Trail workday at Fernandez Ranch

After months of coordination and planning, BTCEB partnered with JMLT and the Contra Costa Composite MTB team for a trail workday at Fernandez Ranch on March 21. We ended up with 24 volunteers, including 15 riders and coaches from Contra Costa Composite, and we primarily focused on drainage work on Whipsnake Trail. In addition, BTCEB was also able to provide some support for an Eagle Scout project that was scheduled for the same day at Fernandez Ranch. That project involved replacing a couple of retaining walls on Woodrat Trail that were rotting and failing. Those retaining walls allow the trail to be wider, increasing safety for all trail users, and also prevent the trail from eroding into the adjacent gully.

A few of us went out on Friday morning and marked locations for drains along Whipsnake with flags to show the width of the drains we were hoping to cut, and we also cut one demonstration drain to help volunteers visualize the final product. Saturday’s workday started shortly after 9:00 AM with introductions and a safety briefing in the parking lot, and then we split the group into five different work teams, each led by one or two BTCEB trail crew leads. Everybody hiked about a half mile to the work area on Whipsnake for a demo to give everyone a clear idea of the day’s work. By the end of the workday, we had completed about 20 new or enhanced drains along Whipsnake. Where possible, we took soil excavated from drains and compacted that on the tread down trail to serve as slight grade reversals to work in combination with the nick drains. We also filled in a deeper rut toward the upper end of our work area.

Luckily our heat wave had been waning, so it wasn’t nearly has hot as it had been a few days earlier, and most of our work was done in areas that had at least some shade. The dirt in exposed areas had become very hard, so it would have been much harder to cut drains in that sun-baked soil. We had hoped that the conditions would have allowed more work to be done on drainage entering and exiting the sharper switchback turn, but it was too hard to dig there on this day.

Overall there was a lot of interaction between CCC riders and coaches and BTCEB members, and everybody had a good time while getting a lot of good quality work completed. At the end of the workday we had sandwiches, chips, and water waiting for us at the picnic area next to the parking lot. Special thanks to Jon Skramstad (CCC), Ricardo Black (JMLT) and Scott Bartlebaugh (BTCEB) for helping to coordinate this workday over the last few months. This was a great opportunity for disparate groups to come together for a great cause and we are looking forward to further collaboration with both groups in the future.

BTCEB was also able to provide some support for an Eagle Scout project that was scheduled for the same day at Fernandez Ranch. That project involved replacing a couple of retaining walls on Woodrat Trail that were rotting and failing. Those retaining walls allow the trail to be wider, increasing safety for all trail users, and also prevent the trail from eroding into the adjacent gully.

Armando Chavez, Director-at-Large

Scott Bartlebaugh, Advocacy Director

Hiking with Director Mercurio

Much of BTCEB’s advocacy work happens behind the scenes.  One aspect is building positive working relationships with land manager staff and our elected decision makers.  Recently our Advocacy Director, Scott Bartlebaugh, invited East Bay Regional Park District Director John Mercurio out to Crockett Hills for a hike and a chat.  Scott and John hiked from the trailhead out to Sugar City trail, where John could get a feel for the typical seasonal overgrowth.  Director Mercurio was also able to see some of the trail stewardship that BTCEB leads at Crockett Hills.  Discussion on the day included a wide variety of park district topics including cattle management, funding, volunteer opportunities, land bank property opening, and many others. We didn’t solve any problems directly on that hike but we did get to understand each other’s perspectives a little bit better.

We encourage you to reach out to your elected officials at East Bay Regional Park District, East Bay Municipal Utility District, or your local municipality to let them know what you’d like them to continue doing, what you’d like to see them do, and why both are important to you personally or to the broader community. We’re constituents of our elected officials, and letting them know what is important to us shapes how they’ll respond.  Showing up at the ballot box is also important, but a lot of time passes between elections that gives us opportunities to engage our elected officials and land manager staff.

Scott Bartlebaugh, Advocacy Director

From the Interwebs: Singletracks Podcast talks to Jeff Cayley of Trail One Components

Trail One is just one of Jeff Cayley’s business ventures that he discusses on the Singletracks podcast.  Trail One is a bike components company with a mission to give back to trail systems.  He, along with the other founders including Brian Kennedy, wanted to do their part and nudge the industry to support trail systems and local trail advocacy & stewardship organizations.  Trail One has provided $6,000 in support to BTCEB through $1 from every Crockett handlebar sold.  We use this funding to purchase tools, materials, and volunteer refreshments for our trail stewardship events.  Thank you Trail One Components!

Give this podcast a listen to hear how Jeff Cayley approaches the “sport” of business and a variety of bike and life topics.  Quote of the pod: “When innovation was so rampant, I was swapping bikes out way more then — faster than my underwear.”  Yeah, I know, I had you at “innovation was so rampant”. You may want to check out other episodes of the Singletracks podcast or check out Jeff Cayley’s own MTB Podcast.

Scott Bartlebaugh, Advocacy Director