make your suggestions, feel free to copy and paste these ideas.  If you are not in favor of these ideas, don’t use them, but please contribute something to the forum so your voice will be heard.

Here are my suggestions:

• City built/managed/maintained beginner biker friendly and stroller friendly access through Heinrich Park into the Franklin Mountain State Park with additional parking.
• Trailhead off Redd Rd./Helen of Troy (yes, the club has paid for plans and permits to do this but maybe if enough of us shout loud enough the city will build it for us and we can spend money building more trail).
• Trailhead and new trail network at top of Hondo Pass.
• A true mountain bike skills park at the Westside Community Park (the previous attempt was a failure with the construction of a few “jump” lines geared for highly skilled riders on jump bikes”

There are many other small things I can think of and I’m sure you can think of a couple as well.  The first two on this list are possible and something the city should have persued and completed on their own years ago.  Please contribute your comments/suggestions to the city via their website.

 

Must…..Build…..More….Trail!

The new Sotol Forest extension is almost finished.  It is passable, but not completely rideable.  We are having one last big trail building day to try to get this thing complete.  When we say “complete”, we mean rideable for a beginner rider.  This is a totally possible goal as the dirt is really soft right now and rocks are quite easy to remove.  If we can get 5 or 6 people to go with us on Saturday, we’ll get this thing finished.

So here are the details:

Meet at Stan Roberts and MLK at the entrance to the Jobe Quarry at 8:30 am on Saturday the 31st.  Wear your best trail building clothes.  Bring water, lunch, gloves, sunscreen, etc.  We’ll eat lunch on the trail and probably finish up around 1:30 or 2 pm.  The more people that show up, the easier it will be to accommodate different schedules.  Let’s get this thing finished!

Here are some pics from previous trail building days on this section of trail….

 

Puzzler, Parking Lot, Trail Building

Yes.  Lots of stuff on the table for members of the BMBA.  We are getting closer to starting construction on the Redd Rd. Trailhead.  Why are we spending almost $8,000 on a parking lot when most people just park on the side of the road?  One reason is so when people who are not from El Paso who come here to ride, they can park safely and follow a sign that will take them to the trails.  Another reason is to show the city what they need to start doing themselves.  We all know where to park and where to ride, but others who are passing through town just kind of flounder and if they get lucky or spend the time to download gps files, they might get in a decent ride.  We want people to come into town, look at the map they pick up from a bike shop, follow directions to a trailhead, get out of their car, and have no doubts about where the trail starts.

We still have to get all the final thumbs ups from city officials before we can start any kind of construction.  We anticipate that this will happen very soon.  After the Puzzler we can start working and recruiting volunteers in the effort.

Speaking of Puzzler.  We only have about 40 more days before the big event.  This is our biggest fundraiser of the year.  We need lots of volunteers for this event as most of us know that the logistics behind a 50 miler that goes into the hinterlands of the Franklins requires much effort.  If you want to help, send us an email… elpasopuzzler@hotmail.com.  We need course marshals, jeep owners willing to drive on true jeep roads, and beer pourers. Once again, we’ve got New Belgium on board donating plenty of kegs for the upcoming race.

And finally, we’ve got one more trail building day.  This Saturday at 8 am.  Meet at the Bowen Round House entrance on MLK.  Wear work clothes and bring plenty of water.

 

Redd Rd. Parking Lot Construction To Start Soon!

The City’s Public Service Board has given (with fees of close to $1,000) El Paso mountain bikers a lease for a proposed parking lot on the access road to the water tanks at the main entrance to the Redd Rd. trails. This parking lot will hold approximately 25 cars and include one paved handicapped space. The BMBA has plans for signage in the area including a large map and information station to be placed behind the water tank. This project is going to cost several thousand dollars which the club can cover to a limited extent. If you are interested in providing manual labor, mechanized labor via lending of heavy equipment, or by donations of materials or money, please be present at our club meeting this Monday at 7pm, Sunset Pizza on Mesa. Mike Gaglio of High Desert Environmental will present the plan of what his company is going to do. Currently, the cost of this plan is $3,500 and does not include materials or delivery. We have a donor for screening material which will save us just over a thousand dollars.

 

All We Want Is a Parking Lot

For over a year now, the club has been planning a parking lot and “official” trailhead for the Redd Rd. trail network.  This parking lot is planned to be under the power lines across the street from the dental offices along the paved road that goes up to the water tanks.  A trail map and information sign will be posted at the top of the hill next to the water tank.

We originally sat down with employees of the Public Service Board, our water utilities people and controllers of most of the city managed land, and discussed this plan with them.  They seemed all excited and we had a company draw out plans and give us a quote that is less than $3000.  This amount can easily be paid by us as we’ve raised plenty of money through donations, memberships, and the Puzzler race.  We’ve yet to hear anything else on this issue and now the PSB is stalling and wants us to provide a handicapped space and pay for a drainage survey which they could easily do themselves in a matter of minutes using their fancy digital mapping software.

Wednesday we will be approaching the Board of the PSB to get them to act on this plan since it will cost them nothing, we have the money to pay for it, and the city really needs to begin providing parking areas to popular recreational areas such as the Redd Rd. trails.  Some of you may say, “Why bother?  I just park on Redd Rd. or the dentist’s lot.”  In less than a couple of years, Redd will continue through as Helen of Troy and traffic will be a concern.  Crossing the road and parking on it will be unsafe or may become impossible.

If you’d like to see a trailhead parking area, please let the PSB and City Council know.  Contact your city council rep to let him/her know that you heard the BMBA is willing to build a trailhead parking lot, but we are facing stalling tactics and even opposition to the plan.  If you can attend the PSB meeting this Wednesday at 9 am, contact Cynthia Montoya at 594-5596 or email at cmontoya@epwu.org.  Let her know that you want speaking time during the call from the public.  You don’t have to speak, but reserving the time allows you to pass your time to someone else like me so I can ramble on and annoy the Board….just kidding.  Reserving time to speak lets the board know that people are interested in this topic.

The PSB meets at the EPWU Building on Hawkins just north of I-10 on the east side of the road…..easy access.  Meetings can last well into the lunch hour, but usually don’t.  Coming early allows you to see the Mayor make a fool of himself.

 

New Race Series

The BMBA leadership has been talking about doing this for several years.  We’re so glad someone else stepped up as we have other stuff to focus on.  Putting on events is a lot of work.

Check it out.

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Speech From Desert Fiesta

While only “the choir” was in attendance at the Desert Fiesta, people were really excited to hear what I had to say.  Here is a transcript of the speech:

The Borderland Mountain Bike Association has a bumper sticker that says “Working for better trails in El Paso.” The Franklin Mountains are home to some of the toughest mountain bike trails in the world. This past year, the BMBA had a banner year in helping to create more new trails for mountain bikers and hikers. There is now a full loop around the northern part of the range, all within the park boundaries. The northern end of this loop passes over into Hitt Canyon. The full loop is approximately 25 miles in it’s shortest path. Truly epic with incredible periods of remoteness, this loop is a challenge to even seasoned riders. Of course, the climb over Mundy’s Gap is one of the toughest climbs in the southwest.

The crux of this project was the completion of the Hitt Canyon Trail and the switchbacks up the west side of the range. With a 1000 or so volunteer hours donated by the Bowie ROTC, the BMBA, and members of the Ridgewalkers, this trail was completed in time for the El Paso Puzzler….now a premier level endurance mountain bike event.

Another point of accomplishment comes in the form of a new section of trail that lies behind you. Known as the Lower Sunset Reroute, this trail comes as a bittersweet treat to mountain bikers and hikers. Few people know the true reason why this trail exists. About this time last year, the original section of trail, a nice adventure through a narrow wash lined with small cliffs and abundant with fossils, was bulldozed over by Mr. Stanley Jobe. This section of trail was not in the park. It was on a section of our land…..land that belongs to the citizens of Texas. You see, this land is managed by the General Land Office. The GLO leased this land to Mr. Jobe on a mineral lease allowing him to excavate a few million tons of rock, gravel, and sand for the construction of more roads and sidewalks in El Paso and New Mexico.

With a bit of pressure from recreational users, environmentalists, and community activists, Mr. Jobe made some concessions, donated some labor hours and $15,000 to help with the construction of the reroute. I take a bit of pride in this section as myself and Mr. Robert Newman chose to go higher with the route…..following the motto of a Colorado based outdoor magazine…”When in doubt, go higher.”

The BMBA understands that there is a gap in accessible trails for people wanting to get into mountain biking. The difficulty of our trails may help people like me be very competitive at the national level, but they do little to provide a fun first time experience to beginners. While there are some easier trails in the Heinrich Park area, the city lacks the overall infrastructure to make mountain biking an easy experience such as safe trailhead parking and signage…..things that BMBA members are working on with the Public Service Board.

This is where the really hard work comes into play. Trying to convince our city officials that we need more bike and walking paths that actually go to places like parks, schools, and grocery stores is like trying to walk through this desert in bare feet with a blindfold on. 

City officials believe that more strip malls and more high density neighborhoods are what we need to help our city. Roads that are easier to drive on and stores that seem impossible to walk to due to scary parking lots and sidewalks that don’t connect doesn’t make our lives easier. It handicaps us and contributes to many of the problems that plague our city…..problems like obesity and diabetes….and general malaise.

Just recently, city council voted to allow the widening of the section of Transmountain Rd from the park entrance down to I-10. This is a confusing venture for our city as I personally have never been caught in a traffic jam on this section of road. $80 million dollars is being slated for this “improvement”. But the road is not the only thing that will change. Commercial development as well as frontage roads will also be constructed along that corridor. Most if not all of the desert from the western boundary of this state park all the way to I-10 already has been “master planned” by our city. Is this really what we need or want?

If it’s something that you don’t want or think that this city really needs…..and sometimes we have to do some pretty deep introspection to determine our needs…..then you are probably asking, “What can I do?”

What can you do? There are some very simple things. First, buy an annual pass to the Texas State Parks. At $60, it’s way cheaper than a gym membership. You can bring your entire family into the park as well as any State Park in Texas. Second, join an organization that supports your interests such as the Sierra Club, the BMBA, or the Nature Conservancy. Third, email your city council person and tell them that you like El Paso and it’s beautiful desert and your are saddened that so much of it is slated to be turned into concrete and more strip malls. And lastly, use your park pass to bring a friend or two into this beautiful park. If you are a mountain biker, convince a co-worker to join you on a ride on some of the easier trails such as the ones at Heinrich Park. If you are a hiker, bring your neighbor out to see the views from the new Lower Sunset Reroute. Start them off easy. Make it fun for them so they’ll want to join you again. Keep taking them until they go on their own. Then encourage them to do as I’ve suggested to you. The cycle will continue and there will be a few less people out there who think there is nothing to do in El Paso.

 

Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta – SEPT. 18

This Saturday is the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta at the Tom May’s unit of the Franklin Mountain State Park.  It starts at 9 am and runs to 3 pm.  There are many exhibitors there including the Sierra Club, Wild Animal Rescue, and of course, the BMBA.  Not only will we have a booth there, but we’ll be having a trail building seminar at 10 am and club president Dave Wilson will be speaking at 1:20.  We’ll be selling memberships, t-shirts, and socks.  If you need to renew or you would like to join, bring $25.  Entry into the park is free this Saturday.

We have one shift left that we need covered and that’s from Noon to 1 pm.  If you can help us out, please email us at bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com.