Forks of Salmon Century

Bigfoot Bicycle Club’s Forks of Salmon Century ride draws near. This is a challenging ride overall, with mileage and elevation similar to the TUC. But that’s where it stops. There is significantly less motor traffic, the pavement is spectacularly smooth, the most challenging climb, up to Etna Summit, is in the first thirty or so miles, there is a brewery in Etna if you’re so inclined to stop there for lunch, and my favorite part, the 25 mile descent back to Forks of Salmon.

 

We have a SAG wagon so you don’t have to carry anything more than you feel like. We’ll have water, but bring your own food and any other beverages you may want to drink.

 

There will be some slower riders who may take up to ten hours or more to finish this. The SAG wagon will be there for the more leisurely inclined riders as much as those who may want to hammer through it in five hours.  The key is to ride at your own pace, and enjoy the ride.

 

You must be a member of Bigfoot Bicycle Club to participate. If you’re not yet a member, this is a good time to join. The member roster for RCMBA will be finalized from Bigfoot’s in just a few days. Once the changeover is complete, membership fees will go up,  but more on that later.

 

There is camping at a private campground in Somes Bar. Those of us camping there are having a potluck on Saturday evening. You are all welcome to join us, but we would like an RSVP.

 

If you’re not camping, meet us at the Forks of Salmon Post Office Sunday morning June 8, 2014. Be ready to leave almost promptly at eight a.m.

 

You can RSVP by sending me an e-mail at twowheelintim@gmail.com or calling 707-668-1716. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

 

See you on the road and on the trails.

 

Tim Daniels

 

Lacks Creek Trail work Canceled

Due to lack of response, Lacks Creek Trail work has been canceled Sunday, May 24, 2014.

Memorial Day Weekend Trail Work Days

Attention Fellow Cyclists and Trail Enthusiasts!

 

Lacks Creek trail work day Sunday, May 25, 2014. We’re working on multi-use trails on the east ridge, and looking for a half dozen or so people to help. If you have tools (McLeods, Pulaskis etc,) bring them. For details and directions please contact me via e-mail: twowheelintim@gmail.com, or call me at 707-668-1716.

And though we’ve already forwarded this one a couple times, here is a reminder, copied and pasted from an e-mail from Humboldt Trails Council

ARCATA COMMUNITY FOREST Trail Stewards

Saturday, May 24, 9 a.m.

We will begin as usual at 9 a.m. and meet at the upper Fickle Hill Road parking area (where Trail #9 begins). We will be working on Trail #7 in the upper portion of the Forest doing some basic maintenance on the water bars, bridge, and moving some logs into position to help reinforce an eroding section of trail. From the parking area we will carpool into an area closer to Trail #7 (otherwise it would be a good half hour walk each way). Let me know if you need more specific directions.

I realize that the 24th is the beginning of Memorial Day Weekend and at noon the Kinetic Sculpture Race will begin in downtown Arcata. Certainly it will be possible to leave early.

There will also be a National Trails Day event on Saturday, June 7th . . . when work will be focused on the Beith Creek Loop in the Sunny Brae Forest.  On our June 28th work day, we too will be working to complete the Beith Creek Loop in the hopes that it will be open later this summer.

Thanks to all of you for your continued support and assistance. It has and continues to make a huge difference.
  –  Rees Hughes

Dyerville Banana Slug Finale, 2014

Greetings Fellow Cyclists,

The Dyerville Loop was our final Banana Slug Series training ride of the year. With only fourteen riders, it was a smaller than usual crowd, and in fact I was expecting a larger than usual crowd because of the beautiful weather. Maybe it was just a bad weekend for people to drive out to Weott for a four to five (and almost six for some of us) hour ride. Regardless, if you didn’t join us, y’all missed out on an awesome ride.

The weather for our final Banana Slug Series training ride was spectacular. It was cool and damp at Humboldt Redwoods State Park Visitor Center when we arrived shortly after nine a.m. The ride started almost promptly at ten, and we headed north on Avenue of the Giants. The morning fog lifted as we turned right onto Dyerville Loop Road, and the temperatures rose to a comfortable level very quickly; the sun graced us with its warmth the rest of the day.

Traffic was virtually non-existent all the way to Alderpoint Road where the traffic picked up noticeably; from Garberville to Redway it was uncomfortably busy, and the stretch of 101 we rode wasn’t any more pleasant. Once back on Avenue of the Giants, the traffic calmed down to the occasional tourist, and they were all thoughtful, careful drivers.

The day wasn’t without a couple minor mishaps. At least one rider, maybe two, made a wrong turn up on the ridge, and cut the ride short. Fortunately, they didn’t choose to go in a direction that would have taken them farther out into the hills.

A huge thank you to John Dostal for officiating/timing. It’s been two years since I’ve had the opportunity to ride Dyerville Loop. I love this ride, and really appreciate it. Thanks again John!

So without further ado here are the final results of the ride:

Jess Couch 4:01

Michael Chapman 4:01

Andrea Achilli 4:08

Rick Beale 4:10

Rocky Brashear 4:24

Wally Coppini 4:58

Grant Lay 4:58

Steven Jones 5:00

Trevor Goff 5:16

Frank Demling 5:50

Tim Daniels 5:50

Chris Johnson Wrong turn?

Kevin Beirnacki Wrong turn

John Dostal Short loop/timing official

Stay tuned for RCMBA’s Harvest series rides starting in August. The schedule will be posted when it has been finalized.

See you on the roads and on the trails.

Tim

Dyerville Loop Banana Slug Ride 4/12/2014

Greetings Fellow Bicyclists,

This Saturday, April 12, 2014 is our final Banana Slug ride of the season. This is our only “away” ride this year, but it’s a classic and worth the motor out there. The views from the ridge are spectacular, and the weather is looking like it will be perfect for a ride in the hills above southern Humboldt. The Dyerville Loop ride will start almost promptly at 10:00 a.m. and is leaving from Humboldt Redwood State Park Visitor Center located at 17119 Avenue of the Giants, Weott, CA.

We ask that everybody be self sufficient. The ride has about 18 miles of gravel road, and will cause flat tires if you’re not careful. Some of the paved sections are not much better. Be prepared; carry your own water, food, tools, tubes, and pump/CO2. Beware, there are significant portions of this ride you will NOT have cell phone coverage. Here’s a link to a description of the ride on Jim Robbins’ Northcoast Bike Rides Blog. Thanks Jim!

As usual, we’ll have hot coffee, fresh fruit, bagels, and water on hand. We ask that you be a member of Bigfoot Bicycle Club to sign in on the ride roster. At the end of the day we will make sure everybody on the roster is accounted for. If you’re not a member, and you want to ride along, we cannot make you join. Just beware, you’re on your own.

See you out there!

Tim

Salmon River Century Sunday, June 8, 2014

Back by popular demand, the Salmon River Century!

Though we usually get fewer than ten riders for this event, it’s an awesome one! It is not a race, but a socially paced ride with a support vehicle, so you don’t have to carry your gear. The ride is complete with leg burning climbs, and mind blowing descents. The scenery is spectacular, and the pavement is, by Humboldt County standards, pristine.

The ride starts at the Forks of Salmon Post Office and we head east on Sawyers Bar Road, up and over Etna Summit. The climb up to the summit is the toughest one of the day, and we get it out of the way early. The descent into Etna is the most fun you’ll likely ever have on a road bike. We’ll stop for lunch at the brewery in Etna, and afterward we’ll turn right and head south on Highway 3. At Callahan, we will turn right on Callahan/Cecilville Road and start climbing again. This is a long climb too, but the grade is not as extreme; you’ll need to save some juice for it all the same. At the summit, we’ll cross the Pacific Crest Trail, and descend for over twenty miles before the grade starts to roller-coaster the rest of the way back to Forks of Salmon.

Siskyou Velo has a really great description of the ride posted here on their blog. They start in Etna, but it sounds brutal riding it like that; I like to get the ugly climb out of the way early, and finish with a nice long descent in the afternoon when I’m feeling really worked.

There will be free camping on private property at Somes Bar Saturday night June 7 with an optional potluck. You’re all welcome to camp with us, or meet us at the post office bright and early Sunday Morning.

Sunday, June 8, 2014 we’ll leave the Forks of Salmon Post Office around 8 a.m. Bring your own fuel (food). We’ll carry water in the support vehicle so you don’t have to carry more than a bottle or two (or camelback if you prefer)

A final word. You must be a member of Bigfoot Bicycle Club/RCMBA to participate in this ride. Your membership dues help provide the support vehicle, and other amenities.

For more information call me at 707-668-1716.

Tim

Rider: Errin Odell

Photographer: Jim Robbins

Lonestar Junction Challenge Banana Slug Ride

So we jumped right into summer, or so it seems. The low level coastal fog and overcast was already burning off as we arrived at Freshwater Park, and it was shaping up to be a glorious day for a bike ride in the nearby hills.

We started almost promptly at 9:00 a.m. with twenty riders on the roster. I figured I could squeeze in a ride up to the airport and back after I packed up all the stuff into the van, so a friend and I headed up the hill to enjoy the day from our two wheelers. We barely made it back to Freshwater before the fast guys started rolling in. Kevin Biernacki turned in a blistering time of 2:54:40 with Chris Johnson coming in second almost ten minutes behind.

Here are the finishing results:

Kevin Biernacki	2:54:40
Chris Johnson	3:04:12
Michael Davies-Hughes	3:07:57
Errin Odell	3:15:29
Michael Chapman	3:27:45
Robert East	3:29:34
John Bergenske	3:38:25
Chris Schinke	3:50:35
Andrea Achilli	3:54:15
Grant Lay	4:04:18
Ali Osgood	4:45:40
Justin Graves	4:45:41
Jim Christopher	5:04:24
Frank Demling	5:15:45
Rick Beale	5:17:20
Andre Guimares	5:19:57
Todd Flackus	DNF
Sandra Rosas	DNF
Wally Coppini	Lawrence Creek
Mike Woychak	Lawrence Creek

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t forget to join us for the final Banana Slug ride of the season, the beautifully scenic, and epic Dyerville Loop, Saturday, April 12, 2014.

McKay Community Forest Action Action Alert

Greetings fellow cyclists,

It’s time to let Humboldt County Board of Supervisors know that we want this Community Forest enough to serve as volunteers to help support it.

There’s a link at the beginning and end of the rather lengthy e-mail below where you can go pledge your support. I imagine some of you will likely not even bother to read the e-mail before clicking on the link and doing the right thing. I encourage you to read it anyway. There is some great information in it.

You all are one of main reasons I love living here in Humboldt County so much.

Passionately,

Tim

Help support the vision of a community forest in greater Eureka!

Humboldt County is currently considering accepting and managing forestland adjacent to Myrtletown and Cutten as a community forest, in collaboration with the City of Eureka, and community support is needed to bring this vision to reality. Read more below or visit http://www.humtrails.org/mckay.html to pledge your support for the project as a volunteer trail steward.

The proposed McKay Community Forest would stretch for roughly four miles along the west side of Ryan Creek and the eastern perimeter of Eureka, from Park Street on the north to the land east of Ridgewood Drive on the south. The Forest would be situated adjacent to Redwood Acres Fairgrounds and Cutten, starting at 1,000 acres and potentially growing over time. The vision is that the McKay Community Forest would be managed for habitat conservation, sustainable timber production and public recreation, much like the Arcata Community Forest.

The purchase of the Forest is being coordinated with state and federal funds by The Trust for Public Land from Green Diamond Resources Company, the current property owner and willing seller. The County has analyzed projected future revenues from sustainable timber management and is currently developing a financial plan to cover the total costs of the recreational, public safety, and restoration needs of the Forest. The challenge for the County will be finding the resources in the short term to improve access, develop a network of multi-use trails, restore old logging roads, etc.

Volunteer Trail Stewards (VTS) have partnered with several local jurisdictions to reduce trail maintenance and construction costs while also fostering greater community support for recreation and conservation projects. Trail Stewards contribute to trail development and maintenance through volunteer work-days and also serve as “eyes and ears” on local trails. The creation of a McKay Community Forest VTS group with community members pledging support would help show the County and the City of Eureka the level of interest for the Forest, and demonstrate the community resources that will be available to help them in the management and maintenance.

In early April, the County Board of Supervisors will make a final decision whether to accept and manage the McKay for a community forest. Pending this ultimate decision at the Board of Supervisors and securing a final funding source in May, the County may begin managing the forestland as early as this summer. Although the process of building the trail network would not begin until Fall 2014 at the very earliest, it is important to know the level of community support now. The commitment of citizens will go a long way toward helping the Board of Supervisors support this investment in our future.

IF HUMBOLDT COUNTY ACCEPTS THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR OWNING AND MANAGING THE PROPOSED McKAY COMMUNITY FOREST, I AM READY AND WILLING TO SERVE AS A VOLUNTEER TRAIL STEWARD or SUPPORT THE PROJECT IN ANOTHER WAY.

Pledge your support at http://www.humtrails.org/mckay.html or by emailing Dave Hayes at h_d_hayes@yahoo.com

Link for a PDF of the poster seen below. McKay Trail Stewards Support flyer

Taking Butler Valley by storm

Greetings Fellow Cyclists,

I’m not surprised at the low turnout for the most popular of our Banana Slug rides. The weather was threatening some serious ugliness, but we got lucky. A relatively warm wind was blowing in from the south; the riders got a good push out of town, and a great push back up Old Arcata Road at the end of the ride. Finally, the rain held off all morning, and didn’t start up in earnest until after the last rider was off the course. They also reported the wind wasn’t too bad out in the valley save for occasional strong gusts that threatened to knock them down. Some even reported a glimpse or two of sunshine as they approached the backside of Kneeland where Butler Valley Road and Fickle Hill Road intersect.

So 13 riders showed up, and twelve of them finished. The one rider who didn’t finish was having repeated failures of non-metallic rotating parts, and indicated it was time to replace them.

Without further ado here are the results:

Chris Johnson 2:52:20

Kevin Biernacki 2:53:25

Rick Beale 2:54:52

Sky McKinley 2:57:05

Andrea Achilli 3:01:37

Errin Odell 3:03:20

Michael Chapman 3:10:50

Robert East 3:10:51

Sean Robertson 3:11:38

Chris Schinke 3:30:00

Grant Lay 3:41:00

Mike Woychak 4:12:00

Rik (toasted tires) Rieder DNF

Up next month is Lonestar Junction. It’s an abbreviated version of Showers Pass but still a very challenging ride. It’s a bit shorter than Butler Valley, but has a significant amount more climbing at about 7000 feet and even more dirt. For a more detailed description of this ride, read Jim Robbins’ write ups here, and here from 2011, the last time we did this ride. We will be starting at Freshwater Park almost promptly at 9:00 a.m. As always, know your limitations, and be prepared.

See you there.

Tim

Trail Work Day, Arcata Community Forest January 25, 2014

Shamelessly copied and pasted from Rees’s e-mail…

Dear Stalwart Arcata Community Forest Volunteers,

The first workday of 2014 will be held this Saturday (January 25) beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding as late as 1 p.m. We will again convene at the upper Diamond Drive trailhead. From there we will walk nearly 20 minutes to the work site — a loop off of the northern portion of the Arcata Ridge Trail — where we will be clearing and preparing the proposed trail route for subsequent building of the trail. There will be a range of tasks so that we can accommodate a variety of physical abilities and there is much to be done. New volunteers are always welcome.

There is still no rain in the forecast (scary) but dress in layers and for work. Dennis will again provide pizza at the end. We have some work gloves but have sometimes run out (so bring your own gloves if you have them). And, we will have some water but I would also encourage you to bring some of your own.

Please let me know if you have questions.

See you on Saturday.

Rees
Rees.Hughes@humboldt.edu

Slightly More Detailed Driving Directions: Drive north on L.K. Wood Blvd taking a right turn on Diamond Drive. Follow Diamond up for bout three quarters of a mile to the crest of the hill and just before the road turns sharply to the left. Park along the road.

—
Rees Hughes
Co-Editor, The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: California
Co-Editor, The Pacific Crest Trailside Reader: Oregon/Washington
http://www.pcttrailsidereader.com