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Writings on Riding
This is the place for monthy content from
a few of our local members. Here you may find articles
about events in the Triangle, interviews with local
mountain bike leaders, write ups and editorials. Check
back here often for new "news" stories. Want to
be a regular contributer? Contact the webmaster at
trianglemtb@yahoo.com.
A
broken brother
by Wil
Mikes, December 2002
"See! I told you it was
dangerous!" was the email that greeted me one
Tuesday morning at work.
My friend Neal went for a ride and broke his collarbone.
You see, I've been working on building a bike in order to
do a little freeriding you know, a little hucking here, a
little chucking there. Well-intentioned friends who don't
ride have been warning me of the hazards and trying to
dissuade me from building this bike. Maybe I shouldn't
have let them watch those Kranked videos.
Back to Neal:
He decided on Monday to go for a ride
after work. It was a different path on a trail he rode
often, so he went by himself. He figured it shouldn't be
a problem because everybody goes for a ride by themselves
right? So down the trail he went. It was a good ride
getting the blood flowing and that just right amount of
sweat going. About a mile from the end of the ride, Neal
finds a new log with a little dirt on the front, making a
nice little ramp. Having taken a painful endo from not
checking out a jump before, he checks the run out just to
be sure. It looks good, so he backs up and takes it.
What happened, he's not really sure. He
seemed to hit the jump just fine but ended up landing
front wheel first, and not in a cool nose-wheelie way. He
doesn't know if he tapped the brake or not, if the rear
end got kicked up by the log, maybe the dirt ramp wasn't
set solid enough, it doesn't really matter. He does
remember seeing the hit coming and thinking about having
to tuck and roll, clip out, etc, (remember, he's been
here before)… and then he landed… hard, on his
helmet-shod head and shoulder. Next thing you know, he's
facing skyward, looking at all the cute little birdies
circling his noggin and doing the familiar body check.
Toes, check, feet, check, knees, check, sitting up,
PAINFUL, NO CHECK!
Nobody with him, no cell phone and in at
least a little shock, he gets himself up and heads for
the truck. Walking itself was an adventure. Not happy, in
pain, cussing the trail, himself, the bike, wondering
whether to sell the bike or scrap it, he finally comes
across some bikers headed into the trail. They made some
comment about him not looking too good, but offered him
use of their cell phone to call Kerry to pick him up. He
even met a biker med student who had broken his own
collarbone riding some other time and the med student
accurately diagnosed Neal.
Let's just say that you don't want to hear
your doc say, "Ewwww-ooowww" when they see you.
The specialist that can reset the break can see Neal
three weeks from his break! Meaning… Neal gets to
have his collarbone partially heal out of place to be
broken again to heal IN place.
The moral of this story: try not to ride
by yourself. If you do, take a cell phone in case
something bad happens so you can call for help. So you
know, the bike isn't scrapped or for sale, just a little
lonely with some dust building up, waiting patiently for
Neal to get all better and go on that next ride.
Look for more from Wil Mikes next month. He
enjoys freeriding and trials. Wil resides in Chapel Hill.
Sig's
Trail? Who is Sig? An interview with Sig Hutchinson
By Tim Broyer, December 31, 2002
The New Light trails were recently
voted the number one trail in the Raleigh area by
TriangleMTB.com users. It may not be your favorite
trail, but it would be hard to argue that you don't like
it. How did the Triangle get 18 miles of great single
track (not to mention the great trails at Beaver Dam)?
The answer is in large part due to Sig Hutchinson,
President of the North Raleigh Mountain Bike Association.
I recently sat down with Sig for an interview. He is a
vibrant character with a clear love for cycling and a
pillar among our local cycling community. This is a
compilation of the interview and not verbatim.
TMTB: Tell us a little about
yourself please? What do you do for a living?
Sig: I'm 50 years old,
married with one son and two wonderful grandchildren. I
have lived in Raleigh for 20 years. I am a producer/owner
for Success Today, a web based technology information
show out of Research Triangle Park.
TMTB: How long have you been
mountain biking?
Sig: My family has been bicycling
my whole life and I grew up riding a bike. I started
mountain biking long before it was considered cool, about
12 years ago. I consider myself a casual rider. I ride
about once a week, usually for 2-4 hours. I am very
cautious.
 TMTB:
So, you don' free ride or jump?
Sig: (laughing) No, I just get
through the ride. I don't like to fall!
TMTB: What drove you to build the
New Light Trails?
Sig: I used to ride the South Shore trail until
it closed. One day when I was trying to ride it, a park
ranger confronted me and stopped me from riding it. He
said it was closed to mountain bikers. "You can't
ride it and you will never be able to ride it". This
was a defining moment for me and the start of my cycling
advocacy. I wasn't going to let them stop me from riding
and enjoying the lake.
I joined the Triangle Greenways Council,
who built the South Shore trail. I was open and wanted
them to know I was a cyclist and I'm here to open trails
to bikes. The council was a group of old, nature lovers
with little knowledge of cycling. I eventually became the
president of the council. (Sig is also involved in
numerous avocations concerning cycling in the area,
including the Open Space Advisory Committee for Wake
County and the Capitol Area Metro Planning Organization.
He supports bike lanes and universal access for cyclists
and pedestrians on all new roadway projects. One of the
goals for the Triangle Greenways Council is a network of
paths completely connecting the Triangle. For example,
you would be able to ride from Apex to New Light on
greenways.) I was not able to get South Shore open to
cycling, so I started looking elsewhere.
The 800+ acres, where the New Light trails
sit, are on US Army Corps of Engineers land, which in
turn is leased out to the NC Wildlife Resources
Commission (WLC) and the NC Parks and Recreation
Department (NC Parks). Over the course of many years, I
established a relationship with both agencies. The WLC is
a hunter's rights group funded in part by hunting
licenses. They are an extremely strong lobby who take
very little public pressure. On the other hand, the NC
Parks department is your classic, government bureaucracy.
I approached both agencies with the idea of mountain
biking on their land. The WLC was flat out against it at
first. NC Parks was open, but the bureaucracy effect
slows everything down. On top of that, these two
departments can't stand one another.
Learning that an association has much more
clout in public forums than just one citizen, I formed
the North Raleigh Mountain Bike Association with the goal
to get trails in North Raleigh, specifically the Falls
Lake area. By establishing a relationship with the land
managers and working the system by making phone calls,
meetings and lobbying, I was able to gain permission for
trails on the WLC property known as New Light ( it took
over 4 years!). The president of WLC said I could use the
land but under certain restrictions. Don' bother hunters,
stay off it until hunting season is closed and don't
bring a lot of publicity to the area.
TMTB: Sig secured a gentlemen's
agreement to use New Light. It is important to know that
we are guests on the land and not to abuse the privilege.
Yes, privilege, not a right. There is no written
agreement for us to use the land. We could be kicked off
at any moment. To our credit we have been using it,
basically un-managed, for several years with no major
issues or run-ins. There have been a couple riders who
ran into hunters on days they shouldn't have been there
and someone actually vandalized some logging equipment.
For the most part, we are a clean, respectful bunch who
wants to have fun.
Sig: I didn't build the trails.
Bill Haste and Richard King did most of the building,
along with the Cooper group. They are a great bunch of
folks and did a wonderful job. In my opinion, they are
some of the best trails in the state. My role is to
maintain the relationship with WLC. I stay in contact
with them a couple times a year. They just want us to
keep a low profile and cause no problems for the hunters
and loggers. They gave us the opportunity to use the land
on their terms and I respect that. I produce the maps and
signs you see out there now. It is my way of helping to
build the trails. One of the biggest honors in my life
was having a trail named after me. Bill and Richard took
me out on some trails after finishing a large part and
asked me which one I liked the most. I said that last one
and they instantly dubbed it 'Sig's Trail'.
One day, I chanced upon an Army Corps
engineer who was there to take a look at their property.
I don't think he was prepared to see all the cars and
mountain bikers. I volunteered to show him around and
gave him a short tour of the trails. I indicated to him
that there was no litter and all the bikers had helmets.
They (the bikers) didn't run us off the trail and were
respectful. In fact, I showed him that everyone in the
parking lot was full of smiles. I love seeing everyone
there smiling. He was thoroughly impressed and I suspect
he filed a good report with his superiors.
TMTB: And Beaver Dam?
Sig: Well, that's another story. NC
Parks got pretty jealous of us using WLC land without an
agreement. Suffice to say, we eventually got permission
and funding to build the first ever trails in a state
park at Beaver Dam Recreation Area. It's a wonderful
success. We now have over 30 miles of trail (New light
and Beaver dam). I don't get discouraged (by
bureaucracy). I just keep calling and move the process
along.
TMTB: That is a wonderful story and
I for one was not aware of the land agreement for New
Light. I certainly will do my part not to screw it up.
What' going on with NRMBA now? Any new trails in the
future?
Sig: New light is full. We have
maximized our usage there and I plan on maintaining the
relationship with WLC so we can continue using it. NRMBA
is not really a club, but an advocacy for getting trails.
There is nothing really going on with it. We have a good
relationship with the folks at Beaver Dam and hope to add
more trails over the years. I'm still trying to connect
the Triangle with greenways. We are trying to get the
IMBA trail crew to come out to Beaver Dam and New light
this coming year.
TMTB: What are some things that you
see riders doing that piss you off?
Sig: I don't get pissed off really.
I hate to see litter and people not wearing a helmet. It
is stupid to violate the riding times at New Light
because the relationship is fragile. Oh yeah, and people
rip down the maps I put up at New Light.
TMTB: The current state of trail
advocacy and people building legal trails seems low in
the Triangle these days. Why is that?
Sig: A lot of people have made
mistakes when dealing with land managers. For some reason
I am good at it. They focus on their organization
(electing officers, getting money) and not the mission at
hand which is securing access and building trails. Some
are down right horrible at maintaining a relationship
with the land managers and have actually worsened the
situation. Also, you need patience
and persistence. It took four years to get Beaver Dam
approved and now the NC Parks guys rave about it. I try
to look at things strategically and politically.
TMTB: What do you think of New
Light being voted #1 in the Triangle? (He was not aware
of the poll and quickly cast his own vote.)
Sig: I love it. It's such a gas. I
love seeing people (out there) riding with smiles on
their face. Just look at everyone out there, they are all
smiling!
TMTB: What kind of bike are you
riding?
Sig: A Rocky Mountain full
suspension. I love it.
TMTB: What would you say to
everyone out there?
Sig: I enjoy seeing you ride. Have
fun. Miles of smiles.
TMTB: On behalf of all the mountain
bikers in the Triangle, thanks man. We absolutely love
the trails and appreciate the hard work you are doing. We
need more Sig's in the world.
Sig: I do it for the locals. I
don't do it for state wide exposure or magazine coverage.
I don't look for exposure on the trail. This is our
trail. We need to take care of it.
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