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Donate to NEMBA’s Annual Fund

November 2006, Number 88www.nemba.org

November 2006, Number 88www.nemba.org

SingleTrackSSingleTrackS

WHEELWORKS THANKS ourCUSTOMERS and VENDORS

for recognizing our commitment to CYCLING.

Visit us:

March 31- April 5AS

The Original SuperSalekicks off the cycling season!

SingleTrackS No. 89 | 3

SingleTrackSNEMBA, the New England Mountain BikeAssociation, is a non-profit 501 (c) (3) organi-zation dedicated to promoting trail access,maintaining trails open for mountain bicyclists,and educating mountain bicyclists to use thesetrails sensitively and responsibly.

SingleTracks is published six times a year by theNew England Mountain Bike Association forthe trail community.

©SingleTracks Editor & Publisher: Philip Keyes

Contributing Writer: Jeff CutlerCopy Editor: Nanyee Keyes

Executive Director: Philip [email protected]

NEMBAPO Box 2221

Acton MA 01720

Voice 800.57.NEMBAFax: 717-326-8243

[email protected]

Board of DirectorsTom Grimble, President

Harold Green, Vice-PresidentAnne Shepard, TreasurerTina Williams, Secretary

Rob Adair, White Mountains NEMBANorman Blanchette, MV NEMBATodd Bumen, Mt. Agamenticus NEMBABob Caporaso, CT NEMBAJon Conti, White Mountains NEMBAPeter DeSantis, Seacoast NEMBAJohn Dudek, PV NEMBAJon Conti, White Mountains NEMBAJohn Dudek, Pioneer Valley NEMBABob Giunta, Merrimack Valley NEMBARich Higgins, SE MA NEMBAJohn Kibler, Maine NEMBARich Kordell, Blackstone Valley NEMBASteve LaFlame, Central NH NEMBAFrank Lane, NS NEMBAHeather Linscott, Berkshire NEMBATom McCrumm, Berkshire NEMBAScott Nixon, SC NH NEMBAChris Patrick, SE MA NEMBAJoseph Re, Greater Boston NEMBAArt Roti, CT NEMBAHarry Rubin, SC NH NEMBAMatt Schulde, RI NEMBADan Streeter, North Shore NEMBAMike Tabaczynski, Greater Boston NEMBAJohn Vosburg, Blackstone Valley NEMBACalvin Weeks, Maine NEMBA

W W W . N E M B A . O R G

SingleTrackSNovember 2006, Number 88

Paper TrailEvent Calendar — 4Treadlines — 7Pedal Power Interview — 19Chapter News —24NEMBA Rides —28Support our Sponsors—35

SingleTracks Hey, get creative! We wel-come submissions, photos and artwork. This isyour forum and your magazine. Be nice, andshare!

On the Cover: The Slow Race at NEMBA’sMountain Bike Festival, AKA NEMBAfest. Photoby Philip Keyes

Have a pic that would make a good cover shot?Email it to [email protected]

Want to Advertise?SingleTracks offers inexpensive and targetedadvertising which helps us defray the cost ofproducing this cool ‘zine. Call 800-57-NEMBAor email [email protected] for our media kit.

Moving?Don’t miss an issue! Change your address onlineat nemba.org or mail it into SingleTracks, PO Box2221, Acton MA 01720

Ride intothe NightDon’t let the lack of daylight prevent you from get-

ting out and enjoying a ride. By John Isch

Arcadia!Imagine nearly 14,000 acres of rocks and

roots and sinewy singletrack and you’ll seewhy Rhode Island’s Arcadia Management

Area is one of the must-ride destinations inNew England.

By Bill Boles

12

16

4 | November 2006

NEMBA Fall Calendar 2006Topeak-Kenda MTB Adventure Series www.nemba.org

Merlin / NEMBA Trail Care Series

Oct 29 Harold Parker SF, N. Andover MA

November 11 Kranked 6 - The Progression Premier Party, www.nemba.orgDecember 3 Blue Hills Holiday Ride and Toy Drive, www.semassnemba.org

NEMBA Fun Stuff

Jamis Bicycles NH Trail Care SeriesSeacoast NEMBAOct. 22 Northwood SP, [email protected], 603- 483-2410

Greater Boston NEMBAOct. 21 Lynn Woods, [email protected], 617-515-4812North Shore NEMBAOct. 14 Harold Parker [email protected], 978-618-8596Nov. 6 TBA, [email protected], 978-618-8596SE MA NEMBAOct. 14 Borderland SP, [email protected], 508-230-2463Oct. 22 Wompatuck SP, [email protected]


Don’t Miss Our Last Event of the Season!Oct 29th

The Wicked Ride of the East!Harold Parker State Forest

Epic Rides .... Epic Trails

Get all the 411 @ www.mtbadventureseries.org

6 | November 2006


Give to NEMBA's Annual FundNEMBA's Annual Fund is critical to keeping our organizationgoing and helping us to grow so we can protect trail accessand build new riding opportunities.

As the nation’s premier regional advocacy organization, oursuccess comes from our hardworking chapters, our board ofdirectors, and most importantly from the intelligence, dedica-tion and generosity of our members. Your donations are keyto our strength and effectiveness.

Please send in your end-of-year annual gift toNEMBA as soon as you receive

your Annual Fund letter.

You may also donate online at www.NEMBA.org.

We know you love this sport, so please show your passion toprotect it by sending in a donation today.

The trails will thank you!

Another REI GrantREI has awarded NEMBA another grant to help outfit and fund theBlue Hills TrailWatch volunteer program. Managed by theDepartment of Conservation & Recreation, NEMBA is an activepartner of this program and many of the TrailWatch volunteers areNEMBA members. The grant will be used to purchase gear and jer-seys for TrailWatch personnel, and to help expand the program.

Blue Hills Trailwatch is an all-volunteer organization of concernedrecreational trail users whose goal is to promote safe and cooper-ative trail use by acting as an educational liaison between reserva-tion managers and the public. Volunteers spend time year-roundhiking, skiing and riding mountain bicycles throughout the reser-vation's 7000 acres, acting as "eyes and ears" for the Blue Hillsmanagement.

Information, including trail policies and restrictions, proper respectfor other trail users and the environment are some of the ideaspassed on to the public by TrailWatch volunteers (along withalways needed directions!).

TrailWatch volunteers include members of the Friend's of the BlueHills, New England Mountain Bike Association, The AppalachianMountain Club, Trustees of Reservations and various land man-agement advisory committees.

Want to help? If you ride the Blue Hills and are interested in join-ing this program, please contact Joe Sloane ([email protected]) or Maggi Brown ([email protected]).

SEMASS & Friends ofBorderland Buy a Muck Truck

What is a muck truck?Imagine a humongouswheelbarrow with anengine that you can walkbehind so you can haullarge amounts of dirt androck. It will be perfect fortrail building atBorderland State Park,and since it fits in a pick-up, the muck truck willbe available for work inVietnam and nearby DCRproperties.

Begin your Amazon Shoppingat NEMBA.org

Please don't forget to begin your Amazon shopping from NEMBA'swebsite. Starting your Amazon shopping from www.nemba.org isjust the same as using Amazon.com, except that up to 5% of yourpurchases are donated in cash to NEMBA.

NEMBA has raised hundreds of dollars for advocacy through ourAmazon affiliation. Please help us celebrate a big Christmas thisyear by doing all your Amazon purchases throughwww.NEMBA.org. Tell your family and friends too!

T R E A D L I N E S

8 | November 2006

T R E A D L I N E S

If you missed the NEMBAfest, you missed aheck of a good time. With a total attendanceof nearly 400 people, the largest event of theTopeak-Kenda Mountain Bike AdventureSeries was a great way to celebrate the end ofsummer.

Cancelling the June festival was extremely dif-ficult and caused hardship for volunteers andvendors alike —some of whom came from thewest coast and midwest— but it was theright thing to do. First and foremost, NEMBAis an organization dedicated to responsiblemountain biking and sustainable trails, andthe flooding conditions would have had alasting impact on the very trails we love.Thus we were grateful and relieved to haveperfect weather for our September 12th event.

The trails were in superb condition and thecourses laid out by NEMBA's trail riding guru,Bill Boles, offered great options for all levels ofriders. The main loop snaked its way through18-miles of some of Wompatuck's best single-track, and the short family loop provided asafe but fun introduction to mountain bikingfor young riders and those just getting intothe sport. With plenty of ride leaders onhand, waves of cyclists ventured off to explorethe park, and the epic rides led people out onthree hours excursions.

And then there was the racing. This year thefestival partnered with the championshipfinals of the Root 66 series, and there was ashort track mountain bike race which offeredthe perfect opportunity for recreational ridersto try their hand at racing. Kevin Chichlowskiand the Bikebarn crew have race promotiondown pat, and the Root 66 folks were a greataddition.

The expo area was filled with vendorsdemo'ing product and bikes, and Paul Peasleeorganized some classic mountain bikeshenanigans, the mountain bike Olympics.There were log pulls, Huffy tosses, wheeliecontests, bunnyhop contests and even a slowrace for the kids. It was as much fun to watchas it was to test one's skills.

Over 30 volunteers made this event a success,and we give them our collective thanks. Thegreat folks at Bikebarn did a fantastic job withthe Trail 66 race, the Friends of Wompatuckcooked up some great food, and the DCR staffat Wompatuck offered beyond the call of dutysupport. Special thanks also goes out to PaulPeaslee and Bill Boles for all their hard work.Lastly, a shout out of thanks to the eventsponsors, Topeak and Kenda Tires & Tubes, formaking the event possible.

NEMBAfest: The Big Kahuna of the Topeak-Kenda Adventure Series

by Bob Priestley

by Bob Priestley

by Bob Priestley

by PK

by PK


by Bob Priestley

by PK by PK

by PK

by PK

by PK

by Rich Higgins

by Harold Green

by Harold Green

10 | November 2006

T R E A D L I N E S

As I'm sure you noticed in the last issue of Singletracks all NEMBAchapters have had an active spring and summer so to meet ourrequirement for a summer BOD meeting during a very busy time ofthe year we held a conference call to address matters that could notwait until a face to face meeting. On July 9, 2006, the following mem-bers of the Board of Directors (BOD) called in to participate and torepresent their chapters: Philip Keyes-ED, Tom Grimble-President-atlarge, Harold Green-Vice President-PV Anne Shepard-Treasurer-atlarge, Tina Williams-secretary-RI, Norman Blanchette-MV, MikeTabaczynski-GB, Tim Post-GB, Rob Adair-WM, Rich Kordell-BV, ArtRoti-CT, Dan Streeter-NS, John Vosburg-BV and Vietnam CommitteeRep, Peter DeSantis-Seacoast, Matt Schulde-RI.

The meeting was short but many important matters were addressed.First of all our budget is currently on target and this includes payingfor our second paid employee, Bill Boles, who was hired part-time toassist Philip. Many of you know Bill, who has been with NEMBA fromthe beginning and who will be a tremendous asset to NEMBA. If youhave been on the NEMBA website, you may have seen some of hiswork updating the places to ride section. He is also spending timemaking sure that you continue to receive your membership packetsquickly after joining or renewing. Philip has always done this butnow he is freed up to do other things such as meeting with a mar-keting professional about ways to better market NEMBA, meetingwith lawyers to see what we need to do to file a new articles of incor-poration and upgrading the forum software to a commercial version.NEMBA was also one of the supporting organizations that sponsored

the MA Governor's Candidate Debate and Philip developed aQuestionaire Template that we were able to use for this and alsoorganized a booth at the Environmental Fair preceding the debate.

John Vosburg was on hand to give a report on what is happening inVietnam. He reported that the Vietnam Land ManagementCommittee has received 3 tool grants and the tools they have pur-chased have come in handy on their numerous work days in this area.Vietnam has also been getting a lot of good press and along withother areas in New England will be featured in the October issue ofMountain Bike Action Magazine. You can check out some of the areason their website www.mbaction.com

It was observed that two chapters- Pioneer Valley and BlackstoneValley have increased membership during a time when most otherchapters have remained flat or decreased membership. The represen-tatives of these chapters were given a chance to share what they weredoing. Pioneer Valley felt that their increase was due to a successfulMBAS event and because they sent out a renewal letter from thechapter to all expired memberships. Blackstone Valley felt thatbecause Vietnam is in their area they get a lot of people who contin-ue to join because they see firsthand what a great job we are doing inthis area. They also think that requiring everyone who attended theirwomen's skill clinic to have an updated membership helped and theyhave Landrys bike store in their region, which sells membershipdirectly to people buying mountain bikes. (This was a pilot programthat Philip is now looking to expand to other bike shops-so checkwith your chapter representatives to see if you can get a local bikeshop involved!) Holding skills clinics was discussed as a way to getnew members involved and for current members to improve theirskills. Many representatives would like to see their chapters do thisnext year. The BOD also discussed having a better partnership witheducational institutions as a way to increase membership. Hopefully,your representative has discussed some of these ideas at your chap-ter meeting. As a reminder the NEMBA raffle will continue into thefall. The money raised from this raffle goes towards grants that anychapter can apply for so buy generously! Finally, remember yourNEMBA BOD representative is working for you and your chapter. Ifyou have suggestions for ways to improve NEMBA-talk to them, themore people thinking of ways to improve NEMBA the better. Electiontime will be coming to your chapter soon so if your chapter is not rep-resented on the BOD or you feel your representative is not doing theirjob consider running for the position yourself!

NEMBA’s Board of Directors Reportby Tina M. Williams (Hopkins), NEMBA BOD Secretary


On a July Sunday morning, a group of over a dozen members ofNEMBA's White Mountain chapter hit the Sticks and Stones Trail inNorth Conway, New Hampshire. Literally, they hit the trail. Armedwith trail construction tools like loppers, shovels, rakes and pulaskis(combination of ax and mattock), the hearty crew of MountWashington Valley riders were hard at work in the humidity andrain to add another segment of the popular new school trail locatedbehind the informational kiosk for the Nature Conservancy's GreenHills accessed by the trailhead off Thompson Road.The trail, a niftycombination of singletrack, s-turns, rocks for flight and b-lines orbypasses for those who firmly believe knobby tires should not leavedirt, was in a growth spurt. On that July day, the trail twisted andturned like a snake from the Pudding Pond Trail to the kiosk. Theidea was to make another leg of the trail turning Sticks and Stonesinto a loop.

That's going to be one incredible roller coaster ride.The man behindthe design of Sticks and Stones is North Conway's Rob Adair. Adairis the president of the White Mountain chapter. The basic ideabehind the trail is to provide mountain biking terrain for all levels ofriders. On the trail, advanced riders will be challenged by the tech-nical riding off rocks and through boulder squeezes while riders

looking for a more sedate experience can bypass the features.

But before riders can experience Sticks and Stones, the crew wasout in force doing battle with rocks and roots. First Adair flaggedthe twisting course and then the volunteer labor force strung outalong the route, cutting digging, raking and sneaking in a few blue-berries.The volunteers - ranging from Kennett High School studentsto in-shape seniors - included Alex Leich, Phil Ostroski, PeteOstroski, Matt Perejda, Jean Lee, Bryan Russ, Mike Steward, MurielMitchell, Lee Spiller, Curt Detzer, Tony Tulip, David Halpin and MikeHartrich.

As it stands now, Sticks and Stones is about a mile and was firstopened in the fall of 2005. That's an unofficial mileage as it hasn'tofficially been clocked yet. The trail has attracted many riders. Thenew section of trail will be around a half mile. Again, that's unoffi-cial. It'll have at least one rock ramp which was wedged into placewith considerable sweat, muscle and effort by four dudes with onelong crow bar. That new branch will likely be ready in the fall, andalmost certainly ready for 2007.

Sticks and Stones Growing in North ConwayBy Marty Basch

Members of the White Mountain chapter hit the Sticks andStones trail in North Conway, New Hampshire in July with trailtools to turn the popular route into a loop. Marty Basch photo.

12 | November 2006

Daylight-Losing time is hitting us hard. You leave the office and you’recloaked with darkness. Hmmmm, what to do? How about ride!

I know it's inevitable, but every year there seems to be that one ridewhere the realization that summer is onits way out hits me like a low branch ona fast downhill. Usually by the begin-ning of September there's just notenough time before sunset to get in agood ride. So us working stiffs have adecision to make: play hooky, stop rid-ing during the week, get up early andride before work or break out the lightsand do it in the dark.

While the occasional early morning rideis a good alternative, it's pretty hard toget a group of people out at 0'dark thir-ty for a spin in the woods. So now thatyou've made the decision to ride atnight, what do you need?

Lighting SystemsProbably the first decision you're goingto have to make is the type of light youwant to get. As it seems with anything

mountain bike related, there are trade offs. In this case its weight,price, amount of light and length of burn. From a high level there arethree different kinds of lights available today: LED, halogen and HID.

Light Emitting Diode (or LED) lights are thenewest variety, though not yet widelyavailable. In the coming year or two, I fullyexpect there to be a commercially availablehigh light output LED light out there. LEDshave the advantage of relatively low cost,long life, low battery consumption andgreat reliability. At the present time thelimitation seems to be in light output. Evenover the last year or so some higher outputLEDs have been produced, but they are notquite up to HID or even halogen light lev-els yet.

Halogen lights are the "old" standard, run-ning a halogen flashlight or indoor typebulb. A typical halogen set up will havetwo bulbs, a low beam to use less batterypower when going slow and a high beamfor when the going gets fast. Obviously themore time you spend with the high beamon, the shorter the burn time. In order toget decent burn times out of a halogen sys-

Ride into the Night

by John Isch

photos by John Goeller


tem, the battery needs to be pretty big, meaning more weight tocarry. Often the battery for a halogen system is built into a water bot-tle that can be easily stored in a water bottle cage on the bike frame,or in your backpack if you're going the helmet mount route. Given therequirement for two beams, you'll also have to deal with a switch tomove back and forth between the two. Halogen bulbs are pretty reli-able, but like any filament based system, prone to breakage upon

impact. From my experience, their weak link is right when you poweron the bulb, that initial surge of electricity tends to blow out olderbulbs. Considering the low cost of bulbs with a halogen system, Iwould strongly recommend carrying a spare bulb or two. Halogensystems create enough light to ride, but they fall somewhat short ofthe light output and burn times of HID systems.

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lights are becoming the standard by

14 | November 2006

which other systems are judged today. Similar to the bluetinged lights on high-end cars they use a high-pressuregas and electrodes to produce light. These lights have theadvantage of producing gobs of light as well as using rel-atively small amount of electricity - meaning longer burntimes and smaller batteries. The disadvantage of HIDs isthat they are expensive. While there are some low budg-et options available, the high-end HID systems can costupwards of $500. The amount of light produced by thesetypes of lights is pretty impressive. It makes night ridingabout as close to daytime riding as you can get. The firstHID systems had some reliability issues, though newerversions seem to have worked out the bugs.

With any of the above technologies, there's always the DoIt Yourself method. Pieces and parts for all kinds of elec-tronics are available. By piecing together your own sys-tem, you can save more than 50% of the cost of a com-mercially available system. I've built several DIY systemsand the hardest part to get right is a mounting hardware.If you were considering going the DIY route, I wouldstrongly recommend using the mount off an old system(or you can buy a mounting system). Out of the threeoptions, HID style lights are the least DIY-friendly due tothe controller necessary to get the light started. However,be sure to check the web, as even with HID you can findsome nice deals on systems that can be adapted formountain biking.

One more thing you need to consider before buying yourlight is where you are going to mount it: on your helmet

or on your handlebars. The helmet mount aims the light where youare looking whereas the handlebar mount aims the light where yourhandlebars are pointed. On twisty trails, and those with a lot of rocksand rollers, you will find that your handlebars are often not pointedwhere you need to see. Some say the high angle of the light from ahelmet mount light creates distracting shadows. To overcome theinadequacies of the two, some people run two systems but I thinkthis is overkill. One definite disadvantage of a helmet mount systemis the fact that you can blind your riding partners by looking directlyat them. It takes a bit of restraint to avoid looking at a person whenyou are talking to them. Based on observations at the local ridingspots, I would say that helmet mount lights are preferred over han-dlebar mounts.

What’s it like riding at night?Riding at night is a bit different than riding in the daytime. It’s darkand quiet, you see the woods in a whole new way. Expect to go atleast a little slower than you ride during the day, depending on howtechnical the ride is and how bright your light is. Since you can onlysee a little bit of the woods, you tend to concentrate more fully onthat little area you can see. That long grueling hill that you dread dur-ing the day will become only a short (though continuous) grunt. Ioften find myself at the top of hills before I realize it. On downhillsections things seem to appear out of nowhere, making you deal withthem immediately. To avoid having an over the bar experience, I findit helps to ride loose with your weight centered on the bike, hoverover the bike and let it roll over whatever comes along. Shadows fromrocks and other obstacles in the trail play tricks on your mind. Untilyou get used to it, the shadows in your peripheral vision look anawful lot like animals running away from the side of your bike, whichcan be a bit unnerving. Since everything looks a little different I findnavigation a bit more challenging - even at places I've ridden hundredsof times.

If you are on a group ride and are riding in the middle or front of the


pack, it's likely the ground in front of your wheel will be a jumble ofshadows cast by the riders behind you. This may be a good time tobe the sweeper! These shadows can be pretty distracting, especially ifthose behind you are running HIDs and you have a lesser light source.The halogen won't be bright enough to eliminate HID shadows. Thatbeing said, after a few minutes of riding you'll learn how to concen-trate on your cone of light.

I know some people don't like doing solo night rides. The darknessdoes add a level of difficulty but I don't consider all that more dan-gerous than riding in the day. I will admit that taking a break whenyou're riding solo is a bit spooky, especially if you turn off your light.Once you get used to the quiet and darkness, it's a pretty cool expe-rience. I would advise making your movie selections carefully duringnight riding season. Blair Witch, for example, would not be a goodchoice.

Unlike in daytime rides where it gets warmer as you ride, expect thetemperature to drop as you ride. Whereas on daytime rides I tend toshed layers as I ride, on night rides I sometimes put layers on as theride progresses. As with any cold weather riding, take a look at thepredicted low temperature for the night and bring enough clothesalong in the backpack to be comfortable at that temperature. If youdress for the temperature at the car, you may find yourself pretty coldby the end of the ride.

A couple of safety tips: —Hopefully everyone keeps their bike well maintained at all times,but it's especially important for night rides. If you think it's easy tolose small parts while doing a repair in the woods during the day timethink how much easier it is to lose them at night!

—It can't hurt to keep a small flashlight or headlamp in the backpack,just in case there's a problem with your light or you end up out therea bit longer than planned. Two people can ride on a single light, butit only works so well.

—Be extremely careful on any road crossings, while you've got a pret-ty good view of what is in front of you, keep in mind that any carsapproaching from the rear probably can't see you at all.

—Keep an eye out for low hanging branches - they are easy to misswhen using a light while you are concentrating on the trail.

—Ride conservatively - not being able to choose landing zones andhaving a light with wires on your head makes crashing at night awhole different animal,

Be aware that not all places that are legal for daytime riding are openfor night riding. Educate yourself about the hours of operation of thetrail system. Most state-owned lands are only open dawn to dusk andeach town or county may have different rules in effect. Always ridelegally, day or night!

Be cognizant of any trails that run close to houses. I'm sure it wouldbe a bit unnerving to be sitting in your living room and see people outbehind your house with what appear to be flashlights. Also make sureyou and your bike are well off the trail during breaks. Consider thatother riders won't know you are there until the last possible second.Which leads to another fun part of night riding. If you can get a gapbetween yourself and the next rider back you can extinguish yourlight and jump off the trail. After they go by (not noticing you) jumpin behind them, always good for a laugh. Of course it's pretty easy tostartle someone on a night ride using a similar tactic, but that's con-sidered bad form.

As I finish this article, I've got my battery on the charger, looks liketonight will be a nice night for the first night ride…

16 | November 2006

If you referred to the Arcadia Management Area in southwesternRhode Island as "Singletrack Central", everyone in Rhode Islandwould know exactly where you were talking about. Arcadia's13,700 acres contain a dizzying amount of singletrack.

My mountain bike introduction to this area came more than tenyears ago on an EFTA Fun Ride. The ride consisted of a 25-mileloop, almost all of which was singletrack, and none of which wasboring.

Since then I've returned many times for other events as well as fora lot of map and compass type exploring. After over ten years youmight think that I'd ridden on every trail that there is. But I'm con-stantly surprising myself. I'll be riding a selection of my "favorite"trails, when I'll see an unfamiliar singletrack leading off to the rightor the left. Following it leads to another, and that leads to anoth-er, until I get back to something familiar, am done riding for theday, or get so lost that I need my map to get me "found". Whatfun!

Arcadia is bisected east to west by route 165. There are a numberof good parking spots along route 165, all with immediate accessto the trails. (Please avoid parking at the white church onSundays.) The main parking lot is located on your right about ahalf mile west of the white Church. The Browning Mill Pond park-ing area, located about 1 mile south of route 165 on Arcadia Road,is a good spot to access the southernmost portions of the trailnetwork. And the pond is a great place to cool off in after a hot

summer ride.

It will take you more than a few days to ride all of the trails inArcadia. Probably the best way to begin exploring is to divide upyour efforts by spending a day north of route 165 and another dayriding south of it.

Arcadia's singletracks are a gas to ride. Ranging from mildly tomassively challenging, they meander all over Arcadia in a confus-ing but uncongested manner. There's not a lot of elevation changein Arcadia as a whole, but you will find yourself challenged by alot of short ups and downs as the singletracks wander over andamong drumlins and eskers.

The Mt. Tom trail starts on route 165 and heads south. It's anextremely technical trail that follows an exposed stone ridge topfor about a quarter of a mile. It's among the most technical of trailsections in Arcadia. And choosing the correct lines will require alot of thought. It's really fun but not for the novice rider. Most ofArcadia 's trail, though, are suitable for the majority of riders.

Freeriders will also love Arcadia's "Ledges Area" It's located in thewestern part of the management area, north of route 165 near MtTom. The ledge's trails were created years ago by trials motorcy-clists who wanted more challenging terrain to ride on. And in arelatively small area you'll find trails that will rival the best thatVietnam or the Lynn Woods has to offer. No maps exist of thesevery convoluted trails. But you'll have no trouble figuring outwhere you are once you get there.

Arcadia!By Bill Boles

P L A C E S T O R I D E

In addition to about 40 miles of singletrack, Arcadia has quite afew old woods roads and many miles of graded dirt roads. Andmany of these lead out of the Management Area.

What would otherwise be total confusion can be avoided by get-ting a good map. The map provided by the state at the ArcadiaManagement Area's headquarters doesn't show most of Arcadia'ssingletracks. Don't expect signage or much in the way of traillabeling. There are a few trails marked out with different coloredblazes on trees. For example: The 6 mile Arcadia Trail, the 5 mileBreakheart Trail and the 9.6 mile Tippecansett Trail all are markedwith yellow dots. In addition there are white and blue dot trails. Ihope that this sounds confusing to you. Because, hey, without agood map, or a guide, you're going to be lost.

There is a new map produced by Great Swamp Press in 2005. It haseverything and is printed on Tyvek so it's pretty indestructible.Most of the local bike shops have copies.

Maps of ArcadiaArcadia is so huge that we don’t have room to include a map here.It’s best for you to go to the Rhode Island NEMBA’s website,www.RINEMBA.org and download both the map of Arcadia Northand Arcadia South.

Whether your introduction to Arcadia is through an EFTA fun ride,following friends through the woods or by personal explorationyou will return. Singletrack Central RI is too attractive to sampleonly once.

Directions:To get there take exit 5A from Route 95. Go one mile on Route 102to Route 3 south. After a mile bear right on Route 165 south untilyou pass Arcadia Road on your left. You are now in the ArcadiaManagement Area. Turn left on Arcadia Road to find the BrowningMill Pond parking area. Headquarters is located about 1 mile pastBrowning Mill Pond. For more information call the Arcadia WildlifeManagement Agency at 401 539-2356.

Cautions: During the hunting season (October to February) everyone isrequired to wear 200 inches of blaze orange.

Local Bike Shops:East Providence Bicycles, East Providence RI, 401-434-3838

Victory Bicycles, Wyoming RI, 401-539-7540

RI NEMBA:Rhode Island NEMBA’s website is new and improved, and containslots of information on Arcadia and other Rhode Island destina-tions

www.RINEMBA.org

18 | November 2006


Most of us are bike junkies, addicted to the cycling stash offered up at ourneighborhood bike shop. Local bike dealers are also a hot topic of conversa-tions, even arguments, that take place after a ride or pretty much any timemountain bikers get together. Some swear by their favorite shop, others gripethat there local shop doesn't carry all the high-end trinkets they've seen in theads. Then, of course, there's always the mail order vs. bike shop debate thatgenerates much heat. It's a competitive, changing world for bicycle dealers -certainly exciting for shop owners and consumers alike.

NEMBA relies on local bike shops to help spread the good word about our mis-sion and to actively support our programs. In turn, we hope that our memberssupport the shops that support us.

To get an inside line on what makes a bike shop tick we approached Gary Nicolof Pedal Power in Middleton, Connecticut. Pedal Power is a successful shopand has been rated as one of the Top 100 shops in the US by Bicycle Retailer& Industry News for a number of years. It's also a long-time CT NEMBA spon-sor, and the chapter even holds its monthly meetings upstairs at the shop.Gary Nicol and Bill McEnery have co-owned the shop for ten years.

SingleTracks: Gary, how did you get into the bike shop business?

Pedal Power: Bill McEnery and I worked together at a shop called Scott's inWillimantic while in college. He and I more or less hit the glass ceiling there,so we decide to buy, build, or create a bike shop. Lo and behold, the pastowner of Pedal Power was ready to retire, so we sold everything we had andput the money into this bike shop.

Shop Insider Secrets: Pedal Power’s Gary NicolBy David Singleton

At 35, Gary Nicol is living his dream as a co-owner of one of theeast coast’s best bike shops.

20 | November 2006

ST: What makes Pedal Power successful?

Pedal Power: We're a little more far-sighted,and we try and make our decisions based onsustained long-term profitability of our shop.Most of our decisions are made for the longterm rather than short term goals. At first,we returned everything we made into thebusiness se we could build up inventory,grow the business and poise ourselves forlong-term success. Our wives helped, sup-porting us through this 4-5 year phase of notbringing money home. We each have jobdescriptions but the last line in each of thoseis "whatever needs to get done". We let eachother learn and do whatever we're good at,and we let our staff do what they're best at.Our staff is trained to get the customerwhat's best for them and to keep that fore-most in their mind.

ST: Who is your typical customer?

Pedal Power: Ya know, typically it’s a fami-ly with 2-3 children. Without traditionalfamilies, it's tough for a bike shop to exist.We really need the average person to keepourselves viable, but the enthusiast market isalso important. Your average customer does-n't ride 5 times a week, but only 8 times a

year. However, it's the average customer thatallow us to carry high end Mavericks,Serottas and the higher end enthusiast stuff.The high end product alone wouldn't keep usin business.

ST: If you weren't in this business, whatwould you be in?

Pedal Power: Biology Teacher, I think. That'swhat my degree's in.

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ST: Is being in a seasonally cyclical businessdifficult?

Pedal Power: If you have a good relation-ship with your bank and you squirrel awayyour funds and pay your bills on time, no.You pay your bills on time and don't live highwhile the checking account is thick and you'llbe fine. Again, you need long-term goals andyou plan for it.

ST: Some shops weather the winter withskiis and snowboard, but not Pedal Power.Why?

Pedal Power: No, none of us snowboardand, frankly, it makes your customer wonderwhich business you're really in. I have peo-ple tell me all the time "You should get intothe triathlon market, it's huge" Why shouldI get into a market where I know, maybe,50% where I know bikes 110%, and I'm sureI do that well and take the time to do thatright. You need to plan ahead and keep yourcustomer base.

We focus on service. We need to have anexcellent service bay or we wouldn't havehigh end mountain bikers coming in onThursday night to get a fix for a trip to MountSnow on Saturday. It comes down to havingemployees who know what they know and

deferring to another who does. Going to getShawn, the suspension guru or getting Garyfor a fit question and deferring rather thanguessing or figuring it out wrong makes a sat-isfied customer. Shops are full of 18-20 yearold men who may be afraid to say they don'tknow. Also, it's OK if your customer knowsmore than you do. They've spent 10 hoursresearching the latest doo-dad and knoweverything about it. In season, we don't havethat luxury of time and it's OK to defer tosomeone else who might. Every year. It neverfails to amaze me when a customer comes inand asks about a product. We'll say, "I don'tknow, but I've seen a picture in a magazine,tell me about it". We'll learn product infor-mation from our expert customers as muchas in the conventional ways.

ST: Big box stores, like Wal-Mart, are gettinginto bike sales. How do you compete?

Pedal Power: You don't try and compete onlower price, Wal-Mart will always have youthere. What you do need to do is make sureyou charge enough to service your customersto the point where they'll keep coming back.That's what Wal Mart can't do. They can'tservice you. It's made to the cheapest specand they compete only on dollar for dollar.You need to be able to service stuff properly.

Many shops might be afraid to charge appro-priately and wonder why they have nomoney left in the fall. And then they wonderwhere the customers went while they can'torder a part because their credit line istapped out, shut off or frozen. Bill, my busi-ness partner is much better at that stuff thanI am, but you need to be able to afford tokeep your doors open and keep qualityemployees. You pay a real person a realwage, benefits, a retirement plan, paid vaca-tion. You have to have them want to work.After a while it becomes real work in retailand loses any glamour it had at first. It's anexpense we have to take on — the productcan be gotten anywhere. Any companyneeds good quality people and makes realinvestments consistently over time.

ST: What's your view on mail order, eBay,and online retailers?

Pedal Power: We try to be competitive, butyou can only be competitive if it keeps you inbusiness. We have a full retail offering onour website now, but if you keep under valu-ing products, there are going to be four shopsin the Connecticut instead of forty-two.Those four shops are going to get the lionsshare of the profitable business, while theun-profitable business will go to the internet.

22 | November 2006


You'll have a new website you'll have to buyfrom every year based on who muscles outwho. NEMBA is an advocacy group, andneeds support from shops like ours. Anyonewho is a NEMBA or IMBA member shouldpatronize their local shop to help spread theadvocacy which we can do

ST: I was at a race once and at the awardsceremony the announcer thanked their spon-sor and said "You don't HAVE to buy theirproduct, but please always consider it whenyou're buying". I guess the same holds truefor shops and advocacy.

Pedal Power: Don't go buying somethingwhich doesn't make sense or is unreasonable,but give me a chance to make somethinghappen. Also, a lot of stuff online is stolen.It's a front / laundry mechanism for stolengoods. Any warrantee issues, companies arelax and more happens than should. So, theseare the choices. I think it's important to sup-port someone in your community who ispaying taxes and earning a living. You needthink globally and act locally.

ST: How do dealers get established? Howdoes the shop choose what they'll carry? Itseems that most shops offer no more thanthree or four brands? Why not more?

Pedal Power: Brands, you get really gung-ho. Let's take, for instance Trek. Basically,60% of the shops in Connecticut have Trek.To open up a new Trek dealer, the rep woulddecide if that area is already served, if thatretailer is not representing the brand well orneeds to fill hole in the territory. We haveprotected areas. Or you need to be doingwell with off-brands and that rep asks you tojoin in.

Shimano and the ubiquitous brands; everyshop has those. But, sometimes, the rep willcome to you and ask if you're willing to giveup your brand for another shop. We haveanother shop who wants one of our brands,that's not going to happen. It comes downto, you need to do well with what you have.They make the programs such that you needto keep them to make a better profit. Theirincentives make it such that you wouldn'twant to dilute that brand because if you sellanother 50 bikes or so of their brand, you'dget an extra 2% on everything for the year.

ST: Seems that most "innovations" are rip-offs of other ones (suspension design similar-ities). Do manufacturers simply tweakpatents and call them "innovation" or is theirreally innovation in design

Pedal Power: I'd like to think there's inno-vation. I think the current traditional think-ing of what a "bicycle" is limits designer'sability to change it up significantly. Patentlaw has restricted it even further. They've

been making suspension bikes since the early1900's and I think they try, but it's just hard.Evil Bikes, for example, has a new linkage sys-tem that is supposed to ride un-godly; it'ssupposed to be awesome. Engineers wantstomake a better mouse-trap, you and I want toride bigger and better stuff.

ST: Are big travel freeride bikes still the bigthing?

Pedal-Power: I've moved customers fromrigid to hardtail to 3" travel, 4" travel andnow 7" travel. It's definitely what peoplewant. I think the next thing will be 7" travelbikes which you can ride all day. A cross-country-able free ride machine where youcan do a 3-4ft drop and still ride all day. Thisis coming from a guy who rides a 40lb. bikeall day anyway, so what do I know?

ST: Has road cycling cannibalized the MTBmarket?

Pedal Power: Cannibalized is harsh. But, ifyou have guys in their 30's and 40's whohave other time restraints, they can get their1 ½ hour adrenalin fix in and out of theirdoor and don't need a 4-hour day with 30minutes each way to the trail and the clean-up / maintenance session when they gethome. Sure, that's why. They have soccer,kids, a real job, adult responsibilities. It'shard sometimes to get the time to mountainbike.

ST: Mountain biking has come a long waysince the early days. Where do you seecycling in 10 years?

Pedal Power: Lighter, bigger travel bikes andmore carbon fiber. Durable crash-resistantcarbon fiber with maybe a protective layerthat's tougher. They're kind of getting therewith Easton and other's nano-tube technolo-gy, but it's not truly crashable

ST: Electronic shifting, internal gearing, all-

wheel drive?

Pedal Power: Maybe shaft drive now thatmaterials are better and lighter. MaybeRohloff 14 speed. If they could make thatlighter and $1000 cheaper. The range isamazing: a 34x22 and 48x11 old school gear-ing. We built up a Ti 29er with it. That thingwas sweet! Maybe reduce the maintenance.If you could hang your bike and just ride itnext week, that would make it easier.

ST: With so many different groups and char-ities asking for your support, how do youdecide which groups or causes you want tosupport?

Pedal Power: Our role is on a very locallevel. We buy special helmets, scout troops,talk about small business to YMCA, etc. Wejust don't say no unless we've already saidonce this year. On a larger level, the MSrides, Tour de Cure and that stuff, when youreally think about it, it's 10 days a year. Youmight waste that already, so why wouldn'tyou interact with your constituents? It's tir-ing, it's hard but it's an investment in yourfuture business. It comes down to payingand sending staff or cover it yourself. You'vegot to pick, but you put your best people outthere because they represent you.

ST: Pedal Power is known for its group rides.Are these difficult to pull off or does themomentum keep the rides alive?

Pedal Power: If you're out there having fun,you try to make sure it's as advertised. Youtry your best to not lose or drop people,make it fun. On our business cards we say,"We Make Riding Fun". If you’re dealing withbicycles and you’re not having fun, you don'tdeserve to be here. It's a bicycle; it's sup-posed to be fun.

24 | November 2006

Recent Accomplishments2006 continues being a great season! Thanks tothe help of a steady group of volunteers, GBNEM-BA completed two major trail maintenance proj-ects; one at the Middlesex Fells and another atLynn Woods. The Wednesday night ride has beena huge success. Looking towards increasing mem-bership, GB NEMBA conducted a couple of mem-bership-generating phone-a-thons. It's been quitea season..but we have more to do this fall, duringthe winter and into next season. So please consid-er lending a hand!

Trail MaintenanceContinuing with its 2006 TM program, GB NEMBAcompleted another trail maintenance day at theMiddlesex Fells on September 2nd. The ten volun-teers repaired a few rolling grade dips, did somerock armoring to help prevent further erosion andnarrowed a few sections of trail. Many thanks goto Tom Grimble and Mike Tabaczynski for theirunending efforts to make the Fells a mountain bik-ing showpiece.

Once again in partnership with Dieselbikes, a

Lynn-based mountain bike group, GB NEMBA andDieselbikes conducted its fourth TM day at LynnWoods on August 19th. This effort was wellworth it with 11 volunteers cutting a new trailconnector that extended the Overlook Trail by 400feet up to Goliath Rock. With the on-going expan-sion of the Ballfield trail network, the new trailprovides a smooth channel to Overlook Trail with-out having the riders use the fire road. AllMountain Bikers riding at Lynn Woods will havefun challenging the new trail with its two 90-degree corners and natural technical features.

There have been great accomplishments at LynnWoods this year and if you haven't had the oppor-tunity to stop by for a ride, try to get one or twoin before the season end. The combined GBNEMBA and Dieselbikes group did a great job andcompleted the section of trail in only 4 hours. Ifyou're curious about Dieselbikes and what they do,check them out at www.Dieselbikes.com.

MembershipMembership continues to be a high priority withGB NEMBA. As part of this, GB NEMBA spent acouple of evenings conducting phone-a-thonsfocused on renewing past members. So far, sogood as they say and don't forget that every effortcounts. Make sure you all get out and toot ourhorns! There are a lot of riders who don't knowabout us and would gladly join if they knew whereto go. Take every opportunity to mention NEMBAand its goals, and stress their membership dueshelp with the purchase of the necessary TM mate-rials.

GB NEMBA's Wednesday night rides at theMiddlesex Fells have been a tremendous success.Participation has more than doubled from last yearand we're not just seeing the same old faces.Besides being a great way to spend an evening, theride has become a significant recruiting tool too. Alot of new riders are joining the ride; some are newto NEMBA and some are interested in joining.

Thanks to Tim Post for organizing and putting this

together. The rides will end in late September andif you’re out on it this year, stop by when we pickit up again in April.

Upcoming TM eventsLooking towards the end of the 2006 season, thereis still a lot of work to be done. Dieselbikes and GBNEMBA have scheduled more TM days at LynnWoods - please keep an eye out on our website:www.gbnemba.org.

Mountain Bike PatrolThe GB NEMBA Mountain Bike Patrol continues tobe busy this year at four local parks through directsupport from both its home chapter GB NEMBAand from North Shore NEMBA. The MiddlesexFells, Lynn Woods and Great Brook fall under theGB NEMBA umbrella and Harold Parker with NorthShore NEMBA.

For four Saturday mornings in August and two inSeptember, the Patrol in cooperation with the DCRat Harold Parker State Forest organized and led"Family Rides" as part of Harold Parker's program toincrease public trail awareness. Josie Seymour theNature Interpreter at Harold Parker approached thePatrol asking for assistance in encouraging localfamilies and new riders to try Harold Parker's trails.Josie was very supportive and commended thePatrol's efforts. Reception was great with a nicemix of enthusiastic riders lead by a group ofPatrollers, and the ride proved to be another stepin solidifying cooperation between the DCR andNEMBA.

Once again, the Patrol supported NEMBAFest byoperating the event's First Aid station and withpatrolling support. After being rained out andpostponed from the spring, NEMBAFest turned outto be a great time and a late summer success withhundreds of riders showing up for a lot of fun on aperfect sunny day. Thanks to all who made thishappen.

Later in the season, the Patrol will support SE MANEMBA with its Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

It's hard to believe that it's already fall. The short-er days mean that our weekly Wednesday nightride series will once again go into hibernation. Buthave no fear, the weekly evening rides will resumewhen the warmer weather and brighter nights ofspring arrive.

Even though the ride series is on hold, many of uswill be riding or engaged in other outdoor activi-ties. I hope that you'll stay in contact with ridingfriends you've made through Blackstone ValleyNEMBA. If you are looking for people to join youin a ride, (or hike/ski/snowshoe, etc) you shouldconsider posting it on our group email list, [email protected].

We're fortunate to live, work and ride in theBlackstone Valley. We have some of the best andmost accessible riding areas in our backyard, notleast of which is Viet Nam. Every time I returnthere I find that the trails and features keep on get-ting better. You may know that there's a crew ofhighly committed, (and in some cases commit-table), riders who contribute their time and energyat least once per week to continuously improveour riding experiences. They've created textbookexamples of what well designed, exciting, and sus-tainable trails should be. I'm sure that I won'tname them all, but thanks John Goeller, John

Vosburg, Mike DeCristofaro, Eammon Carleton,Don Johnson, Dave Mitchell, Steve Barnes andeveryone else for your ongoing efforts.

Blackstone Valley NEMBA membership has grownat a steady rate over the years. Your annual mem-bership dues and other contributions enable us topurchase tools and materials necessary to buildand maintain our trails. This year we invested wellover $1,500 in new tools. Among our recentacquisitions were a quality chain saw and a brushcutter, along with the protective gear needed towork safely with them.

We will be holding a Chapter meeting before thesnow flies. We're looking at possible dates andsites to hold the meeting. Hopefully we'll have aride before getting to the important business weneed to conduct. Watch for details on our web-site, www.BVNEMBA.org. I hope to see you there.

This meeting will include election of Chapter offi-cers for 2007. We need members who would liketo step up and get involved. Contact me if you areinterested and would like to know more aboutchapter officer roles and responsibilities. —RichKordell

Greater BostonPresident: Tim Post, [email protected],

617-515-4812Vice-President: Joseph ReSecretary: Mike TabaczynskiTreasurer: Claire GrimblePatrol Director: Sam DavisEmail List: [email protected]: www.gbnemba.org

Meetings: Check website for monthlymeeting schedule 1st Monday eachmonth.

C H A P T E R N E W S

BlackstoneValleyPresident: Rich Kordell, kordell67@char-

ter.net, 508-865-9964Treasurer: Rich KordellSecretary: Anne ShepardRide Coordinator: Jeff GalloCallahan SF: Anne ShepardDouglas SF: Steve BarnesHale Reservation: Jack MaxwellHodges Village Dam: Eammon Carleton Vietnam: John GoellerEmail List: [email protected]: www.bvnemba.org.Webmaster: Mitchell Steinberg


I'm putting this chapter report together just daysbefore our last trail maintenance day for 2006.Our focus this year has been in the Eastern sec-tion of the Lowell-Dracut State Forest. Our planwas to continue to develop new trails in a part ofthe forest that had no singletrack. In the last twoyears we have built approximately 4 miles of newsingletrack in the woods off of Gumpus Road.This had to be done in a way that maintained ouroriginal philosophy of creating a perimeter trailsystem that could be accessed from the mainparking lot at Trotting Park road. With propertrail creation, alignment, signage, and trail maps,we wanted to create a trail system that would beeasy to navigate. (That doesn't necessarily meaneasy to ride. There is a difference).

Looking back at this year we have made greatstrides in accomplishing all of our goals. Goingforward we will continue to maintain, developand define more of the technical features on ourtrails throughout the park. Right now we don'tsee a lot of new trail development in the GumpusRoad / Eastern part of the forest. We pretty much

have accomplished most of what we set out todo out there. So we will now start to turn outattention to other areas of the forest and otherprojects. On paper we have trail projects to keepus busy for another 2 or 3 years. We also havemore work to do with the signage and developing

a high quality trail map.

The Tuesday night rides will disappear with thefading sunlight. But... they will be replaced withgreat weekend fall riding. We're coming up onsome of the best riding weather of the year. Andas a bonus, no bugs. Look for upcoming rides onthe weekends in Dracut and elsewhere. Our website continues to be a source of information fortrail dates, directions to the park, photo albumfor rides and trail work, and interesting links forthe local MTB community. I had hoped to trans-form that website into something a little morehigh tech. Looks like I'll have to wait for things toquiet down during the winter to work on that.

So now it's up to us to get our members organ-ized, motivated and involved. We needs to dragan extra riding buddy to our rides and trail days.We need to show the local non-NEMBA, MTBcommunity, the wisdom of joining in the effort.We need to continue to grow our chapter to keepit strong and viable. My biggest disappointmentthis year was the decline in our membershiprenewals. I don't get it. We built 4 new board-walks this year. That money has to come fromsomewhere. We had a 20% decline in renewalswhile at the same time we had a 20% increase innew singletrack trails. It doesn't add up. So ifyou've been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for agood time to jump in, I'd say now is the time. —Norman Blanchette

on October 1st at Blue Hills Reservation and withNorth Shore NEMBA's Wicked Ride of the EastMBAS at Harold Parker on October 29th. Hope tosee you there!

If you're interested in the Patrol, the Patrol is inter-ested in you. No experience is necessary andthey'll get you certified in First Aid and get youthose basic bike repair skills. And now is the timeto join the Patrol. If you're a beginner or an expert

and want to learn more about the Patrol, contactthem at [email protected]. —TerryKennedy

MerrimackValleyPresident: Norman Blanchette, 978 455-

5605, [email protected] Groton Town Fst VP: Mike AndersenLowell-Dracut SF VP: Bob GiuntaTreasurer: Hugh Folsom, (978) 244-0633Email List: mtb-

[email protected]: www.mv-nemba.org

26 | November 2006

Rain and trail work seem to go hand in hand forthe North Shore chapter trail crew in 2006. Westarted out the season with a trail reroute and anew section of boardwalk in Harold Parker onApril 27th. This work was done near the fourcorners area of Harold Parker; it was completed inshort order by a group of 14 people before therain set in.

On Saturday May 20th the IMBA/NEMBA trailschool got a head start on the new single trackon the hill behind Salem Pond. After a morning ofclass room the group of 30 students, plusinstructors started one of the two new loops oftrail. The chapter crew came back on Sunday andput in a second full day of work. The end resultsare two loops of almost a mile of new singletrack, both loops require some up hill to get tothe top, but the fast turns on the way back downare well worth it. Those that stayed to ride afterthe second day of work did get rained on as theytested the efforts of their labor.

The rain continued as the trail crew moved ontothe 3rd project on June 4th at Bradley PalmerState Park and ECGA, Willowdale MillReservation. A few hardy folks produced someterrific new trail from the top of Moon Hill. Thenew trail was well tested and received greatreviews by almost five hundred riders that racedin north shore classic mountain bike race on thefollowing Saturday. After all the heavy rain andbike traffic the group returned on the 17th con-cerned that the trail would be destroyed. A small

reroute and drainage repair were quickly madeand the trail was back in shape. A true testamentto a well designed and constructed trail.

The chapter meeting for August was a bar-beque/ride held at Fred Whites house in Rockporton Sunday August 13th. The weather for the daywas great and Fred lead a great ride through DogTown. . All that attended the event enjoyed theride and plenty of food on the sun deck after.

At the meeting we discussed and made plans forthe Wicked Ride at Harold Parker on October29th. This year the ride will include even morenew single track, and we all know how great lastyears ride was. So if you want to know were atthe new stuff is at HP plan to attend.

There will be more trail work this fall in bothWard Reservation September 17th and HaroldParker October 14th so come on out and help.

All events are listed in the chapter web site!www.nsnemba.org —Frank Lane

Hello Again Pioneer Valley

We hope you all had a safe summer and got lotsof good miles in on the trails. Now, with fall rid-ing, the real fun begins. We've got so many greatplaces to ride out here in the P.V. it's hard tochoose. The foliage will just be icing on the cake.Just watch out for those slippery oak leaves. AndBEES! Hope this little warning hasn't come toolate for some of you. The warmer days of fall arevery inviting for riding, but they're even better forthe yellow jackets nesting in the ground near treestumps, rocks, whatever. Be real careful whileexploring new territory, or hiking off trail.

Not too many projects to write about thisissue… we've been spending too much time rid-ing, and reaping the benefits of all the hard workchapter members have put in over the years. Wedid, however, complete the Broad BrookConservation Area trails, located on HendrickStreet in Easthampton. Nice job Rich.

No word as of yet, on the Robinson State Park

logging operation. The diverse groups, includingriders, who frequent the park, are still hopeful acompromise can be reached as to the extent ofthe operation.

And now for the other news…GW, yes, yours truly, is stepping down as presi-dent of PVNEMBA. As of this writing, I reallydon't know who will be taking over the position.That will be determined at our annual chaptermeeting to be held on Sunday, Nov. 12th, at10.00 a.m. We hope to see a lot of you at themeeting where we will plan out ideas and proj-ects for the upcoming year, go over other perti-nent stuff, elect and or reelect chapter officers.

Now, back to me…. I'd like to say that it hasbeen a pleasure and a privilege to be associatedwith this fine organization; its members, and allof the sponsors who have supported us. Thesepast three years has seen the chapter grow inmore ways than just membership. With all yourhelp, we really put the Pioneer Valley on the mapas a great place to live and ride. I, no, we, owemany thanks to so many of you who haveworked hard not only building and maintainingtrails, but also working for trail access. Peoplelike Rich Labombard, Pete Vangel, John Dudek,the early PVNEMBA members, pioneers of sorts,all tireless trail workers/designers have had ahand in getting the ball rolling, and creating a lotof fun for a lot of riders.

Present and previous sponsors like Bicycle World,Highland Hardware and Bike, Competitive Edge,Bicycles Unlimited, Gravity Warehouse, NewHorizons Sports, Joe's Garage, People's Pint,VOMax all made it easier for us to enjoy oursport.

So, now, let's see who will take the chapter to thenext level. Hope to see many of you at the meet-ing on November 12th. We will put out an emailon the pvnemba member's email list very soonwith specifics or any changes to the meeting dateor place.

In the mean time, I guess the only thing to do isto is… you guessed it. Ride.

See you in the woods. —George Willard

Some Reflections from Harold GreenThe dog days of summer have faded; we can leavethe parking lot for a 2-hour ride with less than100 oz of water in the camelback and not regretit 45 minutes later. The deer flies have faded intoour memories. The mosquitoes are much lesshungry and much less common. It is the fall rid-ing season in the northern Pioneer Valley.

Soon the new fallen leaves on the forest floor willbe crunching and sliding under our wheels, butnow we depart the parking lot at Wendell StateForest in a pack of a dozen or so riders on a clearearly fall evening. The oblique sun casts shad-ows into the forest as it filters through the soonto depart leaf cover. We pedal along theCarrolton Dirth Trail and reach Dirth Road. Onepinch flat on the projecting rocks briefly delaysour departure down to Ruggles Pond. Soon thefallen oak leaves will mask these slippery rootsand sudden hollows, but now the hazards are

PioneerValleyPresident: George Willard, 413-527-

0330, [email protected]

VP Hamden County: Don Podlski

VP Hampshire County: Rich LaBombard,

VP Franklin County: Liam O’BrienVP Hamden County: Matt HarrisTreasurer: Peter Ogulewicz Email List:[email protected]

North ShorePresident:Frank Lane, frank.lane@bostik-

findley-us.com,978-465-2295

Vice-President: Fred White Treasurer: Ron CorporonSecretary: Jim HumphreyEmail List: [email protected]

Breaking News:

PV NEMBA plans a Fun Ride at WendellState Forest on November 12th. Details

can be found at www.nemba.org

After many years of dedicated service,George Willard is stepping down as PV

NEMBA president. We thank him for hisleadership and hard work. The PioneerValley is better for mountain biking

because of his efforts.


The White Mountain Chapter of NEMBA hadanother excellent year of riding, while maintainingexisting trails and creating new ones. A few of ouraccomplishments:

o In conjunction with the Town ofConway, we extended the popular Sticks& Stones trail in the Pudding Pond con-

servation area, nearly doubling its length.The new extension includes the additionof more well-constructed granite techni-cal trail features.

o We worked with The NatureConservancy (TNC) to turn an oldmotorcycle trail into a legitimate moun-tain biking trail, including the layout andconstruction of a challenging new sec-tion of trail. This may be the first officialtrail designed and built by mountain bik-ers on TNC's land in New Hampshire.

o The White Mountain Log Ride Initiativecreated some exciting log rides in EchoLake State Park and on the popular RedTail Trail. Next winter's deadfall willundoubtedly add to the collection.

o We were a sponsor of the Red JerseyCyclery and Importech's annual summerrace series, helping out with registration,set-up, and tear down. Oh, and some ofus did a bit of racing, too.

o We did trail maintenance in the White

Mountain National Forest, TNC's GreenHills Preserve, Echo Lake State Park, andConway's Shedd Woods, HurricaneMountain, and Pudding Pond conserva-tion lands.

We have high hopes for continued increase inmembership and have submitted proposals forsubstantial new trails throughout the easternWhite Mountains. We hope you can be a part ofthem. —Rob Adair

apparent and avoidable. All clear the bridgesand roots up as far as the rock garden, but onceagain the prior day's rain keeps all of us fromcleaning the rocks - some things have to wait foranother ride. Out the Pine Tree Trail to WickettPond Road toward Jerusalem Road. We take aright onto the Trail to the Lookouts, a clever lit-tle trail with lots of unique rock formations -most rideable by the young and fit - but the morecautious opt for a short hike over the slipperysurface and rejoin the group at the top. Wepause at the lookouts as the sky begins to dark-en. Our newest trail awaits and we follow as itwinds down the hill through a laurel thicket -home to representatives of the Moose clan - nosightings tonight as we turn on our lights for thetrip down the eastern side of the ridge. We winddown the Beechwood section of the HannahSwarton to the Maple Leaf Trail, across, wellmostly around, the swamp and begin what for

most of the group is the first full darknessdescent of the Nipmuck Trail. The high speeddaylight twists and dips are cast in a much dif-ferent glow by the pinpoint beams of our helmetlights, or worse yet appear from nowhere as wedirect the handlebars and their attached lightsaround each new corner, features so well knownon the bright summer evenings appear from theshadows with no warning. Many of us need topause and get our bearings before continuing onto the Baker Road climb. We follow the roads ina loose pack back to park headquarters andreflect on the evening. Good company, nomechanicals, a single wrong turn by the strag-glers at the back of the pack the only mar on anotherwise perfect evening.

Two years ago, the above experience could nothave happened. Wendell State Forest was amostly forgotten area, popular with snowmobileriders for the miles of forest roads, but ignored by

most other residents. The initiatives of FranklinCounty NEMBA members and ranger BryantStewart have revitalized the park. First step wascutting the Maple Leaf Trail loosely following theearly race trail, soon after Hannah Swartonplunged deep into the park, a new ripple throughthe hardwoods and into the hemlock lowlandsbecame the Nipmuck trail, and in the summer of06, the as yet unnamed cross trail from the look-outs ventures between the fire roads opening analternative route through the park. Nearly fifteenmiles of new singletrack have appeared in the for-est thanks to the vision and labor of a few hardysouls. These new miles have made autos withbike racks a common site in the parking lots.Riders from throughout the region have visitedand many make plans for return trips. Come joinus! —Harold Green

SE MassPresident: Rich Higgins, rlhiggins@com-

cast.net ,508-238-7590 Treasurer: Bill Boles, 508-583-0067Vice-Presidents:Ames Nowell: Don Jordan, 781-767-

4044Blue Hills: Joe Sloane, 617-696-3533Borderland: Christopher Patrick, Franklin SF: Jan Hubbell, 508-341-5509Freetown: Dennis Lewis, 508-993-5920Wompatuck: Paul Peaslee, 781-925-2512Wrentham: Kevin Delaney, 401-722-

2426Secretary: Eero Kola, 781-356-2518Email List: [email protected]

WhiteMountainsPresident: Rob Adair, [email protected],

603-456-5214VPs: Jon Conti & Mark JenksTreasurer: Phil Ostroski Secretary: Jean LeeEmail List:

[email protected]

After bringing biblical floods which washed out thefirst scheduled NEMBAFEST at Wompatuck Statepark this past spring, the weather Gods smiled upat us with perfect sunny weather, low humidityand dry conditions.

It was a fantastic day and it was great seeing somany familiar faces and making lots of new friends.There were guided and self-guided routes over thechallenging Wompatuck terrain. There was themountain bike Olympics, including the slow race,the stump pull and wheelie contest. There wasJustbill's famous skills equipment and lots of pret-ty, sparkly demo bikes to try. Saturday afternoonthere was the Landmine short track cyclocross raceand on Sunday the Landmine Classic race, part ofthe Route 66 Series. There are so many volunteers,vendors, and sponsors to thank that it would beimpossible to list them all here. But thanks to PaulPeaslee, Kevin Chichlowski, Joe Sloane, SteveCobble, Bill Boles, Jim Dillon, Chris Hebert, KevinDelaney, Dave Riding, Carol Pino, Eric Oddleifson,DCR ranger Steve Gammon and his staff, and ofcourse PK, Tom and Anne. And yes, there was food

to feed the hungry masses. It was a huge teameffort and everything went pretty darn smooth.Steve Gammon, DCR ranger at Wompy, said it wasthe best event he'd seen in his 32 years there.Wow!

And we have a pretty busy fall lined up as well.We've got trail maintenance events scheduled atWompatuck (October 22) and Borderland (October15). As always check the incrediblewww.semass.org website for up to the minuteinformation and contacts. Along with the Friendsof Borderland SEMASS purchased a Muck Truck,which is a motorized wheelbarrow with roughly 3times the capacity of standard wheelbarrow. It'sgot 4 wheel drive, will go up a 30 degree slope andcarry up to 500 lbs. It's got a 200 hp turbo chargedengine. Ok, just kidding, but it's powerful. We'realso in the planning stages for Take a Kid MountainBiking Day to be held on 10/1 at the Blue Hills from9 to noon. Hope to see you out playing and work-ing on the trails this fall. —Rich Higgins

28 | November 2006

NEMBA rides are led by individual NEMBA members for other mem-bers and prospective members. So if you haven't yet joined NEMBA,please do. Rides are usually for small numbers of people and vary withthe location and the personal style of the host. Rides have beenknown to change location or time at the last moment. So be sure tocall the ride's leader, both to sign up, and to find out more about theride. **Be sure to contact the ride leader a couple of days before theride takes place. That way you will be sure that the ride is on.

If you commit to a ride, go, since space is limited. That way the rideswill stay manageable and will be enjoyable for everyone. Helmets arerequired on all NEMBA rides. Contact your ride's leader if the weath-er looks questionable.

HEY! - Why not lead a NEMBA ride yourself? Contact BillBoles at 508-583-0067 or [email protected] for moreinformation.

(T/FR) Indicates a technical or freeride(MBA) Indicates a NEMBA Mountain Bike Adventure SeriesRide(EN) Indicates an EFTA/NEMBA Fun Ride.(D) Indicates a weekday daytime ride.(DB) Indicates a daybreak or early morning ride.(BHTW) Indicates a Blue Hills Trail Watch ride.(NBTRS) indicates Newington Bike Trek Ride Series(Dog) Indicates you can bring your dog.(W) Indicates a WOMBATS ride.(K) Indicates a Kids & Family ride.(CALL) Indicates contact the leader to see if the ride is on.(TBA) Indicates location to be determined.(U) Indicates an urban ride.(SS) Indicates Single Speed bicycles are OK.(SKILLS) Indicates a skills training session

The following ride categories are only general guidelines. You shouldask the ride's leader exactly what type of ride he or she is planning interms of distance, pace and technicality. Also, be realistic about yourlevel of riding skills and don't join a ride that is beyond your presentability or fitness level.

MBAS Topeak-Kenda Adventure Series ride. 10-20 miles.A ride on a marked course for all ability levels.Normally includes short and long loops. Call formore information.

EFTA/NEMBA 10-25 miles. Marked loops for all ability levels.Normally includes multiple loops. Call for moreinformation.

Kids/Family 2-10 miles, usually easy pace & terrain. Theserides are aimed at parents with young children.

Beginner 2-7 miles, easy terrain, easy pace. These rides areaimed at riders with little or no riding experience.

Novice 4-9 miles, mellow pace, easy terrain, frequentstops.

Advanced Novice6-10 miles, mellow pace, either mostly easy ter-rain, or could be technical terrain done slowly, fre-quent stops.

Intermediate 10-20 miles, moderately technical, somewhatfaster pace, occasional stops and bail out points.Intermediate rides are designed for people whoride frequently, and have some skills, but whoprobably don't enter races.

Advanced Intermediate The same as intermediate, except fasterand harder terrain.

Advanced 20-30 miles, high technical difficulty, fast pace,few stops or chances to bail out. These rides areintended for advanced riders or, racers who wouldlike to go for a challenging ride at less than all outrace pace.

Women's Ride Can be any level of difficulty. Call for more infor-mation.

NEMBA Rides

Other NEMBA Chapter Contacts:Berkshire NEMBA Heather Linscott, [email protected]

Cape Cod NEMBA Charlie Genatossio, [email protected]

Central NH NEMBA Glenn Kirby, [email protected], 603-456-3805

CT NEMBA Bob Caporaso, [email protected], 860-376-5328

Maine NEMBA Calvin Weeks, [email protected], 207-693-8221

MTA NEMBA Todd Bumen, [email protected], 207 332 5497

RI NEMBA Leo Corrigan, [email protected], 401-231-2809

SC NH NEMBA Scott Nixon, [email protected], 603-424-7469

Seacoast NEMBA Mark Oullette, [email protected]

Wachusett NEMBA Jim Wrightson, [email protected]


Cape Cod & Islands10/13 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/15 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869010/15 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490510/18 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/19 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869010/20 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/22 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869010/22 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490510/25 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/26 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869010/27 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/29 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869010/29 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490511/01 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/02 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/03 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/05 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/05 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490511/08 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/09 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/10 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/12 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/12 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490511/15 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/16 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/17 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/19 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/19 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490511/22 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/23 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/24 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/26 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869011/26 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490511/29 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/30 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/01 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/03 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/03 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490512/06 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/07 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/08 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/10 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/10 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490512/13 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/14 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/15 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/17 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/17 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490512/20 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/21 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/22 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/24 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-8690

30 | November 2006

12/24 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490512/27 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/28 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/29 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/31 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869012/31 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490501/03 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/04 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869001/05 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/07 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869001/07 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490501/10 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/11 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869001/12 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/14 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869001/14 Vineyard Intermediate David Whitmon [email protected] 508-693-490501/17 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/18 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-869001/19 Trail of Tears Intermediate Steve Shakin [email protected]/21 Hyannis/Yarmouth Intermediate EMS Hyannis [email protected] 508-362-8690

Central, Wachusett & Western Mass

10/15 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-480010/18 TBA Beginner-Advanced Bob Perry [email protected]/19 Leominster SF Intermediate Dave Swift [email protected] (Dog)10/22 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-480010/25 TBA Beginner-Advanced Bob Perry [email protected]/26 Leominster SF Intermediate Dave Swift [email protected] (Dog)11/01 TBA Beginner-Advanced Bob Perry [email protected]/02 Leominster SF Intermediate Dave Swift [email protected] (Dog)11/05 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-480011/08 TBA Beginner-Advanced Bob Perry [email protected]/09 Leominster SF Intermediate Dave Swift [email protected] (Dog)11/12 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-480011/19 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-480011/26 Leominster SF All Jim Wrightson [email protected] 978-852-4800

Connecticut

10/15 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774010/18 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275510/18 TBA Intermediate Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774010/21 Arcadia, RI Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275510/22 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774010/25 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275510/25 TBA Intermediate Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774010/29 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774011/01 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275511/05 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774011/08 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275511/12 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774011/15 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-2755


11/19 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774011/22 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275511/26 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774011/29 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275512/03 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774012/06 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275512/10 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774012/13 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275512/17 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774012/20 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275512/24 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774012/27 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275512/31 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-774001/03 W. Hartford Res. Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275501/07 TBA Advanced Vernon Cycles [email protected] 860-872-7740

Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont

10/15 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947210/15 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163310/19 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/22 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947210/22 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163310/26 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/29 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947210/29 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163311/02 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/05 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947211/05 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163311/09 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/12 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947211/12 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163311/16 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/19 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947211/19 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163311/23 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/24 Lake Massabesic All http://www.fomba.org/ 603-483-2951(EN)11/26 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947211/26 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163311/30 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/03 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947212/03 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163312/07 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]/10 Camden Advanced Rick Nelson [email protected] 207-542-947212/10 Seacoast NH Area Intermediate Dan Cook [email protected] 603-944-163312/14 TBA Adv. Beg. - Intermediate Jean Rubin [email protected]

Metro Boston, Merrimack & North Shore

10/14 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154010/18 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)10/19 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)10/21 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-1540

32 | November 2006

10/25 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)10/26 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)10/28 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154010/29 Harold Parker SF All Sandy Bray [email protected] 978-526-9799(MBA)11/01 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/02 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)11/04 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154011/08 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/09 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)11/11 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154011/15 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/16 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)11/18 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154011/22 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/23 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)11/25 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154011/29 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/30 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)12/02 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154012/06 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/07 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)12/09 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154012/13 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/14 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)12/16 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154012/20 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/21 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)12/23 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-154012/27 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/28 Great Brook Farm SP Women Natalie MacKnight [email protected] 978-779-6884(W)12/30 Middlesex Fells Beginner EMS Harvard Square [email protected] 617-864-1540

Southeastern Mass, Blackstone Valley & Rhode Island

10/13 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509510/18 Pine Hills All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509510/18 Callahan SP All BV NEMBA [email protected] www.bvnemba.com10/18 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)10/19 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066510/20 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509510/21 Arcadia, RI Intermediate Don Myers [email protected] 860-561-275510/25 Pine Hills All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509510/25 TBD All BV NEMBA [email protected] www.bvnemba.com10/25 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)10/26 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066510/27 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/01 Pine Hills All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/01 Hodges Village All BV NEMBA [email protected] www.bvnemba.com11/01 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/02 TBD Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066511/03 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/08 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/09 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-0665


11/10 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/15 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/16 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066511/17 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/22 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/24 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509511/29 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)11/30 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066512/01 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509512/06 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/07 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066512/08 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509512/13 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/14 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066512/15 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509512/20 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/21 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066512/22 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509512/27 Blue Hills All Steve Cobble [email protected] 781-254-8796(AM)12/28 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066512/29 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-509501/01 TBD Intermediate Bill Boles [email protected] 508-583-006701/04 Foxboro SF Intermediate Dan Ibbitson [email protected] 508-384-066501/05 Duxbury All Walter Masgul [email protected] 603-512-5095

Join NEMBA to protect the trails. Join to become part of a vibrant community of riders. Join to add yourvoice to the largest regional advocacy group in the country. Join because it’s the right thing to do!

Pick a Chapter!At LargeBerkshire NEMBABlackstone Valley NEMBACape Cod NEMBACentral NH NEMBACT NEMBAGreater Boston NEMBAMaine NEMBAMerrimack MA NEMBAMt. Agamenticus NEMBANorth Shore MA NEMBAPioneer Valley MA NEMBASeacoast NH NEMBASouth Central NH NEMBASoutheast MA NEMBARhode Island NEMBAVermont NEMBAWachusett MA NEMBAWhite Mtns NH NEMBA

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Address _______________________________________________________________________________

City ____________________________________________ State _______ Zip ______________________

Home phone _____________________________ Chapter ______________________________________

Email Address: _________________________________________________________________________

New:____ Renewal: ____ Visa/MC# _________________________________________ exp___________

Individual $25 ______ Family (2 Cards) $35 ______ Supporting $50 _____ Sponsoring $100_____

Referred by: _______________________________________________ Members who refer 5 new members receive cool swag!

NEMBA, PO Box 2221, Acton MA 01720 Join online at WWW.NEMBA.ORG

34 | November 2006

S.O.S.: Support Our Sponsors!$1000+Ace Wheelworks, Somerville MABelmont Wheel Works, Belmont MABikebarn, Whitman MACannondale, Bethel CTFox Racing Shox, Watsonville CAIndependent Fabrication, SomervilleLandry’s Bicycles, Natick MAMerlin Metalworks, Chattanooga TNRedbones BBQ, Somerville MASeven Cycles, Watertown MATed Wojcik Bicycles, Hampstead NHThe Bikeway Source, Bedford MA$500Goodale’s Bike Shop, Concord NHGoodale’s Bike Shop, Nashua NH$200Bicycles Unlimited, Greenfield MABiker’s Edge, Bristol CTInterbike, Laguna Beach CAos20gear, Arlington MAPedal Power, Middletown CTSalem Cycle, Salem MASouhegan Cycleworks, Milford NHThe Bike Shop, Manchester CT$100Berger’s Bike Shop, York MEBicycle Link, Weymouth MABicycle World, Greenfield MADave’s Bike Infirmary, Milton MA

EMS, Inc S. Burlington VTEMS, Inc Boston MAEMS, Inc Peterborough NHEMS, Inc Fairfield CTEMS, Inc Portland MEEMS, Inc Nashua NHEMS, Inc Concord NHEMS, Inc Manchester CTEMS, Inc W. Lebanon NHEMS, Inc Marlborough MAEMS, Inc Stamford CTEMS, Inc Burlington MAEMS, Inc Simsbury CTEMS, Inc Cambridge MAEMS, Inc Hyannis MA Exeter Cycles, Exeter NHHighland Hardware & Bike, Holyoke

MANorth Haven Bike, N. Haven CTRed Jersey, Intervale NHRevolution Cyclery, Concord NHRiverside Cycles, Newburypot MARose City Cycles, Bozrah CTSedona MTB Adventures, Sedona AZSki Market,Waltham MAThe Bicycle Shop of Topsfield,

Topsfield MAWest Hill Shop, Putney VT

$50Minuteman Road Club, WestboroSprockids Deep River, Ivoryton CT

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PaidPermit #148

Plattsburgh, NY

New England Mountain Bike AssociationPO Box 2221Acton MA 01720

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

November 11 — Kranked 6: ProgressionNEMBA & Wheelworks will premier this film. Join us!

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