Back from a beautiful long weekend under the sun in Fruita and ready for some ribs tonight. If you haven't RSVP'd and are planning on attending our mixer at Wild Mtn tonight please drop me a line. Andria, Nicole, Cynthia, Jason, Chuck (maybe), Hillary, Steve and Rose

have already let me know and I'm looking forward to meeting those of you I don't yet know. Wild Mountain Smokehouse is located on 1st St in Nederland and we'll be ordering some beers at about 6 tonight. Call me at 720-289-7960 with any questions.

Zion Curtain

Gathering momentum...

Got out on a Super-Super Hall ride on Sunday (double super would be riding from Boulder, after riding in from Nederland) and stopped in to chat with patrol supporter Dave Chase at Redstone Cyclery in Lyons. Dave has a very generous offer of 20% off MSRP for BMBP members for 2007 so if you were waiting for a little more incentive to volunteer there you go! We'll also be hosting a few fun rides out of Redstone as well thru out the summer so stay tuned for more details as the season kicks into high gear.

In other sponsorship news Walt of Waltworks fame has also stepped up big and is offering a 20% discount on his awesome handbuilt custom frames and forks. You'll need to be an active patrol member (attended training, signed the volunteer agreement and performed at least one patrol) to take advantage of these great offers so drop me a line today (moalford@hotmail.com) to sign up and/or find out more about the 2007 BMBP program. It's going to be a great Spring at West Magnolia!

I'm meeeelting!

You can almost see dirt up here in Nederland and the preliminary response for the 2007 Patrol has been great so I wanted to thank everyone who has stepped up so far and volunteered to help out. Though we may not be riding at West Magnolia for a few more weeks the trails at lower elevations are dried up and in prime shape so get on out there and ride the rust off. Dave Chase of Redstone Cyclery has again stepped up as a big supporter of the Bike Patrol so make sure you stop by the shop in Lyons to say hi and get all the latest Heil/Hall info. I will be hosting a public meeting in Nederland on April 10th at 6pm at the NEW Wild Mountain Smokehouse & Brewery (mmm, ribs!) for anyone interested in learning more about the BMBP so pass the word and get ready for a great mountain bike season!

...and now the new Director

Greetings friends from 8,200' where we are still snowbound and mud spattered! Trails up here at West Magnolia are still frozen and drifted over but the 2007 Patrol season is fast approaching and we're looking at some exciting developments. First of all my name is Matt Alford and I have taken over the Directatorship of the BMBP for this season while Jason Vogel takes lead on pursuing some very promising opportunities for our local trails. How does a $50,000 grant for West Magnolia, including the potential for some "stunts" sound? For 2007 our patrol responsibilities will be similar to last year and I would like to focus my efforts on two additions for 07. First will be having more fun! Not that riding West Mag isn't fun but I have a perfectly good firepit awaiting just down the road that we'll try to put to good use with some BBQs and we'll have some more fun rides as well. Second I'd like to support any patroller interested in pursuing membership in the National Mountain Bike Patrol as I feel they have a lot of good resources that can benefit the patroller and the BMBP as well. More details to follow this week and in the meantime please feel free to contact me at any time at www.moalford@hotmail.com or on my cell # 720-289-7960. If you know of anyone who may be interested in joining the patrol for the upcoming season please pass my contact info on to them as well. All the best from Coal Creek Canyon and I'm looking forward to riding with YOU this year - Matt

Words from the Director

Hey all. Greetings from the depths of winter. For those of you who did not attend the BMA banquet last night, it was a raging success punctuated at one point by grand praise for the Boulder Bike Patrol from Ed Perault, the recreation supervisor for the Boulder Ranger District of the U.S. Forest Service. At the ceremony I got more than my fair share of personal praise, but quite obviously the patrol couldn't have been a success without those of you that went out and rode your bike at West Mag to make better relations with USFS a reality. I'm attaching a scanned copy of the letter I was presented with for you all to read at your leisure. It is signed by the District Ranger, and my favorite part reads:"Many partners, including BMA, have helped the BoulderRanger District meet management objectives for [the West Mag] area. However, when the Boulder Bike Patrol stepped up to provide managed presence on the trail system, it connected that final link necessary to facilitate overall effective management....As recreation resources become increasingly scarce, the importance of the Boulder Bike Patrol will continue to grow."My personal congratulations to all of you. I hope you read the attached letter as if it was address to you personally, because in my mind it is.I also hope you'll take the evidence of this letter as a sign that your efforts last summer have made a difference and that it's worth your making a similar effort this coming cycling season. For those of you that did not manage to do a patrol date last year, never fear, we still need you and you can help propel the Boulder Bike Patrol to even better service this summer.
Jason Vogel