in CamRock (Moderator: TheMayor1)

It's time to get the CamRock trail Posse fired up again for this year! You are all kicking but and we need to keep it going!

You say you love riding the CamRock trails but are new to the area? Or you missed out on this last year? You want to be showered with gratitude and free beer? Well never fear! We just happen to have some openings so that you can lend a hand this year
Here is how it works: I set up a system to basically "adopt" a section of trail and call it your own. In other words, if you see it needs some love, give it to her. If it needs it and she is not getting it, I might send you a gentle reminder. But I am thinking of just a better way to divide the duties, not hand out any shaming. Folks here want to help. This is hopefully a better way to do it. And once you learn "your" trail section you will have a better idea of the tools and effort needed. I don't expect anyone, mostly me, to be perfect. We are here to ride bikes and have fun after all!

I will get you set up with access to the tools needed. You can take care of things as your schedule allows. No waiting for "scheduled maintenance days" etc. If you can squeeze in an hour before, or after, a ride? Perfect! I have divided up the trails into sections that should be able to be maintained in about an hour per month. Obviously the needed maintenance varies throughout the year depending on terrain and sun exposure. Some months it might take a little more, some it may take none. I try to lay that out in the trail descriptions. And I am thinking the basic maintenance a trail needs like removing sticks, lopping branches, mowing grass. Larger issues like erosion needing work days will still be tackled by trail crews.
So what do you get beyond being one of the cool cats, and the respect of your peers? Well that is pretty much it, other than the satisfaction of a job well done. While I would love, and you deserve, a free brewski from one of our sponsors, or maybe a trail maintenance crew party, I suck at getting stuff like that organized. So it would be a bonus if it happens. And did I mention that you will have the admiration of all of your peers  :-*

So here is generally how it divides up. This is a work in progress, so just post up if you want to help. I have listed in red the sections that I believe are taken for the year already. I will post up and update things as I get more information or others post up:
Trail Sections                                                        General Idea on Maintenance Needs
White River and north 1/2 of Beaver Hole - Mowing maintenance in summer mowing season. Little to none in off seasons. Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team
South 1/2 of Beaver Hole and Fat Tracks - Mowing maintenance in summer. Some lopping of trees. Blowing leaves. Minimal in off seasons. Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team
IMBA Influence and Veritas Loop - Weed Whacker trimming and lopping. Blow leaves. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
Area 51 and Outback - Weed whacker trimming and lopping. Blow leaves. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
CORP Connector: From Expert woods south through Rip N' Ride to Roundabout - Almost all mowing. Lopping when raspberries are growing. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Jeff Mueller
CORP Connector: From Roundabout north through Burr Oak Breezeway to Expert Woods - Almost all mowing. Lopping when raspberries are growing.  Not much after grass stops growing in late August. Could use a blow of leaves around November. Scott Mills
Cliff Edge - Mowing with weed whacker. Some lopping. Leaves in fall.  John Sypniewski
Turn It Up, Stonefly, Corkscrew, Rattlesnake. - Minimal in summer - lopping/trimming trees. Fall and spring walk to remove sticks branches. Needs blown a couple of times in the fall, and possibly once in the spring. Scott Fenton
Would Chuck? & Mayors Meander - Mowing in summer. Minimal trimming of sumac area and woods. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Scott Fenton
Beer Run, Beer Cave, Gettin' Started and Drop In - Some trimming with weed whacker in summer. Some lopping. Sticks and leaves in fall and spring. Mike the Cycle Tech

I tried to divide these up by amount of work and the tools needed. Like you can do all mowing with either a trimmer or the big mower. You should not need both.
You and a buddy or two want to share the duties? Fantastic! Anything and everything that you think you can do will be a help. You want to adopt more than one of the above sections? Wonderful. You have an inkling to give even more and line up your own crew for large jobs on "your" trails, like you see an issue with erosion? Great! Then I can give you the advice or supervision if you need it. Otherwise just let me know and I will inspect and we will come up with a plan together.
The trails will all need mowing before the Battle of CamRock coming up on June 1st. The week before the race we will need effort from everyone to get the trails in top-notch shape for the race. I really hope you can help out.
Let me know of any questions here. Or give me a call at 6:ZERO:8 7:SEVEN:2 7:EIGHT THREE:3.

I am going to send out another blast, as I have not heard a peep since last week. I really just need to hear back from folks if you are back on board for sure. And anyone new that might be willing to lend a hand. I know a couple of you said that you were definitely back on board, and I really appreciate that. Please just let me know your plan to get your section of trail whipped into shape before The Battle of CamRock. Which means by a week from Friday we need the trails in tip-top shape. This is where I start to go into a bit of panic mode. A quick sentence or two with a plan and when you are can do it. That would take a load off of my mind. The grasses, and nettles, have grown about a foot in the last week and will need attention between this weekend and next. Everything should have a quick once-over before the race. I know some have extenuating circumstances and can’t take it on again this year. Please let me know that as well. I just need to know where I am at.

It's time to get the CamRock trail Posse fired up again for this year! This system is really working well and I want to keep it going. I can’t thank all of you returning Posse members enough. You are all kicking butt and I want to keep it going! 

You say you love riding the CamRock trails but are new to the area? Or you missed out on this last year? You want to be showered with gratitude? Well never fear! We just happen to have some openings so that you can lend a hand this year   

Here is how it works: I set up a system to basically "adopt" a section of trail and call it your own. In other words, if you see it needs some love, give it to her. If it needs it and she is not getting it, I might send you a gentle reminder. But I am thinking of just a better way to divide the duties, not hand out any shaming. Folks here want to help. This is hopefully a better way to do it. And once you learn "your" trail section you will have a better idea of the tools and effort needed. I don't expect anyone, mostly me, to be perfect. We are here to ride bikes and have fun after all!

I will get you set up with access to the tools needed. You can take care of things as your schedule allows. No waiting for "scheduled trail work days" etc. If you can squeeze in an hour before, or after, a ride? Perfect! I have divided up the trails into sections that should be able to be maintained in about an hour per month. Obviously the needed maintenance varies throughout the year depending on terrain and sun exposure. Some months it might take a little more, some it may take none. I try to lay that out in the trail descriptions. And I am thinking the basic maintenance a trail needs like removing sticks, lopping branches, mowing grass. Larger issues like erosion needing work days will still be tackled by trail crews.
So what do you get beyond being one of the cool cats, and the respect of your peers? Well that is pretty much it, other than the satisfaction of a job well done. While I would love, and you deserve, a free brewski from one of our sponsors, or maybe a trail maintenance crew party, I suck at getting stuff like that organized. So it would be a bonus if it happens. Did I mention that you will have the admiration of all of your peers   

So here is generally how it divides up. This is a work in progress, so just post up if you want to help. I have listed in red the sections that I believe are taken for the year already. I will post up and update things as I get more information or others post up:
Trail Sections                                                        General Idea on Maintenance Needs                                                        People/Group Adoptee
White River and Beaver Hole - Mowing maintenance in summer mowing season. Little to none in off seasons. Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team
Fat Tracks - Mowing maintenance in summer. Some lopping of trees. Blowing leaves. Minimal in off seasons. Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team
IMBA Influence and Veritas Loop - Weed Whacker trimming and lopping. Blow leaves. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
Area 51 and Outback - Weed whacker trimming and lopping. Blow leaves. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
CORP Connector: From Expert woods south through Rip N' Ride to Roundabout - Almost all mowing. Lopping when raspberries are growing. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Jeff Mueller
CORP Connector: From Roundabout north through Burr Oak Breezeway to Expert Woods - Almost all mowing. Lopping when raspberries are growing.  Not much after grass stops growing in late August. Could use a blow of leaves around November. Scott Mills
Cliff Edge - Mowing with weed whacker. Some lopping. Leaves in fall.  John Sypniewski
Turn It Up, Stonefly, Corkscrew, Rattlesnake. - Minimal in summer - lopping/trimming trees. Fall and spring walk to remove sticks branches. Needs blown a couple of times in the fall, and possibly once in the spring. Scott Fenton
Would Chuck? & Mayors Meander - Mowing in summer. Minimal trimming of sumac area and woods. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Scott Fenton
Beer Run, Beer Cave, Gettin' Started, Kids Trail, and Drop In - Some trimming with weed whacker in summer. Some lopping. Sticks and leaves in fall and spring. Mike the Cycle Tech

I tried to divide these up by amount of work and the tools needed. Like you can do all mowing with either a trimmer or the big mower. You should not need both.
You and a buddy or two want to share the duties? Fantastic! Anything and everything that you think you can do will be a help. You want to adopt more than one of the above sections? Wonderful. You have an inkling to give even more and line up your own crew for large jobs on "your" trails, like you see an issue with erosion? Great! Then I can give you the advice or supervision if you need it. Otherwise just let me know and I will inspect and we will come up with a plan together.
The trails will all need mowing before the Battle of CamRock coming up on June 1st. The week before the race we will need effort from everyone to get the trails in top-notch shape for the race. I really hope you can help out.
Let me know of any questions here. Or give me a call at 6:ZERO:8 7:SEVEN:2 7:EIGHT THREE:3.

Chuck,  I'm still good for my sections.  I'm going to try and make it out for the race prep this Saturday but won't know until that morning and it may be for only a couple of hours.

Thanks Thom. I appreciate your dedication. But please don't feel like you are obligated.  I have gotten a lot of response. And I am confident we will get things taken care of either way. On the other hand I know for me it is good to get outdoors. Just let me know.


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OK with the race coming on fast and a couple of thousand folks riding the CamRock trails this weekend I am going to try and do a quick review of where we stand as I know it: 

White River, Beaver Hole & Fat Tracks -  Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team - Beaver Hole is done. White River and Fat Tracks could use a walk through with a weed whacker and a hand loppers. Not urgent for this weekend, but would be nice.
IMBA Influence and Veritas Loop - Thom Hineline - Done. Ready for race.
Outback - Thom Hineline - Could use a minimal trimming. Not part of race course, so not urgent.
CORP Connector: From Expert woods south through Rip N' Ride to Roundabout - Jeff Mueller - Done. Ready for race.
CORP Connector: From Roundabout north through Burr Oak Breezeway to Expert Woods - Scott Mills - Done. Ready for race.
Cliff Edge - John Sypniewski - Not part of race so not urgent. Not started. John contact me if possible.
Turn It Up, Stonefly, Corkscrew, Rattlesnake. - Scott Fenton - Needs to be trimmed for race.
Would Chuck? & Mayors Meander - Scott Fenton - 2/3 of Wood Chuck trimmed today.
Beer Run, Beer Cave, Gettin' Started, Kids Trail, and Drop In - Mike Pett - Done and race ready.

So please don't take this as anything other than a roundup to see where we are at. With a single exception, everyone on this list is not only taking on the general maintenance of trails for the entire season, they were all here all Saturday in the heat working to make the trails better. They are the true stalwarts making these trails possible at CamRock. Heck Mike worked all day Saturday. Then came back and worked all day Sunday in the rain. Thank You hardly covers it!
As for trail prep: The trails need to be ready for marking the course on Friday. They will start marking trails at 10a. Please contact me somehow or let me know if your trail is part of the course and you can not get it done before then. I have at least one person who has volunteered to help prep trails if needed.

I did do a quick walk through of the Outback with the trimmer when I was out there Sat. morning.

I did do a quick walk through of the Outback with the trimmer when I was out there Sat. morning.

Thanks Thom! I was thinking you did not get that far. As usual you are a rock star!

This is a great time to raise your hand if you would like to help with the CamRock trails! We are juggling a couple of things around. Following is a post I made to the Trail Posse, the gang of Stalwarts that keep the CamRock trails in rideable shape for everyone's enjoyment. This too could be you!

"Well we survived the Battle of CamRock! Hopefully everyone is over that hangover by now and ready to get on with the rest of summer! But before that  I have to say Huge Thanks to everyone for getting the trails in great shape for the race! We had lots of compliments on the condition of the trails. And with all the rain and cold that is a huge compliment to all the prep that went into it before hand. So thanks again. 
Since the race our illustrious TTF Crew has done a complete overhaul of the DR Trimmer/Mower. It has a new key system, re-built and beefed up handle, new main spindle and bearings, new safety operators drive handle (very ergonomic), new grips, and a new safety shut-off mechanism (that works!) for the blade operation. It's like a whole new machine!

As usual I am going to try and do a quick review of where the trails stand today as I know it. We are now on the hardest time of the year. Things are growing super fast for the next six weeks or so. But we don't need to mow things as far back, and there is no need for passing lanes, now that the race is over. But almost all of the prairie areas need both a mower pass on each side of the trail, and then a pass with the Hedge trimmer at about a 45 degree angle to "lay back" the tall plants. These plants get so tall that if we don't lay back the cutting edge, those super tall plants will soon fall over onto the trail. The trail would have to be mowed really wide in places to prevent this.

Let me know if and where I am wrong on what is needed: 
White River, Beaver Hole & Fat Tracks -  Sun Prairie Youth Cycling Team - All need a trimming. Prolly best to use the weed whacker or hedge trimmer on Fat Tracks. Beaver Hole will need both mow and lay back.
IMBA Influence and Veritas Loop - Thom Hineline - Can use a trim.
Outback - Thom Hineline - Could use some trimming.
CORP Connector: From Expert woods south through Rip N' Ride to Roundabout - Jeff Mueller - Needs a mow and laying back.
CORP Connector: From Roundabout north through Burr Oak Breezeway to Expert Woods - Scott Mills - Needs a mow and laying back.
Cliff Edge - John Sypniewski - Unrideable. Needs mowing and trimming. Methinks we need a new Steward for this area?
Turn It Up, Stonefly, Corkscrew, Rattlesnake. - Scott Fenton - Could use a little trimming in woods.
Would Chuck? & Mayors Meander - Scott Fenton - Prairie's could use a mow. This is a short prairie so no real need to lay it back. But they have Wild Parsnip so we need to get that trimmed back.
Beer Run, Beer Cave, Gettin' Started, Kids Trail, and Drop In - Mike Pett - Most was mowed really wide for the race so I think it is good to go. I am not sure on the Kids Trail, that could prolly use a trim.

Please don't take this as anything other than my attempt at a roundup to see where we are at.
As always let me know if you need help to get caught up. I am also open to switching responsibilities around if you see a better way to do it. I have a couple of folks that have offered to help with either short or long-term needs."
 
Chuck TheMayor1 Hutchens

OK the mower is repaired from the repairs and once again ready to get the trails whipped into shape. There was an issue with one of the new parts once it ran for awhile. But it has been repaired and tested.
To that end, White River and Beaver Hole have been mowed and are no longer impassable. They should still be laid back soon so that stuff does not start falling over onto the trail. Basically if the all the creekside trails (White River, Beaver Hole, Fat Tracks) were walked with the Hedge Trimmer everything could be done: lay back the prairies and trim the wooded areas. Lots of low branches to trim back as well.
There are a lot of hanging branches all over the trail now that the trees and brush are all heavy laden with leaves. And it has been wet out here. Things are growing thick and full. The Black Raspberry bushes are also starting to come onto the trail in places. You know where those areas are. These all need to either be trimmed with a hand snips or a trimmer of some sort. Remember if you are trimming branches to cut all the way back to another branch junction - never leave a point of a branch - it will eventually grow close to the trail and become a hazard. If you are cutting Black Raspberry canes just cut them to the root or at least way back off the trail, they grow very fast.

Will start working on my areas this afternoon.  Hope to get it all done before the weekend.

Will start working on my areas this afternoon.  Hope to get it all done before the weekend.

You are a rock star Thom! Thanks for all the work you do out here!

I second that
I mowed from the end of Veritas to the end of Mayors PG and back to IMBA influence. Also mowed Gettin Started from the sledding hill to where it enters the woods.


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Nice job. Much nicer ride yesterday than the one I had on Tuesday out there.  Will finish up the Outback this afternoon and then hopefully get a couple of laps in.

Got the trail mowed from the roundabout to the section Dave mowed.  Thanks Dave! 
The mower did die a few times tonight.  After sitting for a minute it did start up again.  I noticed the insulation had been removed from the gas line.  That did seem to help keep the engine running.
FYI, most of the gas cans in the garage are empty.

Got the trail mowed from the roundabout to the section Dave mowed.  Thanks Dave! 
The mower did die a few times tonight.  After sitting for a minute it did start up again.  I noticed the insulation had been removed from the gas line.  That did seem to help keep the engine running.
FYI, most of the gas cans in the garage are empty.

Thanks for the update and hte work Scott. I will try and get up soon and get the gas cans filled up.
Or if anyone else fills them remember to just send the receipt to our Treasurer to get reimbursed.