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….

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.

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.

Check it out.

Regulator_Derby_Info[1]

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.

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.

Club president David Wilson will be addressing the crowd at 1:20.  Before that, around 10 am, Robert Newman and other trail builders will be giving a hands-on trail clinic.  It’s not a long distance from the fiesta activities, so we should get some people out there.

We only need people to volunteer for an hour or so.  No need for any one person to stay out there all day.  If you’d like to volunteer, email us at bmbaelpaso@hotmail.com.

We have moved our next meeting to this Monday (Aug. 30th) at Sunset Pizza on Mesa at 7 pm.  This will help us get a jumpstart on things since most people missed the normal Sept. meeting due to Labor Day.  We have much on tap.  We’ll be hosting a booth at the Chihuahuan Desert Fiesta and we’ll need lots of volunteers so 2 or 3 people don’t have to work all day. 

So join us for good pizza, great beer, and the promotion of the greatest sport on earth Monday Night at Sunset Pizza.

We were just notified by the Franklin Mountains State Park that official collection and enforcement of the entry fees is now taking place in the Northeast.  That’s the Heinrich Park area trails that many people are riding for the main reason that they didn’t have to pay to ride there.  Well, you may not have been required to pay, but as legal trail users it was your responsibility to pay your entry fee or hold a State Park pass.  The current pay station near the water tank at the south end of the Heinrich dam now has a sign indicating that you are required to pay to enter and use the incredible trails in the area.  Remember that we have the largest urban state park in the country, a true treasure to El Pasoans and our visitors.  $4 a day is really cheap and the $60 a year pass is an amazing bargain.  For more info on the yearly pass, click here.

Right now online purchase of the one year pass is still not available though we hear that is soon to change.  For the time being you must still call the office in Austin to order a pass over the phone (takes a few weeks to get it), or drive up McKeligon Canyon during banker’s hours to purchase a pass at the park gift shop.

Upcoming trailheads

BMBA members David Wilson, and Brent Sanders are meeting with PSB director Ed Archuleta to discuss trailheads and parking areas.  We are trying to get two of them in the Redd Rd. area and one in the Northeast. 

Getting involved

If you don’t like the construction going on in the Redd Rd. area, well…..tough.  BMBA members fought tooth and nail many years ago to try to secure more open space in that area.  Very few mountain bikers took interest and the few that did secured a small portion of open space in the Northwest Master Plan. 

It’s still pretty amazing how many people bitch and complain, yet never get involved.  Even sadder are the numbers of people who don’t care then bitch when a trail disappears.  It’s understandable since the City Council meets on Tuesday mornings and the PSB meets on Wednesday mornings. 

What can you do? 

Email your council person.  Email all the City Council and the Mayor.  Write letters or send postcards.  Post cards from other cities highlighting recreational areas are the best.  Phone calls work as well.

What do you say?

Tell them that PSB land is public land and you want recreational access, trail signs, and trailhead parking areas.

Tell them visitors need to be able to find trailheads by installing  signage on major streets and helpng to fund maps at trailheads.

Tell them you visited town x and rode their trails that were funded by the city and you think El Paso deserves the same….or better.

Tell them that you are a BMBA member and you support our efforts and expect city officials to consider our suggestions as we are the trail experts in El Paso.