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Prez SezW ellllll, it 's 199 4. M y nam e is Hugh Le ader and I will be on e

of your tour guides forthe next t welve months. Yes elect ions were held

at our last BUMP m ee ting Dec 1s t, and the resul ts from y o u r vo ting

were as follows: Pres ident : m ys elf, Vice President: Jenifer Jackso n,

Secretary: Ba rry Hair, and of course Trea sur er and lifetim e T rail Tz ar:

Ken Hester.

W e would all like to thank Jack B ransdorf for stepping up to

the position of president last summer when our for m er president Bi ll

Harrington moved to Colorado . Ja ckdid a g rea t job and will continu e to

be an impo rtant influence .Honorable ment ion goes to the fou r Birmingha m area bike

shops participating in our effo rts to increase BUMP membership and

publicize our nam e in the communi ty: Bo b's Bikes, Cahaba Cyc les ,

Homewood Cy cles and River Oaks Cycles. W e rea lly do appreciate

their generosity, let's be as sup port ive of them as they are of us . We

receive a 10% discoun t on all accessoriesso please check with the shop s

be fore m ail o rde rin g.

Our Christmas party this year was a smash an d load s of fun.

Ou r thanks to Jen ifer Jacks on and Ju an Saxon for hos tin g the eve nt.

Their home w a s very festive and we especially enj oy ed }e ni fer's

version of a Chris tmas Tree /Bike ....very cre ative. W e m issed thos e of

yo u who didn 't m ak e it, but there will be another opportunity in the

spring I feelsure.

Fo r the cause of trai l access at Oak Mountain, please con sider

placing donations in the box es posted at bo th the Nor th and So ut h

trailh ea d "shrines". Use the envelopes m arked BUM P. Th e nex t Oa k

M oun tain Trail Co m mittee m eeting isJanuary 12th when the success of

the don ation sy stem-verses bik e licensing or increa se d gate fees-

willbe reviewed, and we are hoping fo ra g ood showing from moun tain

biking suppo rters.

I urge all of you t o participate in de termining the di rection

BUMP will be taking this ye ar. W e will be holdi ng ope n steering

committee meetings on the 3rd W ed nesday of e very month. The tim e

will be 7pm dur ing S tandard Tim e an d Sp m during Daylight Sa vings

Time after Easter on April3rd. W e will m ee t at different m embershomes-to be anno unc ed in the Grinde r Calend ar of Events. The first

meeting wi ll be on J an ua ry 1 9th at my ho use , 52 0 Cliff Place, in

Homewood.

From all the ne w office rs of BU MP to al l of our supportive

p a y e d-u p m embe rs , w e w ould like to ex tend our wishes for a safe,

healthy and happ y N e w Y e ar. The res t of you ...why ha ve n't yo u

pa id?

~ t 1 6 0 8 8 t p flrztl ~by Hedda Rockhopper

W ha t ch arm ing local bik e s tore owne r, m ildly obs es sed

w it h the identity of this writer. feels certain he ha d a " H edd asighting" at the close of the Bike Auct ion late ev ening Decem ber9th? It would se em that any member of the BUM P clubapprop riately concerned that appl ications and new slettersre ac h his s t ore for th e n ot inconsiderable expos ure th ey w illreceive there . is s uspect in his mind as being "that HeddaRockhopper"

who gen tly and a ppre ciat ive ly critiq ue d h isfront-running on- trail fa shion style in the October 1993 i ssueof t he Grinder. It m us t be said tha t this fine entrepreneuria lindi vidual has long be en a stron g. if periphe ral, supp orter ofou r

club. bu t the scuttlebutt ar ou nd town no w is tha t he has rec entlypr ofessed inten tion s of becoming "more involve d" to the ben efitofus all. I might ad d. Perhaps it would be bes t. ho wever, shouldhe p lan to participate in an y up coming BUMP rides. that ou rhero disa ble the cloaking dev ice of his lege nd ary, ve ry stealth ,Sp ecialized Nike Air. .. .Inv isibl e helm et . to prevent an y

ac cide ntal bu tting ofhe ads.

TRAIL WORKDAYOur last trail work day was held on Saturday December

11th-one week after the originally scheduled work day which

had been rained out. We would like to announce that in the

future, any trail work day which is cancelled due to bad

weather will automatically be held at the same time the next

week. We had a good if not great turnout for the unscheduled

work day...about 15, and we all worked very hard to make

considerable headway toward our goal of completing the las t leg

ofour trail. P res ident E lect HU G H THE LEADER will be no longer

permitted to swing a maddox like a mad man for four hours

straight as he tends to pull his back out with such excess es.

Karen W itmer. a pros pective member. arrived to help and welook forward to seeing some more of her soon. 0 urn e xt

Trail w o rk d ay is s ch ed uled fo r Su nd ay J an uary

9 th. If we are rained (or snowed) out we will reschedule for

S unday J anuary 16th. As always we'll meet at the P ark O ffice

on Terrace Drive a t 1Dam. Bring work gloves, water and a

snack. I f you arrive a little late, we will be parking on the Cabin

Road near the North trailhead. S ee you there.

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DIIP TffOUpffTS1 3 9 lac&' 13,.ao09

S om etim es o n a big r ide w hen I'm not way u p i n

front, I hear people laugh and think , "they'relaughing at me becau se I'm so slow"-but then I

realize, I could r ide jus t a s fast, b ut s ometimes I like

to ride slowly to e njoy the beauty of nature, or to

help along a ne w babe. An d b e sid es , th ey're only

laugh in g b ec au se t hey too a re h av ing fun.

JllJNI)' SI~()4iS'l'II)~lJ JII~{JI~

Our esteemed Trail Tsar and newly electedTreasurer, Ken Hester, led the BUMP club through anadventure in mud on Sunday December 5th. About 15strong, we traveled to the Talladega National Forest onthat sunny, chilly day, to challenge the Blue Trail. It hadbeen raining quite a bit the week before so we were metwith muddy, loamy and slick leafy conditions. There wasa particularly technical descent early on in the ride whichwe believe to have broken at least one toe. There wereseveral stream crossings-we had to ride through thembecause there was no other way across, and wet feetwere inevitable either way.

It was Dorothy McWhirter's first out-of-town BUMPride and she showed us her stuff. Since most of us

hadn't ridden with her before, we were pleased with herintrepid spirit and pace. Tony Plier, Chuck Whited, J erryAkers and Lee Rivers were there but we didn't see muchofthose hammer boys. Carla Simpson, who should haveknown better, again showed up with her big backpack,and again refused to carryall of our jackets. ArleenGarrett on her second time out came through like atrouper-with only one broken chain, one broken toe,two strained thumbs, no broken nails, and a heady doseof endorphins. Luckily Dr. J uan was there to provideArleen with free advice concerning that which sheproclaimed she knew very little about. Barry I=tairwas notconsulted since no one felt litigious that day. J ackBransdorf struggled with his new Cannondale front

suspension lock-out while Hugh the Leader was stylin'with his new Manitou front fork. Ken won The MostComical With New Clipless Pedals Award, since aboutevery hundred yards or so he would come uponsomething tricky at speed and stick his right leg straightout like an outrigger for a few yards before crumpling intoa tangle of limbs and wheels.

More than half of us baled out early when we foundthe road, and made it back to the cars just beforehypothermia set in. This will be a great trail to try againwhen its a littlewarmer and dryer.

/ $ ) { } u @ @ l 1 l@ O / k.Keeping YourBike Clean

The most important aspect of Mountain Bike

maintenance is keeping your drivetrain clean andlubed. A good rule of thumb is to degrease andrelube when the pulleys in your rear derailleurbegin to cake with a black grimy build-up.

In the summer we can get away with riding 4 or5 times because conditions are dry. But in the wet

and muddy fall. winter and spring. we're lucky toget in 1or 2 rides before having to hose the mud offthe bike just to be able to touch it again. and cleanand relube the chain just so the cranks will turn.

Here are some simple suggestions as to howto clean your bike-aimed mostly at those of you

who didn't realize you had to do anything to your

bike. or others of you who do know there's somemaintenance but are a little sketchy about how inparticular to go about it.

If your bike isvery muddy. start out by hosing itoff gently. being careful not to forGe water into yourbottom bracket or your hubs. To really be able toget to the trouble spots. the best way to positionthe bike is on a stand, (or rig up a way to hang it)

with the rear wheel removed. Then take a bucketfilled with about a half and half mixture of S imple

Green and water (Simple Green is a concentrateddegreaser that is sold at Sam's and probably

Walmart) and begin brushing your bike alloverwith a medium bristle kitchen dish brush. Use asmaller stiffer brush such as a toothbrush for thegreasier sections like the chain. cogs. pulleys and

chainrings. Then rinse. If the grease is stubborn.bathe the drivetrain liberally with WD40 while

pedaling the cranks backward. Let the grease"melt" a few moments and then clean the chain.

pulleys etc ...with the toothbrush and a rag.Reapply Simple Green and rinse.

When relubing. (with Phil's or Syn etc ...)

remember that less is more. If you carelessly

apply generous amounts to your chain. the

excess oil will attract dirt and cause caking sludge.Put one drop of lube on each pin of your chain for

about 10 inches and then completely wipe off the

excess with a rag; repeat until the whole chain isdone. The trick is to keep the cogs and pulleys

from getting lube on them. so wipe them clean aswell. The pins in your derailleurs also need to be

lubed and wiped clean. After several wet ridesand hosings. your cables will need to be greased.Get your favorite bike mechanic to show you how

to do that on your bike.

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u u u @ GRINDER

~~u ~ [fU (Q ]~~U [fU @ @D r . J u a n S a x o n o n W in te r T r ai n in g

I don't know much about winter training, it's not my

area of expertise and I don't have time to look it

up...but I was a little hung-over the day after theChristmas party and found myself inadvertently

contemplating this matter, and do you know what I

think? We all let the holiday revelry play havoc

with our fitness. Too much eating, drinking, and not

much riding when it gets below 40 degrees, will take us

all a step in the wrong direction if we are not vigilant.

It is fortunate that a new year with new resolutions

follows on the heels of Holiday excesses.

The first thing to get under control is our eating

habits. All we really need to concentrate on is keeping

fat low, fiber high and eating smaller more frequent

meals rather than stuffing ourselves at fewer meals. Itis also best to eat shortly before exercising and shortly

afterward, which will insure our body directly utilizes

much of the fat we've most recently ingested rather

than resorting to depleting stored glycogen.

Daily aerobic training in your target heart rate (220

minus your age times 60 to80 percent) for a minimum of

twenty minutes per session, is the foundation of your

winter training. This is a great time to do some other

activities which will help you train down your heart

rate to develop more speed and endurance. It is very

helpful to have a heart rate monitor if you're going to

be a true Juli Furtado groupie. Take back one of theChristmas gifts you don't really want and get one. Do

some slow running, take a step class, or ride your bike

inside on a trainer to develop a more efficient spin.

While the weather is cold, do the strength training

that is so difficult to do during the riding season.

Resistance exercises develop stronger bones which will

help prevent injury, and more muscle mass means more

fat burning. Mountain Biking requires strength and

endurance from all of our muscles, not just our quads.

Train for a goal. Do you want to be a better climber?

Develop stronger calves, hamstrings, quads, arms and

back. Try keeping up a routine of at least three sets of

one or two exercises for each muscle group three times a

week until riding season really starts up in the spring.

And then you can revert to a lighter maintenance

routine for your upper body. Youdon't have t o belong to

a club or have expensive weight machines to

accomplish this. You need a few sets of inexpensive

dumbbells, some rubber bands and an understanding of

proper form which can be obtained from any recently

written book on resistance training.

I I3 IU I e 11\S If10112 I I 3 IU t-"\ IPEveryone who loves mountain biking will

agree-our goal as a club is to become a big enough

voice to protect our sport and our trails. The main

thing is to have fun on our bikes, but all the fun

will screech to a halt if there's nowhere left to ride.BUMP is groWing and working toward gaining the

credibility necessary to accomplish this goal. For

our first big step in that direction BUMP is

incorporating in January and we will hear about it

in detail at the open steering committee meeting

on January 19th at Hugh's house.

Of course, groWing. incorporating. building and

maintaining trails. newsletters. events and parties

costs our club money. We are raising money

several different ways. most notably the newly

instituted membership dues. We appreciate

everyone's support in joining and re-j oining

BUMP.

Another way we are raising the level of our

bank account is through the sales of BUMP shirts

and most recently sweatshirts. Hugh would like to

let everyone know that we still have a bunch of

sweatshirts available at the great price of $15

apiece. Please buy them. They can be acqUired at

every meeting. every ride. every work day ....or call

Hugh at 942-9128 or 328-2626 to arrange a

personal fitting.

We are in the conceptual stages of planning

some BUMP sponsored events for the upcoming

year which hopefully will raise money in addition

to being a lot of fun. We'll be talking about thoseideas also at the January steering committee

meeting.Lastly. and very importantly. we are trying to

raise funds not so much for BUMP, but for the

trails at Oak Mountain through our request to the

Park to install Donation Boxes at the trailheads.

The donations received by the Park will be made

available to us for the maintenance of our trails.

The boxes provide an opportunity for riders who

are not active or involved with BUMP to show

their support for our efforts by using the small

envelopes marked BUMP furnished at the

"Shrines". As we increase our efforts towardcreating and preserving the wonderful trails we

have at Oak Mountain, we believe our

relationships with the other trail-user groups will

steadily improve to a point of mutual respect and

acceptance. The BUMP club asks everyone who

uses the trails at Oak Mountain to also use the

little envelopes marked BUMP for making

donations. large or small. in the donation boxes

prOVided by the Park at the North and South

trailhead "Shrines". Thank you.

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ASK HUGHIEDear Hughie.

I understand BUMPhas recently elected a newPresident who I think may well be you. What Iwant to know is, are you going to be as decisive andaggressive a president as you are an advicecolumnist?

DearSkeptical,111111really feel your ...ehhhh, lets say,

apprehension is....welllll, unfounded. The the thepersona, that is tosay, of"Hughie"isfar separate

from our new admirable and accomplishedpresident ....you know, HUGH,THE LEADER. Ibelieve we can all lookforward to, uhhhhh ...awondeiful new year of startling progress andunrelentingfun

Dear Hughie,When I first started Mountain Biking, my

girlfriend bought a bike and took it up with me.But after a few months I was totally bit by the bugand she decided it was too hard and didn't like it.So now she has taken a militant stand against itand doesn't even want to hear people talk about it.If I keep riding it will completely ruin ourrelationship. What do you think I should do?

Stunned in SteelDearStrlnned,

Wellllll ....you've come upon a common yetcomplex dilemma that has been faced bymany .... ehhhh ... avid cyclists throughout the

centu!'"ies. It it it comes down to one simplequestIOn: would you rather sleep with your girlfriend or your bike? That settled, my

recommendation is that you thoroughly cleanyour drivetrain so as not to get grease on yoursheets.

Dear Hughie,

Morning rides are my absolute favorite. But I

have a real problem. I can't wake mp without a

couple ofcups ofcoffee,but caffeine has a specifiC

effect on my intestinal tract which usually hits me

mid-ride. I find this very inconvenient especially

when 1ride with babes. What doyou suggest?

Regular in Rocky Ridge

DearRegular,

Uhhhhhh, yes, Isee you are, that is.... let'ssay....between....a rockand a soft place. My mainsuggestion is...well you understand ....,that thatthat uhhh, oh maybe Ishouldn't say this ...wellsince I'vestarted ..Jor the sake of our club's trailaccess issue at oak Mountain....uhhhh, you might

want to considerpartaking of your morning rideselsewhere.

C a l e n d a r o f Eyen tSJ anuary 5th-Wednesday 7pm. BUMP Monthly Meeting at

the Hoover Public Library, downstairs in the second meeting room onthe left. We will be having dinner afterwards at Guadalahara Mexican

R estaurantacross Highway 31 in the same s trip center as S mokey J oe'swhere we formerly met for dinner. This change is by order ofDr. J uanSaxon who says that good restaurants (and how everybody else in theworld shoulddrive) a re her areas of expertise. S o now we know.

J anuary 8th-S aturday 9am. Mystery BUMP ride, led bymysteryleaderto mysterytrail. We will meetat the Olive GardenneartheE astWood Mall. Call Hugh ifyou need the mystery unravelled sooner.

J anuary 9th-Sunday Warn. Trail Work Day meeting at theP arkO fficeon Terrace Driveat Oak M ountain.

J anuary 16th-S unday 11:45. BUMP training road ride ledby residentroad guru BarryHair. Meet at C ahaba Cycles for a 30 plus mile

ride, weather permitting. We will be leaving promptlyat N oon. CallBarry987 -8510.

J anuary 19th-Wednesday 7pm. BUMP Open SteeringCommittee meeting at Hugh L eader's house: 520 C liff P lace inHomewood. Call942-9128. Everybody is invited to atternd.

February 2nd-Wednesday 7pm. BUMP M onthly Meetingat the Hoover P ublic Library, downstairs in the second meeting room onthe left. We will be having dinner afterwards at Guadalahara MexicanR estaurantacross H ighway31 ifall goes well after the J anuarymeeting.

~Pe r sona l S < J .For Sale-Titanium Frame, call Tony. 646-2522

For Sale-BUMP sweatshirts only $15 and tank tops

only $10. See Hugh orcall 942-9128 or328-2626.

Wanted-Morning riding companions. I go to work

at 2pm and am interested in finding others able to

ride week day mornings. Call Bob at 979-1508.

For Sale-Control Stix Team Issue bar ends L-bend

163 gr. reg. $60, only $40 new in package. Avenir 8function computer new in box only $30. Shimano

RHO Road shoes size 42, reg. $130, only $80 also new

in box. Call Hardwick at 967-7413 evenings.

Wanted-Donations for trail maintenance at Oak

Mountain. Use BUMP envelopes provided at North

and South trailhead "Shrines" for donation boxes.

SutxnissiorlsTo submit information of any kind, write to: The

GRINDER City Office, 5401 9th Avenue SouthB'ham 35212. '