General Discussion

I am running for VP because I believe the Lehigh Valley has the potential to be a community that embraces the sport of mountain biking and the people that participate in that sport as a form of fitness and recreation incorporating the great outdoors.  I believe our club needs to provide the community at large with guidance regarding the positive aspects of our sport including accessibility at all skill levels, a fun and family friendly approach to mountain biking, and a responsible and conscientious attitude toward trail building and maintenance.

As a relative new-comer to mountain biking in the Lehigh Valley I have been very fortunate to benefit from the hard work put in by those who have built the great local trails we all enjoy and spent many thankless hours maintaining those trails.

All, I'm excited about the opportunity to run for president of VMB. To give everyone a sense of how I would lead, and hope to accomplish in 2017 I've posted some of the guiding principles I would follow, as well as 10 things I'd hope to accomplish next year. It's not a complete list, and I would welcome feedback from the board, our trail crews, and all members to further develop and refine the items, but it should provide a sense of what I'd like to see at the top of the 2017 agenda. 

I received the following today from Carl at the Wildlands Conservancy.  Please pass along.

Anyone know how to figure out when you need to renew your VMB IMBA Membership???

Do you know any high school kids interested in mountain biking?

The Parkland Composite Mountain bike team, a member of the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Cycling League, is looking for riders and volunteers.  As a "composite" team it is open to riders from any school district in the Lehigh Valley.

Contact : Dave Campain.  484-515-9586.  dave@campain.net

https://www.facebook.com/plmtb

http://www.pamtb.org/

Hi VMBers.  4th Annual TrexxxFest is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 30th.  Planning is in the works and our kids event specialist, Karen, is busy that weekend with MASS finals and cannot be there to organize the kiddies.

I am in need of a willing volunteer(s) that can take charge of the event the day of.  I will be able to have course setup and prize prepared but I will not be available to organizer the event.  Please let me know if you can help.

Rob

Last week, the Jacobsburg land manager, Rob Neitz, invited us, a few locals, and other trail users to a meeting at the park to discuss improving trail maintenance and some new mountain bike opportunities. Rob's a great guy and the meeting was super positive and we're getting together again next week to start working on some plans. 

I used to ride a few years ago and no longer have the hard tail 29er that I had. I noticed most other riders had full suspension. I suppose I could afford a sweet trail bike like a trance or trek fuel. I have a feeling I'll be suggested those would be too much, as I enjoyed trexlertown, nox, Jordan, and probably raystown if I would ever get there. Mount Penn and marsh Creek I might want to check out too. All the talk of wheel size, tire width, suspension travel, and head tube angle on the internet is a bit much. Anyone have any advice?

Figure I'd get on the forums early this morning.  Had my first group ride last night at Sals and, although super challenging considering I'm just getting back on the bike after a long hiatus, it was a great ride!  I've done group rides in the past in other areas and this was by far the best group ride I've ever been on.  Great people, fantastic trails and just a generally good attitude really made it for me.  I appreciate everyone who came out last night and look forward to riding again!

Ross