New CRAMBA Map of Clinton River Park Trails
Hot on the heels of the Stony Creek maps CRAMBA has developed maps of the Clinton River Park Trails, a series of single track trails located in Sterling Heights. By once again using OpenStreetMap data we were able to develop a new map while contributing additional detail to the OSM data set.To download your own copy of this map click here or on the image to the right.
New CRAMBA Stony Creek MTB Trail Maps
We would like to announce the availability of new, CRAMBA-created Mountain Bike Trail Maps for the trails at Stony Creek Metropark.These maps, built using data from OpenStreetMap and licensed CC BY-SA 2.0, show accurate physical representations of all of the current single and double track trails, including little-used race-specific segments. They also include a number of colloquial namings for notable points and segments, including The Pines, Roller Coaster, Back Nine, The Snake, the Golf Course Climb, Woohoo Hill, and more.Additionally, auxiliary maps showing popular race and group ride routes have also been published. These routes are shown as red highlighted segments and hopefully will show trail users new and exciting routes around the park.The maps may be downloaded from here:
Rescheduled Trailday! Columbus County Park
After the big rainstorms caused us to cancel our originally scheduled trailday, we've rescheduled for this coming weekend.What: CRAMBA Trail DayWhen: Sunday, May 20 - 9:30 amWhere: Parking lot on Kronner Road, south of Crawford Rd, down the hill from the maintenance building - http://g.co/maps/wqq45We HIGHLY recommend long sleeves and pants, also gloves. There are a lot of thorny bushes that need to be dealt with.We have a couple hundred yards of trail to build, and some minor little projects elsewhere to complete the loop. Also, the Park has purchased a Ditch Witch to help with some of the bigger trail projects. They may have it out there on Sunday to help build and learn how these tools can help with trail building.If possible, let us know if you plan on coming out - either send an email to info@cramba.org, comment on this MMBA.org forum thread, or comment on the Facebook post.Hope to see you out!
Bald Mountain Public Review May 1
DNR Public Open HouseReview and discussion of Phase 1Draft General Management PlanThe Department of Natural Resources is in the process of developing a General Management Plan for Bald Mountain Recreation Area. This plan will outline 20-year goals in the form of Management Zones, which will guide the DNR in the management of park resources and the visitor experience.The public is invited to a meeting on Tuesday, May 1, 2012 from 6:00-8:00 p.m., where the DNR will share its thoughts on the Draft General Management Plan and welcomes your input.Tuesday, May 1, 20126:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.The Orion Center1335 Joslyn Rd.Lake Orion, MI 48360The Orion Center is located south of Clarkston Rd. and east of Orion Oaks Park.
April 10 Chapter Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes from the April 10 chapter meeting are now available:CRAMBA_MeetingMin_4_10
CRAMBA Meeting - Tuesday 4/10 - 7:00pm
Our spring meeting for 2012 is coming up next week!Please join us at the Rochester Mills Beer Co. We'll start the meeting around 7:00, if you'd like to order food, please arrive a bit earlier to get your order in.The agenda is below; if you have anything you'd like added to the agenda, please send me an email at info@cramba.org no later than Monday, April 9.Agenda:
- Trail Projects and Updates
- Addison Oaks (Bob) : Fall line hill - reroute approved, trailday April 14
- Bloomer (Derek / Dustin) : New trail and signing project
- Bald Mountain (Steve K / Dennis) : Marking project, DNR meeting
- Clinton River Park Trail (Aaron) : Recent trailday
- Stony Creek (Pete) : reroute planned, trailday April 22
- Columbus Park (Nick) : work to start soon
- Pontiac Lake Rec Area (Dave) : trailday April 21
- Riverbends (Steve V)
- Stony Creek Skills Area (Pete/Dave)
- Lake Orion HS (Steve K)
- Financial Report
- Other items / Public Comment
- MMBA / MiSCA Report (Di Ursu / Steve K)
!!!!!!!! Remember, $6 Growler Fills on Tuesdays !!!!!!!!Rochester Mills Beer Co (www.beercos.com)400 Water StreetDowntown Rochester, MIMap Link
Hope to see you there!~Marty ShueCRAMBA-IMBA Chairman
CRPT Trailday: Moving to Higher Ground
Clinton River Park, while very beautiful, is also very wet. Aaron and Paul (CRPT Trail Coordinators) have spent hundreds of hours maintaining the low and wet trail, always on the lookout for higher ground.Paul found a couple of great new lines to replace a really low and notoriously wet section of trail. So they set out to build it.
18 volunteers showed up on a chilly Saturday morning, ready to work.
And work they did.
The walk-behind trimmer is a favorite for making quick work of cutting new trail.
One of the new sections Paul flagged is along the border of the park. The old trail was just some loamy double track. This is a slight ridge and required some bench cut in wet clay. A cache of broken concrete nearby allowed us to build a little retaining wall to hold everything in place.
A big hole in the trail and a whole lot of extra broken concrete was the perfect reason to build a rock garden.
And, of course, a fresh coat of paint for the trail signs!
CRAMBA would like to thank Paul and Aaron for the hundreds of hours they've put into this trail. We're into our 5th season now and even though it requires a lot of work, its a little gem amongst pavement.More pictures can be found on the CRAMBA Flickr Photostream
Upcoming CRAMBA Events
Lots of stuff coming up in the next few weeks, so we wanted to make sure you have everything on your calendar.
- March 31st - Trail Day @ Clinton River Park Trail. Meet @ 10:00AM at the parking lot at Pedros Court.
- April 10th - CRAMBA Chapter Meeting. 7:00PM @ Rochester Mills Beer Company.
- April 14th - Addison Oaks Trail Day - 9:00AM @ Trail Head by concession stand.
- April 21st - Pontiac Lake Recreation Area Trail Day. 9AM @ Trail Head.
- April 22nd - Stony Creek Trail Day. 9AM @ West Branch Lot B Trail Head.
Clinton River Park Trail (CRPT) Trailday - March 31
Want to be invovled in building new trail at CRPT / Clinton River Park Trail ? We have received approval from the prak to build a two new segments of trail. The new segments are being built to alleivate problem areas in the trail. We need your help to get this done!Please join us at 10am on Saturday, March 31st, 2012 Petros Ct. Petros Ct is located off of Clinton River Road, west of the Edison Ct trail head about 1/2 mile on the left. It is a subdivision that was never developed but the road was put in; it's a court / cul de sac. It is in front of the old DPW building. We will have a CRAMBA sign at the entrance.Things to bring / wear:
- Work gloves
- Boots long pants, long sleeved shirt, hat
- Bug spray
- Water / Hydration pack
We will have the CRAMBA chapter trailer on site so tools will be available, but if you have a personal favorites feel free to bring them. Since we will be clearing new trail tools needed for this day are as follows:
- Rakes
- Loppers
- Pulaskis
Thanks everone! If you can attend please let me know via PM on the MMBA forums or email. And if there are any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.Thank You!
Paul McAllisterCo-Trail Coordinator, Clinton River Park Trail
River Bends Trail Coordinator Jeremy Verbeke
CRAMBA would like to welcome Jeremy Verbeke in joining Steve Vigneau as a Trail Coordinator at Shelby Township's River Bends Park.Featuring a total of 6.9 miles of trail, River Bends hosts some of the newest CRAMBA-built mountain bike trails in the area. A regular volunteer and instrumental person in completing the more recent trail projects we look forward to Jeremy's experience helping maintain and improve these widely-used trails located in the heart of Shelby Township.
CRAMBA and CST Trail Builder Program
Thanks to a grant from the CST Trail Builder Program CRAMBA has received 25 brand new CST Caballero tires to give away to volunteers during trail days.Click here for more information on the CST Trail Builder Program and be sure to visit CST and check out their full line of mountain bike tires here.
CRAMBA Board Meeting Minutes: February 13, 2012
Meeting Minutes for February 13th, 2012's CRAMBA Board meeting have been posted and are available here: CRAMBA Board Meeting Minutes - 2012-Feb-13
Volunteer Time Self-Reporting Goes Live
To make volunteer time reporting and tracking easier CRAMBA has introduced a new tool which allows individuals to report time spent working on trails:Record Volunteer Hours ToolComplete tracking of the time we put in allows us to effectively communicate to land managers the amount of support provided by their relationship with CRAMBA. Whether it's a long, official trail day bench cutting, meeting with a Land Manager to review a new proposal, fifteen minutes spent moving some fallen brush, or even six minutes trimming back a few face slappers please submit a record of your time. All of this work is important to keeping our trails pristine and we need to be sure that it is recognized.Please click here to access the Volunteer Hour Recording Tool.If you have any questions about this tool or anything CRAMBA-related contact us at info@cramba.org.
Addison Oaks Mountain Bike Route Map
We are happy to announce that, after collaborative work between CRAMBA and Oakland County Parks and Recreation, Addison Oaks now has an official Mountain Bike Route Map! After recording routes and markers then drawing an initial map we worked with the tremendously helpful folks at Oakland County Parks and Recreation to finish it off. This extra work brought the map up to such a level that it has found a home on the Addison Oaks Park Maps page itself on Oakgov.If you'd like to download your own copy of the map you can find it on the Addison Oaks Park Maps page of Oakgov.com, with all of the Oakland County Park Maps, or in the MMBA Trail Guide.
CRAMBA Gets a Storage Unit
This year we bought some flag stakes and other large items to help make the 2011 Addison Oaks Fall XC race run smoother. In addition to things like our PA system (graciously donated by Rob Ritzenhein a few years back), and folding tables, our chapter has outgrown its trailer for storage needs.With the trailer now becoming difficult to navigate and the overflow finding its way to my garage and basement, we looked for other options.
CRAMBA Board Member, Aaron Burgess, found a storage company in Sterling Heights who is extremely supportive of his community and local organizations. They offered us a great space and a very generous price and CRAMBA now has a new space!
Thanks also to Lakeside Budget Storage - they are great folks and I know we'll be happy there. The entire facility is clean and secure and we are very glad to have their support!
January 10, 2012 Meeting Minutes
Meeting minutes are now available:CRAMBA_MeetingMin_1_10_
Addison Oaks and Independence Oaks - Closures due to Controlled Deer Hunts
PLEASE NOTE: Addison Oaks and Independence Oaks will be closed to the public on dates designated for controlled deer hunts.Addison Oaks: Tuesday-Nov. 15Thursday-Nov. 17Tuesday -Nov. 22Tuesday-Nov. 29Tuesday-Dec. 6Thursday-Dec. 8Independence Oaks:Wednesday-Nov. 16Monday-Nov. 21Wednesday-Nov. 23Monday-Nov. 28Monday-Dec. 5Wednesday-Dec. 7For more information: http://www.destinationoakland.com/thingstodo/hunt/Pages/ManagedHunts.aspx
Stony Creek Trailday: Fixing the Snake
The winding, switchbacking singletrack leading to the top of Mount Sheldon is also known as "The Snake" (#15 - #25 on this map).The last section of this bit of singltrack is notorious for getting trenched out due to water runoff. At a trailday a few years ago, broken chunks of concrete were buried for armoring and the problem was subdued.
But, over the years, the buried concrete became exposed.
So, Pete decided to hold a trailday to cover the concrete back up.
And then, after discussion, the project got a little bigger. Soon, we were removing the old concrete ..
Digging a trench ..
Replacing the concrete .. more strategically this time ..
And covering it back up.
The end result is an IMBA recommended drainage technique called grade reversal, or change in trail pitch. On bench-cut trails, grade reversals help facilitate drainage and avoid channelling. As water runs off, even if it does start to channel down the trail it will collect and drain at the lowest point, the point of grade reversal. With the fully aromored section a bit lower than the rest of the trail, the water will follow the low line and run across the trail.Everything was covered up with a gravel/sand/quikrete mix that Pete and Mark have found to work very well for keeping trail from being washed away. Additionally, any unwanted low spots were filled in and smoothed out.
And while we were digging trenches, Mark was busy filling in and cleaning up the very last bit of the climb.
As if that weren't enough ... the crew rounded out the day by hauling dirt into some low and muddy areas in The Pines.
A lot of work was done in a pretty short amount of time. By 1:30, we were back at the parking lot, eating pizza as it was just starting to rain. The rain should help the quikcrete set in nicely.Huge thanks to everyone who came out to help today: Pete, Mark, Roy, Bob, Mike, Dave, Phil, Nick and Marty.
October 2011 Board meeting
Meeting Minutes from the October 18, 2011 meeting are now posted.CRAMBA_Meeting_Minutes_10-18-2011
How To Manage Your CRAMBA/IMBA Membership
Now that CRAMBA (formally the Metro North Chapter of the MMBA) has become an IMBA Chapter, your membership, renewals and communication preferences will be managed on the IMBA.com website. All you need to manage your membership online is an IMBA.com account.Your membership information was migrated from the MMBA.org website to IMBA.com. If you already have an account on IMBA.com, they will be linked together via your email address (assuming that both accounts used the same email address. If you aren't sure if you have an account, a quick way is to try to recover your password. If you do not have an account, it will give you an error telling you that your email address was not found.To create your IMBA.com account, you can visit the Create New Account page.If you have any problems or questions, you can email IMBA Membership @ membership@imba.com, or CRAMBA Membership @ membership@cramba.org.You can also join or renew via mail, using the IMBA Mail-in Form. A CRAMBA membership form will be coming soon.