This is all coming from the top of my head since I’m posting from the office (day three, internet down at home). We started work at Banner on Saturday again. Thanks to all who showed up to sweat, get eatin’ by bugs and build some really cool singletrack:
Ryan
Sam
Steve
Pete
Randle
Al
A very small, but dedicated group indeed. Work continues at Banner August 16 and IMBCS #4 will be going down on September 7, granted we get more help. Singletrack does not build itself and we’re going to need a lot more bodies at Banner in August to get this trail tuned up for the race. We’ve only had two “full-time” racers come down and earn free entry into the race (thanks Kent & Steve). We’d like to give free entry to all the racers, but that means you have to show up for a work day. Banner is going to be one helluva great trail, but we’ve gotta get some help to finish ‘er up.

And if you can’t make it on a Saturday there’s few other things you can do for us. There is always corridor to be cleared. It seems no matter how much of the bush we beat back, it keeps on fighting it’s way back. We did put down some weed killer on Saturday which should help immensely, but if you need to work out a little aggression during the week go for a walk with your weed trimmer or machete or whatever and clear out some corridor. If you’d rather ride your bike give us a holler. We’ll get you a map of the trail so you can orient yourself and you can go for a ride. 95% of the trail is rideable and it’s a hoot. Go burn in some tread, that way the weeds have nowhere to grow! Just don’t forget your bug spray.

CITA is buying a trailer (we hope). Greg at Rasmussen Bike Shop is selling one of his trailers for us to store our tools and mower in, but we’ve got to raise some money. We’re planning a fundraiser that should be a lot of fun with food, beer and a video contest. If you’ve got videos from a local trail now’s your chance Spielberg! Cut and paste, add some music and bring it for us to watch on the big screen. We’ll have some prizes for the top videos, plus we’ll be watching others including the new Collective film, Seasons. If you want to donate money to the cause come to the party, or click the link to the right for an easy Paypal transaction. We’re also kicking the idea around of putting sponsors on the trailer. If you’re interested in sponsoring drop an email to us. More info on the party to come shortly.

Planning continues for our Whiterock Weekend, September 13-14. Keep this date free if you want to hang out with mountain bikers, ride over 20 miles of singletrack and get down at the barn dance.

Squirrel took a walk through Denmans Sunday morning. Here are a few pics. Still looks a bit soggy. Hopefully things dry up in time for some nice, cool, Fall trail work days. Until then, you can ride Hillside, which is in great shape, and Rollercoaster (although she needs some work too).

Everyone have fun on RAGBRAI!

The Summerset Shootout USA Cycling Iowa Mountain Bike State Championship, September 7 at the Banner Lakes at Summerset State Park… I could really go on for days with that. Anyway, come test your skills and prove your mettle at the most technical trail in Central Iowa and earn a State Championship! And don’t forget, one day of trail work earns you free registration for the race.

As mentioned below we are in the planning stages of a “member appreciation” weekend at Whiterock Conservancy. Keep your calendar clear for the weekend of September 13-15 (yes, we know the Cyclones are going to beat the Hawks that weekend and yes, we know the Iowa Games race is in Ames too, but this is going to be soooo much more fun!). More details to follow…

Pssst, Whiterock has twenty miles of singletrack.

*** UPDATED ***
Added another work date to the calendar, August 16th at Banner.

We were oh so firkin’ close to having this trail done and railin’! Well, Mother Nature bitch-slapped us and we got a lot of clean up to do before September’s race. We’ll get things started up again Saturday, July 19 at 8.00am. Tasks at hand will be general clean-up, bridge replacement (she’s not gone too far), weed-killin’ and ridin’ that thing to burn the tread in. As always, bring some gloves, eyewear and wear some comfortable footwear. This is the push towards race day, so come do your part. I think we’ve still got some prizes to give away and one day of trail work earns you free entry into the Summerset Shootout on September 7.

Don’t forget your bike!

Seven Oaks trail reconstruction will begin Sunday July 13th at 9am. We’ll start off in the lodge parking lot building two new bridges. Please lend a hand if can, were gonna need your help. All the info
can be found at sevenoaksmtb.com
Kyle Sedore

As announced earlier today, the second Friday of July is upon us and trail rejuvenation continues at Center. Andy has kindly lent us his aid (in the form of a truck) to transport a bridge from Rasmussen Bike Shop to Rollercoaster for installation. If enough people show we can do that and Rollercoaster will be officially un-officially re-opened. So, if you’re planning on coming out, please email me at justin.k.bruce@gmail.com to confirm, so we can plan accordingly. If I don’t hear from enough of you, we’re off to Hillside to work on the re-route just following Switchback (where the trail inconveniently is falling into the creek). We can also work on a little more reclamation. See you all on Friday!

The water is receding and as it does we’ve found ourselves with a lot of work to do. I’ll be adding some dates to the calendar tonight. Here’s a quick rundown about what to look forward to as we make our push into the Summer riding season:

Friday, July 11 - work continues at Center as Squirrel and the gang head out to start work on Rollercoaster, we’ll need all hands on deck as we’ve got a 16-foot long bridge to install and, if you haven’t been down the trail already, the creek crossing needs a lot of work, we’ll see you after work on Friday

Saturday, July 19 - work starts at Banner again, we’ll have more information after we make a scouting trip down to the park to see how things look, this is the push towards IMBCS #4, more dates for Banner will be scheduled soon

Sunday, September 7 - IMBCS #4, the Summerset Shootout USA Cycling Iowa Mountain Bike State Championship

Saturday & Sunday, September 13-14 - planning has begun on our Member Appreciation at Whiterock Conservancy in Coon Rapids, boasting over 20 miles of singletrack, Whiterock is the perfect place to celebrate all the hard work our volunteers have put in this year, and they could be no more deserving than this year

Stay tuned for more information on work dates and trail updates!

More than sixty descended on Center Trails in Des Moines to help rebuild, reclaim and re-bridge Hillside. The City and United Way stepped up in a big way providing 40 volunteers, local high school students, to help with all the work. On tap was some bridge construction and installation, reclamation and a reroute of a sketchy fall-line trail in the interior. Thanks so much to all the volunteers for coming out and giving us a hand. The trail is looking great, it’s really dialed in and everyone should go out and ride Hillside this weekend. Stay tuned for trail updates. Rollercoaster remains unofficially closed. We have one bridge built for Coaster right now, but it will take another turnout like today to be able to just open that trail, let alone do some much-needed improvements to make the trail more sustainable.

monthly meeting: this Monday, June 30, we’ll be meeting at Irina’s in West Des Moines at 6.00pm to talk about Rollercoaster, Banner, racing and much more. Irina’s is right off the trail at 50th and E. P. True. Please join us.

Except for the sound of rushing water, it’s been pretty quiet around here lately. With rain and flood waters reaching record levels your beloved Center Trails have taken quite a beating, exposing trouble-spots on both Rollercoaster and Hillside that we just haven’t had the time or manpower to tackle. Now’s our chance. The City has stepped up in a big way gifting us material to construct new bridges and perhaps as many as forty(!) United Way volunteers. Work will begin this Saturday evening (when Squirrel is done at the Hy Vee Tri). We’ll be out scouting new lines and measuring for new bridges for the mother of all trail work days next Saturday, June 28 from 9.00am to 1.00pm. Come for all four hours, or come when you can make it. Meet us at the Ashworth Pool parking lot to get this party started. For all you trail-users out there that love Center, but haven’t put in the time you’ve wanted to in the past, please, come out on the 28th and give us a hand. The City is proving to us how important trails are to them, let’s do the same!

What to bring: although we have a lot of tools, we could still use some help. If you’ve got a generator that will be handy in bridge construction, along with circular saws and drills. For dirt work, we’ve got Pulaskis and McLeods, but what might also be handy is a few shovels and heavy steel rakes. We may be able to use a wheelbarrow as well. If you’ve got any of these items and you’re bringing them with you, please let me know at justin.k.bruce@gmail.com. Also, CITA encourages everyone to stay safe. Wear some sturdy footwear and gloves, and if you’re going to be working near power tools, please bring some safety glasses. Last, but certainly not least, bring the insect repellent. The mosquitoes are thick!

CITA thanks everyone in advance for their dedication to Center. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact any of us. Happy Trails!

Banner update: It’s wet. A lot of trail was and may still be underwater. Not only that, but what wasn’t under water was in desperate need of some Ortho and the DR. Sadly, we may have lost a lot of corridor over the last couple weeks. The Summerset Shootout, like a lot of IMBCS races this year, has been postponed. We’ll ramp things up on September 27 down at Banner. But before that, there’s a lot of work to be done. We’ll keep you posted on work dates.

The Summerset Shootout (IMBCS #4) has been rescheduled to Sept. 7, 2008.

A monumental amount of trailwork will be required to re-open area singletrack, including Center and Summerset trails systems.

Stay tuned for how you can contribute to the rebuilding process.