The first official Trail Day for 2013 was held this morning at Lowes Creek.  36 hardy volunteers braved fierce wind to clear all the downed trees and do a few re-routes.  Worm had vanished into the creek and had to be re-routed.  Some erosion re-work was completed on Start Me Up which leaves only one small gully to be bridged for that trail to be done/re-worked.

Lowes Creek will be open for riding on May 12th BUT you will see that some trails are still taped off and need to dry out.  Please respect the closings and we will open things up as soon as possible.  These trails include ReBench,  Onion, Skull, Ant Hill and Holy Roller.

Group rides will start on May 13th…meet at 5:45 and be ready to ride at 6pm at the West Entrance for Lowes Creek.  Remember these are no drop rides and everyone is welcome (helmets required).

Otter Creek and NWP are good to go but Hickory is still a bit too wet.

is your bike set for some dirt? If so, NWP is open and ready to ride.

Hello CORBA riders, trail users and supporters,

The snow is finally ALMOST gone.  It will just be a little bit longer until our trails are ready to ride.  Please stay tuned to this page, the forum and our Facebook page for the latest updates on trail conditions.  Lowes Creek will remain marked as closed until it’s ready.  Even if the snow is gone we need to patiently wait for things to dry out.

THANK YOU

Looking to enter your first mountain bike race?  Or are you interested in improving your race time and maybe earn a podium spot?

This spring and summer, CORBA will be hosting two mountain bike racing clinics at Lowes Creek County Park in Eau Claire.  The clinics will cover a variety of topics, including training, pre-race prep, equipment prep, nutrition, etiquette, bike handling skills and strategy.  Ride portions of the clinics will include sections of the 2013 WORS Firecracker course.

USA Cycling-licensed coach and WORS racer Eric Johnson will lead the clinics.  Eric lives here in Eau Claire and, in addition to being a coach and racer, is an expert bike mechanic and CORBA member.

“I’d like to help out the local riders and racers,” Eric says.  ”I hope we can get a great local showing at the Firecracker.”

The clinics will be free-of-charge to all that attend.  Pre-registration is requested but not required.  All ages and skill levels are welcome.

Bring your bike, helmet and questions, and be ready for a great time.  Watch here and on our Facebook page for more details.

Race Clinic Dates:
Saturday, May 25 from 12:00-3:00pm
Saturday, June 22 from 12:00-3:00pm (tentative)

Location:  Lowes Creek County Park (east trail head, near Expo Center)

To pre-register for a clinic, email John Froelich.

The planned Lowes Creek Trail Day – a Win A Bike Entry event – has been postponed now until May 11th due to our continued winter weather.  Please join us bright and early at 8am at the west parking lot for Lowes Creek County Park.  If you have tools; shovels, lopppers, pulaski’s, etc. please bring them along otherwise the CORBA tools will be there as well.

The trailwork will get everyone all warmed up for the ValleyCat happening at 1pm!

Attention riders:  Because of soft conditions, singletrack trails are closed to all traffic (including both bike and foot).

While not overly warm, it will be soon and that means that it’s time for the annual trail closures. The somewhat warm weather and longer days sure give us the itch to ride.  Beneath the trail surface the ground is still frozen, though, and water from the melting snow isn’t able to drain.  This makes the trails soft, muddy and sloppy.  Riding muddy trails causes damage! Damaged trails are no fun to ride and take manpower to fix—manpower that could be used to build and improve other trails instead.

Lowes Creek singletrack has been signed and EC County has put a press release out.  Other trails systems will also have closure signs so watch for thoseTrails will reopen once the ground dries up.  For now, the weather and roads are great for building base miles.  And if you really can’t wait to get into the woods, volunteer at an upcoming Trail Work Day (April 27th at Lowes Creek).  In the meantime, please respect all the hard work of our volunteers by staying off the trails during the closure.

Thank you, and stay tuned for regular updates on this page, on the forum, via email and on Facebook!  Trails will be opened as soon as the are ready.

Bell Helmets is awarding $100,000 to three trail projects somewhere in the United States.  Twelve locations are battling it out, and three are right here in the Midwest:  Elm Creek Bike Park in Maple Grove, MN; Hobbs Hollow Flow Trail in Brown County, IN; and Overflow Trail in Copper Harbor, MI.

Bell is asking people to vote for which trail projects will receive the funds, and the good news is that the Midwest trails are holding their own.  There’s lots of voting to go, though, so please go to Bell’s Facebook page and show your support.  You could have a hand in developing some awesome local rides, and you could win a Western Spirit mountain biking trip, too.  Which is nice.

VOTE!

The CORBA Annual Meeting happened, and 2013 is looking to be a great year for the local mountain biking community.  In addition to recapping 2012 events and accomplishments, the agenda included discussion of future trail possibilities, training for local builders, an expanded partnership with the International Mountain Bicycling Association, and voting to fill board member positions.

Special guest Hansi Johnson was there to present and answer questions on IMBA’s Chapter Program.  Hansi is IMBA’s Midwest Regional Director and gave those in attendance the lowdown on what IMBA is up to in our neck of the woods and what his plans are for turning our region into a world-renowned mountain biking destination.  His passion for the outdoors is infectious, and it was a pleasure hearing his presentation.  (Hansi’s also a heck of a photographer and blogger.  Check it out.)

On the question of whether CORBA should become a Chapter of IMBA, the vote was unanimously in-favor.  CORBA’s board will work with IMBA to begin the process and continue to provide details to the membership.

Speaking of the CORBA board, members at the meeting also voted on several officer and trail liaison positions.  Congratulations to these folks on being elected to serve:

President:  Danny Deetz
Secretary Treasurer:  Jereme Rauckman
Otter Creek Trail Liaisons:  Dave Olson and Sue McDonald
Northwest Park Trail Liaisons:  Matt Andrews and Samuel Hughes
Lowes Creek Trail Liaisons:  John Froelich and Laura Plummer
Hickory Ridge Trail Liaisons:  Noah Michaelsen and Brian Kelly

In addition to the board additions, several members offered to step forward and offer their time and talents on other projects.  No doubt, this is an exciting time to be a mountain biker in the Chippewa Valley, as the people helping move our community forward are increasingly dedicated and bring a lot to the table.  Here’s to a great 2013.  See you on the trails.

Please join us on February 19th at the Eau Claire County Expo for our upcoming Annual Meeting where we will be deciding on the IMBA Chapter Status and holding our annual elections.

CORBA Membership Meeting
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Eau Claire County Expo Center  (how to get there)
6:00 – 6:30 pm:  Socializing and New/Renewing Member Sign-up
6:30 – 8:00 pm(?):  Meeting and Vote

Current Board opening include the President and Secretary/Treasurer positions.  Also up for election are each of the Trail Liaison positions.  Each of our trail systems (NWP, Otter Creek, Lowes Creek and Hickory) have two Trail Liaisons who serve on the Board.  Trail Liaisons are responsible for communication and coordination with land managers as they oversee trail maintenance and construction.  Full position descriptions are available in the About Us section and are outlined in the bylaws.  The President and Secretary/Treasurer are two year terms and Trail Liaisons are for one year.  The Liaisons also are considered “shared” positions; meaning that while there are two per trail system they share one Board vote.

Each nominee will be asked to introduce themselves at the meeting and provide a brief statement about their experiences and what they can do for CORBA.

Wondering who is running?

Each paid member at the Annual Meeting will be eligible to cast a vote.  You can renew/join at the meeting. Hope to see everyone there!

Many of you have heard of the International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA).  Perhaps some of you are even IMBA members.  Currently, CORBA is considering becoming an IMBA Chapter, and we will be putting the idea to a vote at our meeting on February 19th.

What is IMBA?  www.IMBA.com/about
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a 501(c)3 non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve great mountain biking experiences.  Since 1998, IMBA has been bringing out the best in mountain biking by encouraging low-impact riding, volunteer trailwork participation, cooperation among different trail user groups, grassroots advocacy and innovative trail management solutions.  IMBA’s worldwide network includes 35,000 individual members, more than 750 bicycle clubs, more than 200 corporate partners and about 600 retailer shops.  IMBA’s members live in all 50 U.S. states, most Canadian provinces and in 30 other countries.

In short, IMBA has considerable influence in creating new trail networks in the United States and beyond.

But, hey, we’re doing fine without them, aren’t we?  We’ve got plenty of volunteers to make things happen locally, don’t we?  Why would we want to become an IMBA Charter?

Well, over the years, IMBA has already helped CORBA and our local trails in many ways.  The building techniques we use to create sustainable trails were developed by IMBA, IMBA’s Trail Care Crews have visited Lowes Creek and Hickory Ridge to give hands-on instruction, IMBA resources have helped CORBA build its volunteer base and club operations, etc.  Becoming a Chapter would allow us additional tools and benefits, such as recruiting, membership management, marketing, and other behind-the-scenes work that is currently being performed by volunteers, sometimes on a daily basis.

For members, a big benefit will be joint membership:  CORBA members will automatically be IMBA members, and vice versa.  So you’ll have the opportunity to support both organizations at once and receive IMBA member benefits and discounts.

At the February 19th meeting, CORBA members will vote on whether CORBA should become an IMBA Chapter.  This is a big move towards maintaining momentum and continuity for what has become a strong local club.  Only current CORBA members will be allowed to vote.  If you are not yet a 2013 member, you will have the opportunity to join or renew at the meeting, or you can join/renew HERE.

We strongly urge our members to learn what becoming an IMBA Chapter means to our organization.  The following links will provide a lot of information on the program.
Chapter Program Info and FAQ
Chapter Program Services Outline
Chapter Charter Agreement

** If you have questions or comments, we’d like to try to address those prior to the meeting.  You can email the CORBA Board at info@chippewaoffroad.org.  We have also created a thread on the CORBA forum for open discussion.  We want your input on this very important decision and hope to see you at the meeting.

CORBA Membership Meeting
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Eau Claire County Expo Center  (how to get there)
6:00 – 6:30 pm:  Socializing and New/Renewing Member Sign-up
6:30 – 8:00 pm(?):  Meeting and Vote