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Topics - Kevin M

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Wapehani / Work Day, May 4th
« on: May 02, 2013, 07:41:59 AM »
The weather may not cooperate, but if it does:


Trail building this Saturday, May 4th.


Meet in the parking lot @ 9AM.


No experience necessary.  Tools, training, and gloves provided.


We're less than 3/4 mile away from completing the reroutes on official City property!  Come help us finish this revitalization project early in the season!

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Wapehani / Exit Only
« on: April 09, 2013, 10:50:43 PM »

More improvements are on the way for the technical line in the Tuliptree Loops.  I'll be beveling the sharp edges of the skinnies and installing a safety ramp on the jump to make it rollable.  The second roller will be leveled out and there will be a couple of long shelves with 10-12" drops instead (that's why all the soil is piled up on either side of the features there).


The upper jump has been signed "Exit Only" almost since it was installed.  That policy now applies to the bottom of the line, too:





There are still three ways to enter the Tuliptree Loops.


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Wapehani / Volunteer Trail Building, Friday 4/12
« on: April 08, 2013, 08:07:39 AM »
Come for the Jamis Demo and stay for the trail building.  Or come for the bench cutting and stick around to find out what 650B is all about.  Either way, we've got you covered this Friday, from 1-5 PM.


Tools, training, and work gloves provided.  BYO water.


Post up or PM me with any questions.  We'll be working on a new connector along the south edge of the spillway.

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Wapehani / JAMIS 650B Demo Friday 4/12
« on: April 05, 2013, 07:52:02 AM »




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Wapehani / Trail building Wedn (2/13)
« on: February 12, 2013, 08:13:34 AM »
Great conditions for cutting trail this week.  A few of us will be working tomorrow from 4-6 PM or so.  Tools provided; work gloves, too.  BYO water.  Meet in the parking lot.

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Wapehani / Bloomington Bikes Week Ideas?
« on: January 17, 2013, 06:46:37 PM »
How should we celebrate/recognize Bikes Week (coming up in May) at Wapehani?  Any ideas or suggestions? 


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Wapehani / Mill Creek Tech Park
« on: December 19, 2012, 07:59:21 AM »
Interesting article in today's HTO.  Looks like Hoosier Energy could end up being Wapehani's new neighbor on the south side.  They want to move their headquarters to the tech park on the south side of the park.


There are several levels of approval, of course, and the whole deal is contingent on a tax abatement, but they're seeking that this Friday.  City Council will have final vote.  I'll keep you posted on opportunities for public comment.


What general concerns or questions, if any, do you have about the development of the tech park?

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Wapehani / Lost & Found: Keys
« on: November 06, 2012, 03:07:15 PM »
I found a car key today.  PM me with the make and describe the fob in order to arrange a time to get it back.

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Wapehani / November Work Days
« on: October 31, 2012, 05:40:22 PM »
There will be two work sessions this week, both of them focused on a 310 ft reroute around "white oak gully" (about halfway between the parking lot and the highway on the northern border).  There's a new bridge in place, now we just have to cut the trail leading up to it.


Thursday evening (11/1)--stop by after work and put in some time cutting new trail until we lose the light.


Sunday afternoon (11/4)--bench cutting from 1-3 PM


As always, tools, gloves, and training provided.  BYO water.


These will be some of the last opportunities to help out at Wapehani this season!

10
Wapehani / Camp Fires
« on: September 17, 2012, 08:00:15 AM »
Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon I almost literally ran into a campfire on the Lake Loop.  Someone had built a fire ring on the south side of the loop, not too far past the spillway.  Their pile of branches for fuel was actually blocking the trail, and the fire was still smoldering at 2:30 in the afternoon.  Luckily I have some buckets up in the parking lot and so I was able to put it out with some help from a rider from IL (thanks again).


Did anyone ride Sunday morning?  If so, did you see anyone at this fire ring?  This is not the sort of thing that mountain bikers build--it's usually fisherman, kids from the apartments partying, or the homeless who move from park to park.


For anyone reading this forum who needs a reminder: Camping and fires are prohibited in all of the City's natural areas.  This is clearly posted in the kiosk.  The drought may have passed, but that doesn't make it safe to leave a hot fire in a forest. 

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Wapehani / Trail Thursdays
« on: September 12, 2012, 09:45:29 AM »
Based on informal polling of active volunteers, weekday evening work sessions have moved to Thursdays.  We'll supplement that for big projects with Sunday afternoon sessions periodically this fall.


This week, I'd like to finish up those rollers.  I haven't had much time to get back to them so far this week. 


For folks interested in lighter work, the area around The Pad could use a good pruning and weeding in advance of Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day (6 Oct).

12
Wapehani / Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day
« on: September 12, 2012, 09:39:54 AM »
In cooperation with Revolution Bike and Bean, Parks & Rec will be celebrating IMBA's Take A Kid Mountain Biking Day on Saturday, October 6th, from 10 AM to 2 PM.


Demo bikes, a mechanic, snacks...plus free t-shirts and water bottles to the first 25 kids!

13
Wapehani / Black Diamond
« on: September 03, 2012, 07:32:10 PM »
Let's talk about technical trail features (TTFs).

The larger, long-term context can be found in this thread about Wapehani's place in Bloomington's Journey to Platinum. The more immediate context is that someone got hurt on the jump (the ramp in the middle of the Tulip Loops). In fact, the rider didn't realize it was a jump. There's no threat of legal action, but we will be adding more signage to that features area. All of our new technical trail features (jump, skinny drop-off, ladder bridge, small tabletop) are already signed Black Diamond, and both the jump and the ladder bridge are behind additional Black Diamond signs at the forks preceding them.

The IMBA difficulty rating system is posted in the trail head kiosk. If you were to inspect any of the new features (and I would encourage even experienced riders to walk a new technical feature before riding it), you would find that they are built on the conservative side of Black Diamond. For example, the Tulip Jump is preceded by a narrow, cobbled tread apx 12” wide; the 4' wide deck rises to 26” above the tread over its 6' length, and riders will rise still higher to the apex of their jump. In other words: the lower limit of Black Diamond is still Black Diamond.  Most Difficult means Most Difficult. It means more risk. These spurs and TTFs are intended for expert riders and experienced riders looking to hone certain skills.

Our features will remain clustered in the middle of the Tulip Loops. Plans for further rerouting will focus on more sustainable singletrack and proper switchbacks. We will not be remaking Wapehani as a whole in the vein of the Tulip skills area (although as trees come down we may add log overs and trailside skinnies).

Features may seem like no dig deal to some users, a nuisance to others, and a challenge to still others. Until this crash, I have had only positive feedback about the TTFs. Perhaps this would be a good time for regular park users to weigh in on whether or not you expect a mountain bike park to provide such features, whether or not you use them, questions about safety, etc.

I'll open by saying that I'm re-thinking the little tabletop. Perhaps we could shave it down, move more material down there, and shape a set of rollers that would be more fun for more people.

What do you think?

14
Wapehani / camping
« on: August 28, 2012, 08:04:05 AM »
I broke up a small camp on the PIC property, right there where old tires are piled up.  There was a large tent with bright yellow accents, a campfire, and related trash.


This is the second camp I've had to deal with this year.  That's two more than last year and the year before.  If you notice a tent or other signs of anyone living in the park, please report it immediately.

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Wapehani / Tack Blazes
« on: August 28, 2012, 07:58:22 AM »
Someone has been using large white thumbtacks to blaze a route through the PIC property.  I've removed most of them.


If you want to mark a route, whether for yourself or others, please take a cue from the runners and use chalk or flour.  In other words, something temporary and non-invasive.  Also, please confine yourself to marking intersections only.  There is no need to mark the trail every 20 feet.

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