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A Message from CORBA’s President
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Mark Langton: Riding bikes in the dirt since 1969
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By Mark Langton
August of 2012 will mark the official 25th anniversary of CORBA. In the
coming months we will be announcing several ways in which you can help us
celebrate. We’ll also be giving you a detailed accounting of what CORBA has
achieved for the open space trails in Los Angeles and eastern Ventura Counties
and contributed to the mountain bike community.
We’d love to hear from you who have stories about your involvement with
CORBA, old or new. Photos are most welcome! Please send your contributions to me
at mark@corbamtb.com. Happy Holidays! Nearly 200 Mountain Bikers Support
CORBA's Fat Tire Fundraiser
A huge thanks to all of you who donated your time, products, and/or demo bikes
to this year’s event. It was a huge success, with nearly 200 attendees. The
weather cooperated, everyone enjoyed the rides, there was great energy, we got
out the message about responsible riding and CORBA’s advocacy work, and we
raised a good chunk of change to go toward our programs. It’s the support of the
bike industry that validates what we do as advocates, so thank you thank you
thank you!
For photos of the event check out our
photo gallery!
 Upcoming
and Recent Trailwork
For many years, most trailwork has been done by volunteers because of budget
cutbacks at our parks systems. So come out and help CORBA and
other volunteers keep our trails in top riding shape! You can learn
more about what to expect and what you'll need to bring with you
on our Trailwork
web page. Keep in mind that CORBA now provides prizes and lunch
after the event for volunteers who register
in advance! And by registering in advance, you'll help us prepare
by knowing how many volunteers to expect. If you come out to two
or more trailwork days in a year, we'll give you a cool long-sleeved
CORBA trail crew shirt - be sure to ask for yours!
Saturday December 3:
Gabrielino Trail.
We will be working with the Mount Wilson Bicycling Association and other groups
to help restore the Gabrielino Trail between Switzers and Redbox. There are a number of sections of
the trail that need to be rebuilt from washed out drainages, some brush that
needs to be cut back and cleared, and a lot of debris on the trail. The work
will be weather permitting, so if there is a threat of rain, check here the
night before. See the rest
of the details. Please RSVP to trailcrew@corbamtb.com.
Sunday December 4:
Rim Trail.
We will clear the trail of brush, re-establish the bench and clear slides in
several places. See the rest
of the details. Please RSVP to trailcrew@corbamtb.com.
Saturday March 10, 2012: Dead Horse
Trail in Topanga State Park. Details are forthcoming.
Saturday March 24, 2012: COSCA Spring
Trailwork Day. Details are forthcoming.
Fri-Sun April 27-29: State Trails Days
in Point Mugu State Park. Details are forthcoming.
To see all trailwork dates, including those of other groups,
visit the CORBA
trailwork calendar.
Join our mailing list to get updates on trailwork
opportunities!
Send an email to Trailwork-Volunteers+subscribe@corbamtb.com
California State Parks (CSP) is planning several
trail renovation projects
The multi-use Tapia Spur Trail in Malibu Creek State Park/Tapia Park will undergo several
changes to address the trail’s ability to sustain shared use by hikers,
equestrians, and mountain bikers. The work is scheduled to start soon. See our
blog article for more details...
We have heard of other trail projects that are being planned.
We will provide details as we learn them.
General
News
Help Preserve Trails and Parks Funding in 60 Seconds
Open space. City parks. Thousands of miles of singletrack across all 50
states. If you value those things, you will take just 60 seconds to help IMBA
support the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). All you have to do is sign
a petition.
The petition asks the Obama Administration to fully and permanently fund the
LWCF and its work buying open space and helping cities and counties build parks,
many of which contain mountain bike trails and are in your own backyard.
TAKE ACTION! If we reach
25,000 individual signers by Dec. 16, the Obama Administration will look at the
issue and give an official response. Please sign today!
LWCF funds are being diverted from their intended use. Of the $900 million
authorized this year, very little of that is actually going toward America’s
parks and outdoor recreation areas. Be part of a united voice. Help us urge the
White House to restore full, dedicated and permanent funding for the LWCF.
It only takes a minute. Sign the petition
today!
San Gabriel Watershed – CORBA Supports Alternative D
The National Park
Service is conducting a “special resource study” of portions of the San Gabriel
River watershed and the San Gabriel Mountains. The purpose of the study is to
determine if the area would be an appropriate addition to the national
parks system. The process started in 2005 in a series of initial scoping sessions. In 2009 the first draft
alternatives were presented for public comment, as we reported
in 2009. After the 2009 series of public hearings, the alternatives were revised
and released In October 2011.The report is an extensive 300 page document. It discusses a broad spectrum
of the natural, cultural and recreational resources in the study area. For those
interested in the geologic, cultural and natural history of the San Gabriels it
is a handy reference, well worth reading. The document further describes the
national significance of the resource, and ultimately finds the region suitable
for NPS protection. It discusses the feasibility of NPS involvement, then
presents the alternatives as to how the NPS may be involved. CORBA supports the report findings. We agree that the area is a unique
resource suitable for inclusion in the National Parks system. Conceptually, we
support Alternative D for a number of reasons. It protects resources over the
largest area, improves recreational opportunities, has the most positive
socio-economic impact, and fosters a more cooperative management between the
various land managers in the study area. It provides opportunities to expand and
link wildlife and recreational corridors through urban areas. It provides
resources to urban communities to expand and improve their open space and
recreational opportunities.
To further refine the current Alternative D, CORBA would like to see language
to:
- Honor and maintain existing trail-use designations and permitted activities
with the ANF and other open spaces in the proposed NRA.
- State that if resource protection necessitates a recreational use or
activity be discontinued, viable alternative locations for those uses or
activities must be provided so as not to diminish already limited recreational
resources.
To see the remainder of our extensive report, see our blog
article on the study recommendations...
New on the CORBA Website
Recreational
Rides
For a list of upcoming recreational rides, please visit the CORBA
Calendar.
CORBA’s Recreational Rides calendar provides a full
monthly schedule of mountain bike rides for all skill levels. Mountain bike
rides are organized by CORBA member clubs and led by experienced and
knowledgeable guides. Recreational rides are a fun and social way to experience
a variety of trails in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, and beyond.
Free Mountain Biking
Skills Clinic
 Saturday December
3rd is the next skills clinic.
The CORBA free skills clinic is held on the first Saturday of
every month at Malibu Creek State Park.
Mountain biking is a lot like tennis or skiing. Just a few minor
adjustments in technique can make a huge difference in your
control and proficiency. If you want to get better faster,
you need to know the fundamentals of mountain biking technique.
Whether you're just getting into mountain biking or have been
riding for years, you'll learn some valuable tips from our Introduction
to Mountain Biking skills class that is offered each month.
Check out our Skills Clinic
web page for all the information. After the clinic, see photos
of your new skills on the CORBA web site that you can share
with your family and friends!
 Follow
CORBA on Twitter and Facebook
We have set up accounts with Twitter and Facebook to help keep people informed
of the latest developments in our trail advocacy, recreational rides and trailwork days. Follow
us on Twitter at twitter.com/CORBAmtb
and Facebook at facebook.com/CORBAMTB.
Get Our Blog Articles Delivered to Your
Desktop
Have you ever wished you could get our blog articles without having
to check
the CORBA website every day to see if there’s anything new? Well, you
can! Even though our blog software won’t send articles by email, you can
still get them delivered to the inbox of most email readers like
Microsoft
Outlook. You use the “RSS feed” functionality for this. In fact, you can
read
our articles in any software that receives RSS feeds, such as Internet
Explorer
and other web browsers. This
blog
article on RSS feeds shows you how.
Support
CORBA
Join or Renew your membership today on our membership
web page. Join Our Team! Do you have any ideas about mountain biking recreation in the
L.A. region? Would you like to apply your skills and manage projects
that contribute to the sport and lifestyle that you love? Is there
an advocate in you? We are recruiting motivated individuals who
work well with others. Send an email to info@corbamtb.com
or come
to a monthly Members Meeting to find out more about what we do and how you
can help. Check the calendar
for the next meeting.
Other simple ways to
support CORBA
- REI:
Use the link at left and REI will donate 5%
of the purchase price to CORBA
- Ralphs grocery stores: Use your Ralphs card and help CORBA
- Holmes Body Shop: Get that dent fixed and help CORBA
(Click on the links above to get more details!)
CORBA
News eMail List
Please do not reply to this email as the corbanews mailbox is
not monitored by people. To contact CORBA, email to info@corbamtb.com
or visit our 'Contact Us' page
for other addresses.
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