Mud Lake "patrol"

Mud Lake is not a priority for patrolling -- but I was up there with my girlfriend Ivete on Sunday 6/29 and had my sign in my pack, so what the heck...

The most interesting contact was running into a very nice woman and her daughter who had 3 llamas. We had a great discussion about her encounters with mountain bikers -- all positive. She said while we're technically supposed to yield, she'd prefer if we just carefully ride by. Llamas, as opposed to horses, are not easily spooked. It didn't even matter whether we pass above or below the llama, if on a slope. I said it would be best if the rider would communicate with her, and ask her preference. She agreed, and said 95% of the time that is what happens...then they end up having a conversation like we did, about llamas, wool, where'd they come from, why are their necks so tall, what is that purring sound he's making...

Anyhow said our goodbyes and she was very appreciative of our patrol work.

Bike to Work Month at Heil Valley Ranch

I led a ride at Heil Valley Ranch for Bike to Work Month, and why not also call it a patrol? A small group of 5 people, but we did get a ride to and from Boulder in style - via the mighty fine biodiesel bus of Crispin + Porter + Bodusky, and got plenty of strange looks when arriving at the trailhead.

Lots of mountain bikers out on the trails for after-work mileage and everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather and great temperatures. The trail is pretty dusty, with actual sand pits in a few parts of Wapiti, bring on the rain!

First patrol for me

Marshall Mesa on Sunday: Windy! Seemed to scare most folks away. The place was nearly deserted. I did manage to answer a few questions and get some newer riders on the right track, but for the most part, it was smooth sailing. As a plus, it was all tailwind all the way home!

Old news...

Here's some pictures of patrol training from the first session, yes, already a month old, but I thought worth sharing. First night was some classroom training at the Nat'l Forest building, and then we headed over to Open Space folks to learn a bit about bike repair, how to handle horse encounters of the third kind, and did a bit of rollplaying.

Fresh website!

For those of you who haven't checked it out, we have a new patrol website up....

http://bma-mtb.org/patrol

You can find general patrol info there, trail maps, pictures, as well as the new online patrol report form. We hope to grow this site into a useful resource for our patrollers and cycling community.

Also, if you any of you have some pictures from your patrols laying around please send them my way!

Thanks,

Nick Lasure
nick.lasure [at] gmail.com

Heil Ranch as of late...

BMA head honcho, Mike Barrow seen on the trail.



....And the interesting soda pop office at Heil Ranch as you enter or leave.



Sadness for the lost home on Lefthand Canyon on the way up...