RIDER S DIGEST. Message from the President. Current Trail Conditions. SMBA Newsletter July Contents:

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Logan Stevenson
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July 2011 RIDER S DIGEST Contents: President s Message 1 Current Trail Conditions 1 Broken Axe 2 Event Recaps 3 Premier s Award 4 2011 Memberships 4 Trail Guidelines 4 Communications 4 Aspen

1 July 2011 RIDER S DIGEST Contents: President s Message 1 Current Trail Conditions 1 Broken Axe 2 Event Recaps 3 Premier s Award Memberships 4 Trail Guidelines 4 Communications 4 Aspen Partnership 4 C.O.B. Piper Fest 5 About Us 5 Message from the President To start our third season, a lot of work has been going on behind the scenes as the Executive has been working on signage, kiosks, the management plan we must provide to the crown for the trail network, and the sourcing of more funding to put the finishing touches on our first two seasons of trail building. We now have one of the best and most varied networks in BC and our trails have something to offer all riders and abilities. We have struggled with the wet conditions this season, but it has led to some trail improvements that will ensure the long-term viability of our trails. We are seeing huge increases in the number of trail users and we are starting to see more people using the website and the forum to catch up on the latest info. All are signs that our sport is growing in the community and that more people are keen to get involved and that the SMBA and our access to great riding will have a strong future. I hope to see you out on the trails. --Dave. Current Trail Conditions First off, a HUGE thanks to everyone who came out to the trail maintenance day! Despite some fierce battles with vicious Mozzies and Devils Club, everything got some attention: the Bluff, Huckin'Eh and Piper and Pay Dirt which are NOW OPEN!!! Piper and Pay Dirt are in great condition. The wall ride has been inspected and is good to ride. There are a few wet spots on both trails, but most everything is in really good shape. Please use the marked detour on Pay Dirt while we give a mucky section of trail a bit of time to dry out. Please note that Fuzzy Monkey is closed to the parking lot as there was a HUGE grizzly with three wee cubs hanging around the parking lot. She was none too stoked to see us, so please be aware she is around. Please use the alternate access route to the road. Lower Backdoor (from the bottom of the chairlift down only) is open and good to ride thanks to Dave Marek who spent a day in the bugs and rain to remove a number of trees that had fallen across the trail. Thanks Dave!!!! A huge thanks also goes out to Brad Martin for his work on improving Auntie Flo (including re-building the teeter totter and bottom jump). For more information on trail conditions check out our trail update page on our webpage: And our forum:

2 Page 2 of 5 Presenting: The New and Improved Broken Axe For Your Riding Pleasure! Photo Gallery At very long last, we are building a photo gallery for our webpage we just need your help in populating it! In particular, we are looking for photos from events such as the Youth Camp, Women s Weekend, and Trail Maintenance Day. If you have any you would like to share, pass them along to inbike.ca. Thanks! Some of you may have spied the roughed in section of trail across the Bluff Road from the top of Upper Remembrance Day or noted the dotted line on the map and had an idea of what was to come. For those who didn t notice, or don t already know, we scratched out a major re-route of a Bluff classic late last fall. Unfortunately, the weather window required to complete the upgrade lost the race with the cold grip of winter and we were unable to get to it before our trail building season was stopped in its tracks. Earlier this spring we had hoped to get up there and get the trail completed and opened, but the snow s grip on the land was especially tenacious this year and the late melt lead to plenty of other higher priority work. The crew has only just recently been able to get up there to start turning a rough scrape on the ground into a section of sweet new singletrack. And sweet it is. For those who enjoy getting their pedal on, it is now possible to ride nearly uninterrupted singletrack from the Bluff parking lot all the way to the lookout at the top of the Bluff. There are currently two spots on upper Remembrance Day where you will have to get off your bike and push unless you have super human climbing skills. They are both quite short and well worth the minimal effort required. My suggested route for your inaugural taste of this rad new section of trail is as follows: Spin your way up Longway to where the new bridge is, cross the bridge, nail the switchback and continue on up the Uptrack until you hit the T intersection on Upper Bluff trail. Turn left and head for Remembrance Day. Build some momentum on the first downhill (the big tree that was down is gone), keep it rolling through the couple twisty bits before the uphill log ride, slay the log ride and hammer the climb before the entrance to Remembrance Day. Pat yourself on the back for a job well done, turn left and give the wellguarded entrance of Upper Remembrance Day a try. Don t let this chunky little beast of a climb put you off. It will be re-routed in the near future so that it is entirely climbable. So will the next one. Once you reach the high point in the middle of the trail it is old school fun all the way to the entrance of the new section which takes off to the right a little past the log bridge. From this point on it is flowy goodness mixed with the odd technical bit all the way to the top of the Bluff. Simply follow the new dirt to where it intersects the old Broken Axe trail just shy of the top of the Bluff Road. Follow the old trail out to the road, turn left and spin your way out to the lookout at the top of the Bluff. Catch your breath, take in the view and get ready to rip a really fun descent. Remember to yield to uphill traffic and ride the trail with other users in mind, but by all means, pop off of whatever you can, pump the rollers and rail the turns as you retrace your tracks all the way back to the top of the Uptrack. From there you can drop into whatever strikes your fancy as a fitting finale to what was hopefully an awesome ride. There is still a short section of Broken Axe that isn t complete. You will see it dropping off to your left once you are on the old section of Broken Axe near the top. We are hoping to have this section complete in the very near future, but for now it doesn t go very far before the buffing stops and it becomes unrideable. Once this section is complete it will be possible to do a loop at the top instead of the current out and back. Stay tuned for updates. Also, the vegetation at the top of the Bluff is very sensitive, so we have been asked to stay on existing trails and be mindful of our actions while in the area. We will be installing a more formal lookout and signage in the future, but we wanted to get the trail open as soon as we could, so please be respectful of the environment and tread carefully while in the area. Now get out there and check it out and tell us what you think! JR Trails Director

3 Page 3 of 5 Early Summer Event Recaps May and June were CRAZY months for events. If you missed out, see below what you missed! C.O.B. Upchuck Race (Contributed by Gabe Newman) The sun came out for the 2nd Annual C.O.B. Upchuck Race: we had 20 participants, the best lemonade stand around, some homemade pies, good loot including a draw prize of a KS I950 adjustable seat post (Congrats Liam Overstall), and 2 new names are going on the Upchuck Cup. Check out the C.O.B. facebook page for some good photos. Thanks to everyone for coming out and supporting the event. See the top 4 in each category below (full results are listed on the C.O.B. website): Race Results: Open Men's 1. Jeremy Roscoe Dave Percy Peter Krause Greg Brown Open Women's 1. Katie von Gaza Gabe Newman Helen Purslow Laura Bakermans Gabe Newman. McBike Men s Clinic (Contributed by Greg Brown) The McBike Mens Freeride Clinic on June 4 th put the fun back into my riding. With casual but informative instruction from Kurt from Squamish, we re-learnt the basics and built up from there. I learnt that exaggeration is a good thing. With things like bike body separation and bent elbows--exaggeration is useful. The clinic started at the dirt jumps, then a run on The Shining and then onto Huckin Eh. Saturday night was a B- B-Q at Pete s house. Sunday was a day of laps on Huckin Eh. (Thanks to Kevin Knight for the shuttling.) The group of eight guys in the clinic were great. All keen to push themselves and each other. There were a few crashes, but nothing too serious. The result is that I m riding my bike instead of me pushing pedal and hanging onto the bars. With my confidence back, fun has ensued. I haven t gone road biking - for the fun of it - since. Thank you to McBike for organizing the clinic. I m looking forward to the next one. SMBA Women s Weekend The third annual women s weekend was another resounding success! Participants withstood the bugs and pushed themselves and their bikes to new personal limits. After two days spent in the park and on the trail there were crashes, bruises, bug bites, flat tires, laughs, learning, camaraderie, new friends and new skills. A HUGE thanks to the volunteer instructors, who not only dedicated a weekend, but loads of prep time to ensure participants were challenged and got as much as they could out of the three days: Gabe, Kate, Laura, Carmen and Jackie. This weekend also would not have been a success without the volunteer shuttle drivers and donated vehicles thanks to you too, as well as to all who came out and made the weekend a success. Here are a few thoughts from some of the participants: We were able to really mesh well with our group mates and build camaraderie...and find new riding partners! That is was all female; it was very supportive, it was local talent, it provided an opportunity to meet other women who are into mountain biking etc. Exceeded my expectations. I never thought I'd improve my riding that much in two days--i rode better than I've ever ridden in my life. SMBA Youth Camp This year 16 boys on bikes came out to the SMBA s third annual Youth Camp. Once again the weekend was a huge success, with only a bit of carnage along the way. Time was spent in the skills park, before moving onto the Bluff and Huckin Eh. The increase in skills and confidence over the two days was impressive! Huge thanks to the volunteer instructors who withstood the bugs and provided inspiration for the next generation of riders: Dave B., Oren, Jamie, Dave P., Jeremy, Derek, Kurt and Scott. As well, a huge thanks as well to all the volunteer shuttle drivers and burger flippers these events cannot happen without your support! SMBA Trail Maintenance Day Devil s Club, Thistle and random weeds were no match for the army of SMBA members who came to battle equipped with weed eaters, brush saws, rakes, saws and lots and lots of Deet. Thanks to all of you who came out to battle the brush on the Bluff and Huckin Eh. The trails look fantastic!

4 Page 4 of 5 Kevin Eskelin s Premier Award Smithers Mountain Biking is in the news again! Our local District Recreation Officer with Recreation Sites and Trails BC, Kevin Eskelin, recently won a Premier s Award in the innovation category for the work he has done with the SMBA and the Burns Lake Mountain Bike Association (BLMBA). This means that Kevin s efforts in working with us to legitimize our mountain bike trail network have received provincial recognition. We re extremely lucky to have such an enthusiastic champion for our cause in the Provincial Government, and we re looking forward to continuing our work with Kevin in the coming months and years. Smithers truly is becoming a mountain bike destination, and the future is looking bright! Where Do You Turn? Where do you like to get your information when it comes to the Smithers Mountain Bike Association and trails? Are you finding you are getting too many s? Not enough? Do you prefer newsletters? Or have you been using the webpage and forum? The SMBA is looking for some feedback regarding how you would like us to communicate with you. We have made a conscious effort this year to reduce traffic by sending out fewer s and newsletters in hopes that the webpage and forum will be your go-to place for information. Is this working for you? How would you prefer to receive updates from us? Are you finding the current amount of e- mails too many, not enough? Send your feedback to communications@smithersmountainbike.ca Memberships Thanks to the 123 of you who renewed/purchased your 2011 SMBA membership! Your membership demonstrates your commitment to ensuring mountain biking remains a permanent part of the Bulkley Valley landscape and culture. For a $35 annual membership fee, or $25 for youth, you receive a great pair of socks, and a sticker. Your membership will help cover insurance and administrative expenses. Pick up your membership forms at either of Smithers two bike shops, C.O.B or McBike. Thanks again for your ongoing support! IMBA Rules of the Trail We know that the vast majority of you always ride according to the IMBA Rules of the Trail, but it s always good to be reminded of the obvious from time to time. So The International Mountain Biking Association has put together a list of guidelines for trail users to follow in order to promote responsible and courteous conduct on shared-use trails. The SMBA encourages riders to follow these guidelines to ensure all user groups have a pleasant experience when out and about on our trails. As a reminder, here they are: 1. Ride Open Trails 2. Leave No Trace 3. Control Your Bicycle 4. Yield Appropriately 5. Never Scare Animals 6. Plan Ahead For more information please go to: SMBA + Aspen = Really Good Times The SMBA is pleased to announce a partnership with the Aspen that will give members 10% off when membership cards are displayed. Now all we need is summer to arrive so we can all enjoy post-ride beverages on the patio in the sun!

5 Page 5 of 5 C.O.B. Piper Cross Festival Participants, volunteers and spectators wanted!! Piperfest is sure to provide some high flying entertainment for spectators and challenging fun events for competitors. Held on the upper trails of Hudson bay Mountain, this DH race is 3km long and includes something for everyone from dirt jumps to technical slabs to fast flowy single track. Camping on Saturday night with music and a food vendor (delicious eats from Cyrena)...see you there. Saturday July 9: 4th annual Piper Cross Race Registration: 10:30-12:30 at Piper Rec Site parking lot Race Start: 2:00 Sunday Sunday July 10: 2nd Annual Piper Enduro DH Race Registration: 9:00-10:00 at Piper Rec Site parking lot Race Start: 11:00 Race Fees: SMBA Members $30/event or $40 both days (including insurance). Non-Members $35/event or $50 both days (including insurance) About Us The Smithers Mountain Bike Association (SMBA) is a registered non-profit society that has been incorporated to serve the interests and needs of the mountain biking community in Smithers. The purpose of the SMBA is to: Encourage participation in recreational and competitive mountain biking to people of all ages and abilities; Promote responsible mountain biking practices; Participate in the planning process for and the management of recreational lands as it relates to mountain bike access and use; Organize volunteers to aid in restoration, development and maintenance of legitimate mountain bike trail systems; and Educate riders. SMBA PO Box 4968 Smithers, B.C. V0J 2N0 information@smithersmountainbike.ca

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