Pruning Bullard's

We had a modest turnout for today's trailwork at Bullard's, but six of us managed to trim back all the overgrowth on Rebel Ridge and some on Bullard's Bar Trail. I am really excited that Rebel Ridge is finally clear of the nasty overgrowth that made it unpleasant to ride, especially on the south side of Marysville Road.

Note that there are a few downed trees (as usual) on Bullard's Bar Trail between Rebel Ridge and Schoolhouse Trails. Hopefully we can take these out soon; they are somewhat small.

The advantage of the shorter trailwork session was that we were able to get in a fun ride (i.e. not while nackered) on this trail system after we wrapped up our work. Bullard's is a great place to ride on a hot day because there is so much shade.

Big thanks to Fred Bergman who spearheaded and coordinated this project! And others who came to Bullard's recently to help improve trail conditions. Bullard's is a high maintenance system, but is so worth it.

Illegal Round Mountain Activity

Word is that some trouble has brewed on Round Mountain. One resident reports:

"There are now 2 fire areas at Coyote Lookout- one very recent, both ugly. Fires, firearms trash and paint ball trash have recently appeared on Moonlight (across from Coyote Parking).

The road sign at Hudson & Rock Creek is missing- making emergency response more difficult in the neighborhood. There have been several BLM "Day Use / No Fires" signs vandalized this summer.

The Round Mountain Planning area is a Day Use Only and a No Fire area. Motor bikes and other motor vehicles are required to remain on roads."

I've asked BONC members to keep an eye out and report any such activities. One member suggested carrying a camera to document the damage and take pictures of violators if possible. I believe that the BLM has a new enforcement officer for this area:

SCHERTELL, Jody
Ranger (Grass Valley)
(916) 985-4474

Where Can I Ride?

As president of BONC, I get this question a lot. The good news is that there are many answers on the award-winning BONC trail guide page. It has lots of links to external resources and Google Earth (KML) files that describe excellent area rides.

Got a suggestion for a map for this page? Have a KML file you would like to share? Just let me know and it is as good as posted.

Forest Update

Zachi provides this very interesting update from Forest City:

"This weekend is the last weekend of the month. For the rest of the summer, we will be having our gatherings and rides on the last weekend of the month.

Although people may continue to meet for projects and rides on other weekends, our goal is to plan a weekend a month that everyone can hangout together and share goodtimes and progress on their various interests.

July has been a busy month. Here are is a review of some of the projects."

"This month we also finished rough flagging in the new Ridge Runner Trail and the Jersey Trail. This will be a dynamic new downhill or uphill climb from FC to the top of the ridge. It features new curving trail layout that is less linear in nature and some fun features you can find on your own.

We also did quite a bit of scouting this month. We found a connector to the lower Truckee Ditch which creates a route from Miller Ranch all the way to the Goodyears Bar Overlook. This is a critical connector to the bullards bar trail system. The final 3 miles of the Plum Valley Ditch were scouted. This is also a critical connector to Bullards Bar. When opened this will make the trail 10 miles long! And the old Downieville Trail was tracked entering FC from NC and departing toward Downieville.

Lastly we have the Sandusky Bridge. A huge project that is almost done. This stone bridge boasts a 20 foot arched span and a trail deck that warps through the area like a gliding hawk.
This weekend we hope to top out the bridge with the curbing and finish the approach.

SO, Lots to celebrate. Please consider bringing up some friends for some fun riding and camping. We will be up from Thursday – Sunday. Generally there is a BBQ Saturday night and a ride Sunday."

Bullard's Bonanza - 8/2

BONC is going to mix it up a bit for our next trail day at Bullard's. We'll have a shorter volunteer session (9AM - noon), with some killer riding afterwards. BONC will provide free beer and snacks. Join us on Saturday, August 2nd at Bullard's Bar. Meet at 9AM @ the USFS Yuba River Ranger Station at the corner of Highway 49 and Marysville Road. Map.

We will work to improve BONC-adopted trails in the area. Please bring gloves, long pants and shirts, water and insect repellent. See you there!

Bridge Building in Forest City

Zachi and company continue to put in many hours of skilled work into the new bridge at Forest City. From Zachi:

"We had a fantastic last weekend.  Lots got done.   The new Jersey Ravine Trail has gotten flagged in.  And excellent work on the bridge.   Here are a few photos!  Please come up and play.  Water is almost stopped at the creek.  This is the last few weekends to bang this out!"

"Dates upcoming…  Last weekend of every month, ride and projects.  Aug 16th, 30 mile ride event and BBQ with artshow in town and music."

"Thanks to all that came up, 14 in all.  Look forward to finishing this up."

Pioneer Trail Closure

According to the USFS, the Pioneer Trail will be closed due to brush mastication work on Wednesday (7/9) between Skillman campground and the Equestrian Staging Area.

Consider using the Hallelujah Trail as an alternate route. The contractor is aware of the trail and the Hallelujah Trail will be buffered (protected).

New Trailwork Reporting Tool

BONC has a new tool for tracking trailwork hours. Using Google Docs, I've created an online form whereby BONCers can report donated hours on an honor system.

Please use this to report ANY trailwork you donated, even if it happened mid-ride. This tool will allow BONC to:

• Award our volunteers (think swag)
• Plan future trailwork
• Apply for grants
• Use aggregate trailwork statistics for advocacy

Note that information entered in this form is only accessible by members of the BONC steering committee.

Protect Singletrack on California State Lands

From IMBA:

"Urge California Decision Makers to Adopt Bike-Friendly Land Protection Measures

The Assembly Committee on Natural Resources recently passed a bill -- authored by Assembly member Noreen Evans (D-Santa Rosa), Chair of the Assembly Democratic Caucus -- that directs the state to assess the suitability of numerous state lands in Northern California for Wilderness designations.

Bicyclists value natural landscapes and access to trails that bring us closer to nature. Because our activity is a quiet, low-impact and human-powered use that is compatible with wild settings, we believe many of these Northern California areas should not be protected with Wilderness designations, which would effectively prohibit bike access.

IMBA California Policy Advisor Tom Ward has testified in front of the committee and many members expressed their support for mountain biking — but they still passed the bill out of committee. Unless they hear from the mountain bike community, the bill will keep moving and suggest massive closures at three important parks.

There are many ways to protect these important places without banning the existing use of mountain bicycling. Cyclists need to rally and make sure their assembly member hears from our constituency.

Take Action!

IMBA's simple online comment form takes seconds to complete! Tell the governor and your state senator and representative you support land protection that allows bicycling to continue.

A quick phone call can be even more effective. Click here to find contact information for your elected officials.

Please also forward this alert to all mountain bikers, bike shops and industry employees you know.

Additional Information

Assembly Bill (AB) 2923 passed from committee with a 6-2 vote and awaits further review in the Assembly Appropriations Committee

Sponsored by the California Wilderness Coalition, the bill directs the Resources Agency and the State Lands Commission to assess whether selected state lands merit wilderness designation.

Mountain biking is an existing use in several of these areas, including Robert Louis Stevenson State Park and Henry W. Coe State Park.

Mountain bikers also have a long-standing proposal to create shared-use trails in Austin Creek Redwoods State Park.

Because Wilderness designations would prohibit bike access in these parks, we urge that these areas should be protected through other means.

IMBA California’s Tom Ward is meeting with key Senate staffers and will keep the pressure up to ensure that mountain bike access is protected."

Deer Creek Trail Approved

Last week, the Nevada City Council threw its support behind the Deer Creek Trail project. According to the Union:

The council also approved a resolution of support for the Deer Creek Tribute Trail, an 8-mile trail that will follow sides of Deer Creek. The trail would begin in downtown Nevada City and about 6.5 miles of it would be on existing trails and unimproved roads, according to a staff report. The Friends of Deer Creek have received a $912,000 grant for the project. The Planning Commission previously approved the request on a 5-0 vote."

In a strange twist, the council decided to change designation of the trail from "multi-use" to "local use". Ostensibly, this was done to emphasize local control over the trail and the future ability of the city to change restrictions on trail usage. Or it could be to make sure that everyone knows that it is for locals, not some durned flatlanders. In any case, it is weird.

Building the Forest City Bridge

A whole bunch of folks showed up in Forest City to build the new stone arched bridge. Zachi Anderson just sent out a bunch of great pictures from the event.

Zachi writes:

"This week we will be preparing the false works. This is the arched form that the bridge is built on. We will do this in town at Tom’s house. We will bring these this weekend to install them and then make the big push for the last span on the July 4th weekend. Please contact me if you want to play..."

Mike and Dave at Bullard's

Mike Haire is at it again with his highly motivated trailwork efforts. On Sunday, he spent hours trimming back brush on Bullard's Bar trails. Dave Larson stopped by to help out too. See the before (top) and after (below) pictures.

Many thanks guys! You deserve large quantities of Mountain Dew.

So much more needs to be done at Bullard's. Mike would love it if you could join him for additional brushing work on Sunday, June 15. The trail along Marysville Rd between 7 ball and Rebel Ridge needs help too.

Pioneer Update - Volunteers Needed

Fellow trail advocate and BONCer Jane Ragan recently sent a note to me about conditions of the Pioneer Trail near Bowman Lake Road. According to Jane, this section is now brushed out and should remain clear for the season. Thank you for your hard work Jane! She has put in many hours on this trail and at Forest City, Burlington Ridge and elsewhere.

However, two blowdowns persist on this section and await a chainsaw. Also, the section above (east of) Lang's Crossing remains thick with brush. Any volunteers care to help out?

Trail Blazing in Forest City

Word is that plenty of trail building is going down in Forest City. My covert inside sources (Jon Fisher and Zachi Anderson) tell me that work has begun on the arched bridge and Zachi has his new excavator fired up. The bridge approach and the buttress is dug. Jon was able to grade out 1/4 mile of new trail with his new tractor as well.

These guys are absolutely kicking but in F-Town. I can't wait to ride these trails and features.

Help Protect Missouri Bar and Humbug Trails

SPI hopes to log an area near the South Yuba River. Regardless of your feelings about such things, trails in the vicinity need to be preserved. Too many times in my nine years in Nevada County, I have seen commercial logging outfits totally trash trails and walk away from the carnage. Please consider submitting the following sample letter (or something like it):

California Department of Forestry/Calfire
Resource Management
6105 Airport Road
Redding, CA 96002
fax 530-224-4841

reddingpubliccomment@fire.ca.gov

RE: Buck Timber Harvest Plan, THP # 2-07-092-NEV(3)

To whom it may concern,

As an avid trail user, I know that the Missouri Bar and Humbug trails are important historic paths that are used extensively by our community. They provide access to beautiful public lands that area residents enjoy throughout the year. I am concerned that if implemented, the aforementioned timber harvest plan could significantly damage these trails. Therefore I ask that the CDF act carefully when considering approval of any such operation. Specifically:

• The plan needs to ensure that any operation associated with the plan leaves the trails untouched. It is not acceptable to damage culturally significant trails and attempt remediation afterwards. These trails need to be preserved in their exact state, regardless of the cost and inconvenience to the logging plan proponent.
• The plan needs to address precisely how it will pro-actively avoid any impact to area trails (including the South Yuba Trail) that could be caused by nearby logging operations, runoff, etc.

The area in question is not an obscure, remote hillside, but instead a natural endowment cherished by the community. Residents access this beloved area via these trails and it is the CDF's responsibility to safeguard these priceless cultural resources.

Truly,
YOUR NAME GOES HERE

Ride and Hike - National Trails Day

Ride and hike with your fellow trail users and celebrate Nevada County trails! As part of the local National Trails Day celebration, the Nevada County Land Trust is leading a bunch of trail events on Saturday, June 7th.

BONC will lead two rides (advanced and beginner) on Saturday, June 7th. Meet at 10AM at Rood Center to carpool to the trailhead. Afterwards, riders will enjoy BONC-provided snacks and drinks. No need to register, just show up and ride.

Burlington Ridge Trails Open

From Joe Chavez of the USFS:

"FYI - The helicopter is done logging. Therefore, the Burlington Trail
Closure has been terminated as of today! Enjoy! Joe"

CANCELLED: Bullard's Trailwork - 6/10

This event is now CANCELED. We will try and reschedule as soon as possible. If you know someone who wanted to attend, but does not read email regularly, please let them know.

Sorry for the late notice. The USFS just informed me. Long story.

Less Rash

If you find less poison oak on the South Yuba Trail in the next week or so, please thank Mike Haire, Dave Hughes, Tom-of-Sacramento, Rich Strohl and George Maire.

They are trimming the nasty stuff away for the rest of us, partly in preparation for the Big Brothers Big Sisters ride. My skin thanks you.

New Trail to Hirschman Pond

From Bill Haire:

"On Saturday, May 17, I will need the help of ten or so volunteers to
brush out the trail to Hirschman Pond from Cement Hill Road, across
from the County Government Center (Rood Center). We will be preparing a path from the planned trailhead to the pond along the trail route."

Want to help out? Call Bill Haire at the Land Trust: 530.272.5994

Individual Trail Work

This year, I've seen a great trend happening on local trails: individuals or small groups of volunteers doing trail work independently. These folks are not waiting for someone else to schedule a big group trail event, but instead forge ahead with smaller projects on a more frequent basis. Of course, this needs to be done with land manager permission, but it represents a great means of accomplishing more on the local trails we all love and use.

The latest example involve the finest efforts of Dave Hughes, Mike Haire and Tom-of-Sacramento (sorry Tom, but I don't know your last name). On Saturday, these three heroes headed down the Missouri Bar and South Yuba trails. They improved sections, trimmed back overgrowth and took out some downed trees that had forced trail users off trail. These guys put in EIGHT HOURS of work! Please thank them the next time you see them around town.

As you may know, for years I've encouraged trail users to carry smaller tools during rides/hikes. A few minutes trimming and sawing here and there collectively makes a big difference. For example, I've taken out lots of overgrowth on Osborne Hill near my house over the winter during hikes with my dogs. My tools of choice are hand clippers, a folding saw and these incredibly light, powerful loppers that fit in my Camelbak.

Then again, if you dig the camaraderie, fun and free beer offered by group trail work days, there is a Bullard's Bar trail event on Saturday, May 10th.

Bullard's Trail Day - 5/10

Join us for a trailwork day on Saturday, May 10th at Bullard's Bar. Meet at 9AM @ the USFS Yuba River Ranger Station at the corner of Highway 49 and Marysville Road. Map.

We will work to improve BONC-adopted trails in the area. We will also lead a group of college students who have volunteered to pitch in. Please bring gloves, long pants and shirts, water and insect repellent. See you there!

Trailwork Near Lone Grave

From the Gold Country Trails Council:

There will be a club-sponsored BBQ after the trail work day! A great time for trail volunteers to socialize and get to know one another!

When? Saturday, April 26, 2008

Time? Meet at the Gold Country Equestrian Trailhead staging area (off of Conservation Road off of Highway 20) at 8:45 a.m. Be ready to carpool to the work locations. Work will be completed in approximately 3 hours.

Why? We will be providing general trail maintenance on local trails.

Please bring rakes, shovels, loppers and handsaws. GCTC will provide additional trail tools. Please bring a chair and drinking water. Per Forest Service requirements, long sleeve shirts and pants and close-toed shoes are required; please wear gloves. If you're planning on attending, please call Willie and Sue Brusin at 530.265.4018.

Haire-o-thon!

Bill and Mike Haire have cut in an entire section of the Loma Rica Trail. If you drive by, this trail is just below eyesight on the north side of Brunswick Road near the Nevada County Horseman's area entrance. Plans for a bridge over Wolf Creek are moving along.

See a map of the entire proposed trail (PDF).

Please thank Bill and Mike if you see them. Mike spent a big chunk of his vacation time building this new trail for everybody.

Prescribed Burns @ Bullard's

From the USFS:

"The U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, Yuba River Ranger District is planning to start the Bullards Bar Prescribed Fire Project today. This project includes approximately 70 acres of underburning at Vista Point, north of Marysville Road, in Yuba County.

Dependent upon favorable weather and air quality conditions, the district hopes to complete the project this spring. Goals include reducing hazardous fuels, habitat improvement, and reintroducing fire as a natural ecological process.

The legal locations for the project are T18N, R7E, sections 24. If you have any questions about this project please contact Mike Cherry, District Fire Management Officer or Janet Cowell, District Fuels Officer at 530-288-3231."

Iron Mike

Yesterday afternoon, while driving my kids to back from school, I passed Mike Haire as toiled away on the new Loma Rica Trail off Brunswick Road. There he was all alone, digging away with his Pulaski, forging a new trail for the rest of us.

I hurled some insults at him as I drove by, but he was oblivious to my harrassment. Mike did all this work after he rode the Missouri Bar/South Yuba loop, as he related in an email. So he put in 17+ miles of riding and 2.5 hours of solo trailwork in one day. Henceforth, Metal Mile will be known as Iron Mike.

BTW, Iron Mike tells us that the poison oak is prevalent on the South Yuba/Missouri Bar Trails. This matches my experience on local trails of late.

Loma Rica Trail

Some new trail construction garners a lot of attention, while others progress quietly along. The latter best describes the Loma Rica trail project. Bill and Mike Haire have worked hard on this new trail and are making steady progress.

The proposed version of this trail (pdf map) would connect Empire Mine to Brunswick Basin along the Brunswick Road corridor. In effect, this connects trails from near downtown Grass Valley (Memorial Park) all the way to Town Talk Road.

Bill and Mike could use some additional volunteers. Call Bill at the Nevada County Land Trust: 530.272.5997.

Empire Mine Trails Update

If you are like me, you miss the trails that have been temporarily closed at Empire Mine SHP. The good news is that State Parks plans to open new and better singletrack in the park (imagine that). I checked in with Superintendent Ron Munson and this is what he had to say:

"Cultural survey work for the Osborn Trails Mitigated Neg. Dec.(MND) has been completed by Sonoma State Univ. Spring biological surveys are in progress right now by our own N. Service Center staff. So the CEQA review process is on track, and we still expect to begin the implementation of the Osborn trail reroutes and upgrades this fall (Oct?), in keeping with proposals generated from our public meeting."

Basically this means that we will can hope to see some trail openings toward the end of this year or early next year. Of course, you should add alway add six months to my optimistic estimates :-)

Epic Event: Donner Lake Rim Trail

A Donner Lake Rim Trail epic-like celebration is planned for the weekend of August 8th through 10th. BONC will join FATRAC, ROMP, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) and others as we participate in a bunch of fantastic riding and build another sweet section of the Donner Lake Rim Trail.

Please mark your calendars, as this will be a great weekend of fun. Cost is free, more details coming. I've reserved group camp sites for BONC at Donner Memorial State Park.

IMBA Trail Care Crew Coming

The IMBA Trail Care Crew will visit Grass Valley and Nevada City on November 22-23. The visit will focus on one or more of the following:

Diamond Arrow Trail
Hirschman's Pond
Miner's Trail

If you have not participated in a Trail Care Crew event, they are super fun and rewarding. Please mark your calendar or use the Nevada County Cyclists Calendar.

More from the Tahoe National Forest

From Joe Chavez:

"Due to scheduled helicopter logging activity along and adjacent to the South Yuba Canal near the Burlington trail system, the Forest Service will be implementing a Forest Order to close the area 300 feet south of highway 20 and south of the 20-12 Road (Burlington Ridge Road).

The logging needs to happen during the scheduled dewatering of the canal starting April 14. The closure would be scheduled from April 14, 2008 through June 1, 2008. It is hoped that the need for the closure will only be three weeks, but the extra time is added just in case don't go as planned. Because of the need to complete the activity in three weeks, and due to the costs involved, the loggers will be working seven days a week. As soon as the helicopter
logging is done, the closure order will be lifted. The Memorial Day recreation event will still happen, regardless of their schedule, as we will require them not to fly during the days of the event (if they are still in the area by then).

I know this will be extremely inconvenient as the trails will just be opening up at that time. But, I hope that you can understand the safety need to not allow people to be underneath flying logs and falling limbs. The helicopters will be all over the place when they start the logging. The Pioneer Trail, Hallelujah Trail and Omega trail east of the staging area (can access the Steephallow area north of Highway 20) will remain available and open. Sorry about this inconvenience. Joe"

Downieville Shuttles

There is some controversy as to Downieville shuttle usage and new USFS fees. Joe Chavez of the Tahoe National Forest wrote me this morning and had this to say:

"Certainly the discussion is distorted. The reality is that in 2004 the Forest Service, nation wide, has changed its regulations to close the loophole that commercial businesses used to run shuttles and guiding when they only used Forest Service roads or trails, without having to be under permit. Now these commercial operations, like all other commercial operations using National Forest Lands, are also required to be under permit. We are not curtailing their business, in fact I have asked each shop to give me their past numbers over the last six years to set the capacity of shuttles to Pack Saddle at a level that reflects their highest use year's numbers. They would be required to pay a fee of 3% of their gross ($0.45 added to a shuttle fee of $15, or $1.80 added to a bike rental of $60) for the permit. This is part of the national policy that all commercial users benefiting from use of the National Forest must pay a fee.

There is nothing personal about putting the two shops under permit, it is our national policy. Based on user conflicts and trail impacts, the Forest Service would have the option to restrict their use numbers, but we are not proposing this because we do understand the importance of this economic engine to Downieville. The Forest Service also requires being additionally insured to protect the public's liability. Other areas, like the Forest Service in Moab, implemented the permit requirement back in 2004.

Appreciate any objectivity and reality you can shed on the issue with the community, thanks. Joe"

Killer Trailwork on Round Mountain

Yesterday was a great day for BONC. On the Rock Creek Flume Trail, we built fantastic re-routes that will be hella fun to ride, restored a masticated section, built up some erosion control features and completed it all in one outing. All on a gorgeous 60+ degree sunny day.

The re-routes involved blazing through lots of manzanita with chainsaws and hand tools, cutting new trail and building Zachi's extremely cool bermed switchbacks. The singletrack restoration up above was about clearing debris and restoring the trail. I thank all of the 12 volunteers who showed up and you should too. I am as proud of this project as any trailwork I've done with this club. In fact, after the trailwork, I drove back out to Round Mountain again to show Shannon our work and take pictures.

The new sections will be a bit loose and duffy until we see some wet weather, so please ride gently.

Big thanks to:

The Salvation Army, who allowed this project to occur on their private property.
Hyland Fisher, who coordinated with the SA.
Bill Haire, who plotted the re-routes.

Reroutes

Yesterday, Hyland and I met with management of the Camp Del Oro, which owns some of the land on which the Rock Creek Flume Trail crosses. We agreed to re-route two sections near the trailhead on Rector Road. One is just above the road and the other is a deeply rutted section a hundred yards or so above the first section. This work will make these sections more fun to ride and much more sustainable. We'll also clear a section of the trail of debris from a recent thinning operation.

Meet at the Forest Service office at 631 Coyote Street, Nevada City, at 10:00 am. If you have loppers or folding saws, please bring them.

Big Trees Taken Out at Bullard's

Thanks to the efforts of the Tahoe National Forest staff and volunteer groups like BONC and SBTS, the Bullard's Bar trail system is kept in excellent condition. Even if it mean taking out big fallen trees. And I mean *big*.

Look at these pictures taken at Bullard's after recent storms. This was part of an effort that removed 30 fallen trees from these trails! We should all thank Joe Chavez of the USFS and every volunteer who works with him.

Round Mountain Trailwork Day, 3/2

Join BONC for trail work on Round Mountain on Sunday, March 2nd, 2008.

1. We will be installing culverts in two locations where a creek crosses the trail and perhaps implementing some additional erosion control features.

2. We will be cleaning up the Flume trail near Rector Road. The property that this trail is on was recently cleared for fire abatement and the trail has been lost under the leftover plant material. We have been given permission from the property owner to do this work.

Meet at the Forest Service office at 631 Coyote Street, Nevada City, at 10:00 am

We will have food, drinks, beer and maybe even some free schwag! Rain or bad weather cancels the culvert work; call 274-DIRT if things looks iffy.

Try the Divide Ride

New to mountain biking? The Try the Divide Ride event is for you. From the FATRAC website:

Every third Saturday FATRAC will be doing a combination ride from the picnic table at the top of the Forest Hill Divide Loop Trail which will include food and drinks at the finish. Three rides will begin at the same location.

A beginner/novice ride will be an out-and-back ride along the most accessible part of the FDLT as far as the riders are comfortable (probably 5 miles total). An intermediate ride will do one loop around the entire FDLT (12 miles). The advanced option will include FDLT, the Connector, go to the Confluence and possibly Stagecoach/Manzanita/Flood, depending on rider preference (between 18 and 32 miles). You decide which ride you want to participate in.

Register here.

Osborne Hill News

Today's Union brings us news that developers have pulled the Osborne Hill timber harvest plan (THP) that would have devastated trails on Osborne Hill. Great news!

Thank you to the CDF for listening to neighbor's concerns about this ridiculous logging proposal. We'll have to remain vigilant about this issue, as this trail inventory is important. I am hoping that we can create a win for everyone involved: trail users, State Parks and yes the developers.

Coming Soon: 14 Miles of New Singletrack

This week, the Auburn Journal reported that dirt will soon be turned for the creation of the North Fork Trail in Auburn. This was confirmed to me by a source close to State Parks.

The article does not mention, however, threatened legal action by those opposed to the trail. A few malcontents have made noise that this non-motorized trail might spoil the splendor of the area. I wonder how these people know that this area is so splendid. Perhaps by hiking off trail illegally and trampling the unspoiled area?

In any case, the trail will be fantastic. It will provide a whole new riding option from the Confluence area. You can ride up Clementine until you reach the split off for this new trail, where you can ride out 14 miles to Ponderosa Bridge and back. I know there is one trail/fireroad that climbs up from the new trail that will get you near Fuel Break, but I cannot recall its name. Perhaps it is the Lake Clementine Access Trail (PDF)?

BONC Potluck Postponed

Because of this unusual weather, tonight's BONC meeting is postponed. We'll have a new date for this event ASAP.

Go drink some hot chocolate.

Osborne Hill - Some Progress

The CDF has responded with to the Timber Harvest Plan (THP) submitted for Osborne Hill and their comments are very favorable for the cause of trail users. Essentially, the CDF found that the plan was riddled with inaccuracies and misinformation regarding everything from toxic substances to logging techniques. Most importantly for us, the CDF specifically called out the importance of trails on the property and how the THP does not address how trail usage would be affected by the logging.

The CDF suggested that the logging proponent withdraw the plan. While this sounds like a victory, who knows if the logging proponents will abide by these suggestions and withdraw the THP or just submit another half-baked proposal in the future. They seem just about as hard headed and clueless as they have all along.

Superbowl Ride

From BONC VP Hyland Fisher:

"Join us for the semi-annual Superbowl ride on Sunday, February 3rd, 2008. Meet at 10:00 am at the Flour Garden in downtown Grass Valley, CA (or the Flour Garden in Auburn, CA at 11:00 am).

Since there is so much snow up here in Nevada City / Grass Valley, we are taking the ride to Auburn or Cool. Please RSVP so we know who and how many to expect. Call me if you are unsure if the ride is going to happen because of the weather. My phone number is below.

This ride is open to all skill and fitness levels, consider it a "family friendly" event.

Be sure to dress appropriately, wear an approved helmet, bring food and water and make sure your bike is in safe working order.

We will decide (based on who shows up and the weather) which trails to ride and for how long.

If anyone wants to volunteer their home for a post ride potluck and Superbowl viewing party then please let me know."

BONC Looking for Input

At the BONC meeting this weekend (see cyclists calendar), the club will create a steering committee that will lead the club.

Interested in serving? It is not a big commitment, but it is an important one. You will help lead us make trail-related decisions.

If you are interested, let me know.

Union Editorial

Today, the Union ran my Other Voices editorial piece about expanding Empire Mine and the trails on Osborn Hill. Be sure to check it out.

And of course, please consider submitting a letter to State Parks and CDF. The sooner the better, as CDF is reviewing the logging plan now.

Round Mountain Trail Work Rescheduled

Because of Nevada County weather similar to that of my native New England, BONC needs to reschedule this weekend's trailwork on Round Mountain. Instead, you should go out and snowshoe or ski.

Residents and Trail Users Fight Logging Plan

Today the Union ran a front page feature story about the planned massive logging operation on Osborne Hill and how many of us are standing up to fight it. Be sure to check it out.

Contrary to what many might think with the current state budget crisis, there is plenty of voter-approved proposition money to pay for State Parks acquisition of Osborne Hill. This is why we need you to write State Parks to bug them about acquiring this parcel.

Updated Map

I've updated the Osborne Hill map with a bunch of details: photos, logging plan boundaries and the new road construction should the insane timber harvest go though. Check it out. You can embed this map in your own web page if you want - learn how.

Please consider writing State Parks and the CDF to help stop this absurd logging plan.

Added to the Empire Mine State Historic Park, this parcel would increase the size of the park by ~30%!