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December 21, 2004
Vacation
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I am going to be taking a brief vacation from the blog and will start it up again on Jan. 3.
I hope you all have a very happy and healthy holiday season!
Happy Trails!
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December 20, 2004
Weekend Report
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Another beautiful weekend in Clear Creek! Got to the entrance at 8:18 on Saturday morning, worked until 10AM and greeted 48 riders. Josh spent another hour at the entrance and had only ten more people drive in. Did enduro work the rest of the day. I really expected a much larger crowd down at the creek on Saturday. The loop we were working on was predominately in the Clear Creek drainage and we rarely saw or heard any riders the entire afternoon.
On Sunday the BLM held another volunteer day to fence the last remaining unprotected San Benito Evening Primrose site. I am pleased to report that the area is now completely fenced and all that remains is to string some wire cable through the fence. The BLM will plan one more workday in January to complete the project. We had 18 OHVers in attendance including some repeat offenders - I mean helpers.
I was not one of them. I had previously committed to hosting a Doc Wong riding clinic on the Rambler property and spent the entire day helping Harry with the class. We had 38 riders of all skill levels and on everything from a full dresser BMW to a mini-bike participate in the class. For many it was their first time in the dirt with their dual purpose bikes.
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December 18, 2004
Another Newspaper Article
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This time it was a follow-up story in the SF Chronicle. The reporter, Maria, had done a story earlier this year and she called me for my comments. I gave her plenty to work with, especially how the #3 rider crashed and clogged up his samplers. Think she would mention that? NO. Here is the article.
Since we have another great weekend in store, I will be doing enduro work on Saturday and then supervising the Doc Wong Off-Road Riding Clinic that the Ramblers are hosting on their property on Sunday morning. It is a fund raiser for the CCLDF. I hope to stop in at the work party briefly but I am leaving it up to other club members to get the rest of the fence up. Help would be appreciated. 9AM at Oak Flat. Sunday.
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December 17, 2004
Response Time
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Everyone recreating at Clear Creek should be aware that budget cuts have eliminated another public service. From a recent article in the Hollister Free Lance I learned that the San Benito County Board of Supervisors have cut funding to keep the Beaver Dam Fire Station open during the winter months, the prime time for Clear Creek use. For those driving in from the Coalinga area, Beaver Dam is located on Coalinga Road about 12 miles from the entrance to Clear Creek. So a word to the wise: if you go to Clear Creek, take a medical kit and ride with a friend. I will try to post emergency numbers to call.
There will be more BLM presence in Clear Creek soon as they have hired two temporary Park Rangers to help manage the area. More about this as I learn it.
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December 16, 2004
Cycle Gear
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I can't say enough good things about Cycle Gear for all the help they have given the Ramblers and the OHV community over the years. Every year since we started the National Enduro, Dave Bertram has helped sponsor the Quicksilver. Now I see that Cycle Gear has matched a donation made by the Timekeepers dollar for dollar. Way to go Cycle Gear! And, thanks to Cycle News for spreading the word nationally!
http://www.sharetrails.org/releases/media/index.cfm?story=370 http://www.cyclenews.com/ShowStory.asp?HeadlineID=6961
As I have said before, there are some very good people supporting our sport and these are the people who you should be supporting with the dollars that you spend on bikes, parts and accessories. Dave Bertram and the Cycle Gear chain are one. Motion Pro, owned by Chris Carter is another. There are many more and I will do my best to make you aware of them. Sure you can save a few bucks buying on the internet but when was the last time you saw one of those companies donate money to keep Clear Creek open? Nuff said!
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December 14, 2004
REAL Cowboy?
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I don't know where he gets them, but Carl continues to come through with some really good jokes. Here is the latest!
An old cowboy sat down at the bar and ordered a drink. As he sat sipping his drink, a young woman sat down next to him. She turned to the cowboy and asked, "Are you a REAL cowboy?" He replied, "Well, I've spent my whole life, breaking colts, working cows, going to rodeos, fixing fences, pulling calves, bailing hay, doctoring calves, cleaning my barn, fixing flats, working on tractors and feeding my dogs so I guess I am a REAL cowboy."
She said, "I'm a lesbian. I spend my whole day thinking about women. As soon as I get up in the morning, I think about women. When I shower, I think about women. When I watch TV, I think about women. I even think about women when I eat. It seems that everything makes me think of women."
After this exchange the two sat sipping in silence.
A little while later, a man sat down on the other side of the old cowboy and asked him, "Are you a REAL cowboy? "He replied, "I always thought I was; but I just found out I'm really a lesbian."
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December 13, 2004
Weekend Report
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Saturday: It was down right hot on Saturday up in the hills - in the mid-70's and the ladybug were swarming just like on a warm day in the late spring. It was also hard to discern that there had been almost an inch of rain earlier in the week, except for a few mud puddles. I got down late (for me) around 8:45 and greeted around 100 riders over the next hour and then it was off to the club property to unload and to get ready to ride.
I got really lucky earlier in the morning. After stopping in King City for food and a new notebook, I drove around to Carl's Jr. for a sourdough breakfast sandwich. Just as I was about to get in the truck and head out of Dodge, I decided that I should double check to make sure that my ICO would turn on as I could not remember when I had last put batteries in it. It wouldn't! It worked last weekend but now it was completely dead. So it was back to the store for batteries. Had I not checked and showed up at the property with a non-functioning odometer on the first day of enduro mileaging, I certainly would be a nominee for the Club's "bone award" at next Thursday's club meeting. And something this serious would almost guarantee the award - a big cow bone on a chain that has to be worn at all Club functions and workdays during the week following the award.
We didn't cover a lot of miles this first day as it takes some time to discuss the speed schedule strategy and possible check locations. A little thought up front makes things go easier in the field. Even though we only rode about 25 miles, the hot tub felt really good that evening after a month's layoff from riding. Hot tub?? Yes, two brothers in the club have a trailer mounted hot tub that they bring down along with a small wood stove that heats the water. The Ramblers know how to live!
Sunday was a cooler version of Saturday with a good breeze. Matt, Bob, Mark and Josh worked the entrance for a couple hours and only greeted about 50 riders. A bunch of Ramblers and perspective members showed up for the enduro workday and rode around the first loop with the layout crew and loop captains. I really consider this "work" as we stop at every major intersection, write the turns in the book and then ride to the next turn, stop and write in the book. Every once in a while we talk about the speed average strategy and a couple times we took a longer break of a drink of water. All in all, it is still work. We finished the first loop with about 42 miles on the route sheet. Perfect!
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December 10, 2004
Enduro Work
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The BLM has tentatively approved the routes for the 2005 Quicksilver National Enduro and so I am off tomorrow to start working with my partner Billy Waltrip on the layout of the event. Check back on Tuesday morning for more blog.
Carl sent me a Clear Creek story that I will publish next week with the names withheld to protect the guilty. If you have a funny story or a horror story about a ride at the creek, send it along. It will help fill the gaps!
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December 9, 2004
EPA Letter
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Yesterday I posted a copy of a recent letter for EPA Region 9 to Mike Pool, BLM State Director on the Rambler's web site. You can view it here. I urge you to read it. The EPA is proposing some very draconian measures!
Back in September and again in early November the EPA was in Clear Creek conducting air sampling. The first date was the day between the Coalinga and Hollister public meetings. I went down to observe and keep them honest. I wrote about it in the blog on September 24th. Now I see as an attachment to the letter some air sampling statistics from the first sampling day. All of the riders show readings much higher than the BLM has ever sampled and trail rider #2 shows a very high reading. Remember, this is the guy who crashed, plugged up his samplers and could not finish the entire loop. No mention of that is made in the letter.
The EPA does raise some valid points about camping areas and a wash rack. These, of course, were addressed in previous planning documents. While the BLM has built a staging area outside the hazardous asbestos area, the EPA wants no camping inside Clear Creek and has chastised the BLM for putting in new bathrooms at the staging areas. The 1986 plan called for the development of a wash rack where visitors could clean their vehicles but the BLM has failed to act on their own recommendation.
I have not completely read through this document and will add additional comments as I digest it more. Needless to say, the EPA is not our friend and I do not trust their work. They have a narrow-minded view of this entire asbestos issue, and believe that that one fiber will kill you!
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December 8, 2004
Weekend Report
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Again, I would like to thank all of the riders who have helped with the fencing project last Saturday. There is an update on the workday here. For the second time, the Los Altos Dirt Bike members showed up in force to help with the work. We had a number of Timekeepers also join the fun for a second time along with some new faces including John Alafouzos, Les Brekke, David Thorp, Ben Ellis and Mike Zesiger.
I was out at the gate early on Saturday morning and greeted a couple dozen riders before I left to join the work party at Oak Flat. I was somewhat shocked when I arrived at Oak Flat to find it so empty. In fact, I did not see any group that appeared to have spent Friday night at Oak Flat. As we gathered the work party together I did notice a number of riders drive into Oak Flat between 9:00 and 9:30AM. Still, when the work party was over and David and I were riding back to Oak Flat at about 4:00 PM I was again amazed at how few people there were in the staging areas. The biggest group was at Staging One with several large motorhomes. This just goes to reinforce my conviction that the BLM has perpetrated a Big Lie about how many people actually use Clear Creek and now the environmentalist are using this Big Lie against us. See my comments about usage on the editorial Figures.
I took Sunday off to rest the back and Matt helped with greeting duty. When I talked to him today he told me that he was at the entrance from 7:30 to about 9:15 and greet only ONE vehicle going into Clear Creek and five that were leaving. I guess Jim VandersWrong, our local TV weatherman, was again as the Saturday night rain stayed off-shore and hit Southern CA on Sunday. According to Matt, it was a beautiful day at the creek.
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December 7, 2004
Writer's Block
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To those who have missed the blog because the link was temporarily off of the Salinas Rambler's Clear Creek page or didn't work properly, you haven't missed a whole lot as you can see below. I think I am suffering from writer's block. Not sure why but I suspect that it has to do with my back problem that has taken me out of my normal routine.
I get a lot of ideas when I go walking and lately this is something that has been very painful to do. I kind of knew when I started this that there would come a time when I would be challenged to come up with something meaningful or humorous to write. So, if things are a little sketch for a while, bear with me as I work through this period. Hopefully Carl can continue to supply "clean" jokes that I can use to supplement my dribble.
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December 2, 2004
Sticker Orders
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To everyone who sent an order to the Salinas Ramblers for a Save Clear Creek bumper sticker, we will be putting the orders together tomorrow evening at our weekly club meeting and getting them out in the mail on Friday. If you don't have a sticker and want one (or more) send a check to the Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club. $6 for the first sticker and then $5 for each additional sticker. All proceeds go to the legal defense fund. Mail checks to: SRMC, PO Box 541, Salinas, CA 93902-0541.
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December 1, 2004
Thumpertalk Posting on Clear Creek
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One of the places I post information about Clear Creek is on Thumpertalk Forums. Yesterday I saw a post in the Southwest Where, When and Who To Ride With Forum that points to the need to better educate riders as to appropriate behavior when riding at Clear Creek. Thanks to CAM2R for his rant and help with the fence building last month. Thanks also to Plant Guy for his insightful comments on page 2.
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