Busy Weekend for BONC Volunteers

Last weekend was a busy weekend for BONC volunteers.

SOUTH YUBA RIDGE

On early Sunday morning, a group of five brave souls hooked up with the USFS to work on brush clearing for the South Yuba Ridge Trail (pictures). Meeting at 7AM, they set in to prepare the route so that flagging could be finished for this trail and ultimately, BONC could apply for grant money to fund construction. The group started hiking up the trail just after 8 am and stopped about 12:45 pm at our high point about 2 miles and 1000 ft in elevation gain from where we began. It was hot out there.

The trail needs more brush clearing. Joe Chavez of the USFS said he'd get his crew out there to continue what we started. Thereafter, BONC volunteers will flagging higher up once the trail path is clear.

DIAMOND ARROW

On Sunday, Shannon and I made a field trip to scout out a possible 2 mile trail route between Diamond Arrow and Round Mountain.

We started at the top of the RM trailhead heading east. The terrain was steep and difficult at points and we encountered lots of PO and thick manzanita at times. As usual, the route seemed simpler on a topo map than in the field. Regardless, we learned a lot about what we have to work with.

It will be very challenging to snake this trail between steep sideslopes and private property boundaries. Another field trip or two is required to find a possible route. Let me know if you are interested in joining me for another expedition sometime soon.

BONC Gala Ride - August 7th

Join BONC for the next fun Gala ride event on Saturday, August 7 @ 10AM. Meet at the Five Mile House on Highway 20.

We'll have ride groups for all abilities, from advanced to beginner. No rider will be left behind. Please mark your calendar. We will have BONC membership forms on hand if you want to sign up. Hope you can join us!

Recap: BONC Gala Ride for July

BONC had a very successful Gala ride last weekend. Thanks to Darwin's efforts, we partnered with KNCO to combine our ride to benefit the Sierra Nevada Memorial Foundation. The weather was great as three big ride groups (Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced) rode quality trails in the Highway 20 corridor. Here are some pics.

Hope you can join us for our next fun ride event!

Tahoe Trail Event 2010 - Register Today!

BONC has a limited number of camping slots available for this year's Tahoe Trail Event on August 13-15th. Sign up now! We ask for a $10.00 donation to help BONC defray our costs.

BONC will join other Northern California mountain bike clubs for this annual multi-club campout, which will include Tahoe rides, a half day of trailwork, movie night, a raffle, and hanging out with other mountain bikers from all over Northern California. We'll camp at Zephyr Cove campground on the east side of Lake Tahoe. We will re-route a section of the Tahoe Rim Trail, building entirely new singletrack. Learn more.

This event is a great time!

Pioneer Trailwork - July 17th

The ongoing project to convert Pioneer Trail fire road to singletrack continues. The Gold Country Trails Council will host a trail workday on Saturday, July 17. Meet at 9:00 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 20 and Lowell Hill Road. Volunteers will continue working on the re-route section of the Pioneer Trail. GCTC will provide lunch. You're welcome to join us.

BONC Gala Ride, 7/10

The BONC July Gala ride will occur on Saturday, July 10th. This ride will be part of a fundraiser for the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital Foundation (see below). We'll have ride groups for all abilities, from advanced to beginner. Note that beginners can ride 5 miles or less; other groups will ride longer, more challenging routes.

Please mark your calendar. We will have BONC membership forms on hand if you want to sign up. Hope you can join us!
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5 Mile Bike Ride, $5 Donation, 5 Mile House

Details:
Join KNCO's Mary West & Chuck Whitten for a 5 mile bike ride (or longer - see above) fundraiser at The Old 5 Mile House. A $5 donation is requested to participate and includes lunch and a snack from The Old 5 Mile House. All proceeds will be donated to the Sierra Nevada Memorial Hosptial Foundation. For more information call SNMH at 274-6805 or Chuck Whitten at 272-3424.

Saturday, July 10 @ 10:00 AM

Location:
The Old 5 Mile House on Highway 20

Phone:
274-6805 or 272-3424

Partial Closure of the Wetherall Trail

The Nevada County Land Trust is temporarily closing a portion of the Wetherall Trail to accommodate neighbors concerns about use of the private Big Blue Road. The Land Trust will temporarily close the trail at a point some 200-300 feet above the point where it joins the NID service road. A barrier will be installed and signs will advise users that this point is the end of the trail and that users should return to the Cascade Canal rather than continuing on down to Big Blue Road or the D-S Canal.

Please abide by this closure. The Land Trust intends to build a return trail that will connect with the new trail and bring trail users back to the top of the preserve property via a different route along the eastern portion of the property. This work is being planned for this fall, and will provide another opportunity for volunteers to assist in the trail construction.

Building trails is complex process that the Land Trust does exceptionally well. Let's support them as they work through this.

BONC BoD Meeting

Please join us for the next BONC board meeting! Meet at the open cafe area behind SummerThymes off Highway 174, across the street from Memorial Park @ 5:30PM on June 27th.

Come find out what the club is focusing on and how we plan to achieve better mountain biking opportunities in Nevada County. We'll have updates on the South Yuba Ridge, Grouse Ridge, Scott's Drop and Diamond Arrow trail projects and discuss future riding, social and trailbuilding events, including the IMBA Trailcare Crew visit later this year. Whew, there is a lot going on!

I am hoping some of us can ride the Mine afterwards. See you there.

Jon and the NCLT

Jon Fisher has worked on many trails in our area. You might not know this because Jon is not the kind of guy who grandstands. For years he has quietly worked alongside Bill Haire and others creating great local dirt routes using his equipment. You may have seen his work on the Empire-to-Memorial-Park trail and other Land Trust projects.

Last weekend, Jon worked with Bill on the trail from near Twin Cities Church to A-to-Z on Ridge Road. This project may not be about creating the next big freeride drop or swoopy singletrack, but trails which offer connectivity like this are very important. They create transportation corridors and the means to avoid dangerous motorized roads when hiking or riding locally.

As someone who rides more local routes these days (having three kids will do that to you), I appreciate Jon's efforts. His work is yet another reason we need to support the Nevada County Land Trust as the primary trail building organization in our area. We are lucky to have Bill, Jon and other NCLT people creating trails for all of us. It is not easy establishing permanent trail easements with local governments and property owners. I know that from personal experience that turning dirt is least complicated part of creating a trail. But such local trails make our area a much better place to live. No one does it as well as the Nevada County Land Trust.

National Trails Day Events - Sat. 6/5

This Saturday, there will be a local celebration of trails. If you can't join BONC's Gala ride, be sure to check out the other activities.

Perhaps most exciting to me is the dedication of the new trail in Woodpecker Preserve on Banner Mountain. It will be a great day!

Tahoe Trail Event 2010

Join us for our annual Tahoe weekend of camping, riding and trailwork on August 14-16, 2010.

BONC will join FATRAC, MBOSC, ROMP, and other Northern California mountain bike clubs for our annual Tahoe multi-club campout, which will include rides, a half day of trailwork, movie night, a raffle, and hanging out with other mountain bikers from all over Northern California. We'll camp at Zephyr Cove campground on the east side of Lake Tahoe. This is a walk-in campground, so your car may be a few hundred feet from where we will camp. We'll partner with the Tahoe Rim Trail Association to reroute a section of the Tahoe Rim Trail at Kingsbury Grade.

There will be many rides, mostly around the east shore and south shore of Lake Tahoe. BONC will ask for a $10.00 donation to help us to reserve your spot. Please let me know if you plan to join us.

August 14th - 16th 2010
Zephyr Cove Campground (east side of Lake Tahoe)

This event is a great time!

Hirschman Pond and the Mini-Excavator

Today, I spoke with Bill Haire regarding the Hirschman Pond trail project in Nevada City. I was pleased to learn that trail construction is underway. Bob Hale is building the trail with his mini-excavator, which is great news. Bob and his brother have built trails in this area for decades. Along with others, they built the North Yuba trail from Indian Valley to Goodyear's Bar, which is an outstanding piece of singletrack.

I can't wait to ride this new trail, but everyone should know that the trail is still under construction and not open for public use at this time.

Country Trails Plan Vote June 8th

A reminder that an important hearing for the Western Nevada County Non-Motorized Recreational Trails Master Plan is coming soon. From Larkyn Feiler:

"The tentative date scheduled for the Board of Supervisors to consider adoption of the Trails Plan is June 8, 2010 at 1:30 pm in the Board Chambers of the Eric Rood Administrative Center.

This public hearing is very important for the outcome of the Trails Plan and we encourage you to attend the meeting and participate in the public comment period or provide comments in writing prior to the meeting if you are unable to attend."

Send messages to:

Larkyn Feiler
Advance Planning Division
Nevada County CDA
950 Maidu Avenue, Suite 170
Nevada City, CA 95959

Ride on National Trails Day - Sat. 6/5

Join BONC as we celebrate National Trails Day with the Nevada County Land Trust and other supporting organizations on Saturday, June 5th. We'll host a ride for two levels of riders:

Beginner: Ride around Nevada City on local trails

Intermediate/Advanced: Ride up on trails in the Highway 20 corridor

Both meet at Stonehouse Parking Lot at 9:30AM. Afterwards, we'll join the the National Trails Day event from 12-1:30 at the Stonehouse parking lot. This is always an inspiring event, so even if you cannot join the ride, be sure to stop by for the festivities.

Loma Rica Ranch Race

In case you have not heard, there is a bike race or two this weekend :-) One is on pavement and involves guys named Levi, Larry... or is it Lance? Whatever. Anyway, the first race is on Saturday at Loma Rica Ranch and it is a big deal!

A lot of volunteers have put in a lot of hours to build the trails for this course. Trails were create via under YBONC's Trail Stewardship Program of teen club members, parents, contractors, and local non-profit volunteers. A big thanks to everyone who chipped in, especially Jet Lowe, the tireless leader of YBONC!

To support this event, please consider racing or donating to YBONC.

Round Mountain Trailwork- 6/12

Join BONC for trailwork on Round Mountain on Saturday, June 12. We'll install some culverts, improve drainage and tackle additional important tasks. Meet @ 10AM just off Rock Creek Road (map).

Please join us. We'll offer food and drinks for participants. Please bring long pants, shoes and gloves. Some of us may ride afterwards.

BONC, Bullards and BBQ! - Saturday 5/9

Join BONC for a Gala Ride at Bullards Bar on Saturday May 8th. Meet at Vista Point (see map) at 1PM. If you want to carpool, please meet at Uren Street and Highway 20 at noon. Note that this month's Gala Ride is on 5/8, not the first Saturday of the month.

As always, this will be a No-Rider-Left-Behind Ride. All levels of riders are welcome and we will break into groups based on ability. We'll explore the outstanding singletrack of the Bullards Bar trail network. When we finish, you'll have the option of heading over to Penn Valley (Western Gateway Park), where we will join the Sierra Express Bicycle Club, APPT and other cycling groups for a BBQ at 5:00 pm. See below for further details.

Please bring a bike, helmet, water and a mid-ride snack. If you want to join BONC, we'll have memberships available. See you there!

The NU MTB Team is hosting a fundraiser showing of the film Race Across the Sky at the Nevada Theater on April 13, 7pm. Proceeds benefit the team and Nate Rogers.

If you have yet to see it, it is a great documentary on the Leadville 100 race.

Trailwork Near Kenney Ranch

BONC joined other groups on Saturday for productive trailwork alongside Ridge Road. 17 of us were able to pull out a large amount of brush to prepare the eventual trailbed for upcoming mastication. A big thanks to Bill Haire for leading and organizing this effort and everyone else for pitching in. Here are some pictures of volunteers.

BONC + NCLT Gala Ride - Saturday, 4/3

Explore Land Trust Ditches and local connector trails with Bicyclist's of Nevada County on their Monthly Gala Ride to benefit BONC and Nevada County Land Trust. After a mountain bike tour of our ever expanding local inventory of multiple use trails, we'll swap stories and enjoy food at the end of the ride. Let the celebration begin!

Where: Penn Gate, Empire Mine State Historic Park
Cost: Voluntary contribution $15.00
Everyone welcome! Helmets required.
Level: Easy to Advanced