sbts's blog

On October 1st, 8 members of the SBTS joined up with a half a dozen Pacific Crest Trail Association (PCTA) volunteers along with a Crew Leader to repair and improve the section of trail located immediately south of Highway 49. In addition to tread and switchback improvements, a stream crossing was repaired. The crossing repair was led by SBTS Crew member Henry O'Donnell along with lots of help from Van-O, Todd, and Troy. Thanks to the PCTA for organizing the day and we look forward to restoring other sections of this fine hiking trail.

The almost 7 mile Mills Peak Trail is under construction. Aided by 48 volunteers during the recent Lakes Basin Epic/Trail Daze, the crew has built 3200 feet of new trail as of mid september. In this photo, volunteers rake brush and debris ahead of the micro mini excavator, while others polish the trail behind. The tractor is small to keep the trail footprint narrow, and when run by an experienced operator can build trail fast in most conditions. While one worker clears logs and debris ahead of the tractor, 1 or 2 others follow behind and do the final buffing. The crews will continue working on the trail until the snow flies.

The Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship (SBTS) Trail Crew is working their magic in the Lakes Basin Recreation Area on Long Lake Connector Trail, which up until a few weeks ago was a poorly built, heavily eroded, overgrown piece of beauty. I say beauty only because of where this trail takes you and the views it offers, not because of the tread condition, which for the most part was a boulder strewn mess. The restoration project is funded through the Plumas County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) and is supported by the Plumas National Forest, Beckwourth Ranger District.
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The 2009 Classic. Chalked full of stories as is the case every year. The highlights from the SBTS angle.

The showdown with the "Win Rob's Bike" contest...

Burl Darden did in fact race against Rob Roskopp, the owner of Santa Cruz Bicycles, and did in fact well, come in a close second. Santa Cruz thought he was such a cool guy though for traveling all the way from Oregon at the last minute, so they decided to give them the bike anyway. What a lucky guy. We are all jealous of you Burl. Congratulations!

Read about it more on the SCB Blog. (Written in better detail that my sorry incantation here...)

The SBTS youth ride

This year we really got more organized and facilitated two days of youth rides with the pros. On Wednesday and Thursday before the race, about 14 youths went out with the pros to learn some riding techniques and learn about how to maintain the trails you ride. In attendance on the pro front was Brian Lopes, Jason Moeschler, Adam Craig, Dain Zaffke, Rachel Lloyd, Nate Byrom, Tyler Marshall, Henry O'Donnell, and Celia from WTB. We had other expert riders on hand as well as SBTS board members who helped usher the ride along including one of our own youth program participants Evan Ames.
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Hot news! - SBTS is introducing a HUGE new feature to the Downieville Classic festival. On Wednesday and Thursday, July 8th & 9th, pro riders will be partnered with students (ages 12 to 21) in the On Mountain Pro/Youth Days. This is a fabulous opportunity for young riders to learn about mountain biking skills, the racing scene, and stewardship of the trails we all love to ride. Professional riders are taking a break in their valuable race preparations to “give back” to the community, sharing good times and great ideas with area youth.
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