Feb 2011 Workparty

[clydesdale]

The February Workparty has been set:

Sunday, Feb 20
FATS main parking Lot
1:00 PM; Crewleaders meet at 12:30 PM

We will work for about 4 hours.

We will be working to improve drainage on lower Skinny. We will have 6 or 7 crew leaders and would like about 6 workers per crew leader.
Please plan to come out and lend a hand. Let me know if you can come. Bring a flat shovel if you have one, water and work gloves. We are also missing a few tools from last workparty, if you still have a tool please bring it with you or contact me so I can get it before Sunday.

There may be a small group heading out earlier in the morning if that is the only time you can make it then let me know. Details to be determined.


Thanks,
Daniel Allen
Trails Coordinator
706-799-1531

[bikerpanda]

i should be able to make this. Im pretty sure I have a shovel and some gloves. We meeting at 1 or starting work at 1? Also, I dont know much about maintaning trails, but point at what you want done and I can do it.

[Angela]

Come at 1 or a few minutes before. The crew leaders will be getting there at 12:30 to get assignments and figure out the logistics of getting workers and tools into the critical points on the Skinny to do the work. Once we get everyone signed in and assigned to a crew leader we'll be ready to head out. The Skinny isn't quite as easy to get people to the lower trail areas as the Brown Wave is

I, for one, am excited to get this work completed. I have ridden the top of the Skinny and the Brown Wave twice since the last work party and what a difference - many kudos to that amazing group of volunteers who stepped forward. Still a couple of spots that need some work but by and large that route seems to be in the best overall condition right now in the FATS network.

Hopefully we'll have a good turnout for this and the subsequent work parties as well - best to get all this out of the way in the Winter and Spring when you can see where the work needs to be done and it isn't blazing hot outside

[Apollo]

I might not know if I can go until last minute but if I just show up I hope thats OK. Also, like a previous poster said, If I do come I'm not a trail builder/maintainer so I will have to be shown the fundamentals.

[clydesdale]

Feb 20 Workparty is on with:
19 committed
3 maybes

We still have room; let me know and come on out.

Thaks,
Daniel Allen

[lee79]

See you there. Does anyone plan to ride before or after?

[nitro]

Feb 19, 2011 15:13:43 GMT -5 lee79 said:

See you there. Does anyone plan to ride before or after?

sorbacsra.proboards.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=Ridepost&thread=2362&page=1

[dgaddis1]

Good day at FATS today. Got there around 9:30, forgot how easily people will approach you when wearing the Bike Patrol jersey!! Talked to a few guys from Rocksomethingortheother, SC for a little while, then Robin and TedS showed up and we rode Deep Step and Great Wall. Ran into Todd E. out on Deep Step, doing some nice armoring work. Thanks man. I felt slow the whole time, legs felt heavy, and TedS and Robin both seemed to be just out of sight the whole time...turns out we averaged just over 11mph haha.

Went and grabbed some food, then came back for the work party. It was good. 20+ people showed up and we knocked out a lot of work on Skinny pretty quickly.

Everyone that followed me out of the woods got to take a nice scenic route. I was looking for red flagging that marks where we leave the trail...turns out I should have been looking for triple flagging. My bad. We made it out tho, and still beat everyone else to the cars.

Here's a few pics I got.


The crowd.


First time I've seen these, I like them.


A future SORBA member, and a good trailworker. He knew what to do without even needing to be told.


A lot of spots that use to look like this....


...now look like this.

[Angela]

Great pics Dustin! Final tally was 27 volunteers and over 60 man hours and that equals completion of the dips and drainage work on the Skinny. There will be a follow-up with some armoring, etc.

While volunteers were out on the trails had a lot of visitors stopping by the tent. Some people were interested in picking up trail maps, some would liked to have borrowed some tools, two wanted to join and are now new members of SORBA-CSRA. Spoke to people from Savannah, Jacksonville, Fayetteville, NC, Charlotte.........some of our newest members are coming from people who can't easily come for trail work parties because they don't live in the area but are happy to support us by joining our chapter since they plan to return to ride these trails and appreciate the work being done to keep them in great shape.

It certainly was a gorgeous weekend for trail work and riding!

[hyperflea7]

Wow. It looks like you had a small army of volunteers. Is that number of people typical for work parties these days?

[Angela]

We have just started the scheduled monthly workparties back up for this year and had 41 volunteers for the January work parties! The turnout has been great and a lot of work has been done. People love these trails and want to give back and it shows.

What is happening in tandem is we are now having quite a few folks that travel from the far reaches to ride (particularly at FATS but we are spreading the word on the other over 100 miles of singletrack in the area as we can) that are supporting our efforts by joining SORBA-CSRA so providing funding to do their part to help.