NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION Files... · 2018. 11. 12. · Women (in the sport of mountain bik-ing) came out of the woods (and woodwork) in 2017 following the inaugural NEMBA

Fall 2018 #157www.nemba.org

Fall 2018 #157www.nemba.org

NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION

2 |FALL 2018 Ride the Trails

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 Editor & Publisher: Philip Keyes

Contributing Writer: Bill Boles

Executive Director: Philip [email protected]

NEMBAPO Box 2221

Acton MA 01720

Board of DirectorsAdam Glick, President

Matt Schulde, Vice-PresidentAnne Shepard, TreasurerHarold Green, Secretary

Rob Adair, White Mountains NEMBAJohn Anders, Midcoast Maine NEMBAAaron Brasslett, Penobscot Region NEMBADavid Burnham, Wachusett NEMBAPaula Burton, FC NEMBAMatt Caron, Southern NH NEMBASteve Cobble, SE MA NEMBAGrant Drew, Central NH NEMBAPerry Ermi, Cape Cod NEMBADisa Fedorowicz, Central Maine NEMBABrian Forestal, BV NEMBATim Friedmann, SE MA NEMBAChris Gaudet, Southern NH NEMBAPeter Gengler, RI NEMBAJeremy Hillger, Pemi Valley NEMBADavid Hughes, Carrabassett Region NEMBAStacey Jimenez, Quiet Corner NEMBAJohn Joy, Central CT NEMBAHank Kells, North Shore NEMBAMorgan Laidlaw, Midcoast Maine NEMBAFrank Lane, North Shore NEMBARob Lavoie, Greater Portland NEMBAAlex Leich, White Mountains NEMBABob Lesmerise, Franconia Area NEMBACraig MacDonald, Penobscot Region NEMBAFred Meyers, Wachusett NEMBABarry Moore, Merrimack Valley NEMBAChris Nicodemus, Franconia Area NEMBAPeter Poanessa, BK NEMBATim Post, Pioneer Valley NEMBAJon Regan, Northwest CT NEMBASteve Richardson, Merrimack Valley NEMBAChris Riley, Central Maine NEMBABrett Russ, Wachusett NEMBAPete Schrader, BK NEMBAMaciej Sobieszek, Greater Boston NEMBACory Stiff, SE CT NEMBAJoshua Tauses, Carrabassett Valley NEMBAShelly Temple, Central NH NEMBAGlenn Tourtellot, Quiet Corner NEMBARyan Tucker, Fairfield County NEMBAGlenn Vernes, Central CT NEMBABrian Vibert, Northwest CT NEMBA

SingleTrackSFall 2018, Number 157

Paper TrailFeatures — 4Basic Biking — 8Chapter News

• Connecticut — 10• Maine — 17• Massachusetts — 23• New Hampshire — 32• Rhode Island — 39

NEMBA Rides — 40Support our Sponsors — 42

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

On the Cover: Adele Paquin (Pioneer ValleyNEMBA) racing at the Gnar Weasels inBrownville,VT (www.bikereg.com/ gnar-weasels). Photo by Meg McMahon. You can fol-low Meg on Instragram, mcmahon_meg.

Do you have a photo that would make a goodcover shot? Email it to [email protected]

Want to Underwrite in ST?SingleTracks offers inexpensive and targetedunderwriting 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

“But I’m Not a

Leader”:

NEMBA’s Women’s

Leadership Summitby Disa Fedorowicz

4

Save the Trails SingleTrackS No. 157| 3


F E A T U R E

Women (in the sport of mountain bik-ing) came out of the woods (andwoodwork) in 2017 following theinaugural NEMBA Women's Summit.

But what was the cost/benefit out-come for all of that volunteer sweatand financial investment? Leaders.Ladies went back to their communi-ties and formed groups, organizedrides, and even designed logos to puton jerseys for these new groups. Achapter that was in peril of disband-ing, acquired a new president, becauseshe had been so inspired from attend-ing a panel on Advocacy. Anotherchapter in Connecticut formed underthe command of their new lady prez.That seems like a pretty decent returnon investment.

"Uhm, seriously? Now you guys needyour own retreat? What's with all this'women's only' stuff anyway?"

So without diving down a huge rabbit

"But I'm Not A Leader": NEMBA’s Women's Leadership RetreatBy Disa Fedorowicz

Thirty-eight women leaders from NEMBA’s chapters gathered for the first-ever leadership summit


F E A T U R E

hole; men and women are not thesame, but we can complement thehell out of each other when giventhe space and opportunity to figureit out. Let it be known that thiswasn't a weekend of man bashingand burning sports bras. Thanks tothe unanimous support from maleleadership within the BoD, andplanning committee chairs BrendaSmith (BV NEMBA) and MaryMcCarthy (GB NEMBA),

Thirty-eight women, representingthe majority of chapters, spent theweekend (camping) at SusanHanus' Stepping Stones Inn & Spain beautiful Burke, Vermont.However, this was not a group ofladies sitting around with cucum-bers on their eyes, getting pedi-cures and talking about their feel-ings. OK, there was a lot of talking,but with equal parts listening.

The four areas of focus included;Engaging Women in Trail Building& Maintenance, Advocacy, Group Fast friends from all over New England enjoy the trails at KT while participating in 2018 NEMBA

Photo by Kristine ReillyContinued on page 6


Rides, Leading Rides & Developing a RideSeries, and Building Future Women Leaders.The new Executive Director of KingdomTrails, Abby Long, also gave an inspiringpresentation and graciously fielded a bat-tery of our questions.

So while the collective demographic wasfemale, the individual attendees representeda range of incredibly diverse backgroundsincluding; bike mechanic, architect, forester,teacher, physical therapist, journalist, ecol-ogist. Women who can handle a chainsawand a classroom of special needs kids, thengo home and deal with a 3 year old, dinnerand show up to a DCR meeting. These radladies are the multi-tasking CEOs of theirown microcosm; planning, logistics, budg-eting, communication, de-escalation andconflict resolution which are all superhandy, transferable skills for serving on aboard and dealing with other organizationsthat impact the sport of mountain biking.

'What role do you play in NEMBA today,and what do you want it to be in two years?'

By a show of hands the majority of womendid not identify as a "leader"- althoughclearly someone from their chapter did,

F E A T U R E

Alison McGee, President of Berkshire NEMBA, and Kimberly Bradley, President of Southeastern CTNEMBA, talk about the challenges and the rewards of leadership.


because we were all sat there staring ateach other's arms in the air. However,'wanting to help' and saying "yes" was theshared common trait. So what exactly isthe measurable ROI for a retreat promot-ing female leadership amongst a group ofreluctant or unassuming leaders? Becauseit's not a sustainable goal if the purpose isto get an increased volume of women rid-ing in the woods, or representing on theirlocal boards purely for the sake of havingequal numbers. Perhaps the most mean-ingful and immediately visible outcome ofthe retreat will be to see the ladies whohave pledged to serve on the board oftheir local chapters, take a mountain bikeinstructor course, and attend the NEMBASummit in Cape Cod. To become moreengaged with their communities and theorganization, this is the catalyst for hav-ing an increasingly diverse demographicon and off the trails.

No one needs to be in a position of lead-ership if they aren't qualified, interestedor motivated by the mission. And it cer-tainly should not based on gender (orquotas). People are in leadership because they said 'yes'; they showup, speak up, and repeat. Many thanks and much gratitude to NEMBA

for fostering a culture that is encouraging women to step up and takeownership. Because #WeGetSh!tDone.

F E A T U R E

Abigail Long, Kingdom Trails Association’s new Executive Director, shares her perspective about manag-ing an organization that stewards a major mountain bike destination.


Blessed fall weather! The seemingly endless heat and enervatinghumidity we suffered through for the majority of last summer is gone.Now, finally, we get to enjoy what's arguably the best riding seasonof the year. The trails actually seem more fun and easier to ride. Or,maybe it's just the bigger smiles I see on everyone's else faces.

As the riding season springs into fall you can't help but notice all thepeople enjoying weekly group rides on new bikes.

All the manufacturer's have released their 2019 models and there's alot of excitement in the air over the features and improvements nowavailable.

But, do you really need a new bike? Or, do you just need a newer bike?

Most people stick with the brand of bikes that they're on when con-sidering a newer bike. But, if your current bike is only a couple ofyears old, will there really be that much of a change if you get a newerversion of the same thing? Of course, many people are consideringsomething completely different.

However, the biggest deterrent to a new bike purchase is the price.Ever escalating bike and component prices turn a lot of people off anddefinitely effect new bike sales.

Consider this, a new bike, one or two years old had the same amountof excitement about it that this year's crop of newbies do now. But,you could buy a used version of it for about half of it's prior retail

price and far, far, less than that what that same model would costtoday.

I've always advocated putting off a new bike purchase until you'resure that the bike you're considering is better than what you havenow. The best way to determine this is to ride as many bikes as youcan until you find one that fits the bill. It may take you 2-3 years todiscover a new bike that you just have to have.

Many online sites, including some Facebook pages, advertise usedbikes.

Many customers want the latest and greatest bike, every year. Agrowing number of bike dealers take bikes in trade. For these shopsevery new bike purchase adds to that dealer's used bike inventories.If your dealer takes trades, check out his stocks. You might find a bar-gain.

If you do decide to purchase a new, or even used, bike. Sell your oldone as soon as you can. Don't let its value depreciate till it's almostworthless. Whatever you get for your old bike will offset your newbike's purchase price.

Then too consider upgrading your current bike. Over the last fewyears single chainring systems have become the norm on high endbikes. As have wheels with wider rims coupled with wider tires.Would there be a big difference between your current bike and a newone if you did some upgrades. Wouldn't that save you a lot of money?

B A S I C B I K I N G

New Or Used or Not?By Bill Boles


B A S I C B I K I N G

If you're considering a completelydifferent brand or type of bike,check into bike demo days. Or,ride a friend's bike of that brand.Some dealers have demo pro-grams. While others have rentals.Never buy before you try. Thereare a LOT of great bikes out there.Make sure that the one youchoose is the best choice thatyou can make for yourself.

Or, wait till next year! There willbe even more great options then.

This autumn you may find your-self riding around on a newerbike. Or your old one. But eitherway I expect that your smiles willbe much larger than they were inthe Dog Days of Summer.

Happy Trails.



It's been a busy summerwith lots of trail mainte-nance, organized rides andhot temps. Fall 2018 is gear-ing up to be just as fun andfilled with more trail buildingand lots of events.

The trail gnomes have beenhard at work clearing andbuilding flowy trails at RiverHighlands in Cromwell. The trails we've built inthe southern half of the park are getting ravereviews, and have made the place a local hot spot.But we're not finished yet. Our next goal is to makeriding the northern half of the park just as goodbeginning with rerouting the blue blazed trail.Some of you might not be familiar with this trail asit is lightly used. Although it's fairly long, it does-n't take advantage of the terrain it runs through.The new trail will flow and make better use of themany undulations in the area. The first segment ofthe new trail, about ¼ mile long, should be openfor riding but not quite finished by the time youread this. Check nemba.org for a schedule of ridesand trail building events happening almost everyweekend at the park.

Throughout June and July there were several ladiesrides at Branford Supply Ponds and plans for sometrail clean up there hopefully this fall.

Gear up for several local events. Our biggest annu-al event is the Fall Fiesta Saturday, September 29 atGay City State park in Hebron, CT. This is a "ThankYou" for all our members who support NEMBA allyear long. Rides and food are all just a small part ofthe fun. Registration starts at 8:30 a.m. with ridesbeginning at 9 a.m. For more info, visit nemba.org.Meet up with your fellow mountain bikers whohave helped keep our trails open and fun to ride.And bring a friend!

After you have all that fun at the Fall Fiesta, con-sider learning how to build more great trails at theNEMBA Trail School November 3, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30p.m. at River Highlands. Coffee, snacks and lunchare included. This course is perfect for riders, trailenthusiasts, land stewards and land managersinterested in learning about what makes for sus-tainable, enjoyable trails and how to take care ofthem. The course will include classroom presenta-tions on the best practices of trail building andmaintenance in the morning, followed by hands-on trail building clinics in the afternoon. For more

info and to register, visit nemba.org.

Other events include the 1st Annual AutumnDonut Ride & Fundraiser on Sept 22 at 9:30 a.m.at Rockland, hosted by Liv, CCT NEMBA andAction Sports of Branford. This 10-mile intermedi-ate, no drop, ride is open to guys, gals and kids.Come ride through the beautiful RocklandPreserve, and afterwards munch on Tony's famousSquare Donuts and sip some locally made applecider. Suggested $5 donation for local animal res-cue group. For details, visit nemba.org.

Bring your scary to the 5th Annual Halloween Ride& Costume Contest, Saturday October 27 at 10amat Rockland Preserve, Deadhill Road, Durham, CT.Come in costume for this fun intermediate, nodrop ride. Prizes given to the best 4 costumes!Snacks and more cider afterward. For more info,nemba.org.

To burn off your Thanksgiving dinner, gear up forthe two Turkey Burners (North and South), at Caseand Branford Supply Ponds. More details to followvia NEMBA e-newsletter.

In the spring, we surveyed our membership. Wewanted to share some of the results:

• 51 people responded• Felt NEMBA focus should be on• Keeping trails open

o Trail maintenanceo Opening new trails o Getting more women and young

people into the sport• Favorite places to ride

o Case, Rockland, Gay City, and Cowlestopped the list

• How they get NEMBA Newso Singletracks and NEMBA e-news(outpaced Facebook surprisingly)

• Majority of respondents were guys• Average age of our NEMBA membership is 36 to

55We gave away $50 Pedal Power gift certificates to3 randomly picked respondents. Congrats to: BillKelly, Jim Storms, and Josh Pennington.

Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey, sup-port NEMBA, build trails, help kids ride bikes andrespect the trails and environment. We need younow and always, to keep the trails maintained andopen for future generations!

—Lisa M. Maloney

C O N N E C T I C U T

Central CTPresident: Glenn Vernes,

[email protected]: Lisa MaloneyTreasurer: John JoySecretary: Peter FinchAt Large: Jason Engelhardt, Lisa Maloney,

Jon Petersen, Marc OtfinoskiBOD Reps: John Joy, Glenn VernesCT Web: www.ctnemba.comFacebook: “Central CT NEMBA”

The new pumptrack at Rockland is ready to ride! Photo by Glenn Vernes

Tuesday night ladies ride at Branford Supply Ponds: Elaine Allen, Lisa Lochner, Lisa Maloney and LoriDaley. Lisa Maloney



We had a hot and dry startto our summer here inFairfield County, but itquickly turned to weeks ofrain, high humidity, andgreasy rocks and roots. Wethank everyone for avoidingmuddy trails during thisunexpected mud season.

We've been working withthe Ridgefield ConservationCommission on 2 new trails. The "Ledges Trail" inPine Mountain is scheduled to open soon. It willrun along the ridge from the existing lookout to theinformation kiosk, providing a series of excellentviews of Bennett's Pond and the valley below.There's also a major project in Hemlock Hills that'sjust getting started - an old hunting trail will beextended and blazed this fall. We've been doingwork at the other Connecticut State Parks on an adhoc basis. State budget cuts have reduced theability of CT DEEP to respond to tree-fall so ourchainsaws have been seeing more action lately.

Rides - the Ridgefield Bicycle Company Tuesdaynight and Sunday morning MTB Rides are under-way, and we've been participating in the RidgefieldBicycle Sports Club's "Thirsty Thursday" rides,offering a mountain bike option. Outdoor SportsCenter mountain bike rides are happening weekly -there's a new Facebook group "Mountain BikeGroup Rides" if you want to join in the fun in theWilton CT area. Also Dave's Wilton WoodsWednesday advanced "stuntery" rides have beenwell attended - when it wasn't raining, of course!

Congratulations to Coach Monika and the FairfieldCounty Youth Cycling Team for a great year. Theteam placed first in the 2018 CCAP Spring MTBSeries! Big thanks to all who helped. Many of ourkids also participated in a midsummer CCAP MTBCamp, held at UConn Storrs. This week-long train-ing camp is designed specifically for juniors, andincluded rides at nearby trail systems and a down-hill day at Killington.

Trail School is set for October 21 at the WestonPublic Library and in partnership with theAspetuck Land Trust. Trail school starts at 8amand wraps around 12:30pm. Then, we'll head in fora practical session at Trout Brook Valley focused onsustainable trail design concepts, trail mainte-nance, and building techniques. In addition, we

are planning an advanced class in the spring cover-ing more complex topics like trail layout, reroutes,and rock armoring.

—Mike Malwitz

Ciaran sends it at Wilton Woods. Photo by John Sweeney

Coach Monika Stokes and the CCAP Downhillers. Photo by Gunnar Waldman

FairfieldCounty

President: Mike Malmitz,[email protected]

VP: Gunnar WaldmanSecretary: Monika StokesTreasurer: David Francefort

At Large: Rich Coffey, Kyaeira Tucker

BOD Reps: Mike Malwitz, Ryan Tucker

Website: www.fcnemba.org



Summer in Connecticut hasbeen very warm and gettingout riding has been a chal-lenge due to afternoonthunderstorms and frequentrain. I want to welcome allour new chapter members,all 32 of them at last count!Despite the challengingweather, when we have hadrides, folks come out andhave a good time. TheMonday intermediate and the Tuesday Beginnersrides each have a regular group of 8-10 people.The Thursday Women's ride has a small but dedi-cated group. Thursday Intermellow has beenplagued by thunderstorms. I want to thank all theride leaders, Dave Herde, Lisa Bilodeau, LoriJohnstone, Erica Russell and Mark Lurie.

We had a great time riding the new Trolley Dashtrail and visiting the Woodbury Brewery at ourmeeting in August. Speaking of the TrolleyProperty, another new trail is being flagged named,"Off Your Trolley" and Bill Lake has scheduled twowork days in September to start building. HVNEM-BA will also be represented at the Woodbury Fairon Sept. 29. We do need volunteers to sit at thetable for a couple of hours. Contact Paula Burton ifyou can help out .

Thanks to Andy Engel, progress continues atWaldo, and check the schedule for more rides andwork days. Unfortunately, the gate has been closedon weekends due to excessive trash. Paula hasbeen in touch with the DEEP about this issue andthey will be issuing tickets for trash and for illegalparking. There is parking at Shepaug Dam untilLabor Day.

Rockhouse Hill Sanctuary initiated its next phasefor expanding the trail system. HVNEMBA isassisting Oxford High School's Youth ConservationCorps and Joe Lanier with developing a well-designed and sustainable single track system.Paula Burton is collaborating with Joe Lanier todesign 2 + miles intermediate trail with plenty offun trail features. About ½ mile is rideable at thistime and a dedicated group (Lisa Bilodeau, ArmandBroncal, and Bob Bergen) has been clearing the restof the trail corridor despite the humidity and heat.The Oxford Conservation and the Oxford YouthConservation Corps have 4-5 miles of mountainbike friendly trails in the planning process. Thesenew trails are being constructed for a more chal-lenging and technical ride, along making a com-

plete circuit with two existing trails. There are stillplans for continuing our expansion on Moose HillRoad parcel, then reassessing existing trails run-ning the Housatonic River ridge line in the nearfuture. Also save the date: REI is sponsoring a workday, pizza, and ride planned on Sun. Sept. 30 at theRockhouse Hill Sanctuary.

Erica Russell and Paula Burton representedHVNEMBA at the very interesting and fun NEMBAWomen's Leadership Retreat held at the SteppingStones Spa in Lyndonville VT. Erica reports," The2018 NEMBA Women's Leadership Retreat was aweekend of firsts for me. I had never been on aretreat, never spent a weekend mountain bikingwith only women and had never been to KingdomTrails. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, and eagerto hit some single track. It was inspiring to meet so

many women who are leaders in NEMBA and somany aspiring to rise through the ranks of moun-tain biking. I was fortunate to link up with a groupof women compatible to me regarding skill andspeed. Even though they were all on 27.5 and uptires and mostly full suspension, I held my own,which helped to boost my confidence. Because ofthis weekend, I plan to participate in more coedgroup rides, help with beginner rides and go shredas much as possible!"

The chapter is planning an all levels fun ride andpicnic in Nov. hosted by Lisa Bilodeau and ArmandBroncal. Keep an eye out for details! Hope to seeeveryone riding or building or both!

—Paula Burton

This is the new HV chapter enjoying the new Trolley Dash Trail. From 8/9 ride & meeting in WoodburyCT. Photo by Bill Lake (in the front built the trail)

Finding Waldo! Our thanks to all the chapter volunteers who helped clear the park after the stroms.Photo by Lisa Boudreau

HousatonicValley

President: Paula Burton

VP: Bill LakeSecretary: Lisa BilodeauTreasurer: Lori Johnstone

At Large: Dave Herde, Mike Geci, JoeLanier

Website: www.nemba.org/hvnembaFacebook: Housatonic Valley NEMBA


The great weather and rid-ing conditions of fall areupon us! After a summerfilled with unbearablehumidity, powerful thun-derstorms and a seeminglyconstant deluge of rain,trail conditions haveremained remarkably good.Other than a few treescoming down in the numerous thunderstorms, theriding areas in Northwest CT have been spared theutter devastation experienced by some other ridingareas in the state.

Our weekly Wednesday night group ride has con-cluded for the season. I would like to send a bigthank you to everyone that made them such agreat success this year, especially the ride leadersand guides. The revamped format worked great andwe experienced some of the largest groups we haveever assembled. We hope to schedule some addi-tional group rides throughout the fall season sokeep an eye out for updates on social media and inour email blast (sign up for our email list herehttp://nwctnemba.org/?q=node/64) Once againthanks for coming out and doing the group thingthis year.

Although not always visible, the trail stewardshave been busy the last few months clearing downtrees and keeping pace with the overgrowth. Trailtrimming is certainly not a glamorous trail workbut vastly improves the visibility, flow and overallriding experience. As we head into the cooler fallweather keep an eye out for some additional workdays to address some of the larger projects and getthe trail systems ready for winter season.

It's been some time since our last chapter meetingso one is on the schedule for Tuesday October23rd. The meeting will take place in the communi-ty room at the Burlington Public Library and isplanned to start at 6pm. The topics of discussionwill be broad ranging. We welcome all to attend,your input and ideas are extremely valuable andwill help to guide NW CT NEMBA forward.

In parting, remember that we are nearing the startof hunting season! We all share the forest and thistime of year the hunters are out in full force enjoy-ing the limited window they have here inConnecticut to pursue their passion. Brush up onthe hunting seasons, rules and regulations on theDEEP website and show them the respect that weas mountain bikers would expect from them in

return. Respect gets respect!

Happy trails,

—Jon Regan


Cara Regan rockin’ it. Photo by Kenneth Braley

Wednesday Social Ride. Photo by Dennis Tyburski

Northwest CTPresident: Jon Regan, jonr@nwctnem-

ba.org

Vice-President Burlington: Scott Ruel

Vice-President Cowles Park: T.J. Jacisu

Vice-President Harwinton: BrianKelleher

Treasurer: Cara Regan

Secretary: Brian Vibert

Event/Ride Coordinator: Margie BowenWebsite: www.nwctnemba.orgFacebook: “NW CT NEMBA”


Fun Rides At the time of publication,our annual Old FurnaceFun Ride in Danielson, CT,on September 9th has notyet happened. Stay tunedto the next Singletracksissue for a recap and pix!We hope you joined us forthis fun and challengingevent.

On October 13th (rain date Oct 14) we will againpartner with The Last Green Valley (a national her-itage corridor) to lead a Walktober MountainBike Ride as part of their very successful eventseries. After almost 30 years, this event drawspeople from more than 3 states for 100s of freeguided walks, hikes, rides and paddles throughoutthe Quinebaug Shetucket Heritage Corridor.NEMBA members are always welcome, butthrough The Last Green Valley marketing, we hopeto attract non-NEMBA attendees to teach themabout our organization and the trails at GoodwinState Forest in Hampton, CT, where the ride will beheld. All levels of riders are welcome for this freeguided tour.

Group Ride Season Wrap UpWe are sad to see the sun set earlier every day butanticipate cooler autumn temperatures as we fin-ish our group ride season for our weekday, after-work rides. Mellow Monday was our best seller andwe will continue to offer it next year, hopefullywith the addition of a regular beginner group. Wehave had great interest from new mountain bikersthis year, all ages and genders, and look forward togiving them the attention they deserve to learn tolove the sport as much as we do. This year ourWomen's Ride occasionally teamed up with ourclose neighbors Blackstone Valley NEMBA, RINEMBA and SE CT NEMBA to share our favoriteriding spots, and hope to do so again next year.

NEMBA Women's Leadership RetreatQC NEMBA sponsored three women to attend theretreat at Kingdom Trails this August. The ladiescould not say enough positive things about thisevent and how inspired they felt after attending it.They returned with new friends, contacts, informa-tion, education, good feelings AND action plans.They reported back to our chapter at our Augustmeeting, sharing what they learned. They also

shared personal goals for where they wish to be inour sport and in our organization in the future. Itwas a very valuable experience and they areextremely grateful for the support that fellow rid-ers, male and female, and our NEMBA leaders haveshown women riders.

We are very excited to have so many strong femaleleaders in our chapter.

Advocacy at WorkWhile we all love riding and having fun, none of itwould be possible without consistent advocacy foraccess, etiquette, trail network expansions andmaintenance over the years.

We recently met with the Town of Mansfield

regarding trails within Schoolhouse and success-fully advocated to keep all trails as they are at thistime. The town is open to QC NEMBA doing a fullassessment and proposing adjustments or addi-tional trails for town review. This project will takesome time, but we are excited to continue to workwith the Town of Mansfield.

Fall is here and so is voting season, so pay atten-tion to you local town and state proposals.

Trail WorkLike most places in the Northeast, our trails werea jungle this summer! Crazy ferns, tall grasses,prickly pricker bushes and outrageous mushroomshave seen relentless growth from all the rain andheat. We have pruned & chopped at every chance,in addition to cleaning up the usual post-stormdeadfalls. QC NEMBA had a successful work day atOld Furnace on August 5th and another just beforeour Fun Ride to make sure our trails were clear andsafe.

We anticipate another rough winter of deadfallwith all the oaks killed from the past multiple yearsof gypsy moth invasion. If you want to be on thecall list for post storm clean up (these we oftenunpredicted, reactive trail days), please send us anemail to be added to the work crew list.

We have several projects in the works with theState as well as towns and other similar interestgroups. Updates will be provided at chapter meet-ings and within the Facebook group.

Want to learn more about our efforts? Join us atour chapter meetings where we discuss projects,events, and other chapter news.

**For more details, check out the ride descriptionson the NEMBA website. Weather changes, starttimes and locations are posted each week in theQuiet Corner NEMBA (Group Forum) on Facebook(www.facebook.com/groups/QuietCornerNEMBA).

—Cris Cadiz & Stacey Jimenez


Always a great turnout in the summer heat for our Mellow Monday FIGI edition - Ice Cream Ride!

Heather Merson rocks the rock bridge on MellowMonday at Goodwin State Forest.

Quiet CornerPresident: Stacey Jimenez,

[email protected]

VP: Kris Schreiner

Treasurer: Glenn Tourtellot

Secretary: Cathy Cody

Public Relations: Cris CadizFacebook Page: Quiet Corner NEMBAFacebook Group: Quiet Corner NEMBA

(Group Forum)Webpage: www.nemba.org/qcnemba


The steamy hot days ofAugust are transitioninginto cool beautiful fall rid-ing conditions. It has beena busy summer inSoutheastern CT!

The SECT NEMBA Chapterofficially has a fresh newlook. Stephen Janus, alocal graphic designer, vol-unteered his time todevelop the perfect iconfor Southeastern CT. Our new logo maintains thebrand of NEMBA while celebrating SECT's shorelineriding and rolling hills. We have printed some awe-some new t-shirts, which are available at WayfarerBicycle in New London, CT, and through emailrequest.

Our weekly evening rides are beginning to winddown as we lose daylight to the cool fall season.The very popular Thursday night ladies and inter-mellow ride will wrap up mid to late Septemberand we will be working on bringing back a weeklyweekend ride option for the fall and winter. Weheld our first Pot-luck Cookout ride at Bluff Pointon July 29 and had a great turnout with laid backride opportunities, and a huge variety of con-tributed dishes. The little ones hit their trails andthey (and the dogs) hit the water, while parentstook turns spinning the pedals. We will be hostingthe next Cookout Ride on September 30 adding alittle more technical challenge and fresh water atDay Pond State Park in Colchester, CT.

On the advocacy front, we continue to work on

building relationships and access/trail opportuni-ties with local land managers. Kim Bradley, ourchapter president, was recently appointed to theAvalonia Land Conservancy Board of Directors, andhopes to combine her professional background andexperience as an ecologist and wetland scientistwith advocating for sustainable multiuse trailopportunities. Jessica Robison and Kim Bradleyattended the NEMBA Women's Leadership Summit

in Kingdom Trails, thoroughly enjoying the oppor-tunities to grow relationships with fellow womenin the organization, explore opportunities at thechapter and regional levels, and take in the sweetVT singletrack with some awesome ladies.

The Bozrah Farmers market provided us with anexcellent opportunity to connect with old and newmembers in the northern portion of our chapterregion. We are looking forward to representingNEMBA at the Eightmile River "Riverfest" at Devil'sHopyard State Park in East Haddam, CT on October13. Kim Bradley and Paula Burton (of HousatonicValley NEMBA) have also been actively participat-ing in planning the CTDEEP Greenway CouncilTrails Symposium, which will take place atGoodwin College on October 25 and focus on howtrails can connect our communities, integrate peo-ple, and help our regions thrive.

Saving the best for last, we are celebrating theenormous success of the Bluff Point Mountain BikeAdventure Series ride, which took place on Sunday,August 19. Tim Wilson led teams of volunteers inmaintaining the trails throughout the summer, andthe evening before the ride, volunteer teamsincluding Tim, Pat Lamond, Jessica and GregHeucshele, Evan Bradley, Bob Caporaso, JessicaRobison, and Thomas Provencher braved thunder-storms to flag the route. Tim laid out a loop thatbrought riders through the full range of flowy andtechnical singletrack Bluff Point and Haley FarmState Parks have to offer, with minimal contactwith doubletrack fire roads. Everyone had theopportunity to enjoy the view and photo opportu-nities of Long Island Sound from the idyllic bluff.Approximately 90 riders of all ages, from toddlerson striders to some of the longest-riding mountainbikers we know took to the trails. Twenty-twomemberships, including new local and regionalmembers and many renewals, were received at theevent, and many park users stopped by to learnmore about NEMBA. We would like to extend aHUGE thank you to all our volunteers for organiz-ing and setting up, running registration, leadingrides, and leaving the park better than we found it.Most importantly, thank you to all NEMBA mem-bers, new and sustaining, of SECT and the MANYother chapters who came out to support us andenjoy riding the SECT shoreline. The energy of ourmountain bike community is amazing!

—Kim Bradley

The Intermediate group takes a break to enjoy the view of Long Island Sound at Bluff Point during the Kona Mountain Bike Adventure Series Ride on August 19, 2018. Photo by Evan Bradley

SECT NEMBAPresident: Kim Bradley, president@sect-

nemba.org, 860-581-3130

Vps: Cory Stiff & Pat Lamond

Treasurer: Janet Andersent

Secretary: Todd RomillyFacebook: “SECT NEMBA”Webpage: www.nemba.org/sectnemba


Samantha Bradley, 4.5 yrs old, enjoys riding thetrails at Bluff Point State Park during the July 29,2018 SECT Pot-luck Cookout and Ride Photo cred-

it: Jessica Heuschele.


Summer and Fall inThe ValleyAugust and September, andeven October, are primetime for riding inCarrabassett Valley. Itseems in recent years thatSeptember is the newAugust. Dirt is tacky, mudon the backcountry trailshas dissipated and the daysare crisp and dry. If only thedaylight would hang on later in the evening!

It was a busy summer with a flurry of work daysearly on to get trails ready for the season and thenready for the Carrabassett Backcountry CycleChallenge in July. The race, hosted by the Town, isin its eight year. This year saw additional growthhosting approximately 500 racers, making it one ofthe largest races in the country. Luckily for all,conditions were very fast and dry out there. Thisevent is produced by a crew of volunteers andfunds raised are donated to CRNEMBA for trail

construction, maintenance and local mountainbike programs. Thanks to all the volunteers, part-ners and sponsors that make this event happen.Without you it wouldn't exist.

CRNEMBA TrailFest was held over the weekend ofAugust 17-19 in a partnership with Maine Hutsand Trails. For the first time the event was hostedout of the Poplar Stream Hut, with work beingdone on the Sticky Trail. The crew completed somegood work softening one of the roughest (i.e. boul-der fields) sections of this trail. Don't worry, thereis still plenty of rock left on this trail for thosepurists that like to smash and thrash through thetetchy stuff. A good time was reportedly had by allat the Fest. Saturday night saw good eats andmusic around the camp fire. Apparently, every-body was pretty thirsty around this campfire!

Trail Construction UpdateThe Town trail crew has been busy all summer con-structing a new trail in the Stratton Brook Hutzone. The crew finished up the new 'Bear' trailaround Labor Day. This is a 1-mile section of trailconnecting Oak Koll and the Bigelow Approachtrail to provide additional loop options at the hut.If you like the smooth flowing single tracks offNewton's Revenge you will love the Bear trail.Thank you to the State of Maine and theCarrabassett Sanitary District for the permitted useof their lands for this project and thank you to thetrail crew for carving out this new tread throughthe forest.

Additional trail projects should come on line inSeptember and through October in the OutdoorCenter area. Stay tuned to the social media chan-nels for photographic updates throughout the sea-son. Also, the much-missed bridge over theCarrabassett River at Campbell Field should benearing completion later in September. Look tohave this network link back in action for riding inearly October, barring any unforeseen delays.

Treasurer Transition This past spring CRNEMBA board member of 4+years and Treasurer Dana Friend announced hewould be stepping down from the board. Dana willsurely be missed, he worked tirelessly in manyaspects beyond the duties of treasurer. He wasinstrumental each year in producing the trail mapand soliciting map ads. He always stepped up torun the tent at our events, winter or summer, andhe managed our merchandise, just to name a fewof his contributions. Luckily, he is still in theneighborhood and has generously stayed onthrough the summer season to transition thetreasurer duties to Mark Schwartz, who was invit-ed to the board last fall. We are lucky to have Markstep up and fill this role. Thank you, Mark, and aspecial thanks to Dana for all his contributionsover the years.

Upcoming EventsThis event is part of the KONA Mountain BikeAdventure Series and will be held at the AdaptiveOutdoor Adventure Center on the access road tothe Sugarloaf Outdoor Center. Riders should betreated to some of the best riding conditions of theseason. Loops will be marked and guided ridesoffered. The day will end with a BBQ, beer and fire.We will also sneak in CRNEMBA's annual meeting(we'll keep it short). Check our website for moredetails as they become available.

The Maine riding calendar is full of other greatevents in September, like the nearby NorthwoodsGravel Grind in Rangeley and the infamous 12Hours of Bradbury Mountain. Hopefully folks aregetting out to support and enjoy these events.

October 28th will be a trail work day, focusing onfall shutdown of the trail network. Stay tuned toour website and social medial channels for furtherdetails as this date approaches.

See you on the trails!

—Warren Gerow

Youngsters Taking in the Start of the Carrabassett Backcountry Cycle Challenge. Photo byLori Gerencer

M A I N E

CarrabassettRegion Maine

President: Warren Gerow,[email protected]

VP: Ed Gervais Secretary: Lori GerencerTreasurer: Dana FriendFacebook: Carrabassett Region NEMBAWebsite: www.carrabassettnemba.orgFacebook and Instagram:

Carrabassett Region NEMBA

Hard working trail crew at TrailFest, working onthe Sticky Trail.

Photo by Dave Hughes


M A I N E

Summer in Central Mainewas as always a great sea-son for our chapter. Theweather this summer wasunusually hot and humidso our riding took a differ-ent turn and early morn-ings or late afternoonswere the call to avoid thesteamy parts of the day.Based on social media.Strava feeds, and the buzzin the community there was still lots of ridingbeing done. As riders this is the season we lookforward to, but the fall season that's the one welive for!! With cooler temps and more regularschedules we will be taking to the trails as much aspossible to get in as many miles as we can beforethe snow flies. Our usual group rides onWednesday nights will stay strong until theweather is either too cold or numbers dwindle.Light will be necessary by the time this hits thepress. If you can't make Wednesdays keep an eyeon our Facebook page for regular weekend trips toother trail systems around the state. There are typ-ically a handful of field trips to go see what otherchapters are up to on Sundays.

Our energy around trail building this summer hasbeen continuing on a similar track as the last fewsummers. It would appear that we have hit ourstride and found a good mix of utilizing our volun-teer base and our dedicated trail crew to accom-plish some great projects. Some highlights include:

Kennebec Highlands: Brian Alexander andBruce Weik completed a new extension in theKennebec Highlands on the Monataka side. Thetrail now goes all the way the lake. If you are some-one that likes a hard climb suggest you do the Laketo Ledge climb (of course you do get to descend ittoo). It could be one of the longest and most chal-lenging climbs in the state that is 100% singletrack.

Bond Brook: This system got a new connectortrail that joins 6-Back and The Lizard. You can nowride the trails in various combinations withoutbeing forced into the stadium area. This trail willneed a long boardwalk, but that should be com-pleted by the time this hits peoples mailboxes.

Pine Ridge: These trails saw the near comple-tion of a trail that has been on our radar for a cou-ple years. "KAVU" is a beginner level stacked loop

New tool shed at Titcomb Mountain thanks toMaine Mountain Timber Frames and Dunn Custom Builders. Photos by Chris Riley

Justin Lagassey making short work of a stubborn stump.

Central MEPresident: Chris RileyVP: Disa FedorowiczRegional VPs: Frank Jalbert & Matt SwanSecretary: Garry HinkleyTreasurer: Justin LagasseyBoard Members: Brian Alexander, Ted

Eames, Ted ScharfSingleTracks: Ian OgilvieFacebook: CeMeNEMBAWebsite: www.cemenemba.org


trail in the field by an old runway. There is no ele-vation change and it's been described as a racetrackfor kids. Get out there and practice your corneringor just enjoy the fast and flat 3/4 of a mile of trail.Big thanks to Kennebec Savings Bank for their sup-port to make this trail happen.

Coburn Woods: This new trail system contin-ues to see growth and energy with support of a fewdedicated locals and the guidance of BrianAlexander. Very soon these trail will be a destina-tion all their own.

Titcomb Mountain: The trails at Titcomb arecoming near to the end of the plan that was start-ed over 4 years ago. This is very exciting!!! With agenerous donation from Franklin Savings Bank weadded almost 1/2 mile of new trail this summerthat includes some great features, a huge bridge,and a mini pump track in the woods for thekids(and big kids). We have now made our wayback to the base lodge area on single track whichwas the goal when the trail was started. There isstill more on the agenda and with any luck we willadd a few more switchbacks to the "Miracle Mile"trail before the snow flies. On top of the new trailwe are incredibly fortunate to have the support ofa few local businesses that have made some hugedonations. Maine Mountain Timber Frames donat-ed much the materials and Ron Dunn of DunnCustom Builders donated the labor and othermaterial to build us a shed to store our growingarsenal of tools. In past years we've had a boardmember that has paid for a storage unit and nowwe have a central location where our atv/trailerand a large number of our hand tools will have ahome. Huge thanks to the Titcomb MountainBoard of Directors for allowing this building to bebuilt near the base area.

Mt Apatite: This project was easily our mar-quis project for the summer. Thanks to the NEMBAsignature grant, support from The OnionFoundation, The City of Auburn and lots of sup-port from our riding community we were able tobuild 1.3 miles of purpose build flow trail at a placethat hasn't seen any major trail growth for a longtime. CeMeNEMBA hired Jeremy Nellis ofWonderous Trails to do the machine work and ourlocal crew of Nolan Rogers, Thomas Marshall, GabeFein, and Thad Gunther did the ground work. Tosee your design and layout come to life in a waythat surpasses your vision is a testament to thesetrail builders! The hoots, hollers, laughing, andgeneral giddiness on the night we opened the trailwas the greatest reward for those of us involved inmaking this trail a reality.

We haven't measured the total mileage yet, but it'squite possible that the summer of 2018 will godown as the summer when our club built the mostmiles of purpose built bike trail than any otheryear. It's awesome to have such a dedicated com-munity that helps to get us closer to the goal ofmore and better single track every year.

Our last event of the dirt riding season is theSecond Annual Odyssey Ride!!! This is a celebra-tion of all our trails. Get out and challenge yourselfto ride as many of the 11 trail networks in ourregion as you can in 24 hours! The date of theOdyssey will be determined shortly.

—Chris Riley

A wooden berm at Titcomb Mountain.

Dirt Divas at work at Mt. Apatite. Photo by Disa F

M A I N E


M A I N E

We've had a great summerof riding in the GreaterPortland area. Our monthlyChapter "Tour de GreaterPortland" rides continue togrow in popularity, withanywhere from 20-35 rid-ers coming out for eachride, which have featuredtrails in Gorham, Falmouthand Cumberland so far.Our primary goal for theseno-drop rides is to intro-duce riders to various trail systems in the area,increase membership and of course, have fun.With the purchase of the Snow Dog Groomer lastyear, we are hoping to continue these ridesthrough the winter months. Please join us for ournext ride on September 8th at Bradbury State Park.

Speaking of Bradbury, as summer draws to a closeour local riders begin gearing up for the 12 Hoursof Bradbury race on September 22, 2018. Bravesoloists to teams of four will compete for braggingrights and the coveted Bradbury prizes. Our for-mer Chapter President, Rob Lavoie has taken overthe event and it is sure to be a great time with sev-eral near features. A special thanks to formerBoard member Patrick Hackleman and founder ofthe race for all the work he's done over the lastdecade to make it the event it is today.

In early August, GPNEMBA board members EmilyHelliesen Day and Amanda Garvey attended theNEMBA Women's Leadership Retreat at theKingdom Trails in Lyndonville, VT. The goal of thisretreat was to bring together women in leadershippositions from NEMBA's 28 chapters and discusstopics such as advocacy, trail building, and pro-moting women's leadership. It was a full weekendof sharing successes and lessons learned, brain-storming women-focused programming, andinspiring women leaders. There was enough timefor riding the Kingdom Trails too! With Abby Longas their new Executive Director, Kingdom Trails

met with NEMBA women to discuss opportunitiesfor women leadership roles in the mountain bikingcommunity.

On the trails, the new Winnick Wander, the firstmachine-built multi-use mountain bike trail inCape Elizabeth is complete. The trail building inCumberland continues to expand, with singletrackconnecting Hadlock Forest in Falmouth all the wayto Knight's Pond in Cumberland.

—Ilse Teeters-Trumpy

Emily Helliesen Day and Amanda Garvey joined Julie Coleman, board member from the CRNEMBA chap-ter, for a few rides together at KT during the Women's Leadership Retreat.

We had a great turnout for our Tour De Cumberland ride on August 4th

GreaterPortlandPresident: Ilse Teeters-Trumpy, iteeter-

[email protected]

Secretary: Amanda Devine

Treasurer: Emily HelliesenWeb: www.nemba.org/gpnembaFacebook: “Greater Portland NEMBA”


M A I N E

Summer RecapAlthough sad that a sum-mer is coming to an end,Midcoast NEMBA has hadanother great summer ofmountain bike activities.These highlights include thedevelopment of theThomaston Town ForestTrails, another successfulMCNEMBA YouthExplorers Program, and a nice visit from NEMBAboss Philip Keyes.

Thomaston Town ForestThe construction of the new Thomaston TownForest trail is nearly complete. This is a beginnertrail and provides much needed beginner inventoryto our trail portfolio. The project is the result of acollaborative effort with several organizationsincluding the Georges River Land Trust, MidcoastNEMBA, Stonescape Landscaping, SidecountrySports and others! It's been amazing to see thecollaborative effort expand the bandwidth of aNEMBA chapter and will be a blueprint for otherfuture projects. The trail abuts Oceanside MiddleSchool, the recent recipient a Specialized Ridingfor Focus Grant and will provide an avenue toexpose many youth to our sport.

McNEMBA Youth ExplorersWe have completed another summer of ourNEMBA Youth Explorers Program. This was a 9week Monday night series dedicated to getting kidson bikes. On many evening we had over 40 youngriders enjoying the trails. A huge thank you isdeserved to folks who help make this happen, it'struly a team effort! Sidecoutry Sports, The Big T,and the Camden Police Department are also owedgratitude for their efforts with the youth series!

Thanking our VolunteersOur chapter is blessed with amazing volunteerswho are always counted on to advocate for moun-tain biking, show up for trail work days, or helpwith the Monday night series. As with other chap-ters I'm fearful of burning out our volunteers.Please try to make it a point to volunteer if you areable. If not, please insure your memberships arecurrent.

—Morgan Laidlaw

Morgan Laidlaw next to the new Sagamore Farm Trails Kiosk. Photo by PK

A little ripper enjoying the pumptrack at the Camden Snow Bowl. Photo by Stacey Keeffer

Our thanks to all the volunteers and the Camden Police Department for supporting our Youth Explorer Program. Photo by Stacey Keefer

MidcoastMainePresident: Morgan Laidlaw,

[email protected]: Scott CarlsonTreasurer: Trevor MillsBoard:

John Anders, Matt Barrows, Jason Buck,Kevin Callahan, Erica Gates, StaceyKeefer, Jack Rice, Darby Urey, RobertWellen, Lewis Wheelright

Facebook: “Midcoast Maine NEMBA”


PumptrackThe Bath Pumptrack is look-ing great, with an excellentassortment of mystery vege-tation growing on the out-sides of the berms, holding ittogether nicely. There arenumerous options in bothdirections to hook up asmany loops as you want,until your arms fall off. Weinstalled an infographic style sign made by localrider and cycling advocate Tom Mills with financialhelp from The Bicycle Coalition of Maine. NoticeTom's touch of retired rear cassettes used as finialson the posts. We are in conversation with the BathCity Planner's office and the Department of Parksand Recreation for phase #2 of the pump track site— a circuit of skinnies, a short boardwalk descentand a flow-track with berms and tabletops leadinginto the pumptrack. The addition of these ele-ments will make this spot, right next to BathMiddle School and the Whiskeag Trail, a hub formountain bikers of all ages and abilities to gatherand spend time pushing their skills as part of theirrides. Once we get the green light from the city wewill begin to look for funding sources. Speaking ofwhich...

1% For the PlanetThis summer Six Rivers Received a generous dona-tion from one of our partners, Emerald Builders, inthe form of a 1% For The Planet cash gift. Theseawesome folks have pledged to donate 1% of theirprofits over the course of the year to entities thatare doing good for their communities and the plan-et. 6 Rivers NEMBA is honored to receive a portionof these funds and we will make good use of them.

Neptune Woods TrailsSix Rivers board members Alex Long and KrisHarralson led the charge in the design and con-struction of these mostly beginner trails, locatedon the redeveloped Brunswick Naval Air Station,now called Brunswick Landing. This was a collabo-rative effort between NEMBA, the MidcoastRegional Redevelopment Authority, the BrunswickTopsham Land Trust, Access Health and MidcoastHospital. We are excited to have some easier ter-rain for kids and beginners to ride on. NeptuneWoods is also close to Bowdoin College, where theouting club just purchased a fleet of fat bikes forstudents to use. We hope this is just the first ofmany mountain bike trails developed on theBrunswick Landing.

Group RidesSix Rivers continues to host Wednesday nightrides on some of Baths most classic trails, and we

have just wrapped up our sum-mer youth rides for the summer.Wednesday night riders meet atthe pumptrack at 6pm, withwheels rolling at 6:15. We willbe offering a youth skills clinic inBrunswick this fall, in collabora-tion with the BrunswickRecreation Department. Alltwenty spots sold out quickly.The skills clinics are being spon-sored by Martin's PointHealthcare, Center Street Cycles,Gorham Bike and Ski and CoastalOrthopedics.

Riding For FocusIn late July I had the honor ofbeing invited out to Specializedheadquarters in Morgan Hill,

California, as a trainer for The SpecializedFoundation's youth cycling program, Riding ForFocus. Bath Middle School received this grant in2017 which provided our school with 25Specialized hardtails and a turnkey curriculum toteach kids how to cycle safely, and get rad in thedirt. The Specialized Foundation's mission is to usecycling as a tool for children to achieve academic,health and social success. We had over fifty kidsparticipate in Riding For Focus in our first year, andwe are planning to work with another eighty stu-dents this year. We will also have a team of eighthgraders doing trail work with the Kennebec EstuaryLand Trust for two weeks this fall. We are trying toget the next generation psyched for the lifelongsport of mountain biking!

Land UseWe continue to build and strengthen relationshipswith stakeholders. We have drafted a number ofMemoranda of Understanding between Six Riversand landowners, municipalities and conservanciesto assure access to the trails we ride. It's gratifyingto see the positive responses we are getting as weapproach this effort as a sizeable, organized groupof mountain bikers. Becoming part of the NEMBAfamily has definitely increased our credibility andopened doors. People pay attention to you whenyou come to meetings with a bunch of like mindedfriends!

Stronger TogetherIf you are not a member yet, please consider join-ing Six Rivers NEMBA. There is a ton of amazingriding in our area, and the more voices we have tosupport it, the better it will get. We have big plansfor our region, and members who are passionateand talented. Join us!

—Lawrence Kovacs

Six RiversPresident: Lawrence Kovacs, lko-

[email protected]: Channing Jones Secretary: Lee CataldoDigital Guru: Matt Viara Board: Kristian Haralson, Alex Long, Jack

Bateman, Kurt Karwacky, Jaret Reblin,Michael Evan, Ernie Phillips, ForrestCarver, Bill Milam

M A I N E

Six Rivers Tuesday night youth ride, visiting our Central Maine NEMBA friends at Bond Brook. Augusta.Photo by Lawrence Kovacs


In an effort to groom bothour trails and our futuretrail builders, the Berkshirechapter partnered withlocal nonprofit theBerkshire Mountain BikeTraining Series for a trailbuilding workshop devotedto kids. The project wasfocused on building a short,progressive loop to beincorporated into theTraining Series' weekly mountain bike race.

Ten Berkshire area youth, ranging in age from 5-12,learned the basics of responsible trail building bycreating a new trail at Pittsfield's SpringsidePark. Under the guidance of trained NEMBA trail-builders and other volunteers, the kids learnedabout the advocacy and permission process as wellas about the specific tools and techniques forusing them responsibly. NEMBA volunteers tookthe time to break down skills for safety and tech-nique and the young participants got a chance topractice with the tools before applying what theylearned to construct a new, beginner-friendly, sus-tainable multi-use trail alongside veteran trail-builders.

Most of the kids were already participants in theTraining Series races, but had never heard of orbeen involved in the planning, flagging, and diggingof trails. Once on the trail we tailored their tasksto their ability level, including everything frompicking up sticks, to raking, trimming, and somebench cutting. The kids even got to watch masterwoodsman, Bill Markham, safely and artisticallyuse his chainsaw to create a ride-over on a largedowned tree. Our young volunteers were veryenthusiastic about the new trail bringing them outinto the woods (as opposed to the grass field areabeing used during prior races). Both the kids andtheir parents stated how cool it was to be a part ofthe project and the second weekend brought evenmore helping hands.

For Berkshire NEMBA what was most exciting wasthe pure energy and creativity from the kids, aswell as the interest from several parents for in get-ting back into mountain biking themselves. Thisproject allowed us to attract the support of boththe Springside Park Conservancy and City ofPittsfield who loved the youth involvement andeducational aspects and are looking forward tomore projects to get kids and residents outside ina meaningful way. Our hope is to build off of theworkshop structure to develop more ongoingopportunities for kids to learn about this aspect ofmountain biking.

—Alison McGee

M A S S A C H U S E T T S

BerkshireNEMBAPresident: Alison McGee,

[email protected]: Ruth WheelerTreasurer: Chris CalvertFacebook: “Berkshire NEMBA”BOD Reps: Alison McGee & Kevin

Delaney

A weekend of trailbuilding at Pittsfield Springside Park with local kids. Day two of the workshop broughtin some extra helping hands of all ages including additional NEMBA volunteers and more young riders!

The kiddos test their memory for the approval andbuild process to kick off day two by arrangingsteps in the correct order and reviewing what

each means.

The kids (and chapter president, Alison McGee) were rewarded not just with a beautiful new trail toride on, but also with ice cream ;)


They said the humidity wasgoing to break and thankgoodness it did. Most of ourgroup rides finished with usfeeling like we were part ofthe local swim team. TheBlackstone Valley NEMBAgroup rides have been wellattended even with thiscrazy weather.

Our Summer ChapterMeeting was held on July 23rd at CraftRootsBrewing in Milford. Attendance was a robust 33members. At the meeting we touched upon thedifference between light trail maintenance andrerouting a trail, as well as the need for permis-sions and the differences between the two.

We have two reroute efforts in progress at the timeof this publication. One is a large reroute of a shorttrail in Callahan State Park. We are working withthe Rangers in seeking approval of the reroute. Thesecond effort is a much smaller reroute inHopkinton State Park. This reroute would eliminatea washed out, unsustainable section of Long Trailwith a short trail on higher, flatter ground. I'm surethere will be one or two riders who miss the gnarrof the existing trail, and to those riders we do apol-ogize, as part of the deal with the Rangers is toeliminate the existing trail.

We have permission to construct a large bridgeover a seasonally wet area at West Hill Dam. Thisbridge is slated to have a several corners, and acouple of the corners will have berms so that thoseso inclined to do so can carry some speed aroundsaid corners. The bridge is in the planning stagesnow but we hope to start construction soon.

The new trails at West Hill Dam are breaking invery nicely. The mountain biking traffic at WHDhas seen a big increase according to the seasonalworkers who live and work there. If you haven'tbeen lately it's worth the trip.

Blackstone Valley NEMBA has a new Face Bookpage for general picture posting and bike banter. Inan effort to keep the main page focused on Chapterrelated rides and events we have launchedBVNEMBA Override. It's a great place to post pic-tures of your new baby, whether your baby is anew bike, canine or even human.

We are pleased to have launched a new ride seriescalled "The Coffee House Ride Series". We're ridingall the same great trails but at a slower coffeehouse grind. It's a great ride for those looking for

more experience or fitness or a combination of thetwo. For some folks it might also be a nice recov-ery ride. Thanks to Derick Mahoney for stepping upand leading the Tuesday morning coffee houserides.

Keep an eye open for the upcoming BlackstoneValley Second Annual Fun Ride details. The ride is

scheduled for October 21st. Stay tuned.

Momentum is Your Friend !

—Brian Forestal


Some of Blackstone Valley's finest hanging out on a fresh bridge.

BlackstoneValleyPresident: Brian Forestal,

[email protected] President: Eammon CarletonTreasurer: Rick AttridgeSecretary: Anne ShepardWebsite: www.bvnemba.orgBV Facebook: “Blackstone Valley

NEMBA”Vietnam Facebook: “NEMBA Vietnam”

Mr Goeller carrying some speed at Callahan StatePark. Photos by Brian Forestal

Another Monday Night Ride at Hopkinton StatePark.


As we get ready for thebest time of the year, Fallon Cape Cod, we look backon our awesome summer.

What a summer here onCape Cod! Hardly any rainmeant endless hourssweating it out on thetrails.

Crazy humidity didn't keepfolks off the trails. But itdid, quickly, drain theFriday evening Trail of Tears Cookout of liquidrefreshments. As usual our Friday night Kid's ridesand cookouts continue to be very successful. Ourawesome biking community keeps growing. Youngand old alike, enjoying a burger and watermelon,with an occasional ice-cream truck visit, cold beerand camaraderie. It's a great way to close out theworkweek! Then too, occasional trips to NickersonState Park to ride and swim helped a lot too.

As we're starting to lose daylight the cookouts willcome to a close. Labor Day will be our last for theseason. But the rides continue all year long.Thanks to everyone who helps out!

As fall approaches, we have some exciting things

brewing in Sandwich! One of our CCN membersPeter Marancik is also a member of the SandwichBikeway Committee.

Our hope is to get our foot in the door to help bet-ter promote mountain biking into the town ofSandwich. Things our looking good, lets cross ourfingers! A big thanks to Peter for all his help. Wewill keep you all posted.

Our chapter meetings continue once a month. Thelocation changes, so keep an eye out on ourFacebook Group page. Now that summer's heatand bugs are past we'll be scheduling a series oftrail care sessions. Not to mention rides!

A few of our Women members returned to

Kingdom Trails to attend the NEMBA Women'sLeadership Summit. Reports are that the event wasawesome! We are fortunate to have so many CCNwomen involved in both our chapter's andNEMBA's future and thank them for continuing tobe leaders for this growing community of bad asschicks!

After spending what seemed like a every single ridethis spring clearing the winter storm's trail damagewe've been enjoying the Cape's many "cleared"trails and will continue to do so.

See you on the trails!! —Mike and Crystal Dube

Kids Flip Out Riders enjoying the Trail of Tears. Photo by Mike Dube

Cape Cod NEMBA BBQ. Photo by Kris Ermi


Cape CodPresident: Michael Dube, dubati@com-

cast.netVice President: Perry ErmiTreasurer: Frank MerolaSecretary: Kris ErmiFacebook Group: “Cape Cod NEMBA

Group”Yahoogroup:

[email protected]

Wildlife photographer and arachnophile, MikeDube, in action. Photo by John LeBlanc


Summer has come to an endand with it Greater Boston'sweekly rides. I'm sure Ispeak for our distinguishedpresident Maciej "Magic"Sobieszek when I sayTHANK YOU to all of ourride guides and rideorganizers. There is noway these rides could hap-pen without our exception-al crew of volunteers whoplan, organize, and lead all summer long. Grouprides will start back up in the spring. Andrea isalready cooking up some new ideas to throw somevariety into the Thursday night LLF ride, includingthe popular Poker ride and "First Rider Drop" ride(Oh, the chaos!).

There are still a few Kids Rides scheduled onSeptember 24th, October 15, and the Toys for Totsride on November 25. You may see some postersannouncing Kids rides, and asking for help withtrail work at trailheads. Izzi's hard work puttingthem up prompted a variety of trial users to volun-teer earlier this season. If you see them, orannouncements on social media, please come helpmaintain your trails.

GB NEMBA was proud to send several members tothe NEMBA Women's Leadership Retreat inAugust. Ride Guide Mary McCarthy was kindenough to provide her reminiscences:

Last year over 180 women gathered on BurkeMountain to participate in a seminal event, thefirst-ever Women's NEMBA Summit. It was anexciting weekend of riding, sharing best tech-niques, networking, and bonding. We talkedabout everything from clipless versus flats to chal-lenging topics regarding governance and leader-ship. On the anniversary of that Summit, a smallergathering returned to the hallowed hills ofKingdom Trails to retreat, revisit, and reflect onnext steps for the women of NEMBA. Every NewEngland state was represented. And every type ofmountain biker - from technical rock hoppers, todownhill divas; consensus building diplomats totrail building forest gnomes; brilliant ride leadersand masterful kids ride coordinators; reckless rac-ers and fire road plodders.

Blackstone Valley's Brenda Smith masterfully wovethe weekend together and planned for every crea-ture comfort and basic necessity. The weekend'senergy was spectacular, the camaraderie was tops,and the camping in the orchard of Stepping StoneSpa was excellent, replete with night time star gaz-ing and a show put on by Perseus himself.

I had the pleasure of kicking off the program for theweekend with a simple reflection:

• What role do you play in NEMBA today?What about Mt Biking?

• What role do you want play in NEMBA in twoyears? What about Mt Biking?

You could have heard a slow leak in a valve stem.So many beautiful mountain bikers looking back atme thinking deeply about our role in NEMBA andour love of the sport. Looming therein was ourcollective question - What next for women inNEMBA? The discussions that ensued touched ontopics of great import about how best to supportNEMBA's mission of conservation, stewardship,advocacy, and education.

We dared to ask tough questions and grapple withdiffering opinions about our collective and individ-ual priorities. Are the concerns of women moun-tain bikers different than that of the concerns of allmountain bikers? What of the leadership of rolewomen in NEMBA - and in our history (NEMBAwas founded by a woman)? It was an honor toparticipate in this exchange of ideas. I am so excit-ed to have been a part of this retreat and look for-ward to where it will take us. I was reminded thatNEMBA is comprised of many voices, many faces,many riders - and whether you like spiny rock faceor pine laded fire roads we have a common love ofriding and of the trail.

Together we will continue to do great things.

—Mary McCarty and Rob Auffrey

GB wommen’s ride at Mill Pond, Burlington. Photo by Leslie Jonas (heal up, Leslie!)

Corey Bollier and Eli riding the LLF at sunset. Photo by Ilana Knopf


Greater BostonPresident: Maciej Sobieszek ,

[email protected]

VPs: Adam Glick, Rick Forzese andAndrea Jones

Secretary: Rob Aufrey Treasurer: Bill CohnWebsite: www.gbnemba.orgFacebook: “GB NEMBA”

“GB NEMBA Rides”


President's MessageThe 2018 riding season isheaded into the fall season.Our weekly rides are wind-ing down or requiring lights.

The highlight for 2018 hasbeen the amount of trailwork we have completed inBillerica State forest. Headedby our trail boss, Kirk

Goldsworthy, we have completed new featureshave made make improvements on existing trails.Thank you to all of the volunteers. The projectshave been successful because of you.

Group Rides Wrap upTuesday

The Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro Tuesday Night RideSeries had solid 2018. The season felt like we weredodging rain and or thunder every Tuesday. Bigthanks to all the rotating ride leaders. We hope to

return to normalparking area for2019.

Women's Ride

The Women's ridecontinued to growin its sixth season.The weekly ridernumbers surpassedall of our othergroup rides. Theseladies have a greatattitude and justlove being in thewoods on a bike.Big thanks to or rideleaders, KarenKorza and JackieMartinez.

Friday Night

The Friday Nightride series atRussell Mill offers afast paced ride thatcan be as long as 23miles with a trip toGreat Brook. Weplan to continuethe Friday nightevent as a Snowshoe and or Fatbikeevent through thewinter. Big thanksto all the rotatingride leaders.

—Barry Moore

New feature at Russell Mill Photo by Jim Powers

Girls just want to have fun! Photo by Karen Korza


MerrimackValleyPresident: Barry Moore,

[email protected]

Vice-President: Malen AndersonTreasurer: Chris PetersenEmail List: mtb-

[email protected]: MVNEMBA

Web Page: www.nemba.org/mvnemba

Facebook Group: “Merrimack Valley NEMBA”


Shorter days and coolerweather are telltale signsthat the end of summer isnear. But that also meansthat fall, arguably the bestseason for mountain bikingin New England, is rightaround the corner.

NSNEMBA's weekly rideseries was a big successagain this year with rides onMonday at Willowdale SF, Wednesday (women'sride at various locations) and Thursday at HaroldParker SF. The Thursday rides at HPSF were espe-cially popular with close to 20 riders joining in thefun most weeks. The scope of the rides includedall of HPSF and nearby Ward Reservation on a fewoccasions. With so many trails to explore, thegroup usually didn't return to the parking lot untildusk.

A few trail projects are in the planning stages.NSNEMBA is looking forward to partnering onceagain with the Friends of Harold Parker SF to helpwith an ambitious project conceived by a local BoyScout for his Eagle Scout Project. The projectinvolves extending a trail and building a bridgearound the northeast side of Delano Pond in HPSF.Improvements for mountain biking at WardReservation and other Trustees of Reservations

properties are in the works. The Trustees havereceived a grant and are partnering with REI toimprove mountain biking experiences at Trusteesproperties. Stay tuned for volunteer opportunities,helping hands will be needed.

Mark your calendars for The Wicked Ride of theEast at HPSF on Sunday October 28, 2018. This isNSNEMBA's marquee event of the year and is sec-ond only to NEMBAFest in terms of attendance ofall NEMBA Events. It is a great opportunity to getto know the trail network at HPSF by followingmarked loops (beginner, intermediate andadvanced). A vendor expo in the campground willbe the center of activity with demo bikes available.The following vendors are expected to attend:Cannondale, JRA Cycles, Wheelworks, CrimsonBikes, REI, G Form, Pedro's, 1Up, RxBar and Maple

Water. Raffle tickets will be available for purchasefor a chance to win valuable prizes including bikes!Visit the Merchandise Tent to get this year's limit-ed edition WR T-shirt and other merchandise. Theevent starts at 9:00 AM. Come early for betterparking and to avoid long lines at the RegistrationTent.

A NSNEMBA Chapter Meeting is planned forSaturday Sept 8 at Lee Hollenbeck's house inWilmington, MA. The main focus of the meetingwill be planning for the WR. An mtb ride will leaveat 11:00 AM with BBQ and meeting to follow. AllChapter members are invited. There will be a KidsIce Cream Ride on Sept 15, 2018 at Dow BrookConservation Area in Ipswich, MA.

—Hank Kells

North ShorePresident: Frank Lane

president@ns nemba.org,857-265-4756 Vice-President: Tom GreeneTreasurer: Debi Merloni Secretary: Hank KellsBOD Reps: Frank Lane & Hank KellsWicked Ride Chair: Frank MingEmail List: mtb-

[email protected]: Scott Merloni

www.ns nemba.org


NSNEMBA Women’s Ride at Harold Parker. Photo by Frank Ming

NSNEMBA Ride at Ward Reservation. Photo by Hank Kells


Hello Pioneer Valley, herewe highlight the projectsyour Chapter has been upto this summer. Want toget involved? We are plan-ning for 2019 with an eyetoward more community-building activities. Let usknow if you'd like to be aRide Ambassador, i.e. leador sweep at least 1-2group rides next summer.And consider attendingthe upcoming NEMBA TrailSchool at River Highlands State Park in Cromwell,CT on 11/3, where you can learn about whatmakes for sustainable, enjoyable trails and how totake care of them.

Advocacy in ActionEarl's Trail Ambassadors have been working to getauthorization for trail-work and are cautiouslyoptimistic after reaching out to landowners andreceiving initial feedback. NEMBA reps recentlyattended a meeting with the Town of HadleyConservation Commission, updating them on theproperty boundaries of the singletrack trail system,and confirming locations of wetlands and wetlandbuffer areas that would require approval beforework. This initial contact was met with positivityand the Conservation Commission is looking for-

ward to working with NEMBA on any future proj-ects that may require their approval.

In June, NEMBA reps participated in a meeting ofthe Friends of Sawmill Hills group. The group iden-tified six trail system maintenance and improve-ment projects which will be detailed and proposedto the City of Northampton this fall. A spirited dis-cussion on trail naming and possible signage alsoensued, and while the group is not quite at thepoint where formal naming is necessary, consider-ing the naming and signage options is part of thelong-term planning.

At Batchelor St, NEMBA members are participatingin a recently funded mapping/signage project withKestrel Land Trust and DCR to install new signs attrailheads and select trail junctions in the Mt.Holyoke Range park system. Jonathan Mautererand Adele Paquin have been ground-truthing signinstallation locations and content, and suggestingalternate locations and content where appropriate.Kestrel and DCR have welcomed feedback and sug-gestions during the process.

Report from the 2018 NEMBAWomen's Leadership RetreatIn August I spent a weekend at Kingdom Trailswith about 40 other NEMBA women talking aboutadvocacy, women's involvement, and how to buildcommunity effectively. I came away from this ener-gized to keep working for both our trail systemsand community, and with ideas about how toinvolve the next generation of NEMBA members. Ialso came away with some questions. We have ahuge and diverse group of female riders in ourregion. How do we get more women involved inthe actual organization of our Pioneer Valley chap-ter? And how we can make our community moreaccessible to other diverse groups? These are ques-tions worth considering.

—Adele Paquin

Trail Report: GreenfieldTrails/Highland Park/Poet's SeatThe 15 inches of rain we received in July/Augusthave not been helpful. Trails are saturated, manyhave extensive erosion, and there are numeroustrees down across various trails, including GreenTrail and Bear's Den Road. The only bright spot isthat very few riders have been out, so rider-induced damage has been minimal. I anticipate

that the town DPW will remove the big stuff with-in the next few weeks as High School cross-coun-try teams make use of these trails, and I will takecare of the little stuff as time permits.

—Marc Lombard

Trail Report: Batchelor StreetB Street trails are riding great this year, and arealways drier and a good choice if Earl's is muddyand recovering from recent rain. You may noticechanges in the forest due to the Gypsy Moths dec-imating the canopy in a number of places, leadingto more undergrowth on the forest floor. You'll alsosee some new moss on the beloved rocks from ourdaily July rain showers. Trail users have done agreat job of keeping the trails trimmed and main-tained through this summer of intense storms andgrowth.

—Garth Schwellenbach


Earlier this year, several members attendedNEMBA Trail School in Franconia, NH. Jonathan

Mauterer digs in.

Deerfield River Trails Weekly Ride

PioneerValleyPresident: Harold Green,

[email protected]

VP: Liam O’BrienTreasurer: Gabe Porter-HenrySecretary: Tim Post

Regional BOD Reps: Tim Post, HaroldGreen

Webpage: www.nemba.org/pvnembaFacebook & YouTube: “PV NEMBA”


Wow! That was a HOT one!Glad that summer is overnow, but even with all theheat and humidity, wemanaged to have TONS ofFUN! Starting withNEMBAFest-We hosted ourFIRST EVER SoutheastMass NEMBA AlienPOTLUCK Barbeque in theDarling Hill Camping area.Far from being our firstrodeo, this was different, being a POTLUCKsausage barbeque, we started with 40 pounds ofour own homemade sausage, and party attendeesbrought almost twice that, plus lots of tastyaccompaniments! Of course, the rest of the 'Festwas the best, especially the riding!

In local news, Friends of Wompatuck and TimFriedmann (our chapter's newest membership sec-retary) installed a permanent bike repair standright outside the Wompatuck Visitor center!Designed with built-in tools, tire pump, wheelchock, and hanger to hang your bike on whileworking on it, this stand is a HUGE amenity for allbike riders. Thank you to FOW!

Also in Wompy, the pumptrack is a great way toget the legs going before a ride. Lots of little onesare riding it all the time; let them have their funbefore you let it rip! Student ConservationAssociation re-decked our longest bridge over atS4, among other park improvements.

We continue to have our monthly chapter meet-ings all over the 'Southeast Kingdom'. Our Julymeeting was a Ponkapoag ride, with a BBQ atHoughton's Pond hosted by Tom McKenna. At thatmeeting we approved funding for two more bridgesat Clifford Grant in Easton with Chris Patrick, anda new bridge/trail build in Ames Nowell, designedby Corey Wynott. A state grant was also issued toSE Mass NEMBA to update a bridge in Borderland.

We gathered at Tom McKenna's house in Cantonrecently to vicariously enjoy pictures and commen-taries from Tom's trips this year to Hawaii, Iceland,and Ames Nowell, as well as Bob Khederian'sWestern Spirit Colorodo ride.

Most recently, our August Ride/Meeting was host-ed by Bob Khederian, with a tour of Cutler Parkand pizza and refreshments back at Bob's house.We inducted Arthur Dunne (aka FlatChuck) as ournew Massasoit VP, as Dale Higgins, with his handsfull with his two-year old daughter, was ready topass the torch. Just like all of us, moving at thespeed of life! Thank Dale for all his efforts! I'm surehe'll still be in the loop there getting things done,not worried there. Massasoit, as a DCR park, isfinally getting some love with a rebuilt and re-opened camping area, and some new trails in theworks. A weekend camp'n ride is planned for mid-September…

In future news, we will be hosting an inauguralNEMBA members/ volunteer support tent, in ajoint effort with FOW, at the Landmine race onSeptember 9.

And getting into fall, lots of events to choose fromas usual.

September 30 will be our second annual Alt50,which started as a local alternative to the Vermont50. Difference is, we measure in kilometers, notmiles, but this year may be more like 64k. Knownas the Jean-Marc Stephan's Hingham EmeraldNecklace Tour, we'll be riding through more than20 parks and conservation areas in Hingham, witha few stops along the way for refreshments andrelaxation, and an afterparty with bonfire and bar-beque! Details will be discussed on facebook's SEKingdom Rides. October 21 will be KarinManfredi's Spooky Halloween Ride in Freetown…Also stay tuned for trail work/bridge projects, anda much-needed Buck Hill Tune-Up in November!

Hope to ride with you this year!

—Steve Cobble


SE MassPresident: Steve Cobble,

[email protected], 781-254-8796Treasurer: Rich HigginsSecretary: Tom McKenna VPs:Ames Nowell: Corey WynottBlue Hills/Cutler: Neil McDaidBorderland: Rich HigginsBraintree Town: John DohertyF. Gilbert Hills(Foxboro): Dave RidingMassasoit: Dale HigginsFreetown: Karin ManfrediWompatuck: Dave FarrellFacebook: “SE Mass NEMBA”BOD Reps: Steve Cobble, Tim Friedmann

Steve and Wayne plotting out theirnext adventure

Friends of Wompy purchased a new repair standand plan to install a bike wash next year.

SEMASS group ride


Oakham State Forest We applied for and won a$50k RTP grant to build thefirst phase of a singletracktrail network in Oakham onstate forest lands abuttingTreasure Valley! We'replanning to work with apro to help us design andbuild 5+ miles of new trailand are also planning aparking lot as part of theproject. We're going to beworking closely with DCRand their foresters to coordinate with current andfuture planned forest harvests as a trial modelwhere trails and logging can co-exist in stateforests. We will need much help from the localcommunity to make this project a success as we dohave to match nearly $20k in donations of volun-teer hours, materials, services, and money. Staytuned! —Brett Russ

Leominster State ForestThe DCR and NEMBA collaboration continues atLeominster State Forest to revitalize, examine, andplan for the future of the mixed-use forest. Theimmediate results are trail maintenance increasingthrough the clearing of brush, remapping the park,building recommended loops with NEMBA mem-bers, along with creating a shared vision of whatthis large land parcel can be for bikes, hikers, hors-es, and snowmobiles. Trail signs are coming alongwith recommended routes (see image) to helpintroduce the favorite loops of the locals. There aresome trails are being re-routed to make more logi-cal loops while there is also a new beginner loopnear the Rocky Pond parking area. Not all the trailmarkers are official. The local team needs morepartners and no rogue trail building. These arebeing shut down with the endorsement of theNEMBA team. Join us for what's coming to LSF. It'sgoing to be a GREAT place to ride! —ScottMoroney

Ware River WatershedA lot has changed in the WRW situation; the DCR-DWSP has hired a new Director, John Scannell, toreplace the departed Jonathan Yeo. Additionally,they hired a new Regional Director, Dan Clark, whoreplaced the retired Bill Pula who oversaw WareRiver and Quabbin Watersheds. Several trails-spe-cific public meetings were held in the spring, thefirst had about 100 locals and saw attendance by

DCR Commissioner Roy, Senator Gobi, and muchof the DWSP leadership. Both meetings were pro-ductive and the state assured us that we would allwork together to find solutions to the currentproblems related to trails and balanced publicaccess to them. At a later meeting, the AdvisoryCommittee voted to request Senator Gobi make alegislative change to the makeup of the Committeeto add representation for NEMBA and the eques-trian and snowmobile user groups. The issue ofmountain biking on trails will also be decided bythe Public Access Plan revision which will be start-ed in the fall. —BR

Treasure ValleyIn June we helped the Trails Committee completethe entire 2.1 mile Heron Marsh Trail which has 5long bridges and 3 boardwalk sections as it windsaround the scenic Heron Marsh. This beginner-friendly trail was featured on the 2018 TreasureValley Rally race which had over 200 racers, manyof whom raved about this year's course, the local

food truck, and the swimming. We continue towork with the Scouts to expand and enhance thetrail network and enable trail-based programs. -BR

Chapter GoalsOur September chapter meeting (upcoming at thetime of this writing) will be electing a few newchapter officers and discussing ways to improvechapter communications and expand our volunteerreach to new properties. We've already got peopleinterested in helping with Trout Brook trails inHolden as there are some maintenance and bridg-ing needs there. We'd also like to find some localswho can help us work with DCR and the Friendsgroup at Pearl Hill SP/Willard Brook SF. Regardingcommunications, we find that Facebook tends tolimit readership on some posts unless we pay fordistribution so we're planning to revive an emaillist we used in the past to make sure everyoneknows about chapter projects, meetings, andnews. —BR


Completed bridge at Treasure Valley. Photos Brett Russ

The newly added U13 boys and girls classes line up to start the Treasure Valley Rally.

WachusettPresident: Dave Burnham, tattoodav-

[email protected], 978-852-4962Secretary: Brett RussTreasurer: Fred MeyerColdbrook Springs: Brett RussLeominster SF: Jim WrightsonNashoba Trails: Dave BurnhamPetersham Trails: Alf BerryFacebook: “Wachusett NEMBA”Webpage: www.nemba.org/wachnemba


What a crazy summer thishas been. The first half ofthe summer was wicked drywith people complainingabout the heat and dust onthe trails. Then the rainscame (and the humidity).And it never left. Sometrails are handling the mois-ture well, but a few look likespring conditions. I guess ithighlights problem areas that we need to workon... All the rain has also led to more fallen treesthan we've seen in recent memory. Thanks to allthe hand and chain saw ninjas that get out thereand cut them out.

We've been riding Wednesday nights in Keene andThursday evenings in Brattleboro. There has beendecent turnout on both sides of the river. We'vealso mixed the locations up, and made a coupletrips to places like Ascutney to spice it up.

We had a pretty good number of chapter membersattend NEMBA Fest this year. We didn't all camptogether since a few of the members are living thatvan life these days, while the rest of us continue tosleep on the ground… But we got together andput up some great rides and drank some beers. BK-NEMBA also continued its NEMBA Fest good luckby winning a hitch mounted bike rack at the rafflesagain. This year's winner was Aaron Willard.Congrats Aaron.

We also crossed the river and went to the VMBAFestival in Ascutney VT. This festival was duringthe rainy season, but the weather held longenough for us to get some good rides in, includinga few of us doing the Epic. It did not disappoint.If you haven't ridden Ascutney yet you shouldmake the trip. So worth it.

Trail work typically slows down for us in the highsummer. Vacation schedules, the heat, humidity,bugs, and everyone's desire to ride tends to limitus to just the essential maintenance work. On thewest side there is a new skinny on Ribbon Candyas well as a couple nice reroutes to maximize flow,and there has been more work on Snowshoe in anattempt to mitigate the wet.

On the Drummer side there was another push tofinish the bridging on Mike's Extension, and a smallbridge on Dog Walk was replaced (at the bottom ofJump Trail).

For the fall we are planning on more work onSnowshoe, some nice enhancements to RibbonCandy, replacing a bridge at the bottom of the Food

Network near the yellow gate, and wrapping upthe bridge on Mike's Extension.

BK-NEMBA teamed up with Monadnock CyclingClub to put on the Bike for Bovines MTB Race. Theweather forecast wasn't ideal, but the rain held offand conditions were pretty good. Attendance waspretty good considering the weather. The race waswell executed, thanks to Pete and Tiffanie Hills andall the local volunteers that stepped up to helpkeep this local race going. Thanks everyone.

The chapter is also making plans for a Fall BBQ andRide, investigating some interesting member bene-fits, and working with the city to build a pumptrack and a fun beginner flow trail. Stay tuned forinfo on all these items. Exciting things on the hori-zon!

This August the chapter sponsored two of ourmembers for the NEMBA Women's LeadershipSummit. Kristine Reilly and Shari LaPierre.

And lastly, a big welcome to all the new membersas well as everyone that renewed their member-ships. And a shout-out to West Hill Shop forrenewing their membership as well. The supportof the shops is key to our success.

Ride on.

—Mike Davern

2018 NEMBA Women's LeadershipRetreat by Kristine Reilly

My enthusiasm and desire to empower women,especially in the arena of mountain biking, wasrenewed after participating in the recent 2018NEMBA Women's Leadership Retreat. A smallgroup of women from all over New England (evenone from NY) gathered at Kingdom Trails to discussissues including advocacy, trail building, leadingand designing rides for all levels, and women'sleadership. I walked away, not only with the feel-ing of gratitude, but with a renewed desire to helppromote and advance women's participation inmountain biking.

All participants were extremely friendly, engaging,and ready to share their knowledge, ideas, and

experiences. Not to mention being ready to RIDE!!Group conversations were intimate, comfortableand stimulating. By the end of the weekend I notonly developed new friendships, (and learned newplaces to ride) but felt energized and assured of myfuture role within NEMBA. I gained confidence inmyself, (yes I am actually writing an article forSingleTracks) setting personal goals for the future,as well as reflecting on how this biking journeystarted for me 20+ years ago on the rocky stream-bed trails of Drummer Hill in Keene. Over theyears, ladies have come and gone, but luckily, mosthave stuck around. I know that there are chal-lenges to group rides, and some ladies like to ridealone, but the encouragement, closeness, smilesand laughter of women riding together is a bless-ing for me.

The challenge now is to use these skills to coordi-nate and organize a larger women's' presence in ourBK NEMBA chapter; continue to encourage girlsand women to join the amazing sport of mountainbiking; and simply gather women to ride together.

N E W H A M P S H I R E / V T

Brattleboro-KeenePresident: Peter Poanessa,

[email protected] President: Josh ReynoldsSecretary: Mike DavernTreasurer: Peter SchraderEmail List:

[email protected] Email: [email protected]

Ron Wright in Vernon VT, Photo by Dave Levasseur

Chad Carver riding in Surry NH. Photo by Steve Holmes


Page Hill, Hill: A Newtrail was added at the LRCTPage Hill System in Hill.During the Trail care event inJune, Glenn Cilley executed aproductive trail building dayup at Page Hill. A new trailconnecting Voltage to the endof The Dude Abides at thepower line right of way. Inaddition to a good showing ofNEMBA labor, a crew of six Americorps workersvolunteered to sweat it out benching and buildingbridges. Lakes Region conservation Trust arrangedfor the extra labor, which paid big dividends. I hearGlenn and Christina put on a good feed after thework was done.

Elm Brook Park, Hopkinton: A trail careday was held at Elm Brook Park in Hopkinton onSunday August 26. Improvements were made tothe Big Dog and Tuffkat trails in preparation forthe 2018 Pedaling for Payson Charity ride. NickHolmes has been spear-heading the Chapter'sinvolvement in this event for several years. A greatshout of thanks to Rick of S&W Sports inConcord, for coming out to provide the breakfasttent and to dig some dirt with us.

!!! Please come to the Pedaling for PaysonCharity event on September 15th. There will bea mountain bike loop again this season, with agreat meal and live entertainment after the ride. !!!

Ragged Mountain Ski Area will again be donatingday passes to be given away at the ride.

Broken Ground Conservation Area,Concord: Matt Bowser has been navigating thelocal political scene in Concord. The City is devel-oping a plan for increased public recreation at thesite in East Concord. There have been plans drawnup for propose off-road cycling paths. The projectis currently in the MOU stage of development.

Monthly Social Rides: Kevin Orlowski andMike Geldermann have been treating all who showup to much enjoyed chapter group rides. Thesehave been well attended this summer with approx-imately forty riders coming out. Each of thesemonthly events are followed by a cookout by ChefKevin. These rides have opened up much neededcommunications with riders who are not Chapter"insiders". This will hopefully seed the next gener-ation of active members.

Ahern State Park, Laconia: No recentchanges at Ahern. The trails continue to have asteady use. Please help to keep Ahern tidy by pick-ing up any trash you may come across on thetrails. There are many other types of trail users inthe park that might not be as conservation minderas we.

Great Gains Forest, Franklin: TheConservation commission and Outing Club inFranklin have been supporters of using the City

Forest for recreation. They were supportive ofallowing NEMBA to install trails on the property.This is an old project that was begun several yearsago, but lost steam before progressing very far.Anyone interested in resurrecting that, talk to theChapter officers. All it will take would be a cham-pion and a few motivated folks to get that jumpstarted.

—Mike Geldermann

CNH NEMBA Trail Care Day at Page Hill. Photos by Mike Geldermann

The August Chapter Social Ride.

Central NHPresident: Mike Geldermann,

[email protected]: Matt BowserVP Franklin Falls: Matt BowserVP Hop-Ev: Nicholas HolmesVP Page Hill: Glenn CilleyVP Ahern: Grant DrewTreasurer: Jesse McGowanPR Manager: Kevin OrlowskiBOD Reps: Shelly Temple, Grant Drew

N E W H A M P S H I R E


The summer of 2018 hasproven to be a good ridingsummer with plenty ofaction across the NorthCountry.

Our geography is the ridingregion northwest fromFranconia Notch to theVermont Border. There is along history of expert ridingterrain in this region datingto the origins of the sport and our mountain slopesare boulder and ledge thick making them difficultto tame. Meanwhile our river valleys have old gla-cial lake bed geology and provide some excellentbeginner intermediate opportunities. We are theclosest NEMBA chapter to our colleagues atKingdom Trails and nearby PRKR MTN Trails andwe are working these and other local clubs likeCircuit Frontieres in East Hereford, Quebec andMahoosuc Trails in Bethel, ME to establish aregional riding destination that was introduced atNEMBAfest as "The Borderlands"——Ride theBorderlands and experience eastern riding at itsbest. The newly named collaborative recently pro-vided a trail grant to PRKR MTN Trails for theupgrading/de-boning of some older technical trailsto increase mileage for beginners and kids. Theproject will be completed by the end of August andpeople should swing through Littleton, stop off atLittleton Bike and Fitness and head up to PRKR fora great experience.

In Franconia Valley, we are hoping to tap some ofthat same collaborative grant money to improvesome long standing cross country ski terrain into a4 season offering with some improvements for sus-tainable use in wetter conditions. We will befocusing the base central for FA-NEMBA aroundFox Hill Park and the newly established IronFurnace Microbrewery (www.ironfurnacebrewing.com) at the junction of route 117 and route 18 inFranconia Village.

Summer projects included some minor rerouting ofseveral trails in the network, and we have beencollaborating with the Friends of Profile Trails inhelping the design and pending construction of anew user friendly, non-motorized bike path fromFranconia Village to Profile School and on to thetown of Bethlehem. Grant funding has beenobtained through the Title IV educational grant toour regional high school and efforts to establish along term easement holder and stewardship plan

for our core linking trails in the network is current-ly a topic of discussion.

We continue in our maintenance agreement for theexisting trails in the WMNF that are still pendingincorporation into the inventory of official NFStrails in what will be a slow process.

The Top Notch triathlon benefitting the LafayetteRecreation Department ran on a soggy Saturday inearly August with more than 200 participants. Inaddition to our Tuesday evening ride series ema-

nating out of Littleton Bike and Fitness, a numberof local rides in support of PRKR MTN andBethlehem Trails Association (BTA) are happening.The Reck-lis Brewery in Bethlehem and SchillingBeer Co. in Littleton have both been strong sup-porters of the regional initiatives and fit very nice-ly with the overall goal and feel of the area cur-rently.

—Chris Nicodemus

FranconiaAreaPresident: Chris Nicodemus,

[email protected] President: Gardner Kellogg

VP Outreach: Janel Lawton

VP Trails: Bob Lesmerises

VP Trail Access: Jim McCann

VP Littleton Area: Blake Roberts

Treasurer: Sandy Olney

Secretary: Molly Maloy

Facebook: “Franconia Area NEMBA”


Aubrey Roberts (6) with several other local kids enjoying the "Orange Trail" as they are guided throughthe newly "beginner-ized" trail near the pumptrack and School St. parking lot of PRKR MTN Trails.

Photo by Joe Klementovich

Chris Nicodemus with the new FA-NEMBA 40volt Dewalt electric trimmer on the heights of Cole Hill inCooley Jericho Community Forest Photo by Elizabeth Obrine


The summer is windingdown in the Pemi-Valleyarea. It has been a great rid-ing season despite all of therain. Our chapter workedhard to maintain our twonetworks (Gyro and FoxPark) in Plymouth and ourpump track. As a result, allthree have been enjoyed byriders of all abilities andages. We look forward togetting back out into Fox Park this fall to createnew riding opportunities and tune up older ones.

The big buzz this summer has been GreenWoodlands in Dorchester. While Green Woodlandsis a private entity, our chapter has supported theproject and is extremely excited to see all of thesuccess. New machine built trails seem to beopening every week. The riding is amazing and canbe enjoyed by all skill levels. Pemi-Valley NEMBAenjoys a working relationship with the neighboringfarm community D'Acres and plans to host meet-ings and rides at the farm. If you want to rideGreenwoodlands, you can park at D'Acres ride upto the trail network and then enjoy a featured filledflow trail on the way back to the farm. Ask forJosh, he is the man at D'Acres.

Most recently, Pemi-Valley NEMBA replaced amulti-use bridge in the heavily traveled area calledSmarts Brook. While the Yellow-jacket trail his isnot a bike specific trail, it is enjoyed by riders,skiers, runners and hikers all year long. One of ourgoals is to maintain a positive working relationshipwith the White Mountain National Forest. Thisbridge project is an example of the support ourchapter has provided to the forest service, and isrepresentative of our local riding community'scommitment to trail care. A big shout out to thegroup of volunteers who donated time, equipmentand energy to the project.

If you are in the area and looking for informationon riding at Fox, Gyro and/or tips on how to get toD'Acres and Green Woodlands, stop by Rhino BikeWorks in Plymouth (North Main St.). If you wantto get involved, visit our facebook page or website.Shoot us an email and we will get back to you. Ournext meeting is slated for late September. Join us!

— Jeremy Hillger

Pemi ValleyPresident: Slade Warner

Vice-President: Jay HarringtonTreasurer: Sean O’LearyBOD Rep: Jeremy HillgerFacebook: Pemi Valley NEMBA

The Pemi-Valley crew staging for the day long project at Smarts Brook.Photos by Jeremy Hillger

The Pemi-Valley crew enjoying the fruits of their effort.



Our chapter has been veryactive in gaining trail accessand developing trails onvarious land parcelsthroughout the regionthanks predominately tothe dedication of our twen-ty trail stewards. The fol-lowing are a few highlights.

Under the capable steward-ship of Fred Keith, who isworking with the

Brentwood Conservation Commission and otherland managers, trail networks are flourishing. TheMartin/Little River project, together withKaufman-Gown and Folsom Preserve are makingfor some nice riding in the Epping/Brentwood/Exeter area.

It was a busy summer on the trails in Amherst. InBetty Arnold Forest, Wes Robertson and his crewcompleted the "I Scream" Trail to the Tastee Koneon Route 101 - how's that for trailside refresh-ments! They also completed the Humpty Dumptyextension, expanding the existing trail around thetown Transfer Station and connecting it to I

Scream. Also check out "Upper Lorden", an exten-sion to the Lorden Path that adds considerablemileage to the trail network, with rideable connec-tions to Joe English Reserve. All the new trails areready to ride and published to OpenStreetMap.org.

In Joe English Reserve (JER), ACC Commissionerand NEMBA member, Frank Montesanto has beenbusy designing and building a new bridge over JoeEnglish Brook, next to the historic Peabody Millsite. This will serve as a reroute and replacementfor the old bridge on Highland Trail. Help came inmany forms, but in particular Amherst RecreationAdventure Teen Campers pitched in four days oftrail work to help move things along.

For the last 20 years, aside from a couple of trails,JER has been posted "no bikes", with manyAmherst residents vociferously opposed to everallowing bicycles on the parcel. Just two shortyears ago, riding on most trails anywhere inAmherst was illegal, subject to a fine. Many peo-ple have been advocating, working on trails, andserving on town committees to change opinions,and it's working. As a result, additional trails inJER have recently been opened up to MTB on a trialbasis. Several trails are still no-bikes, so read thesigns carefully. Be respectful of other trail users,don't ride muddy trails, etc. Be good citizens andstewards, and this privilege won't be taken away.


Mid Horse Hill Strong Novice Ride: Chris Gaudet, Danny Antil, Eric Valdes, Libby Masek, Alice Vail Johannen.

Photo by Chris Gaudet

Trail day for Bear Hill Trail - Norie Knott, Mike xxxx, Chris Gaudet, Tim Miller, Mike Considine, AlannaCarlson, Josh FreedStrong Novice Ice Cream Ride at Great Brook Farm

in Carlisle, MA - Daniel Stephens, Scott Watson

SouthernNew HampshirePresident: Matt Caron,

[email protected], 603-321-8736VP: Dan DwyerVP: Bill Theroux Secretary: Alanna CarlsonTreasurer: Norrie KnottTrail Advisor: Peter DeSantisEmail list: [email protected]: Southern NH NEMBA



Jeff Hannigan and Daniel Lougee have been busybuilding new trails at Yudicky, the latest of which,Creepy Teepee, is quite fun. Danny Antil and ChrisGaudet have put in many hours there keeping thetrails open and clear.

Two new trail projects have been completed atBear Brook State Park and will be incorporated inthis year's Bear Brook Boogie. The southern end ofthe Bear Hill Trail has been re-routed per the state'srequest to protect a sensitive animal species andthe northern end has been extended to minimizevehicle/bicycle conflicts. Trail gnome extraordi-naire, Pete Burant, logged more hours than anyother chapter member to help get these two trailscompleted so quickly. We will try to complete onemore new trail before snowfall and likely start thefourth and fifth projects next spring.

As the days are growing shorter, riders at BearBrook State Park should be happy to know that thegate of the hiker/biker lot will remain open for theforeseeable future. This is a welcome policy changefor many of us who ride until after dark and hadpreviously run the risk of being locked in after sun-set. As long as the lot is kept clean and there is noillicit behavior reported there, the gate will remainunlocked around the clock.

Bear Brook's new park ranger, Christina Barton,attended our last chapter meeting and committedto making the trail network, the premier asset ofthe park, her priority. Next time you're there, letthe park staff know how much you appreciate thepark and its support of mountain bikers. A specialthanks go out to Tim Miller and Josh Freed forbecoming certified chainsaw operators on NHstate property. Their status allows us to keep thetrails clear after storms and their help on trail daysmakes for efficient trail building.

As usual, the Bear Brook Boogie will be held onColumbus Day weekend. What is not usual is thatwe will have a primary target date for the event,Saturday, October 6th with a rain date for Sunday,October 7th. We will decide the date on Fridaynight and post the info on our Facebook page andto our e-mail subscriber list. Though the camp-ground at Bear Brook State Park is usually closedby Columbus Day weekend, the state is extendingthe season for us and reserving several sites forattendees of the Boogie. If you are coming from along distance, or if you just want to expand yourBear Brook experience, book a site on the StateParks website. See the NEMBA webpage and theChapter's Facebook page for details.

Tired of riding in the same old places? Considerjoining one of the many group rides offered by ourchapter leaders. Both the Tuesday Night NoviceRide at Mine Falls and the Thursday Night rotatingStrong Novice Rides run by Chris Gaudet continueto be very well attended. Please note that the finalStrong Novice Ride of the season will be onThursday 10/25 but that the Coed Novice Ride onTuesday nights will continue to run through thewinter and will be a Fat Bike ride as conditionswarrant. Jeff Hannigan has hosted more skills ses-sion events that continue to be quite popular.Alanna Carlson hosts an Intermediate ride onMonday evenings that has a rotating location.Check our Facebook page for details on the ridelocations and times.

—Dan Dwyer

Trail Care Days at Amherst’s Joe English Reserve with Amherst Recreation Adventure Teen Campers.Photo by Frank Montesanto

Introducing Dean from Burlington, VT to some classic Bear Brook singletrack.


The White Mountain chapter has been busy!

Riding in the MountWashington Valley hasalways been great, and thisour trail builders have beenvery busy. The ClassicMWV riding of Red Tailtrail, the pudding pondnetwork and the new addi-tions at the Marshall prop-erty have all seen mainte-nance updates and newsections of trail this sea-son. We are also veryexcited about the explosion of new gravity-orient-

ed trails in the Valley. We happen to be blessedwith an abundance of vertical drop in the NorthCountry, and excellent access to that vertical.Currently, we have 3 entirely new top to bottomruns that have gone in thus summer off ofHurricane Mountain Road.

The Hurricane Trail has been a year long project

spearheaded by local machine operator andWMNEMBA Vice President Chris 'Knees' Lewando.Chris happens to be a professional trail builder cur-rently working with Sinuosity Flowing Trails out ofVermont. Hurricane runs parallel to Redtail andwhen ridden top to bottom covers over 1300 feetof vertical drop over a moderate pitch. Hurricane isfully machine built with big bike park style bermsand table tops, a proper park trail at an easy gradewith free access! This new trail was made possibleby countless volunteer hours, a dedicated commu-nity effort and the Town of North Conway.

Additionally, we have developed two new trailsthat cover over 1500 feet of Vertical drop each.'Sendero', which sits on Upper Saco Valley Landtrust property is a proper Black Diamond down hillrun that flows through several hemlock glades andincudes slick rock rollers, drops and a few smalljumps, it is high speed fun! We have also beenworking closely with Cranmore Mountain resort

and have developed another full length downhillrun that starts at the top of the resort. 'CharlieDon't Surf' is covers over 1000' of vert, and whencombined with the Cranmore Connector is a full1500'. Charlie, another proper black diamond, goesin and out of several glades and across ski runswith fantastic views of Mt. Washington. The bestpart about the start of Charlie, is the Meister hutat the top of Mt. Cranmore ski resort. Serving coldones till 4pm daily!

We would like to thank the land owners and landmanagers for granting us access to such amazingterrain, we could not have accomplished any ofthis without the help of the Town of Conway,Upper Saco Valley land trust and CranmoreMountain resort, hats off to you folks! Keep an eyeout for Hurricane area as more trails are beingplanned.

—Mike LeBlanc


WM NEMBA Trail Crew sculpting and machining the Hurricane Trail

WhiteMountainsPresident: Amanda Tulip,

[email protected]: Chris Lewando & Mike LeBlancTreasurer: Phil Ostroski Secretary: Shannon DunfeyWebsite: www.wmnemba.org


R H O D E I S L A N D

Summer’s OverWe're so looking forward tofall after the summer thatwas too slow getting hereand too hot while it washere. That being said itwasn't a total bust as weachieved some first that willbe with us for a while.

Rhode IslandDepartment of EnvironmentalManagement Loves Us!Ok, maybe that's getting a little carried away but

relationship has not always been very good butnow looks like that is about to change. We arenow having some good conversations about landuse in DEM management areas and how RI NRMBAcan fit in. Recently the DEM has approached MattMlyniec with a plan to cooperate with NEMBA andformalize a trail stewardship program similar toone they have had with AMC for years. It's still inthe initial stages with things like signing a formalagreement, insurance to be worked out and like awhat trails will be included, progress is being made. While DEM as always been pretty good aboutapproving fun rides permits this is the first timethat they are talking about a program where thereis continuous involvement by NEMBA. We are allpretty excited about this. Looking forward to say-ing it's a done deal and what it includes.

The Ride for RescuesA new fun ride this year was the RIDE for theRescues. This was a free fun ride held at Diamondhill in Cumberland, RI. Diamond Hill is an areathat we have stayed away from for fun ridesbecause of it's technical nature. We needed a loca-tion for the Rescues ride so Diamond Hill got thenod. It was a hot humid day in a place a lot of rid-ers don't frequent because of it's technical naturebut we raised over $600, 100lbs of dry and over 50cans of pet food, 10lbs of dog treats as well as bed-ding, a pet carrier, kennel, cleaning supplies, toysand other treats for the animals and the shelter. Isaid free but there was a moral obligation for thoseriding to make a donation to help the CumberlandAnimal Shelter and that kind of commitment showwe met the challenge.

And In The "No Good Deed Goes Unpun-ished"Department...

The Ride for the Rescues was the result of our new

treasurer's inspiration and hard work. Shannonhad recently lost a beloved pet and this ride waspart for payback to her Molly who had past way.Shannon did a heck of a job putting this eventtogether and making it work along with the usualgang of volunteers. Since it was a new event therewas more to be done and it was done by thenewest person on the RI NEMBA board. ThankYou.

So there does the "No Good Deed goesUnpunished" come in. In short, the follow day. Asalways the last job at a fun ride is pulling thearrows. Even though I swore I would never rideDiamond Hill again I was out there with her lessthan 24 hours later pulling arrows. I had stoppedto pull an arrow and Shannon passed me to get thenext which was at the bottom to the coursesbiggest and most difficult roller. You always knowwhen someone goes down hard even though youdon't see it. Maybe the earth does shake, maybethe sounds of flesh hitting the ground or possiblythe pain filled grunt followed by a string of profan-

ities but it was obvious she had hit hard and washurt.

My first thought was how is rescue going to get inhere to get her out. In short that wasn't an issue.After the initial shock of hitting so hard wore offand getting right side up the Emergency RoomNurse switched into gear. That your be her notme, I was still feeling a little faint. We fashioned aMacGuyver split out of some branches, a twist tieand some tape to support her broken wrist andstarted walking. Luckily we were not far from a fireroad and Shannon was back on her bike riding withone hand. Still about a mile to be out of the woodsand then a mile and a half to her car. Tough lady.So remembering that no good deed goes unpun-ished keep in mind that the bigger the good deedthe worse the punishment.

—Matt Mlyniec

Rhode IslandPresident: Matt Mlyniec,

[email protected]

Chapter Board Members: JamesHoard, Craig Mello, ChristopherHughes

Treasurer: Kerry Angelo

Secretary: Lauren Hoard

NEMBA BOD Rep: Matt Schulde, PeterGengler

Website: RINEMBA.org

Facebook: RINEMBA


NEMBA rides are led by individual NEMBA members for other members and prospective members. So if you haven't yet joined NEMBA, pleasedo. Rides are usually for small numbers of people and vary with the location and the personal style of the host. Rides have been known tochange location or time at the last moment. So be sure to contact the ride's leader, both to sign up, and to find out more about the ride. **Besure to contact the ride leader a couple of days before the ride 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 rides will stay manageable and will be enjoyable for everyone. Helmets arerequired on all NEMBA rides. Contact your ride's leader if the weather looks questionable.

HEY! - Why not lead a NEMBA ride yourself? Contact Bill Boles at 508-583-0067 or [email protected] for more information.

NEMBA Rides

Special Events 9/29 Central CT NEMBA Fall Fiesta Hebron, CT Glenn Vernes [email protected]/29 Kona MTB Adventure Ride @ Carrabassett Valley Carrabassett Valley, Ed Gervais, [email protected]/6 Kona MTB Adventure Series Ride @ Bear Brook State Park, Allentown, NH Dan Dwyer [email protected]/17 Berkshire NEMBA Bike the Glen CelebrationN. Adams Alison McGee [email protected]/28 Kona MTB Adventure Series Wicked Ride of the East, N. Andover, MA, Frank Ming [email protected]

Kids / Family Rides10/14 Greater Boston NEMBA Kids Mountain Bike Festival, Stoneham, MA Andrea Jones [email protected]/25 Greater Boston NEMBA/DCR Toys for Tots Social & Kids Ride, Stoneham, MA Andrea Jones [email protected]

Central, Wachusett & Western Mass Sundays Wachusett NEMBA Leominster SF Ride Intermediate Jim Wrightson [email protected] Berkshire Community & NEMBA Pittsfield SF Rides All PittsfieldAlison McGee [email protected] Thursdays PV NEMBA Deerfield River Trails Inter-Advanced Charlemont Harold Green [email protected] (Ends 11/1)Weds. Berkshire NEMBA Wednesday Ride Series All Stockbridge Bill Markham [email protected] & 3rd Thurs. Berkshire NEMBA Novice/Intermellow RideNewer Riders Dalton Kevin Delaney [email protected]/17 Berkshire NEMBA Bike the Glen Celebration All N. Adams Alison McGee [email protected]

Connecticut Sundays Fairfield County NEMBA Ride Intermediate Ridgefield John Sweeney [email protected] Quiet Corner NEMBA Weekend Warrior Ride, Inter-Expert, Stacey [email protected] Southeastern CT NEMBA All Rides All (Locations vary) Kim Bradley [email protected] Housatonic Valley NEMBA Monday Ride Intermediate (Location Varies) Dave Herde [email protected] Quiet Corner NEMBA Mellow Monday Ride All Hampton Glenn Tourtellot 401-450-1596Tuesdays Housatonic Valley NEMBA Tuesday Ride Beginner-Social Southbury Paula Burton [email protected] Tues. Housatonic Valley NEMBA Skills Session All Southbury Paula Burton [email protected]. Quiet Corner NEMBA Wednesday Women's RideWomen (Location Varies) Cris Cadiz [email protected] Weds SE CT NEMBA Chapter Meeting New London Kim Bradley [email protected] Quiet Corner NEMBA Wednesday Camel Ride Intermediate-Advanced Killingly Kris Schriener 203-470-4608WeDS Fairfield County NEMBA Wilton Woods Ride Freeride/All Mountain Dave Francefort [email protected] Housatonic Valley NEMBA Thursday Women's Ride (Locations Vary) Lisa Bilodeau [email protected] SE CT NEMBA Women's Ride Women (Locations Varies) Jessica Heuschele [email protected] Central CT NEMBA RAW Series Adv. Novice - Intermediate (Location Varies) Al Tinti [email protected] Housatonic Valley NEMBA Social Ride Newer Riders Newtown Mark Lurie [email protected] Fridays Housatonic Valley NEMBA First Friday Fat Bike Rides All Southbury Kathy Herde [email protected] Quiet Corner NEMBA Saturday Morning Special, Inter-Adv (Location Varies) Glenn Tourtelot 401-450-1596Sats. Fairfield County NEMBA All Levels Social Ride All (Location Varies) Monika Stokes [email protected]/22 Central CT NEMBA Donut Ride & Fundraiser All Durham Lisa Maloney [email protected]/29 Central CT NEMBA Fall Fiesta All Hebron Glenn Vernes [email protected]/30 SECT NEMBA Cookout & Ride @ Day Pond State Park, All Colchester Kim Bradley [email protected]/18 Housatonic Valley NEMBA Fun Ride @ Picnic All Oxford Lisa [email protected]


Maine, New Hampshire & Vermont Mondays Southern NH NEMBA Co-Ed Intermediate Ride (Locations Vary) Alanna Carlson [email protected] Penobscot Region NEMBA Monday Ride All Orono, ME https://www.rosebike.comMondays CE ME NEMBA / Dirt Divas Women's Ride Women (Locations Vary) Disa Fedorowicz [email protected] Franconia Area NEMBA Landshark Mountain Bike Ride, All, Littleton, NH Dave Harkless [email protected] Southern NH NEMBA Coed Novice Ride Nashua, NH Chris Gaudet [email protected] CeMeNEMBA Ride Intermediate (Location Varies) Brian Alexander [email protected] Penobscot Region NEMBA Women's Ride Women Bangor, ME https://www.slippinggears.com (207) 307-

7403Weds Penobscot Region NEMBA Ladies Ride Women Orono, ME https://www.rosebike.com 207-866-3525Weds Brattleboro-Keene NEMBA Wednesday Ride Adv. Novice - Adv. Inter. Keene, NH Mike Davern [email protected] CeMeNEMBA Mount Apatite RideAll Auburn, ME Chris Riley [email protected] Weds Penobscot Region NEMBA Race Clinic Series, All,(Location varies) www.facebook.com/groups/255369711467480Thursdays Brattleboro-Keene NEMBA Thursday Ride Adv.Novice - Adv. Intermediate Brattleboro, VT Josh ReynoldsThursdays Penobscott Region NEMBA Thursday Rides Intermediate Bangor, ME Ski Rack Sports 207-945-6474Thursdays Southern NH NEMBA Thursday C0-Ed Strong Novice Ride (Locations vary) Chris Gaudet [email protected] Mon. Greater Portland NEMBA BOD Meeting Portland, ME Ilse Teeters-Trumpy [email protected]/29 Kona MTB Adventure Ride @ Carrabassett Valley, ME Ed Gervais [email protected]/6 Kona MTB Adventure Series Ride @ Bear Brook State Park, Allentown, NH Dan Dwyer [email protected]/27 Greater Portland NEMBA Bikes & Brews Cape Elizabeth, ME, Rob Lavoie [email protected]

Metro Boston, Merrimack & North ShoreMondays North Shore NEMBA Willowdale Ride Novice-Inter. Ipswich, Frank Lane [email protected] (Ends 9/24)Mondays Cape Cod NEMBA Women's Ride All Barnstable Karen Zunti [email protected] MV NEMBA by Grateful Tread Ride Adv. Beginner - Intermediate Burlington David Zizza [email protected] MV NEMBA Lowell Dracut Tyngsboro Ride Intermediate - Adv. Intermediat Barry Moore [email protected] MV NEMBA Tuesday Women's Ride All Lowell Karen Korza [email protected] (Ends 10/30)Thursday MV NEMBA by Grateful Tread Ride Adv. Beginner - Inter. Carlisle/Billerica David Zizza [email protected] North Shore NEMBA Harold Parker SF Ride, Intermediate Bob Ganley [email protected] (Ends 9/27)Fridays MV NEMBA Russell Mill Ride Intermediate-Adv. Intermediate Chelsmford Marty Engel [email protected] MV NEMBA by Grateful Tread Ride Adv. Beginner - Inter. (Location Varies) David Zizza [email protected] & Sun GB NEMBA Weekend Rides All (Locations Vary) https://www.facebook.com/groups/gb.rides/10/14 Greater Boston NEMBA Kids Mountain Bike FestivalKids Stoneham, MA Andrea Jones [email protected]/25 Greater Boston NEMBA / DCR Toys for Tots Social & Kids Ride,Stoneham, MA Andrea Jones [email protected]

Southeastern Mass. Blackstone Valley & Rhode Island Mondays Blackstone Valley NEMBA Hopkinton SF Rides Intermediate Brian Forestal [email protected] Cape Cod NEMBA Monday Women's Ride Women Barnstable, MA Karen Zunti [email protected] SE MASS NEMBA Foxborough Ride All Foxboro,MA Iain Crerar [email protected] BV NEMBA Morning Coffee House Ride Series (Locations Vary) Derick Mahoney [email protected] Cape Cod NEMBA ToT Wednesday Ride All Marstons Mills, MA Mike Dube [email protected] Thursdays SE MA NEMBA Thursday Foxboro Ride Intermediate Iain Crerar [email protected] SE MA NEMBA Blue Hills Morning Ride All Milton, MA Steve Cobble [email protected] Cape Cod NEMBA Thursday Evening Ride Intermediate Hyannis, MA Mike Erickson [email protected] BV NEMBA Thursday Ride Series Adv. Novice - Inter (Location Varies) Brian Forestal [email protected] SE MA NEMBA Easy Beginner Rides Freetown, MA Karen Manfredi [email protected] Fridays Cape Cod NEMBA Friday ToT Ride, All Marstons Mills, MA Mike Dube [email protected] Saturdays SE MASS NEMBA Wompatuck Ride All Hingham, MA Richard Banks [email protected] Cape Cod NEMBA Saturday Mellow RideMellow Pace (Locations vary) Bill Boles [email protected] Saturdays SE MA NEMBA Intermediate Ride (Locations vary) Corey French [email protected]


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Speed & Sprocket Cycle Works, Holyoke MA

The Bicycle Link, Weymouth MA

Tri-City Bicycles, Rochester NH

Wayfarer Bicycles, New London CT

West Hill Shop, Putney VT

Winterwoman Designs, Nashau NH

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Make a toast to NEMBA’s 30th Anniversarywith our new commemorative beverage

wrench from Pedro’s.This might well become your favorite bike tool! Get yours

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CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Join us for one of our upcoming Kona Bicycles MTB Adventure Rides!9/29 Carrabassett Outdoor Center, Carrabassett Valley, ME10/6 Bear Brook State Park, Allentown, NH10/28 Wicked Ride of the East, Harold Parker State Forest, N. Andover MA

Detals at www.nemba.org

Documents

NEW ENGLAND MOUNTAIN BIKE ASSOCIATION Files... · 2018. 11. 12. · Women (in the sport of mountain bik-ing) came out of the woods (and woodwork) in 2017 following the inaugural NEMBA