July 19, 2004
Please send contributions to MAMBA, 710 E 7th St, Moscow, ID 83843. For more information, contact lakook@moscow.com
Check out MAMBA's clean up of Moscow Mt on July 20, 2003. The first two photos are before/after shots of a trashy fire ring. The third image is the dumpster FULL of garbage we removed from the mountain. The Boy Scouts helped clean up Moscow Mountain in July 2004, as part of an Eagle Scout project.
Please help fund future singletrack and clean up projects by sending a check every year for at least $10, payable to MAMBA, to 710 E 7th St, Moscow, ID 83843.
See the trail updates section before you ride, as several of the routes in the Hog Heaven guide have been altered by logging.
Thanks to Bennett Lumber and all of you who made Headwaters Trail a reality. Though it seems we continue to lose as much singletrack every year as we gain, without your volunteer efforts there wouldn't BE any local singletrack. So, cheers to you.
Good news for 2004!
The landowner who bulldozed Sand Trail has agreed to allow MAMBA to rebuild a singletrack this season (2004) that will be parallel to the old route. The singletrack, called Cave Trail, will also cross some Bennett Lumber land, and they've given us permission to construct the trail too. Hurray for us!
Join us Saturday, July 24 to continue construction of this superb new route. Meet to form carpools at Rosauers grocery store on North Main St in Moscow at 9 AM. No experience necessary. Bring lunch, water, work gloves, cell phone (for safety), and a digital camera, if you own one.
One lucky name will be drawn from those attending who will receive a $35 gift certificate for Follett's Mountain Sports or a raft trip for two, donated by Salmon River Experience. YOWZA.
Other MAMBA sponsors include the B & L Bikes, Red Door Restaurant, Hyperspud Sports, Paradise Creek Bicycles and Northwestern Mt Sports. Special thanks to the Moscow Food Coop for granting us $768, and to TRI-STATE DISTRIBUTORS, who donated chain saw supplies and several pulaskis. Clif Bar has also donated product.
Forty-two folks from as far away as Florida attended the Trail Care Crew's slide show at
Several local businesses to donated schwag and refreshments (that's bike slang for free stuff):
Salmon River Experience (Full Day Raft Trip for two people)
Northwestern Mt Sports
Northwest River Supplies
B & L Bicycles
Hyperspud Sports
Follett's Mt Sports
Paradise Creek Bicycles
UI Bookstore
Casa Lopez
The Red Door
Blimpies Subs
Bookpeople
The Moscow Food Coop
Clif Bar
The UI Mountain Bike team is working with MAMBA and Bennett Lumber to control erosion in a gully near the top of Headwaters. The team is building water bars (i.e., jumps). The uphill trail bypasses the jumps; simply bear right onto the singletrack as you climb. This Spring the UI team built a bypass trail to improve safety where Headwaters Trail crosses the terrain park. Thanks, team!
If you have been unable to attend any of MAMBA's SIX scheduled events this season, you can still help out by sending a check to MAMBA and writing a letter to Brett Bennett, thanking him for allowing the public to recreate responsibly on Bennett land.....
Brett Bennett
c/o Bennet Lumber Products
PO Box 49
Princeton, ID 83857
If you'd prefer not to receive MAMBA emails, simply write to me (lakook@moscow.com) and ask me to remove you from the list. No problem!
Other MAMBA News:
If you have any MAMBA tools stashed in your truck or garage that you forgot to return, please let me know asap, or put them in the open garage behind Jack Carpenter's house at 812 E 7th St. Thanks.
We recently bought 3 McCleods (flat-headed rake-like hand tools). They were rather expensive at about $55 each. Be a saint and donate!
Dear Jimmy La,
I hate it when I go up to Headwaters Trail from the Pond 9 gate and people have left their dog's doo doo in the road. What should I doo?
Signed,
Pooped
Dear Pooped,
All I can do is remind users: If you hike or bike with your dog, please USE A STICK to flick your dog's poop off the gravel road or trail. There's nothing worse than puppy poo in your knobby tire or hiking shoe. The area just above the blue gate is especially poopacious. Thank-you!
Signed,
Jimmy La
Headwaters Trail has become a popular destination for local hikers and mountain bikers. Please reduce your speed when you're biking around blind corners. Always be ready to come to a full stop if you encounter foot traffic (without skidding....d'oh!). Greet our bretheren human-powered trail lovers with respect; they deserve a safe and peaceful experience too.
Parking has become an issue near Pond 9 as more people "discover" the trail (I wonder where they all were when we were building the trail....) Although it's a little dusty from passing cars, mountain bikers and hikers should park in the wide spots a couple hundred yards before the blue gate, just downhill from the Firelane sign. Magnesium chloride will hopefully be applied to the road soon, so the dust will be less of an issue. The county wants local residents of Foothills Rd to pay for the magnesium chloride (approximately $1500), so contact me if you'd like to donate to the cause.
Don't even think about parking in two key spots:
1) the private driveway with a green gate that splits off to the right, just before the blue gate.
2) the school bus and snow plow turn around area (in front of the mailboxes, up Tolo Trail Rd, and all the way to the gate.
Please let me know the trail conditions (erosion, mud, fallen trees) as you ride Moscow Mt, North/South area or Grass Trail at McCroskey Park. I like to update the web site at least monthly.
PS Friends of Moscow Mountain is a citizen group striving to create a recreation plan for Moscow Mt. They are putting lines on maps for future recreational use of Moscow Mt. I cannot attend these meetings during the school year, so mountain bikers have not been represented. Please get involved. I'm looking for interested folks to lead the charge. Please contact Archie George (882-0925) or me if you'd like to get involved.
OTHER MAMBA SHTUFF:
The MAMBA chain saw recently ate $60 in repairs, then died completely. Thanks to a recent grant from the Moscow Food Coop, our bank account is no longer zeroed out. Still, if you didn't do so already, cough up the nickels to keep local singletrack alive. Every penny helps build trails. Suggested contribution is 10 americano dollars a year, cheap at twice the price. Contrary to viscious rumors, I am not hoarding piles of MAMBA donations for a scuba dive trip in Bonnaire.....
Someday (summer 2005?) MAMBA hopes to build a trail from Tamarack to East Moscow Mt via City of Troy and Nature Conservancy land. The new route would bypass logging roads, but the terrain is very steep and brushy. Stay tuned...
PS Be nice to EVERYONE you meet when driving to/from the mountain and while riding. SLOW DOWN! Like it or not, you represent our sport. One bad impression from you can spoil trail access for everyone. RIDE WITH RESPECT.
Postscript to the PS:
If you haven't already seen it, there is a bright orange "No Trespassing" sign at the bottom of Warnicke Trail. The good news is that Warnicke's forester (Cliff Todd) has added a hand-written note to the sign, stating "Except Hikers and Mt Bikers".
Hopefully our efforts to maintain Warnicke Trail and keep their firewood pile stocked will continue to engender good relations. So next time you swoop down the lovely singletrack past their cabin.......control your speed in case you meet hikers, especially on blind corners; use caution crossing the log bridge below the cabin, as it is starting to shake loose; and remember to keep your weight back by moving you butt behind your saddle....ONLY POSERS SKID, ONLY SKIDDERS POSE.
Lastly, here are a few other
1) Drive a reasonable speed on your way to and from the mountain. I've heard specific complaints about the speed and recklessness of bike-toting vehicles on Moscow Mt Rd. You might save a couple minutes, but people who live along those roads have to put up with increased danger, as well as dust. Slow down (the speed limit is 35 MPH, but blind corners on gravel roads are not posted). Go slower. Wave and smile.
2) Turn your car stereo or radio off as you're unloading at the trailhead. Pick up any trash in the parking area.
3) Moscow Mountain is PRIVATE LAND. No one has to let us use any of it, so please treat it with respect and stay off posted property unless you have personal permission from the landowner.
4) Even if you are on a dirt road, slow down to walking speed whenever you encounter other people in the woods, especially non-bikers. Stop completely for horses and talk to the riders so the horses know you're not a predator.
When you greet people in a friendly manner you MIGHT undo the damage some other idiot inflicted to mountain biking's future when he (let's be fair, or she) flipped off other trail users. You think I'm being paranoid, but I heard that a mountain biker issued the middle finger salute to a logger last year who just happened to be working for Bennett Lumber, the largest LAND OWNER on Moscow Mt.
Get the picture? Hint: Use ALL FIVE fingers when you wave.
Hopefully the offending biker was some slacker UI or WSU student who has long-since graduated (or dropped out) and moved back to Poserville where he belongs.
Thanks for listening. If you've read this far, you probably already practice good trail side manner, which helps keep singletrack open to biking.
If you already gave us your email info but you are not receiving MAMBA newsletters, give us your address again (lakook@moscow.com). We'll try not to delete you this time. Honest, it was an accident. If you do not have e-mail, call Jonathan Lomber (883-3503) periodically for updates.
If you'd like to unsubscribe to MAMBA's newsletter, REPLY TO SENDER ONLY and ask me to take you off the list.
It's time to harangue you about sending your measley 10 bucks per year to help keep MAMBA afloat. Your hard-earned nickels help maintain chainsaws, buy trail tools, and purchase a second B.O.B. trailer to carry the another chainsaw. MAMBA's current bank balance is about $100.
By the way, most mountain bike trails access clubs have annual dues of $20, plus $20 IMBA membership fees, in addition to at least 20 hours trail work per year. What is it worth for you to have quality singletrack nearby? Cough it up and skip that next six-pack of micro brew as your personal sacrifice to the trail gods. Make your check payable to MAMBA and mail it to 710 E 7'th St, Moscow, ID 83843. Guilt is a powerful motivator. Do it now, before you forget.
Remember that current riding conditions and route changes due to trail construction or logging are available.
NEW NEWS
IMBA Visit!
The International Mountain Bike Association, Subaru USA and Clif Bar are proud to have sponsored a visit to Moscow by IMBA's world famous Trail Care Crew (TCC) last summer. The TCC was here August 21-Aug 23, 2003.Paradise Creek Bikes
in Moscow.OTHER NEW NEWS
Etiquette Reminders To Keep Everyone Happy
etiquette ideas
to keep local landowners happy: In addition to the obvious stuff, like DON'T ALTER TRAILS WITHOUT PERMISSION, YOU MORON (smile)....
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