Posted: Meeting Minutes from Oct 20, 2008
Metro North January 7th, 2009
Meeting minutes from the October 20th, 2008 Metro North chapter meeting have been posted on the website.
Trail Tool Sponsors
Metro North September 17th, 2008
As the summer starts to wind down, one thing I wanted to make sure I did is to extend a thanks to the local shops that stepped up and helped out the MMBA and Metro North chapter by sponsoring tool purchases.
The MMBA put together a group purchase of Pulaski’s and Mcleods for the chapters. These are some of our most important tools for trail work, and they aren’t tools that many volunteers have, so it’s important that we be able to provide access to these tools for those attending trail days. They are a great asset for the chapter to have.
For those who aren’t familiar with the tools, here is some information about them.
The invention of the pulaski is widely credited to Ed Pulaski, a ranger with the United States Forest Service, in 1911, although a similar tool was first introduced in 1876 by the Collins Tool Company. Ed Pulaski was famous for taking action to save the lives of a crew of 45 firefighters during the disastrous August 1910 wildfires in Idaho. His invention (or reinvention) of the tool that bears his name may have been a direct result of the disaster, as he saw the need for better firefighting tools. The pulaski came into wide use by the Forest Service after 1913, and in 1920 the Forest Service began contracting for the tool to be commercially manufactured.
It was originally intended for raking fire lines with the teeth and for cutting branches and sod with the sharpened hoe edge. The McLeod is useful for removing slough and berm from a trail and tamping or compacting tread. It can also be used to shape a trail’s backslope.
Because of its shape, the McLeod is an awkward tool to transport and store. It is carried with the tines pointing toward the ground, ideally with a sheath over the cutting edge.
When the opportunity to purchase these tools came up, I reached out to many of the local shops to see if they could assist with the purchase. Two WONDERFUL local shops were able to help.
I want to thank Cycletherapy and Fraser Bicycle for stepping up and helping the chapter out. Without the support of shops like these, we wouldn’t be able to as easily provide tools for our trail workers. Their support directly leads to the building and maintaining of your local trails. Be sure to thank them for their support of the MMBA and Metro North chapter the next time you visit them.
2008 Addison Oak Chapter Benefit Race
Metro North August 28th, 2008
The annual fall XC race at Addison Oaks is coming up on September 21st, but there are some changes this year. Oakland County Parks have decided that they no longer want to be the main promoter of the race, and so the Metro North chapter of the MMBA will be running the race as a chapter benefit. A few of the MMBA chapters have been having races over the past few years as a way to raise funds for the chapter budgets, and they have been quite successful. We hope to follow in the same tradition in the Metro North chapter, and we are quite please that we were able to take over the management of this well established race.
An event like this requires planning, volunteers and funds. We’ve got a small committee who’ve been working on the plans (if anyone is interested in being part of the planning committee, let me know), and I\’ll be sending another email out as we get closer to race day, asking for volunteers to help things run smoothly. A chapter event like this wouldn’t be possible without a great deal of help from volunteers.
There are also ways you can help right now. We are looking for friends and businesses who can help by sponsoring this event. We’ve created a sponsorship proposal which details the benefits of sponsoring this event. If you know of any local business who might be interested, please consider approaching them for sponsorship (or maybe you would like to be a sponsor yourself).
The proposal can be found here – and while we do have suggested levels of sponsorship, they are just suggestions and we’re willing to work with anyone.
We thank you in advance for any help you’ll be able to give us with this race, and I hope we’ll see many of you out racing or volunteering on September 21st!
CANCELLED: 5/11 Bloomer Trailday
Metro North May 9th, 2008
Due to unforeseen events, the Bloomer Trail day on 5/11 has been canceled.
We’ll be posting upcoming trail days when they are scheduled.
Bloomer Trailday 5/11
Metro North April 24th, 2008
We will be having a trail day at Bloomer Park in Rochester Hills on Sunday 5/11. This will sort of be a ‘Benchcutting 101′ trail day, as we work to repair some of the eroded ridge trail.
Meeting in the parking lot @ 9:30AM. Tell the attendants at the shack that you are coming in to volunteer for trail maintenance, and they should allow you through without paying.
Addison Oaks Trailday 4/26/08
Metro North April 24th, 2008
This Saturday April 26th, there will be another trail day at Addison Oaks County Park. Meet at the maintenance building at 9:30. We will be doing mainly a spring clean-up of the trail so bring rakes, loppers, etc. If any downed trees are too big for a hand saw we will have to mark the location on a map for the park to remove.
To get to the maintenance building, follow the entrance straight back (do not take the turn right to the campground) and drive past the guard shack. Small parking lot by the maintenance building.
Upcoming Chapter Traildays
Metro North March 19th, 2008
4/5/08 – Stony Creek
General maintenance and clearing the trail of winter debris. 9:00AM at the West Branch F parking lot.
4/12/08 – Bloomer
General maintenance and preparation for XC Race. 9:00AM in the parking lot.
For any more information on either of the trail days, please contact the trail coordinators of the trail. Contact information for all chapter trail coordinators and chapter officers can be found on the chapter Who We Are page.
St Clair County Residents: Columbus Park Meeting
Metro North March 4th, 2008
The Master Planning meeting for the new Columbus County Park will be held on March 18th @ 6:30PM @ the Columbus Township Hall. At this meeting, the country will review the proposed Master Plan for the park, developed from input at the November meeting.
The Columbus Township Hall is located at 1732 Bauman Rd., Columbus, MI.
The session is open to any St Clair County residents, so please make plans to attend and express your interest. I hope to attend also, but since I am not a resident of the country, I will just be observing.
As we know, this area of the region is lacking in trails. We have Ruby to the north, and Stony to the west, but there is a vast region in between with little to no off road riding.
2008 Meeting Dates
Metro North March 1st, 2008
Meeting dates for 2008 have been set and the meeting room at the Rochester Mills Beer Co. has been reserved for the following dates. Meeting time remains at 6:30pm:
April 21, 2008
July 21, 2008
October 20, 2008
Hope to see you there!
Rochester Mills Beer Co.
400 Water Street, Rochester, MI 48307
Map to Rochester Mills
January 22, 2008 – Meeting Minutes
Metro North March 1st, 2008
Thanks again to the Rochester Mills Beer Company for letting us use their private room for our meetings!
CLICK HERE to download the minutes from the last meeting.
Thanks to everyone who attended!
