PA MTB Summit
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Lou
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« on: February 12, 2008, 12:19:51 PM »
This is from Frank up in STate College, PA. I am going and so are at least 10 other PMBA people. Come on up and enjoy a weekend of riding and having fun at a college town!!!!
"OK, OK, so it has been tried before, but now more than ever it seems important for mountain bikers in Pennsylvania to get organized.  There has been some chatter on PA forum at MTBR.com about this as well.  And being organized doesn't need to be a top heavy structure with no fun allowed.  What is probably needed is a means of communication and better coordination between clubs and land managers.
Why is this important? For one thing, the PGC is about to roll out their program for allowing mountain bikers back into State Game Lands. The draft proposals for this change would require a local club to "adopt" a game lands trail and agree to maintain the trail using recognized trail maintenance standards.   It is important that information on the various points of this can be shared, leading to more successes and more trails to ride.   
In addition to the PGC, State Parks are looking at expanding their bike access. Right now, trails in State Parks are closed unless posted open, making it much easier for a land manager to avoid appearing to be the bad guy for not allowing bikes. There is a push going on right now in Harrisburg to expand recreational opportunities, with bike facilities being pretty high on the list.
To this end, we here at the Nittany Mountain Bike Association, in conjunction with IMBA, have reserved a camp in the Rothrock State Forest here in Centre County for the weekend of May 9-11 for a "Pennsylvania Mountain Bike Summit."  The purpose of this is to meet in person and discuss our opportunities to work together in improving access throughout the state, and have some fun riding the awesome trails in Rothrock while we're at it.  The discussion will be facilitated by Ryan Schutz, IMBA's new grassroots advocacy consultant.
                The camp is reserved from Friday through Sunday. The plan is to have our "meeting of the minds" on Saturday evening, but plan to make a ride weekend of it. RSVP to frank@mtnittanywheelworks.com and please use "PA Summit" in the subject line. Questions can be addressed to either Frank or Kevin (mtbiker11@juno.com). 
Recap:
What: PA Mountain Bike Summit
Where: Rothrock State Forest,
When: May 9-11
Who: Anyone who wants to improve mountain biking in PA. Mulitple representatives from the same club is not a problem. The 4H camp can has room for 100 people camping, the meeting hall will hold about 50.
Why: Why not?
« Last Edit: February 12, 2008, 12:27:11 PM by Lou » Logged
Mmmmmmmm, post ride beers
Durb
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« Reply #1 on: February 12, 2008, 01:21:56 PM »
I'd be very interested in this.  I'm actually planning a late march or early april trip to roth rock if anyone wants to join.  The only problem with this summit is I graduate from med school may 17th in KC and may not be here  Angry.  Sounds fun though, I'll try to make it work.
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Lou
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« Reply #2 on: April 03, 2008, 07:59:53 AM »
Here is the latest info:
PA Mountain Bike Summit info
Where: The summit will be held at the 4-H camp adjacent to Penn-Roosevelt State Park (http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/stateparks/parks/pennroosevelt.aspx). Facilities at the camp include bathrooms, a shower, bunk houses and a main building. I would recommend camping as the buildings are best described as rustic. There is a large field with more than enough room to fit 50-plus tents. If by some chance we are larger than that or you would like a little distance from the group, there are camp spaces available about 200 yards away in Penn-Roosevelt SP. Those would need to be reserved through the State Park system, but in May it is doubtful that the park will be full.
How to get there: Penn-Roosevelt is located on Crowfield Rd within Rothrock State Forest. The most direct route is to take 322 East from State College or 322 West from Harrisburg until you reach the seven mountains area. Crowfield Rd is located at the base of the seven mountains on the State College side where 322 changes from four lanes to two.  Penn-Roosevelt is located 5 miles down Crowfield Rd. As you enter the park, the 4-H Camp is located on the right hand side.
 
Schedule of events –
The 4-H Camp is open Friday evening for those who want to get there early. There will be some folks from NMBA out camping on Friday evening; you might want to try to convince them to night ride!
Saturday- Rides - will begin to get grouped together at 11am. It is Spring Gobbler season, so we are starting the ride a little later. Hunters are done by noon, so this should give them sometime before we start hoopin' and hollerin'. The plan is to have 3 distinct rides of intermediate and advanced levels, and a women's ride. The women's ride will be on intermediate to advanced level trails, just no x chromosomes along to spoil the fun. One of the other rides will head towards Tussey Mountain while the rest will remain primarily in the Cooper's Gap area. The plan is to have a ride towards Tussey both Saturday and Sunday for those who want some variety. If you haven't ridden in Rothrock State Forest, Tussey tends to have more big ups and downs and rocks, while Cooper's Gap has a better trail to road ratio and all about flow. For those who prefer self-guided rides, the Nittanymba.org website has maps of theses areas available for download.
We are working on having post ride food and refreshments donated.
 Saturday – Meeting - will start at 4pm. Ryan Shutz from IMBA will give a presentation lasting about 45 minutes, Frank Maguire will give a brief overview of what lays ahead for us on the state level.  We will then have a discussion moderated by Ryan to try and address the issues and how best to move forward. The meeting will last about 2 and half hours.
Saturday -Post Meeting – we are open to suggestions. There is a rather large fire pit available, or any number of hijinx could be engaged in. 
Sunday – Rides - will start at 9am. Again, the rides will follow the format of Saturday. We hope to have the rides all wrapped up by 1pm.
Post ride BBQ to follow, please bring something to contribute.
 

Mark your calendars!!!!!
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