Newsletter, July 1998
by John Boeschen
Just enough overcast to blur a shadow's edge, but not enough to raise goosebumps on skin. I'd pedaled up Iron Springs to Tamarancho with a long-sleeved jersey, cuffs scrunched up above my elbows the whole way. First time in a long time I'd felt comfortably warm during a ride. A perfect day for the Marin Knobular.
Dead Heifer Grunt
The first part of the race course was rerouted from previous years to help the pack spread out before hitting narrow singletrack. From the start line in the Boy Scouts' playing field, you did a short sprint over a weedy hump of a hill to the corp yard, then down Dead Heifer fire road (instead of angling over to Serpentine on the other side of the camp as in past races). With steep gears, the descent down Dead Heifer was a whoosh.
Closing in on Heifer's skyward climb, there were a few reminders of the 3-5 inches of rain that fell earlier in the week — an errand flow crossing your line at oblique angles, a pothole filled with thick brown water, an undulation in the fireroad that couldn't quite make up it's mind if it wanted to be dry or wet. It was only when you reached the bottom of the 23%-degree wall up to B-17's trailhead that you knew El Nino had been busy at work.
In dry weather, Dead Heifer is a grunt; when it's as muddy as it was on race day — well, you get off and slog shoes through goo. Actually, less than a quarter of the vertical was impassable, and many riders were back on their bikes and struggling up to the B-17 with no more than a couple minutes lost to the pedal-clogging muck.
Sport vs. Beginner
Before this year, I'd been racing Beginners — a real friendly class. With packs of chatty riders around, trudging up Dead Heifer had been fun. The Marin Knobular attracts lots of riders (850 this year), there's a slew of machines and equipment on hand, and this had been the perfect section to walk/talk bike during the race.
I tend slightly towards retro-grouchiness: friction thumb shifters, LX derailleurs, 75-cent cables, 10-year-old hardtail frames, that sort of thing. But on Dead Heifer I could mingle with the trickest of the trick being pushed up that obstinate hill — bullet-proof hubs, titanium spokes, Gortex cables, laser-woven tires, ceramic rims, hydraulic disc brakes, full suspensions with 9 inches of combined travel, and exotic frames of molded plastic and unobtainium. You could learn a lot.
Moving up a class in 1998, I've noticed that Sportsters are way less chatty than Beginners…from starting beep to finish line, they're pegging cleat to clip trying to smoke each other. Unlike previous races, reaching the top of Dead Heifer was serious, lonely work this year.
Singletrack Bliss
Don't let the HOHAs kid you: bikes can ride on singletrack in winter weather (even if it is May) when trails are built properly. Off Dead Heifer, hardly a puddle marred B-17's surface —it was race solid, just tacky enough for a front wheel to track without washing out, and very fast. You had to try extra hard not to make the switchbacks.
Putting together a trail that withstands the double pounding of weather and racers doesn't happen overnight. If you raced at Tamarancho this year, you know what I mean. To vary the course, the directors (several days before the race) cut a few extra tracks in the tall grass with a mower and reopened some short dirt segments that had been closed and unused. Tire-suck specials are what they were churned into.
Mud Diving
Wherever there's mud, you're likely to find mud diving (if they ever make golf an Olympic sport, mud diving won't be far behind). Tamarancho's pool was in the middle of a grassy field bisected by a newly mown trail. During the race, you could see the muddy surface from the top of the rise leading down to its brown waters. Yet, among the first wave of Pros and Experts to sweep by the spot, I saw at least five riders endo into the gunk. Classic stuff.
Lincoln Logs and Hilary Clinton
Napa's World Cup had its Disco Fly-Over and the Marin Knobular had its… well … Lincoln Log Intersection. Both were an attempt to deal with two intersecting race course sections. In Napa, you rode over a peaked bridge while below you (on the dirt trail) riders pedaled at a 90-degree line of travel to your skyborne direction. At Tamarancho, unless you could bunny hop a 10-foot square of 12-inch diameter logs, you got off and ported your bike over the obstacle.
Not far from the Lincoln Log Intersection was Hilary Clinton (a cardboard cutout version). I didn't notice her/it until the second of my three laps. Even though she was smiling with lots of pearly white cardboard teeth showing, I found her real spooky. Her eyes seemed to follow me no matter where my bike slipped and slid through the mud and wet grass around her.
It was unnerving, and her wide-eyed gaze finally pulled me too close to the yellow tape separating the course from the vendor areas where she was propped up. The tape wrapped around one of my bar ends and pulled steadily downward with each turn of my cranks (damned if I was going to stop pedaling with that eerie cardboard cutout so close). I eventually broke free from both her spell and the tightly stretched yellow tape, but the incident has prompted me to reassess my political leanings.
Kudos
Mud, cardboard, singletrack, and racing aside, kudos to Chris Lang who organized the first Tamarancho event seven years ago, to the BTC for building and maintaining the cool trails, and to the Boy Scouts of America who let us have fun on their property. Kudos, too, to the Knobular people who made it stop raining that weekend.
Editors note: John was a regular contributer on the trail crew that built the trails in Tamarancho. He also was 10 minutes ahead of the second place finisher in his class, in spite of a rather ugly knee injury.
The Politics of Riding at China Camp
By Albert DeLima
China Camp State Park is the only state park in Marin County that allows bikes on single-track. Due to this fact, the way we ride there directly influences access efforts made by the BTC at the other State Parks in the county. The rangers at China Camp championed our cause for trail access and multi-use trails within the State Park System of Marin County. China Camp, therefore is our demonstration ground, and we should work hard to make the individuals within the park system who supported us proud to be associated with us.
Since the state parks cater to many different types of trail users, it is important that we understand how all the various people we meet on the trail react to our presence. First impressions mean a lot to people who have never come in contact with a Mt. Bike. As cyclists, we should be aware that, in general, we approach others trail users in a nearly silent manner. People who don't cycle often, don't realize how terrific a Mt. bike handles. This is why its very important to pass others in a way that they perceive that you are in control, even if you may be able to be in equal control at three times the speed. The trails at China Camp are wide enough to go fast on, but prudence and courtesy dictate that a bicyclist must assume there is someone around every bend and ride in a manner that is not only safe, but also perceived as non-threatening by other trail users.
Contrary to popular belief, there are people riding horses at China Camp. It is especially important to be courteous when approaching an equestrian from behind. Many horses are afraid of bicycles, but like people, so a few friendly words with the rider usually go along way in calming down a horse. When pulling over to let an equestrian pass, its important to be far enough off the trail that the horse and rider do not feel threatened by your presence.
The rangers at China Camp have acquired a radar gun and have the authority to actively enforce the rules of the trial and ticket irresponsible riders around the camp. Park rangers have better things to do with public funds. Mt. bikers that disobey the rules of the trail are a burden on society, no different than a common criminal in the general public's eyes. Unfortunately, society finds it easier to punish all cyclists to eliminate the burden, rather than seek out and punish the individual offender. Fortunately most cycling trail users at China Camp are courteous and pleasant to other trail users they pass on the trail and follow the rules.
Cycling courtesy doesn't begin and end on the trail. The general public perceives you as a cyclist the minute you hit the road with your bike, even if it's on a bike rack on the roof of your car. When visiting China Camp and parking on North San Pedro Road, its important to stay a few feet behind the white lines at the side of the road when arriving and departing. When preparing to go ride, don't get naked out in the open, while you personally may not be embarrassed, it does offend others who are more discrete. There are nice bathrooms you can change in at the Back Ranch Meadow parking lot, should you have to strip down before or after your ride.
By being aware that China Camp is our test ground in the state park system of Marin County and conducting ourselves in an appropriate manner, we hope to eventually be able to change things elsewhere for the better. Our privilege to ride single track at China Camp can only be sustained through a cooperative effort by all trail cyclists who visit the park.
How you can help
Lately I have been working with other BTC volunteers around the county in an effort to educate poorly informed trail users about the BTCM and the IMBA rules of the trail. I have been trying to take a "grass-roots" approach to accomplishing this by actually conducting Information Outposts around the county at various trailheads and intersections throughout the county.
People interested in helping should contact Albert at 924-8272 or by e-mail ticotam@aol.com
The Marin County Bicycle Coalition's Wheels are Turning
by Marty Peckins
Just in case you haven't heard, there's a new bicycle advocacy organization in Marin, brainchild of Chris Lang. The coalition is a grassroots kind of organization, there are no due paying members or paid staff. Everything gets done by some form of communication, e-mail, fax, telephone, or snail mail. They also meet every first Monday night of the month at BIKEADELIC, in Fairfax.
The new Marin County Bicycle Map, being worked on by Joe Breeze, is really coming together. He has spent countless hours detailing out both an on road and off road mega-bike map of the county. When it's finished, I really think it will be a big catalyst for the Coalition's efforts. The first proof of the map was on display at the Trips for Kids bike swap and was very favorably received with many local riders adding their comments and details about the routes and trails.
Some of the Coalitions efforts, thus far, haven't gone unnoticed. The Marin Independent Journal and TCI Marin Channel 31 have both run several features on projects involving Debbie Hubsmith, Chris Lang and other members. The media seems to be eating up all this renewed interest in Bicycle Advocacy. For the moment, the hiker/biker conflict has taken a back seat to the bicycle as a mode of transportation story.
The coalition endorsed and helped to put on several bicycle related events already this summer. You undoubtably attended either the Marin County Mountain Bike Festival at Larkspur Landing, the Marin Knobular Race at Camp Tamarancho, The Trips for Kids Bike Swap, or rode your bike in the Bicycle Celebration Day event, just to name the most.
The Coalition is working with Golden Gate Transit to facilitate the installation of bike racks on all their busses. This would make bike commuting much more popular.
The Coalition along with the BTC has helped with two displays at the Marin County Fair. The bike museum and the history of Mt. bike racing in Marin County as well as the Marin County bike map emphasize this years theme—the Wheel Stuff.
If you have an issue that you would like to bring to the attention of the coalition, don't hesitate to call Marty Peckins at (415) 883-2767, or stop by BIKEADELIC in Fairfax, and talk to Steve.
©1997 Bicycle Trails Council of Marin
Old Spokes
Festival Report
The seventh annual Marin County Mountain Bike Festival was held on Saturday, May 30 this year followed by the Knobular race on Sunday. Mark Lowenstern was the director for both events.
The BTC hired Mark to run our festival this year because the scope and intensity of this position made it beyond the capabilities of part time volunteers to successfully accomplish.
We received slightly less money this year because we had to pay for Mark's hard work organizing the event, however we have decided to visit more venues selling tickets for a drawing to win a W. T. B. Phoenix bicycle. So far we have been at the Fairfax festival, and the Trips for Kids bike swap and will be at the San Rafael Criterium on July 12.
We plan to be at the Sausalito art festival providing free bike valet parking and award the bike to a winner drawn at the close of this festival. We hope to raise over three thousand dollars this summer with the bike drawing, more than offsetting the reduced revenue from the festival.
I would like to thank Wilderness Trail Bikes for their donation of the bike frame and many of the components as well as Sram/Gripshift, Girvin, White Industries, Salsa, Otis Guy, Joe Breeze, Santa Rosa Cyclery and Sunshine Bicycle Center.
At the August 1998 meeting the guest speaker will be Gene West from Eagle Mount who will speak on wilderness survival and basic survival equipment. Gene runs a mountain bike park as well as a cross country ski resort at Eagle Mountain. The November meeting will feature Marla Streb, nationally ranked mountain bike racer. She will talk about racing and women in racing. This a great chance for ladies to hear a different view of mountain biking.
The February meeting will have a talk by Steve Gravenitas, noted race team bike mechanic. Steve is a long time Marin County resident and a great speaker. The public presentation format at quarterly meetings is a great chance to meet noted cyclists and other experts, meet and mix with local bicyclists as well as learn about the BTC and details of our many projects.
