IMBA Trail Care Crew workshop in Frick Park Oct 21, 22

[trun]

PTAG Sponsored Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew Visit to Frick Park, Pittsburgh.

The International Mountain Bicycling Association’s Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew will be in Pittsburgh October 20-22, 2006 to talk trails, teach sustainable trailbuilding techniques, and spend quality time digging in the dirt at Frick Park.

Please join Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew members Ryan Schutz and Kristin Butcher for any or all of the events below.

These events are free and open to the public, but please reserve a seat for the Saturday morning trailbuilding school by contacting Karl Rosengarth at imbakarl@verizon.net or 412-767-5021. (Walk-ins are welcome but can't be guaranteed seating and lunch for the classroom session.)

Friday, October 20, 2006 7-9 P.M.
IMBA Slideshow and Social Hour
REI, 412 South 27th St. in the South Side Works
Peter Greninger (412-488-9410)

Join us for a multi-media presentation about IMBA's work around the world - with amazing photos and video from the U.S., Canada, Wales, Italy, Australia, Mexico, and beyond. Meet the trail care crew and get to know more of your fellow local mountain bikers.


Saturday, October 21
IMBA Trail Care Crew Class and Work Session
- IMBA Trailbuilding School 9 a.m. - Noon
Wilkins School Community Center, 7604 Charleston Ave., Regent Square

Learn the principles of building sustainable, fun trails in this classroom session. Reservations required.

- Mad Mex lunch provided to Trailbuilding School participants - Noon - 1:00 p.m.

-Trailwork (Frick Park) - 1:00-4 p.m.
Meet at Wilkins School Community Center, 7604 Charleston Ave., Regent Square. Head to Frick Park from there.

Apply what you've learned in the morning by building a trail in Frick Park with the experts. If you can’t make the class, you are still welcome to join the trailwork session.


Sunday, October 22
IMBA Trail Care Crew Work Session and MTB Ride
- Trailwork – 10 a.m.-Noon
Frick Park (Meet at the English Lane parking lot near the Blue Slide playground on Beechwood. Come at 9:30 for pre-work coffee and pastries!)

- Lunch: bring your own (snacks Courtesy of Clif Bar) - Noon-1:30 p.m.

- Trail Ride (weather permitting) - 1:30 p.m. start.

You are welcome to attend any or all of these events. If you can only attend one trailwork day, we recommend the Saturday trailbuilding school and trailwork session.

For more information or to register for the Saturday IMBA trailbuilding school, contact Karl Rosengarth at imbakarl@verizon.net or 412-767-5021. Information will also be available on the Pittsburgh Trails Advocacy Group website, www.bike-pgh.org/ptag.html <http://www.bike-pgh.org/ptag.html>

Organized locally by Pittsburgh Trails Advocacy Group (PTAG) and presented in cooperation with Pittsburgh Department of Public Works Parks Division and the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association creates, enhances and preserves trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide. Since 1988, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trailwork participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, and innovative trail management solutions. For more information visit www.imba.com <http://www.imba.com> .

[erink]

Place change for Sunday Trailwork!!!!

Since we're working on the bottom of Iron Gate (Irish Center) trail, we're changing the meeting place for Sunday trailwork session.

Meet at the trailhead, which is off the Fire Lane trail right near where it ends at Commercial St. across from the Irish Center.

There is limited parking at pulloffs on Commercial St.; the other option is to enter Frick from Hutchinson and Lancaster Streets, drive to the bottom, and park as close as possible to the soccer field. Walk to the far side of the soccer field and turn right on the road-sized trail (Fire Lane Trail), which goes around the back of the soccer field.

Meetup is still between 9:30 and 10.

[Joe]

yeah I was the moron that was actually walking my bike on the new portion cut today saying "is the trail open?" fuckin idiot. and then on top of it I just turned around and got back on the trail and didnt help. but yeah. I didnt realize the wierd looks until after I rode away and thought about it. oh well.

[brungeman]

yeah I was the moron that was actually walking my bike on the new portion cut today saying "is the trail open?" fuckin idiot. and then on top of it I just turned around and got back on the trail and didnt help. but yeah. I didnt realize the wierd looks until after I rode away and thought about it. oh well.

Don't feel bad... you weren't the only one! (which one were you? what were you riding, and what were you wearing?)

[pratt]

the new trail at the bottom of iron gate (irish center) is fantastic. just got done working on and riding it. NICE! thanks to everyone who helped on that one...

[brungeman]

the new trail at the bottom of iron gate (irish center) is fantastic. just got done working on and riding it. NICE! thanks to everyone who helped on that one...

I was glad to see you there Saturday! I am sorry I couldn't make it today, but I had a few things I had to get done at home, my body is sore from the wreck Weds. night, and my hands are still a little sore from yesterday!

[pratt]

I was just riding the park and decided it would be nice to see some friends and lend a hand for a few minutes on sat. I only stayed for 30 minutes or so....

today was my day to work until it was finished. it really is a beautiful flowy trail.

[drumbum]

I was just riding the park and decided it would be nice to see some friends and lend a hand for a few minutes on sat. I only stayed for 30 minutes or so....

today was my day to work until it was finished. it really is a beautiful flowy trail.

Didn't see you there--maybe next time.

How did that new berm hold up after this morning's rain?

[kikawhat]

the berms are great

[Joe]

I was riding a paragon, and wearing shorts and a long sleeve blue penn state polo type shirt (shaking head)

[IMBAKarl]

I wanted to say thanks to all who took the time to participate in the trail building. I know how tempting it is to just ride trails instead of working on them, so a big tip of the helmet to all who helped build a kick-butt section of trail. All the workers now have a 850 foot long legacy that will be enjoyed by many for years to come.

PTAG is always looking for fresh faces to get involved in planning and building sweet singletrack, so show up at a PTAG meeting and get involved and help build the future of mountain biking in Pittsburgh.

-Karl
p.s. Here's a ground level view of the exit of the big berm turn:

[IMBAKarl]

A few more selected photos from the work in Frick:

[klevens]

It was pretty cool to see people exiting out of the new section at the bottom with big smiles on their faces.

Lee

[IMBAKarl]

Wanted to make sure I gave shout out to Ryan and Kristin, the IMBA Pros who taught us a thing or two about building sweet singletrack:

[klevens]

some more picts can be found here thanks to Jonas the Swede.

http://flickr.com/photos/lemonad/

Elizabeth

[erink]

Speaking of IMBA, if you are not already a member you should really consider joining up. We just got two professional trailbuilders to work with us for four days for free!* I'm sure everyone who was in the class or worked at the park came away with new skills and a better understanding of how trails work. This kind of experience is really important for our future as we expand our successful relationship with local land managers and other stakeholders and get to build more, cooler stuff - legitimately.

We've had two TCC visits in the 'burgh in the last few years. It's worth your $25! Check out http://www.imba.com/ for all the details.

Beyond trailwork, IMBA also does a significant amount of legal and lobbying work to help keep trails open to us across the country. The amount of useful information available on their resources page (http://www.imba.com/resources/index.html) is just staggering. There's everything from how to start a bike club to how to write an MOU (memorandum of understanding) to define access terms for private property.

If you ever had the impression that IMBA was not for you, check out their website today and think again.

Do it now! You know you want to! http://www.imba.com/membership/

Get the socks!

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* Also major props to Subaru for funding the Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew for its entire lifetime - 10 years! Subaru also gives IMBA members a big price break if we buy their cars, so if you're shopping, check it out.