Heads up…
Trail Maintenance this Saturday has been postponed. We’re actually sitting pretty good right now. Some small projects need to be organized, so we’ll be focusing on the planning of those.
We’ll regroup before Fat & Skinny Tire Fest.
Keep your eyes out for the upcoming Maintain-a-Mile program.
If you’re interested in helping with trail maintenance, shoot us an email or sign up here.
Last Chance for the March Prize Drawing…
Give us your feedback – win some schwag: KCV Cycling Club Participation/Interest Survey
Calling all volunteers and cyclists, please fill out our new 2011 participation and interest survey if you live nearby and consider yourself a Kosciusko County cyclist. We always want to improve the club and we need you and your input to do so.
If you’re looking to volunteer somewhere, please fill this out. If you’ve got suggestions for the club this year, please fill this out.
This is a local and public club, so we need your help in shaping it’s future and raising awareness for cycling in our community.
We’ll choose a couple winners at the end of the month and they’ll receive some sweet schwag from our friends at Trailhouse and Cerulean Restaurant for participating.
Please forward this to your friends, if they ride, but are not on the mailing list. Then tell them to get with the program and shoot us an email to get added to the list… or send them here.
Here’s the survey.
Thanks for your input!
Get out your shovels, rakes, saws, trimmers and a good ‘ol fashioned pair of working gloves.
It’s time for Spring Trail Maintenance.
With several events in April and May, we need to get off to a great start this year, so when the rain, heat and weed growth comes, we’re not catching up.
We have 2 days scheduled in April…
- Saturday, April 2 – 10am at the Winona Lake Trailhead
- Saturday, April 16 – 10am at the Winona Lake Trailhead
This first trail maintenance day, we’ll be trying to tackle the following projects…
- General walk through and clean-up; clearing sticks, low-lying branches, and checking bridge boards
- Rebuilding the bridge along the Greenway at the end of Rock Garden
- Fortifying and adding gravel-raised ridge after Skyway
- Fixing the Spring-fed well
Spread the word, and if you can make it, please come on out. We’ll provide some pizza around 1pm.
Thanks for helping our local trails! See ya Saturday.
2 Great Ways to Play in the Dirt on April 9th
Start your season off right with our first event of the year on the beautiful Winona Lake trails with your mountain bike at the 2nd Annual KCV/Planet Adventure Full Day of Dirt.
Or opt for the Planet Adventure Ultra Trail Run. There are 10 mile, 30 mile and 50 mile options for solo and team relay runners. The 10 mile loop allows the longer distance runners a chance to refuel on every loop. You’ll enjoy PA Potatoes and other goodies along the trail as well. Get registered today.
For more details, check out Planet Adventure.
The I Share The Road Indiana license plate is on the road!
The first Indiana motorists to put their pedal passion on their bumpers have received their plates – and their fair share of jealous comments from fellow cyclists.
Be the envy of your neighborhood and cycling community. Get the NEW I Share The Road Indiana license plate for you vehicle.
To get your I Share The Road plate, you have three options:
1. Visit a BMV Branch
2. Call 1-888-692-6841
3. Go to www.mybmv.com
If you order online, be sure to click the box marked “Allow BMV to share my information with this organization.” If ordering by phone or in person, let the BMV representative know you want to share your information.
NOTE: You can order your plate NOW even if your renewal date is months away. Contact the BMV to learn more.
If you’ve already received your plate, send a picture of it on your car to info@bicycleindiana.org, or post it on their Facebook page.
With the ground really thawing, please remember to tread lightly on the trails…
Ride only when the trail is solid, and watch for increased traffic due to anticipation. Please don’t widen the trail by riding around mud spots or ruts. Here is a great explanation about winter freezing and spring thaws, from our friends at IMBA (International Mountain Bike Association) and HMBA (Hoosier Mountain Bike Association)…
When soil freezes all the moisture turns to ice crystals between the particles of the soil and in clay or loam soil they are tightly packed together. As the moisture freezes, the crystals expand and tear the clay apart shattering it, then as it thaws the soil becomes more porous and allows more moisture in. This is repeated with every successive thaw. In Indiana we can get as many as 100 freeze/thaw cycles in a season.
So, please be very careful when trying to ride the trails in the early spring. The best time to ride is when the trail is still solid. On days when the temperature goes below freezing at night, the worst thing we can do is wait for the sun to come out and warm up the trail before riding. The trails can be very soft even if it hasn’t rained recently. Even if the temperature stays below freezing, South facing trails can defrost in sunlight and turn to mush.
If you are leaving long ruts in the trail where you have ridden, please leave the trail till it dries more. The ruts will allow even more water to remain on the trail and make it even worse. If people see you riding they will want to ride too, so very soon the trail reaches a point of meltdown.
You can get trail updates on the front page of the Winona Lake Trails site.
While you’re out riding, keep an eye on the trail and report any severe damage to the KCV Trail Committee ( barkeyc (at) gmail.com ) or Trailhouse (574.267.2223).
Thanks for abiding by these guidelines and helping us protect our trails.
A Look Back at 2010
It’s hard to believe outdoor cycling season is upon us in northern Indiana, with the recent weather madness. But don’t forget what it was like last week. With that said, we welcome 2011. And as the anticipation and excitement for dusting off our pedal-powered machines is in full-swing, we can think about the fun of the coming year by reflecting on the amazing 2010 we had.
As you get out and ride, invite a friend to ride, use your bike to get around or to help someone out, or to volunteer at one of our events or out on the trails, you’re being a part of the club and helping us fulfill our mission… to raise awareness for cyclists, provide activities and opportunities for our community to experience the wellness benefits of cycling and to give back to our community by providing activities that help economically and through charity.
Here’s a few reasons to be excited about 2011 and proud of 2010. In the meantime, fill out the 2011 club survey and let us know what you’d like to see for 2011. Finish the survey by April 1st and we’ll enter you into our prize drawing for some sweet schwag from our friends at Trailhouse and Cerulean Restaurant.
- over 30 events, competitions, community/family rides, benefit rides, kids activities, etc
- weekly mountain and road group rides, including spinning classes available through the YMCA
- weekly off-road trail maintenance and building projects – over 600 hours of volunteer work
- monthly community club meetings
- raised $ and awareness for over 17 cycling-related, social health, and/or missionary organizations
Bring on 2011!
