October 13th, 2004 Meeting Recap

On Wednesday, October 13th, 2004, mountain bike representatives from IMBA, SMBC, and CAMBC met with Wilderness advocates in Harrisonburg, VA, to continue discussions on land protection for some of our favorite areas of the George Washington National Forest. Our focus has been and continues to be on the Laurel Fork Area, Kelly Mountain (aka "Sherando"), and the area including and along Shenandoah Mountain between Routes 250 and 33.

At this landmark meeting, the two groups reached a consensus on boundaries for the proposed Scenic and Wilderness Areas. In addition, we discussed key elements of our agreement that will benefit mountain bikers and other users by strengthening land protection and ensuring continued and new recreational opportunities for all. Many of these will get incorporated into the legislation defining the protected areas.

What's next? We will work toward getting a definitive Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) in place and signed and then bring in other user groups to move forward. We will strategize on ways to build regional and state-wide support and ways to get to the point where we have written legislation we can all propose and support in Congress. We will also be educating everyone on details regarding the proposed protected areas.

On behalf of all the mountain bike representatives, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who has provided invaluable feedback and input along the way-especially at the recent SMBC festival. We are excited to be doing something that will be nationally precedent-setting that will benefit future generations of mt. bikers and hikers and look forward to your continued support.

- Sue George

May 7th, 2004 Meeting Recap

Wilderness Representatives: Lynn Cammeron, Mark Miller, Bart Koehler, Larry Romans, Don Giecek, John Rice, Jim Murray

Mountain Bike Representatives: Rich Edwards, Sue George, Thomas Jenkins, Chris Scott

Below are the five Proposed Wilderness Areas by the Virginia Wilderness Coalition. The third meeting between the Wilderness Coaliton and the mountain bike community was held on May 7th. Discussion during this meeting focused on four of the five proposed areas. The main topic of interest for these areas was how to change the boundaries for each of these proposed areas in order to gain support from the mountain bike community. The Wilderness group realizes how important all of these trails to the mountain bike community and have made substantial changes from the original proposed areas. The mountain bike community has always express the desire to perserve and protect the National Forest, but would like to see more areas protected under "National Scenic" designation which could still allow mountain biking. This third meeting continued the discussion of a large "National Scenic" area with pockets of Wilderness Protection. The discussions of this meeting and proir meetings have been round table meetings addressing ways to institute proection for the Natioanl Forest that all user groups can support. Chris Scott mentioned to the Wilderness group that these are talks and that no one is "signing on the dotted line" by discussing different possibilities. The meeting lasted about 2 1/2 hours and was held at the Trinity Church in Harrisonburg.

Kelly Mountain/Big Levels Proposed Area

This wilderness area, as originally proposed, is bounded by Torry Ridge on the East, the "Jeep trail" on the south and west, and Fire Road 42 (Coal Road) on the North. Known included trails are Mill Creek and Kennedy Ridge. Torry Ridge trail would form the eastern boundary, but would not be part of the wilderness area and therefore would still be open to riding. Sue George expressed in general how valuable all the trails in the Sherando Lake area are to the Virginia mountain bike community. She listed the following trails and roads as regularly used by regional mountain bikers: Mill Creek, Slacks, Torry Ridge, Kennedy Ridge, FR 42 (Coal Road), and the "the jeep trail" connecting FR 42 to the Blue Ridge Parkway and several trails. Sue emphasized that any trail closures to mountain bikes in this region would drastically affect the riding opportunities that are available in National Forest for those living east of the Blue Ridge. Currently the majority of National Forest land and all of the National Park within a 1 hour drive of the Charlottesville area is currently off limits to mountain bikes, so any future trail closures would be a blow to the mountain bike community and might have the effect of compromising the mountain bike community support for the entire proposal. Attendees of this meeting would be pleased to know any opinions or information you might have concerning the trails at Sherando as such input would be valuable in future discussions. Please let us know information such as which trails you ride and how often and any specific thoughts you have on this proposed wilderness areas. We are also interested in any trails or potential trails we may have overlooked in our brief discussions at this meeting.

Laurel Fork Proposed Area

The emphasis of the meeting was on the following three proposed areas so the Laural Fork Proposal was not talked about at this meeting. The mountain bike community is still looking for feedback from current users of the Laurel Fork Area.

Little River Proposed Area

Jim, the President of the Virginia Wilderness Coalition, again stressed that this water shed is the "crown jewel" for the Wilderness group. This is a concern for the mountain bike community because the trails in the Little River are the most valuable to the mountain bikes and have seen more volunteer hours from the SMBC then all the other areas combined. Current discussion at the meeting moved the boundaries so the Timber Ridge Trail (Hearthstone) would not be part of the Wilderness Area, but Buck Mountain Trail and Grooms Ridge Trail would be part of the Wilderness and thus closed the mountain biking. The Buck Mountain Trail is right in the heart of the water shed so any Wilderness Area would most likely have to include this trail. Thomas Jenkins mentioned that it might be difficult to gain support from the mountain community if the Grooms Trail were to be closed to mountain biking.

Ramsey Draft Addition Proposed Area

The Wilderness Groups willingness to move the proposed boundary so Bridge Hollow, Road Hollow, and Bald Ridge Trails (Braleys Pond) is key to the Wilderness discussions. Rich Edwards mentioned, as he done in the past, that these trails are picture perfect examples of sustainable benched cut trails after which the mountain bike community would like to model future trails. Talks during the meeting always mentioned the importance of having the entire Shenandoah Mountain Trail near Ramsey's Draft open to mountain bikes. This would change the current boundary of Ramsey's Draft and open a trail to mountain bikes that has been currently closed. The opening of the SMT in Ramsey would help compensate the loss of trails in the Little River Area and allow.

Skidmore Fork Proposed Wilderness Area

The watershed of Skidmore fork is probably the second highest priority for the Wilderness group. This area includes many special species of biological interest such as areas old growth forest, areas that have never been logged. The mountain bike community has volunteered hundreds of hours on this northern section of the SMT and sees this as future riding potential they would not want to close off to mountain bikes. Rich Edwards and Mark Miller, prior to the meeting, had done a low fly-over of this area to see where the northern boundary would have to be moved to allow a future trail access to the ridge. The Wilderness groups respected Rich's desire to move this boundary and they seem willing to do so.

Those attending the meeting on behalf of the mountain bike community appreciated the opportunity to be included in these discussions and look forward to further meetings so all can continue to work toward our common goal of preserving and protecting these National Forest areas.

Reported by:
Thomas Jenkins & Sue George
Shenandoah Mountain Bike Club

Access Passes

Massanutten Western Slope trails are open to Massanutten Resort Property Owners and those who have a current access card. In 2004 (and contining in 2005) Massnutten and SMBC have an agrrement to allow non property owners access to the Western Slope in exchange for helping maintain the trail network. For a 10 hour volunteer committment during the year you will be given a access card valid from March 1 - November 10th, these passes are available through SMBC. For more information contact Thomas 540/434-9943

Rules of the Western Slope

1. Carry your access permit. (It is not that much of a hassle.)
2. Do not hassle the security staff. (They are doing their job.)
3. Do not bring friends to ride who do not have a permit. (Thomas 434-9943 has a few generic permits to loan.)
4. Report problems (people or trails) to Thomas Jenkins or Kenny Hess

News From The 'Nut - 12/10/2004

With hunting season well under way and ski season fast approaching, I would like to thank each and every club member who helped with the Western Slope projects this year. The relocated Homestead trail and the Hanenkahm (aka: Hole in the Wall, Honeycomb, etc.) connector trails are awesome examples of trail design and construction that everyone involved should be proud of. Both new trails are great improvements to our trail network and we are already planning next year's "to do" list. It truly has been a pleasure working with Thomas, Rich, and the rest of the club on these projects. I feel formalizing the Access Agreement has been a great benefit to both SMBC and Massanutten Resort. Please respect the guidelines of our agreement so I do not have to defend you to my bosses and the resort owners.

Our first year has gone fantastic and we are looking forward to working with the club for a long time. The big news this year will be a partnership for the Hoo-Ha! You help us promote the race (via website, word of mouth, volunteers, etc.) and we give the club $2 per rider and give each member a discount to race.

Race Dates

• Yee-Ha! Downhill May 15, 2005
• Hoo-Ha! Cross Country August 14, 2005

Thanks again for all your hard work. Please feel free to contact us with any questions, suggestions, or comments.

Sincerely,
Kenny Hess & George Willetts khess@massresort.com