Monthly Archives: April 2008

Bike Month Is Here!

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moser's carson pic
Photo by J-Mo

Bike Month is Here! And boy do we have a wide variety of activities going on around town.

Starting today May 1, and each Thursday in May, Bike Habitat is conducting bicycle repair clinics. Call to make reservation.

Friday, May 9: Bike Habitat will host a Commuters Forum in the evening.

Saturday, May 10: The Bike Smith will hold their annual Safety Inspection/Bike Fit/Flat Tire Fix event in their parking lot from 10 am – 2 pm

Later that evening is Movie Night at Comma Coffee. “Off Road To Athens” will be the feature.

Though not an actual event, on Monday, May 12 Carson City Supervisor Shelly Aldean will hop on the back of my tandem (I can’t believe she said yes!) for a fun ride from her house to her office.

Another FUN event on the schedule is the “Historic District Social Ride“. Wednesday, May 14, we’ll meet at the Brewery Arts Center, and Bike Carson notable, Jeff Moser, will guide us on a FUN, low-key ride through old town Carson City.

Friday, May 16 is Bike to Work Day. Many numerous events going on around town, including Commuter Stations, free bus service from JAC, and the grand finale raffle, where we’ll give away a KHS Urban-X commuter bike donated by LUMOS & ASSOCIATES, with help from a Bicycle Authority “Bro deal” (Thanks Dan!). Attend Bike to Work Week events to receive your raffle tickets. The more events you attend, the more tickets you get!
urban-x-red-08.jpg

Joining us at the Firkin & Fox for the raffle will be a very special preview performance by African drum and dance group, Anouaze Beat.

I mentioned preview because one week later on Saturday, May 24 the full ensemble will be performing at the Brewery Arts Center. Don’t miss it!

And if that isn’t enough, Sunday, May 18 is the Tour of Carson. Celebrating the one year anniversary of the Bike Habitat, Denis Coyne will lead us on a fun, moderately paced, unsupported bike ride around the Capital city. WHEW!

Check our calendar for detailed descriptions of our events.

P.S. Our three area bike shops are offering discounts during Bike Month:

Bicycle Authority – 15% off when you mention Bike Month

The Bike Smith – 15% off when you mention Bike Month

Bike Habitat – you’ll receive discount coupons when you attend any of the clinics hosted by Bike Habitat.

So please join us and have some FUN!

Bicycle Repair Clinics

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FELT MP
Felt MP – One Sweet Ride

Each Thursday in May, Denis Coyne, owner of the Bike Habitat in south Carson, will host a free bicycle repair clinic. Each clinic will address a different subject, with some subjects overlapping to the clinic held in the following week.

The first bicycle repair clinic has the honor of kicking-off Bike Month. The clinic’s subject will be “How to Change a Flat Tire”. This is always a popular clinic and available spaces fill up quick. Please call to make a reservation. 267-5053

Bike Habitat 911 Topsy Lane # 238 (next to Best Buy)

Upcoming clinics: Roadside repair; Home Maintenance; Functional attire for commuting (dress for success!).

For more articles on Bike to Work Week, click HERE.

P.S (from Moser). We’d love to hear some feedback on the Bike Month events. Are you posting fliers, handing out brochures, or planning on participating? We’d like to know if there will be one or two participants, or if people will show up in throngs. Let us know in the comments!

A Reno to Rim Trail reality?

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A Reno to Rim Trail reality?

Kevin MacMillan
Nevada Appeal News Service
April 29, 2008, 4:01 AM

The avid hiking and cycling population in Incline Village, Crystal Bay and the entire Northern Nevada community has for years wondered if a Reno to Tahoe hiking trail was feasible.

Around this time next year, those citizens may get a positive answer.

A tentative date is set for mid-summer 2009 to begin work on a 15-mile hiking trail that would connect at the Tahoe Rim Trail, near the base of the Mt. Rose summit, run north through the Carson Range and end at Hunter Creek, just south of Reno, said Mark Kimbrough, executive director of the Tahoe Rim Trail Association and a Carson City resident.

“Right now, it’s the best case scenario, to start by mid-summer of next year,” Kimbrough said. “There’s plenty of things that could snag it along the way, but it’s the tentative date to start construction.

“But I will say that if it’s not started by 2010, it would be flabbergasting.”

If the entire proposal works, hikers also would be able to hike on a non-stop trail that spans Relay Peak, Houghton Peak and the Mt. Rose summit, Kimbrough said.

Continue reading →

Weekend Wrap Up

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If you’ve never taken the time to hike the Creek Trail, you’re missing out. The scenery goes by real quick when you’re riding it, and it’s hard to look away from the trail right in front of you. The family and I spent about an hour on the upper section this weekend, and it was a real eye opener! It is truly beautiful down in the canyon, and you get the feeling that you are far away from town. A true sanctuary. I also took the time to clear the trail of sheep debris…sticks, little rocks, and the multitude of sheep droppings.

Creek Trail

We also visited Marcus’s Pump Track. It’s coming along nicely, and is now rideable. It was a little bit tight in some sections, so we got the shovels and threw some dirt around. It was fun to see the track transform in just the short time we were there. Here are a few pictures from the session:

Pump Track
Jared

Pump Track
Charlie

Pump Track
Marcus in the Berm

Big Dork on Little Bike
Big Dork on Little Bike

More Exciting Pump Track photos HERE!

What You Can Do to Help Build And Maintain Trails.

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Future Trail?

I receive a lot of offers of help from trail users who would like to lend a hand in trail construction. It amazes me that so many people want to help. When working on the Flume Trail or the Tahoe Rim Trail, we get a lot of thanks and very few offers of help.

If I were to put it into numbers I would say 5% of the users I see on the Flume or TRT ask if they can help. Compare that to 98% of the users I see in Ash Canyon who want to help. This indicates to me that our trail users are hungry for more trails.

Though I want and need help, and I realize there are many of you who want to help, I’m still trying to figure out how to manage what few trails we have on the west side. With sheep grazing in the hills, I don’t feel comfortable working around and possibly interfering with the sheepherder’s job.

Consider this, last year at this time the Creek Trail didn’t exist and there were only a few users in the Canyon. Now not only does the sheepherder have to watch out for bears, mountain lions, and coyotes, he has to deal with a large increase in human and K-9 traffic.

After the sheep leave the area I will organize, for those who are interested, trail building field trips in and around Ash Canyon.

The first field trip will most likely be a hike where I’ll identify areas that need attention and explain what needs to be done to stabilize the trail. I know that might sound a little boring, but before I put a tool into the ground, I sometimes analyze an area for weeks before I commit to building, re-routing, or repairing trail.

I also consult with three people who have more extensive knowledge of trail building; including soils, drainage, and trail flow issues. Their advice is invaluable.

The Creek Trail is a fairly well planned trail (the upper section anyway), and there is a reason for every feature on it. The trail has a few problems I need to correct, but for the most part it’s pretty decent. I mention this because we are at an important juncture in our quest for trails in Ash Canyon. We are about to transition from user created trails to professionally built trails, so I believe it is imperative that all of us interested in trail construction coordinate our efforts.

Since the upper section of the Creek Trail will more than likely be incorporated into the King’s Canyon to Ash Canyon Trail alignment, it will serve as a representation of what the KC to AC trail will look like. This means when the Forest Service takes a walk on the Creek Trail, they’ll be looking to see if the trail builder knows what he/she (I’ve been called both) is doing. This is important, because the Forest Service knows what to look for (erosion, flow, speed control, average grade), and a well built and maintained trail will show them we mean business.

So for everyone that would like to help build trails in Carson City here are few very important things you can do:

I.M.B.A- If you’re not already a member, you should be. Check out their resources page and read all the trail building info you can.

Tahoe Rim Trail- Outstanding organization which maintains one of the coolest trails in the world, and it’s in our backyard. They offer plenty of opportunities throughout the summer for you to get trail building experience, and they
provide training classes for those who want to get involved. On their website you can sign up for crew leader training for the May16-18 trail class. I’ll be there. (I don’t know everything, I only think I do.)

Muscle Powered- We are not offering training yet, but we are leading the charge to bring trails to the Capital City. Join Now!

PRINT:

I.M.B.A.’s Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack- This book may be all you need to
get started, but read it and understand it thoroughly before you bring your tools to the trail.

Natural Surface Trails By Design- Troy Scott Parker’s book is essential reading. I promise you’ll never look at trails the same way again.

Free Publications- Your tax dollars at work

After reading these publications, go to the Ash Canyon trails and identify what was done right and what was done wrong, and what would you do to improve it?

The more we educate ourselves in how to construct and maintain trails, the sooner we will be able to complete our trails after receiving final approval.