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2011 Trail Care Crew Visit #1: LA

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Published on February 16, 2011, by in IMBA TCC.

I want to do a better job of documenting our work and wonderful Trail Care Crew visits this year. I figured a brief description of each visit would be a good travelogue, and would allow me to share any insight gained from the weekend. Here goes… When: February 3 – 6, 2011 Where: Boyce and Alexandria, Louisiana Who: U.S. Forest Service, Kisatchie National Forest, Calcasieu Ranger District; Kisatchie Bicycle Club (KBC) What: We led two projects on the Forest. One involved reinforcing trail tread that was seasonally muddy and wet, causing the trail to widen and the stream to become muddy. We built a ford under the stream, so the stream channel could remain tight, and the trail tread could be a hard riding surface for riders to simply roll over. There are also opportunities down the line for the Forest Service to reroute sections of the trail that are

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Riding the Womble…

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Published on February 16, 2011, by in ADVENTURES in biking, skiing, traveling, thinking, IMBA TCC.

Steve and I have been riding in some new places, which is one of our favorite parts of the job. At this point, the new places and new rides aspect of the gig keeps it exciting. We’ve ridden three IMBA Epics recently, how lucky are we?! Despite the horrid and terribly inconveniencing weather, which has threatened to literally throw our trusty Subaru into a tailspin one-too-many-times, we have been able to ride our bikes three to four times a week, which is a blessing. Here’s some fresh video of Steve riding even fresher tracks on The Womble in Northwest Arkansas last week. The Womble is a must-ride for anyone. You can turn the trip into a family vacation, since the easiest place to stay is Hot Springs, Ark., home of delicious BBQ, the oldest bath houses in the U.S. and beautiful scenery. Riding The Womble! from Morgan Lommele on Vimeo.

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People For Bikes

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Published on February 2, 2011, by in ADVENTURES in biking, skiing, traveling, thinking.

Peopleforbikes.org is a campaign to unite one million people to make the U.S. a better place to bike. To kick of the year, they’re giving away five custom Timbuk2 messenger bags. All you have to do to enter is sign their pledge in support of biking. I’ve already entered — make sure you do too. This is a great chance to join this important movement to encourage more people to ride bicycles and support government policies that make biking safer and more convenient for everyone. Thanks!

 

50 States, 50 Eats – Texas

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Published on February 1, 2011, by in FOOD.

I’m going to end the blogging drought with some food talk! Steve and I visited about 35 states last year, and when I think of each state, one of the first things that comes to mind is food. I like to eat, and when you work on the road, seeking out good food is a hobby. If you know Steve and me, you know that one of our favorite restaurants in Boulder is Khow Thai. Not even because the food is good, but because the food and service are consistently good. I value consistency almost more than the food. It’s comforting to have a favorite restaurant that is consistently good. In any event, our favorite restaurant in Texas (not to mention Rudy’s BBQ, a post unto itself), was also a Thai restaurant: Titaya’s Thai Cuisine. This is the absolute best Thai I have ever had. I might have never been

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On The Road Again…

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Published on February 1, 2011, by in IMBA TCC.

If the title didn’t indicate it, we have officially hit the road for another year of teaching the art and beauty of sustainable trail building. We have one year and a half left as Trail Care Crew. This year we’ll work mostly in the East and the Midwest. Our visit schedule is posted, at least through March, on the IMBA website: http://www.imba.com/tcc/schedule. If you are in our neck of the woods (or, if we are in yours, I suppose), let us know! In the meantime, I never blogged about how wonderful our last visit of 2010 was in San Diego. The weather felt like vacation weather (i.e. warm and tropical), we built an amazing section of trail, and we were busy all weekend with some pretty hard-working and fun-to-be-with advocates. Here’s a slideshow of our work and times in San Diego (mid-December).

 

A Truck for Truckers

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Published on February 1, 2011, by in ADVENTURES in biking, skiing, traveling, thinking.

My dad “repossessed” this truck from an old tenant. Long story short, we scored an awesome truck that is perfect for hauling Christmas trees home, innertubes up to the put-in, and dogs around town. I love this truck. I’m afraid it might be a little “hipster” (who the heck even knows what that means!), but how cool is it?!