in CamRock (Moderator: TheMayor1)

Once again it is time for The Mayor's long-winded message about the Trail Posse. If you have helped in the past please look at the last two trail responsibilities. I lost some info from last year and not sure those are correct. And who mowed the southbound Connector this week!? Awesome job and thank you! Post up if you can keep helping!

Anyway, if you are not familiar with these fine folks, well here's some info: These are the awesome people that keep the trails trimmed and the raspberry bushes at bay. Trail hero's all! Many on this troop have been kickin' butt for the last few years, and it is time to get things moving again this spring, because the Battle of CamRock is one week away! These are truly the type of folks that all riders owe a ton of gratitude. They are directly responsible for making the CamRock trails awesome.

And as always we are in need of a few more good folks to keep things running smoothly. So if you think riding the CamRock trails is a pretty fun thing to do. Or you are new to the area and want to be a part of the awesome folks who make the trails around these parts something to talk about. Or for whatever reason you missed out on this last year. You want to be showered with gratitude and free beer from your fellow riders. Well never fear! We just happen to have some openings so that you can lend a hand

Here is how it works: I set up a system to basically "adopt" a manageable section of trail and call it your own. This is yours to manage whenever and however you see fit. In other words, if you see it needs to be mowed, go out and give it a mow. If you are going to be out of town or super busy for the next month? No issues. Just let me know and we will find someone to help out. Or better yet find a friend that wants to help out and have them fill in for you. All we need is a signed waiver and some instruction on the equipment and you are off! If things have slipped and it needs some work, I might send you a gentle reminder. But this is just a better way to divide the duties, not hand out shaming. Folks here want to help. And once you learn "your" trail section you will have a better idea of the time of year, the effort, and the tools 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 any tools you need. You can take care of things as your schedule allows. No waiting for Trail Days. If you can squeeze in an hour before, or after, a ride, perfect! Or head out on a day the trails are closed and get some exercise maintaining the trails. I have divided up the trails into sections that should be able to be maintained 1-2 hours per month. Obviously the needed maintenance varies throughout the year depending on terrain and weather. Some months it might take way more, some it may take none. I try to lay that out in the trail descriptions. This involves 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 

The list below is generally how it divides up. This is always a work in progress, so just post up if you want to help. Or better yet send me a PM. I have listed in red the sections that I know are taken for the year already. I will post up and update things as I get more information:

Trail Sections                                                        General Idea on Maintenance Needs
White River and Beaver Hole - Lots of mowing maintenance in summer mowing season. Little to none in off seasons. CamRock Youth Mountain Bike Club and CamRock Climbers Teams
Fat Tracks - Trimming branches to keep sight distances for two-way trail. Weed-wack south 100 feet before creek. Blowing leaves in fall. Minimal in off seasons. CamRock Climbers and CamRock Youth Mountain Bike Club.
IMBA Influence and Veritas Loop - Weed Whacker trimming and lopping. Blow leaves in fall. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
Area 51 and Outback - Weed whacker trimming and lopping, especially the berm section of Outback. Blow leaves. Possible big storm cleanup in non-growing season. Thom Hineline
CORP Connector: From Expert woods south through Rip N' Ride to Roundabout - Lots of mowing from Late May to August. Lopping Raspberry Fields when they are growing. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Gene Gowan??
CORP Connector: From Roundabout north through Burr Oak Breezeway to Expert Woods - Almost all mowing. Lopping wooded section 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. Mitch Love
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. Dan Taitt
Would Chuck?, Mayors Meander & CR3 Kids Loop - Mowing in summer. Minimal trimming of sumac area and woods. Nothing after grass stops growing in late August. Camp 10???
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. Pete Sonnentag, need a new person as Pete is getting the Cambridge Bike Park going.

I try 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. Generally you should not need both. We have done some adjusting over the years and will tweak as volunteers needs and abilities fluctuate.
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? Even more awesome. 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 and want to fix it? Great! I can give you the advice or supervision if you need it. Otherwise just let me know about the issue and and we will come up with a plan to repair it.
All the prairie trails will need mowing before the Battle of CamRock coming up on June 3rd. Which essentially means trail work should be done by May 31st. The week before the race we will need effort from everyone available 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 send me a PM. Or give me a call at 6:ZERO:8 7:SEVEN:2 7:EIGHT THREE:3. Or you can text me there as well.....

Any feed back on when you can get your section whipped into shape is much appreciated. Or if you can't on this short notice I certainly understand. Just speak let me know and we will get it taken care of before the Battle!

~ Chuck Hutchens

Just got a notice that the northbound section of the Connector (Roundabout to the Expert Woods) is in need of an awesome Posse member to step up. Scott Mills has given many years of service to maintaining CamRock trials but he now lives a long ways from here.
So someone who loves to spend some time walking behind the awesome brand-spanking-new DR Trimmer raise your hand!

We will not be struggling with the issue that never ended this year. We just could not keep that thing running anymore. It was broke down often when we needed it. So this year we have a brand-new DR Walk-Behind mower! Bigger, better, and most of all it is not worn out! This should make those hours of mowing much more enjoyable!

Hey folks if you can post up what you have been able to get taken care of, and what we will need to get a crew on before this weekend that would be really appreciated. Cheers!

I don't know if I can dedicate myself to a section of trail this summer, but I'd like to sign up as an alternate or backup maybe. I've mowed several sections in the past, and am familiar with our equipment. Chuck has my number, or PM me.

I'll echo what Chuck said above, last summer I came out to mow a few times only to find it was already done recently. It's really helpful if people post here what's done or needs work

I got out this morning and trimmed all my areas except for Area 51.

Just wanted to report in.     I mowed Mayor's Meander and Would Chuck? this morning.   Also mowed the Kid's Course.

The old DR mower was giving me some trouble.  It would run for a minute and then die.  If I let it sit for few minutes, it would do the same thing. (Could someone take a look at it?).  So I went back and got the new DR.  What a beast!

Even thought the Wild Parsnip seems a little less of a problem than last year, it's still in bloom.  So, I mowed the Meander double wide.  I also laid the long grass and nettles back on on Would Chuck.

I  also cleaned  up the entrance to the Sumac Tunnel on Would Chuck.  It was getting a little tight. 

Have at it!

Just spent about 5 hours and donated around 2 pints of blood to the local Mosquitos, but cliff edge is all trimmed as well as the race line.   There is about 50ft of hike a bike but it would be great to get some wheels on it before building resumes after the Mosquitos gtfo.