Ryan and Kristin from the IMBA Trail Care Crew visited Santa Cruz last Thursday through Sunday and it was quite an amazing experience. We hosted the crew at our house and it was a real pleasure to get to know them better.
Some of the highlights include:
- IMBA Club Care Session at Giro. We learn how to build a sustainable club.
- Group Ride at Wilder Ranch. Well attended by regulars, newbies, kids, gray haired guys and women.
- 10th Anniversary Party at Seabright Brewery
- $3000 Donation to IMBA California. Good for trail karma.
Tom Ward from IMBA California was one of the honored guests who attended the MBOSC 10th Anniversary party at Seabright Brewery.
During the announcements, MBOSC issued a donation of $3,000 to support Tom's efforts in Sacramento. The future of MBOSC and other clubs will leverage the great work done by IMBA California. We recognize the importance of Tom Ward and IMBA to create more riding opportunities for mountain biking which will benefit all riders in California. We support IMBA California and so should you.
The third annual Santa Cruz Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day was held at DeLaveaga Park this year and it was a great success. The kids had a lot of fun.
After registration and bike and helmet check, the kids went on the skills course to learn braking, bike control and balance. We would observe the kids on the challenging terrain and adjust their bikes to fit them better for off road riding. After a safety talk and a group picture, the kids split into two groups and rode the trails at DeLaveaga.
A year ago, the 400 acres of the coastal side of the Coast Dairies property had been conveyed to State Parks. The remaining 5,700 acres of inland property was supposed to be transfered to Bureau of Land Management (BLM) but there have been some setbacks. Over the past couple of weeks I have had conversations with officials at the BLM about the status of the Coast Dairies Property.
It was a wonderful day to enjoy Wilder Ranch State Park with our Equestrian and equine friends. We were high up on the Horse Camp marine terrace with great views of the ocean and the back country. It was sunny, warm and clear. Perfect spring weather on the central coast.
Rebeckah from SCCHA and Sebastien from MBOSC discussed the basics of horse-bike interaction on the trails and hosted an open discussion of experiences and lessons learned when encountering the other user group on the trail. Then we broke into a clinic to help desensitize horses to mountain bikes.
I had a fun filled Sea Otter this year. Camping, schmoozing, working the booth and volunteering for the dual slalom course on Thursday and Friday (but not Saturday!). Surprisingly, this is the first year in 8 that I have not raced or even entertained the idea of racing. I guess those days are over for now.
The booth was a lot of fun and was a great vehicle to build awareness about MBoSC/MORCA/ROMP/VO-cal and issues in Santa Cruz County. We had a great view of the DS course and the kids in the air. It was a great place to call home base.
The Big Picture
The image above captures the state of legitimate mountain bike trails in Santa Cruz county that I'm aware of. If you know if any other legal mountain bike trails in Santa Cruz County then please contact me. The orange and yellow lines represent dirt roads and single track respectively. The white lines represent paved roads which act as connectors within and between parks.
There is a lot of opportunity for more mountain bike access in the land holdings which do not have any trails open to bikes. We are currently working on initiatives and projects to expand legitimate access for mountain bikes. If you want to help out then please contact me at .
Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) is an IRC 501(c)(3) non-profit educational organization which is dedicated to the promotion of mountain biking in a healthy and environmentally sound manner. MBOSC is an affiliate club of International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA).
MBOSC was founded in 1997 to raise money towards the purchase of the Gray Whale Ranch that was added to Wilder Ranch State Park.
There are thousands of acres of open space in Santa Cruz County on the table including the Nisene Marks State Park, Henry Cowell, Wilder/Gray Whale, UCSC, DeLaveaga and the Coast Dairies property. MBOSC is your strongest voice for more multi-use trails in these areas and to make that voice stronger, we need to work together to build MBOSC's membership and fight against those who don't want multi-use trails in your parks.
