in Group Rides, Bike Trips, and Events

We have an event planned with the Capital Brewery Bike Club.  They do road rides from the brewery every Tuesday and Thursday evening.  The club has several hundred members, and the rides are a pretty big deal; the night I was out there were probably 50 riders, and it was considered a small night.  Many of the riders hang out in the bier garten and socialize afterward. 

Since they are a short commuter trail ride from Pleasant View, and Capital Brewery is interested in supporting us, we are going to add a mountain biking option to one of their weeknight rides.  On Tuesday August 4, we will hang out at the bier garten and promote ourselves and encourage folks to bring their mountain bikes on Thursday.  On Thursday August 6, we will lead a ride to PV and possibly Blackhawk.

What does this mean for you?  Well, we could use help in three ways.

Tidying up at PV, mostly trimming.  We are going to try to get the city to do some of this, but I am not sure that will happen, so if you have a chance, the pump track, the jump line, and the prairie sections are all in need of some attention.  Maybe post up if you get out so that I can keep track of what I need to do.

On Tuesday, we need some attractive people and bikes to pitch the ride and the sport.  While we are generally short on attractive people, I know there are some cool new bikes out there (apparently roadies are fascinated by fatbikes, Jeff), it would be great if you could stop by before (5:00), after (around 6:30) the ride, or both to show off.  We will likely head over to PV while the club is riding, so you can get a short ride in, and probably a couple beers.  A pretty pleasant evening, anyway.

On Thursday, we will need a couple folks to ride with us.  I will have a better feel for how many we need after Tuesday and I have an idea of interest, but the more the better regardless.  Again, a ride starting and ending at a brewery shouldn't be a terribly hard sell.

This is a great opportunity to spread the word about what we have been accomplishing the last couple years, get some more wheels on some of our newest trail, and hopefully get some more people interested in lending a hand.  Post up or PM me if you have questions or can help out.

I should add that the bier garten is a great place to hang out on a summer evening.  Kids, dogs, bikes, skate park across the street, live music, everyone in a good mood.  Almost makes one want to move to Middleton.

This sounds like a great idea. I might be able to join on Thursday.

I was out yesterday for a bit and there is a lot of cleanup work to have PV ready to show off next week.  Not undo-able for sure, but not a small task. 

• The pump track is can be ridden just fine on the 2 main loops but it looks really rough and the inner parts are probably too overgrown to ride.
• The 2nd berm and the first tabletop before the jump line look like they have been abandoned. You can ride them, but the weeds nearly pulled me off my bike going around that berm.
• As mentioned, the prairie sections are quite overgrown but can be ridden.
• There is a small tree down on the XC trail between the original loop and where you get to the first open/XC ski trail area. You can easily walk your bike under it but you would have to be very small to ride under.  The tree is small and might be able to be taken down with a hand saw.
• There is a berm on the north side of the ski trail (in the first area where you cross it) that has gotten overgrown to where it looks like a tight flat turn rather than a berm. Not a huge deal but it's a pretty fun berm when it's clear of weeds and you're headed down the hill.
• There is a very large tree down on some of the more western XC trail (past the 2 little rock bridges).  It will require a chainsaw to clear.

 
I turned around at the big downed tree so I don't know what things look like beyond there.

I was out yesterday for a bit and there is a lot of cleanup work to have PV ready to show off next week.  Not undo-able for sure, but not a small task. 

• The pump track is can be ridden just fine on the 2 main loops but it looks really rough and the inner parts are probably too overgrown to ride.
• The 2nd berm and the first tabletop before the jump line look like they have been abandoned. You can ride them, but the weeds nearly pulled me off my bike going around that berm.
• As mentioned, the prairie sections are quite overgrown but can be ridden.
• There is a small tree down on the XC trail between the original loop and where you get to the first open/XC ski trail area. You can easily walk your bike under it but you would have to be very small to ride under.  The tree is small and might be able to be taken down with a hand saw.
• There is a berm on the north side of the ski trail (in the first area where you cross it) that has gotten overgrown to where it looks like a tight flat turn rather than a berm. Not a huge deal but it's a pretty fun berm when it's clear of weeds and you're headed down the hill.
• There is a very large tree down on some of the more western XC trail (past the 2 little rock bridges).  It will require a chainsaw to clear.

 
I turned around at the big downed tree so I don't know what things look like beyond there.

The city will do more tree work this week.

Aaron's out of town and has had a tough summer on the injured list so it would be sweet if can have a good turnout tomorrow (Tuesday evening sessions). Pleasant View only has the one weed trimmer but has scythe. Much could be done including some trail finishing.

I tried to use the weed trimmer there for 1.5 hours and it was painfully slow.  It doesnt run fast enough or bogs down easily, gas cap vibrates loose a few times an hour.  I hurt my back in May and I havent been able to get out as much as I would like.

Is it possible to have the city mow the prairie section?  It would allow for more time to trim weeds where a machine cant reach.

I tried to use the weed trimmer there for 1.5 hours and it was painfully slow.  It doesnt run fast enough or bogs down easily, gas cap vibrates loose a few times an hour.  I hurt my back in May and I havent been able to get out as much as I would like.

Is it possible to have the city mow the prairie section?  It would allow for more time to trim weeds where a machine cant reach.

I had the machine working fine Tues before last but it's not always right. This is all a big challenge considering our land manager's on medical leave, all the challenges. I'm seeing what I can do.

Thank you.

Bin lays out the priorities pretty clearly.  I was going to ask if that berm on the jump line had in fact been abandoned,
but decided I like it enough to not ask.

I had planned on doing some work yesterday, but encountered equipment issues and had to change plans.  I cannot be there tomorrow night; if anyone can, getting the pump track and jump line cleaned up would be a huge start.  I plan on making it presentable by the 6th, and can put in a fair bit of time this weekend, but anything anyone else has a chance to do would be awesome.  Don't worry about the trees, and the prairie will go better with a power scythe than a string-trimmer.  Though the old-fashioned scythe would be a good workout.

That string trimmer should be taken down to MPC and be checked out.  It may run right sometimes, but it doesn't often enough to make one feel like one needs to bring another tool in case it is not, which means it may as well not work at all.

I am pretty sure that I can get out to Pleasant View for 30-45 minutes before the BH youth bike class on Thursday to do some work on the pump track and berm.  I forgot the code to the tool shed, can some one please send a personal message with the lock code,  thank you.

I would also take the tool shed combo if that's cool.  I would have done some cleanup when I was out if had tools.

For the Thursday event, do you want the CamRock Ride cancelled that night? Or do we go with two events that night?

That's up to you all out there.  I would like to think we can get by with a half-dozen of us to lead the ride, though having more of us is generally good.  I don't really know what to expect;  there might be six people on the ride, there might be thirty.  They normally have close to 100 riders when the weather is good, and the weather looks good, but it is hard to say how many of them will come with us.

I guess I would have the normal ride for folks who live out that way and don't feel like driving, but encourage those who are closer to PV, who don't mind driving, or are looking for a change of pace to come to the brewery.

I would also remind folks that if you haven't been out to the PV/BH area in a while, you will be impressed with the improvements and that it is worth checking out.

I trimmed everything this morning until you go into the woods the last time (not very overgrown back there), so between that and last Tuesday we are in decent shape.  If someone had an hour or so, it would be good to rake the prairie sections; I think that would work better than a leaf blower.  Either way, you should bring your own; there are some garden rakes in the shed, but no lawn rakes and no blower.

Also, William is right; the trimmer runs slow and rough for a bit, but after five minutes or so it is fine.

As an added incentive to come out on Tuesday, I will have the jersey order at the Brewery.  Be among the first to sport the new threads!

I trimmed everything this morning until you go into the woods the last time (not very overgrown back there), so between that and last Tuesday we are in decent shape.  If someone had an hour or so, it would be good to rake the prairie sections; I think that would work better than a leaf blower.  Either way, you should bring your own; there are some garden rakes in the shed, but no lawn rakes and no blower.

Also, William is right; the trimmer runs slow and rough for a bit, but after five minutes or so it is fine.

I did most of that raking and put up a bunch of signs today.

Join us this week and start thinking about what we're going to call the CORP beer!

Hey all,

I've been out of town for the last week and will be returning to my regularly scheduled programming now that I'm back. That means you will find me with shovel, rake, scythe, or trimmer tonight at the bike park getting things back on track!