Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle
Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill
| TriangleMTB.com supports TORC, the triangle's largest mountain bike club |
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Your source for Mountain Biking in the Triangle Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill |
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Keep the photo submissions coming
Thanks for all your photo submissions.
Falls Lake Master Plan
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has initiated plans to update the Falls Lake Master Plan. The Master Plan provides reservoir managers with guidance and direction on land allocation and management, existing and future recreational opportunities and resources inventories. Master plans are updated to provide accurate goals and guidance for the given facility.
Please submit your comments via the online comment form provided here:
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Recreation/Master%20Plan/Falls%20Lake/Feedback.asp
You don't need to write a book pleading your case, a respectful intelligent request for dedicated single track mountain bike trails would be a good start.
Sorry for the late notice. For what ever reason, the dissemination of this information has been light and the public comment period is not as long as normal. Which is odd, since the master plan hasn't been updated since 1981. Make sure your voice is heard!
There will be two public open houses: January 26 at Durant Nature Park’s Campbell Lodge in Raleigh and January 27 at the Durham East Regional Libarary. Each open house will run from 5:00 – 7:00pm. There will be a discussion regarding the details of the Master Plan Update process and questions regarding the process will be answered.
Additional information regarding the Falls Lake Master Plan can be found here:
http://www.saw.usace.army.mil/Recreation/Master%20Plan/Falls%20Lake
Thanks!
SVMBA needs your help
If you've ridden Anglers, please share your thoughts with us through the websites listed below.
Please post a review of the Angler's Ridge trails on this site as well.
We will be meeting with City Council soon to discuss the economic impact that Virginia's 5th highest ranked trail system has had on our community over the past 7 years. Important points to include ...
the time and mileage you drive "roundtrip" to visit Danville, how many visits you've made in the past 6/12 months, what type of rider you are, do you bring your family, how are the trails at Anglers different from your "local" trails, what do you think about our races and other events, etc.
Our City Council and Economic Development members just need more insight from users as to the true "value" of our trail system. They don't hate trails ... they just simply don't see the "diamond" in the rough. The misnomer of "mountain bike" confuses them because they simply don't believe there are any "mountains" anywhere near Danville. Part of our presentation will be to discuss the "broad" use of the term "mountain" to describe "natural surface" trail riding and running. Your comments WILL be included in our presentation ... tentatively scheduled for January or February of 2010.
Post your reviews at the following websites ...
Singletracks.com ...
http://www.singletracks.com/php/trail.php?id=1468
MTBR.com ...
http://trails.mtbr.com/cat/united-states-trails/trails-virginia/trail/PRD_323599_4585crx.aspx
or e-mail them directly to ...
SVMBAinfo@comcast.net
Thanks for your support,
Chris Tompkins
SVMBA
Rainfall Map Overlay
We are pleased to release a new feature to our Triangle Area Map... USGS rainfall overlay.
Especially in the winter, a lot of us turn amateur weather men/women and scour various online displays
of rainfall trying to either justify riding or actually find a place to ride that hasn't had much rain.
All wet trail politics aside, I think this may be useful with ride planning.
Note: Rainfall data is based on USGS rain gage data
and is provided for informational purposes only.
The open/closed status of a trail rests with its management not this data.
The authority of land and trail managers must be respected.
The map below shows an overlay of USGS rainfall
in orange labels. Hovering your mouse over a rain label will popup the rainfall history covering from
2 hours to 7 days. Links above the map allow you to choose which timeframe interval you wish to display
on the orange labels (so you don't have to hover over each label if you want a different timeframe than
the default). This feature works in standard web browsers such as Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, etc.
but it's up to the manufacturers of mobile devices to make them work.
Static capture for illustration purposes only! Click the image below or here to see the real Triangle Area Map
Dirtvictim Invention
Our old pal Dirtvictim has an invention called the HexY3 to showcase.
See the youtube video for details and dirtvictim.com for ordering information.
New RTP Trail
There's a new trail on the block. It's simply called The RTP Trail and although is short in length, people
are making numerous positive comments about the trail. We have added the RTP trail to our
other trails section. From that page, you can find directions and a link to a map.
Light weight trail status
To better support mobile devices, we have released a light weight trail status page.
This page displays a quick summary of our current trail status without the rich features used on our home page and trail status
update page. In addition to this page, we are also reiterating that the additional information data for a trail status should only
be used when there is important information that cannot be covered with a simple open/closed status. Thanks for helping us keep
and display accurate and relevant trail status information!
Triangle Spokes Group
The Triangle Spokes Group realizes that many people have given to additional
charities in the past and should feel very proud of their contributions.
However, there are still many in our local communities that need your help
and we are hoping that you will find a place for the Triangle Spokes Group.
Over 300 families will be coming to the Raleigh Salvation Army this year,
and they will all be hoping to carry a bicycle home for one of their children.
Therefore, we have set a lofty goal in our 2nd year to raise $21,000 which
will be enough money for 300 bicycles! An order was placed back in August
for this amount, and because of the momentum from 2007 (we gave away 200 bikes
which was the largest bike giveaway in the history of Wake County) and the
great initial response from individuals and corporations to get involved,
we feel strongly that we can accomplish our goal of 300 bikes. So far we
are about halfway to our goal! EVERY dollar of donations go to the purchase
of a bicycle, with zero administration expense. The Triangle Spokes Group pays
for all administration expenses on a personal basis. Thanks to the help of the
Charlotte chapter we have been able to get a quality bike, helmet, and assembly
from Huffy for $70.00.
Please visit their web site www.trianglespokesgroup.com and consider donating.
Cyclist hit in malicious attack
Two cyclists were riding around 4pm on Saturday June 28 2008 (one cyclist is
training for the Beach to Battleship & they were riding a 45 mi/loop out
Apex/Lake Jordan way) and a car deliberately hit one cyclist, then tried to
hit the other, missed, and then bolted. The rider is fine physically, but
these people did this on purpose, which is beyond comprehension, and they're
still out there somewhere. the riders were between the SkyWay gas station on
Old Route 1 traveling southbound and the back entrance to Pea Ridge Rd. when
this happened. Ambulance, State Police and Chatham Co. Sheriff were all
there after and they've been given as much description as possible, but they
don't think that they have enough to go off of - it was a charcoal grey
Chrysler 300 M w/ the first license plate letters "XYT" and it has a newer
NC plate w/ red lettering. This was no accident at all - they deliberately
hit the cyclist and then tried for the other- the rider saw the car come up
quickly in his peripheral vision and then saw the front passenger open their
door to try to hit him with it, they missed and the rider heard a girl
shouting from in the car, "Just go, go go!" The driver floored it and wildly
went around a Ford Explorer that was in front of it - that driver witnessed
the whole thing and got the partial of the plate, came back to the scene,
etc. - the cyclist was able to lean right & get out of the way, and as soon
as he could wrap his head around what was going on & that it was deliberate,
he looked back to see his fellow rider down & in the road. He went back to
get to her & get her out of the road, take care of her, etc. - she's beat up
& has road rash, but otherwise is okay. Her helmet is cracked in two places
and the front-end of her new tri bike was messed up, and we're all pretty
angry, I think - especially her!
Anyway, we're going to see this car out there again, at some point, since
they're still out there - charcoal gray Chrysler 300 w/ "XYT" as the first
three letters. unbelievable!
If you have any information, please call the Raleigh Police Department’s Detective Division at 919-890-3555.
The Land (www.freeridepark.com)
I received the following email and thought it would be of general interest. - TMTB
Greetings fellow mountain bikers
My name is Dave Dobbs and I'm writing to you about an 80 acre piece of freeride paradise called The Land (www.freeridepark.com). It's privately owned property in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of upstate NY where freeride trails have been under development for over 3 years. It's a place of top quality natural construction whose stunts and flow are unmatched outside of the Vancouver area. While currently closed to the public, there is a strong chance that The Land will open publicly in the coming year. Which brings me to why I'm writing to you
We're looking to develop some interest in The Land to help remove some of the roadblocks that are keeping this gem from being opened to you and other riders. This would be a first of its kind dedicated freeride park tailored to the intermediate and advanced rider.
To generate interest, we're selectively asking other mountain biking sites to add a link to our site, freeridepark.com, out of good faith and good will. Our current support page is dedicated to the long time volunteers and financial supporters of The Land, but may in the future include reciprocal links back to those that have supported us. So we're asking you TriangleMTB.com for your help in the growth of the grassroots freeride movement. If this is something that you're interested in or are willing to do, please contact myself or the property owner/webmaster Dave Royka at droyka@gmail.com to set things up. If you're not, then thanks for reading this letter and should you ever change your mind don't hesitate to contact Dave in the future.
Thanks for your time, and happy trails!
Dave Dobbs
Land Trail Manager
www.freeridepark.com
Nethingfast@gmail.com
Share the Road License Plate
The Share the Road license plate is now available for all NC
residents. Go to the NCDOT Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian web
site and download the application form.
http://www.ncdot.org/transit/bicycle/
Once we have the requisite applications and fees (300), the Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation will turn both over to the Division of Motor Vehicles, who will then enter this information into their system and request the manufacturing process to begin. This could take as long as three months. If at this point there are less than 3 months till your normal license renewal date, DMV will hold your plate until that date. You will keep your assigned number or "Personalized" moniker.
Twenty dollars of the thirty dollars collected in fees for each "Share the Road" plate will be transferred back to the Division of Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation for bicycle safety and education initiatives. This will give everyone an opportunity to help promote highway safety and emphasize the importance of "Sharing the Road".
Some things you can do to help promote mountain biking.
There are three fairly simple things you can do each year
that are small individually, but whose combined effect
is very significant. The 20 - 20 - 20 rule can be effective (with inflation
it may be more correct to call it the 30 - 30 - 30 rule)
$20 to join IMBAWould you like more trails in the area? Would you like better trails? Would you like to have more stunts?
$20 to join your local mountain bike club
20 hours of volunteer trail work
Be somebody! Ever hear talk like somebody should call... or somebody ought to... or somebody needs to... ? Well, why not be somebody? We are all busy, but nothing gets done without effort. We all have differing amounts of time and effort we are willing to put forth and there are different levels of being somebody. If you are unsure of what you can do, please contact one of the local clubs for leadership. If you are a self-starter and can go the distance, consider contacting land managers and figuring out what needs to be done, develop a plan, and follow through. Once you get the door open, you will likely get support following directly behind.
How
you can help get more trails on the ground?
There's Strength in Numbers--Subscribe to the email network,
and then tell your friends to do the same. The more folks we can
get involved, the better, especially when we need a showing of support
for new trails.
Pick your favorite project -- Browse this site to learn about some of the projects fellow mountain bikers are working on and find out how you can help them to get a specific trail open.
Cash Money-- Please consider donating cash to trail organizations that will use it to make maps, trail signs, and buy trail repair materials. These include all four of the organizations listed above as well as TriangleMTB.com.
Talk to Your Buds-- Tell other mountain bikers about this web site and how they can help with new singletrack projects.
Prevent
Trail Closings-- The best way to keep our trails open is to
take care of them. Pack out what you pack in, pick up any litter
you see, stay on the trails, don't ride closed trails, and be courteous
to everyone you meet on the trail.
Support IMBA-- International
Mountain Biking Association
Doing Trail work? Belong to a local cycling club? Have an opinion?
Have a passionite story concerning riding? Organizing a ride?
TriangleMTB.com is an online resource for mountain bikers in the
Triangle. I encourage all riders and clubs to send in news and information
that want posted to trianglemtb@yahoo.com
and help spread the word. Please give two weeks prior notice so we have time
to create the necessary pages.
About TriangleMTB.com
Trianglemtb.com is an online resource for all mountain bikers in
the Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill region of NC. It was created
to help mountain bikers all over the Triangle to connect and communicate
so, together; we can build more places for mountain biking. TriangleMTB.com
is meant to bring together all the clubs and individuals in the
Triangle who are working to build mountain bike trails. It's here
as a gathering place--where bikers can tell the world about their
favorite projects, share trail-building advice, advertise town meetings,
races, and ribbon-cuttings, and learn about old and new places to
ride. TriangleMTB.com was created
and evolved by the work of several individuals as a donation to the
mountain bike community. There is no fee for using TriangleMTB.com and the
sponsors deserve thanks for paying the web bills.
We encourage you to donate your time and dollars to trail projects and trail clubs in the Triangle. Please visit this site again to learn about the latest news, and consider checking in on the forums from time to tome to see what is going on.
"I
thought of that while riding my bicycle."
- Albert Einstein on the theory of relativity
