IMBA’s Trail Care Crews (TCCs) came to Santa Clara County this weekend. We held a Friday night informative program and trail building classes on Saturday and Sunday morning at Specialized, and did tral work on Coe’s Anza, Grizzly Gulch, and Spike Jones trails.
Friday night’s guest speaker, Steve Karlin, a naturalist from Wildlife Associates (http://www.wildlifeassociates.org/index.html), began the program with a fascinating presentation on wildlife and human awareness and behavior. He explained not just how to react to potentially dangerous wildlife encounters, but why these encounters occur, and how we may therefore reduce their occurrence. He spoke about ways of expanding and awakening our perception of nature, increasing our sensory acuity, and enriching the outdoors experience.
The expert TCC team of Laura Woolner and Mark Schmidt, then began an excellent introduction to the weekend showcasing IMBA’s achievements around the world.
About 40 people attended Friday evening.
On Saturday we had around 65 people attend the trail school and work. Specialized graciously hosted the event by providing gourmet coffee, orange juice, pastries and bagels. CEO Mike Sinyard welcomed us to their facility with a brief presentation in the Bicycle Museum. Bags of goodies were given out, and we settled in for an entertaining training session until 12:15pm. Burritos were served for lunch from Super Taqueria sponsored by the MROSD and ROMP.
On Sunday around 50 people came for the day. Lunch bags were provided by Specialized as we headed out their headquarters for Coe. After trail work we fit a a few group rides in as well.
Among the weekend’s trail work achievments were countless drainage features, some rock armouring, and the mitigation of a section problem switchbacks. We learned how to use rock slings, clinometers, lay out trail, use our tools, and repair the tread.
The entire weekend was great fun! Folks made new friends and learned new skills. ROMP made important connections. Specialized contributed mightily to advocacy. Trails got some love.
All in all, a successful major event for Coe and ROMP. Thanks everyone, for your support.
-Paul
