Manatoc & Lake Hope Weekends (LH date change!)


Cooler temps mean riding is even more fun. Join CAMBA the 1st and last weekend  September at the Manatoc Race and Fall Campout events respectively.   331 Promotions is putting on the Manatoc Race Labor Day weekend and CAMBA just like to see you there to ride and help staff our tent on Sat.  September 1.   See 331′s website for a full schedule of events and times.
CAMBA has reserved a group campsite ( #114) at Lake Hope S.P. for the nights of Sept 28th & 29th. Why go to Lake Hope? Well, it’s like the trails at Royalview times 3 and a great wooded campsite all to ourselves. More details as the date approaches.

Please note the Lake Hope date change from the first posting of this article!

CAMBA Monthly Meeting, July 23rd @ 6:30pm

CAMBA will be meeting to discuss the transition of our organization into the IMBA Chapter program. CAMBA leadership views this change as a positive direction for our club as we will be tied more closely into the larger effort to build trails with a national organization. Over the past few months, we’ve also had the opportunity to interact with Andy Williamson(local IMBA director) who has made himself available for meetings and discussions concerning the parks mtb trail activities. His input and presence has been making an impact and becoming a chapter will solidify the relationship through our membership support.

This is a big step and the meeting is your opportunity to have your voice heard and learn more of the details. Of course, as we move through this transition, CAMBA leadership will be communicating details with our membership.  The meeting location is:

Location:5755 Granger Road
Independence, Ohio

Please send me an email if you have any questions at president@camba.us.

CAMBA Group Rides, Part 2

CAMBA leadership is committed to making our group rides a successful method of promoting and expanding our membership of the club. Integral to this goal is to conduct group rides that appeal to our broad base of membership which includes the beginner up to the advanced rider.Our weekly group rides will be arranged according to the following schedule of times and rider ability:

 

Monday – West Branch 6pm = intermediate to advanced riders, meet at the MTB parking lot
Tuesday – Royalview 6:30pm = beginner only, meet at parking lot at end of Royalview Lane
Wednesday – Reagan 6:30pm = beginner to intermediate, meet at parking lot next to pavilion and bathroom

 

It’s important to stress our group rides will be conducted by ride leaders in a safe and organized manner, especially at the new Royalview trail which will be monitored closely by park managers. Although everyone is welcome, the Royalview rides are mainly for BEGINNERS who want an easy-paced and friendly ride.  The group moves only as fast as the slowest rider, and no one is ever dropped.

 

Please note that I’ve not received many inquiries from those who are interested in leading rides. CAMBA boasts of having over 200 members and I had hoped my Inbox would be overflowing with those seeking a chance to contribute. It still not too late to get involved!

CAMBA Group Rides

Yes, CAMBA is starting the group rides for this riding season. After a slow start, we’ve decided to expand our weekly ride locations to our top three trails in the area, West Branch, Medina Reagan Park and Royalview in Strongsville. The day and starting time for each location are as follows:

Monday – West Branch at 6pm

Tuesday – Royalview at 6:30pm

Wednesday  – Reagan Park at 6:30pm

Group rides for Medina begin June 13th and will be attended by a designated group ride  leader. Please make sure you take the time to meet them and know who they are! Group rides at West Branch and Royalview will begin next week. We hope to see you there!

Speaking of group ride leaders, we need your help! Ride leaders are an important component of making our group rides a great social experience for all riders. If you’ve wanted to become involved in CAMBA but didn’t know how, this is your chance! Show your commitment to the club by volunteering to be a ride leader on one or more of our weekly rides. Our goal is to create a schedule of those members who are leading rides each week.

For those interested, please contact me at president@camba.us for more details.

Royalview Grand Opening – Reminder!

CAMBA members have waited a long time for this and the day is fast approaching…..so don’t forget!;  Cleveland Metroparks is opening  9+ miles of mountain bike/hike trail in Mill Stream Run Reservation in Strongsville.  Coupled with CMP and SCA efforts, CAMBA volunteers donated over 1,800 hours of labor to help complete this incredible trail! (all in less than 8 months??)

So Friday, June 15:  Cleveland Metroparks will officially open the Royalview Trails at 2 p.m. with a media event and short presentation.  CAMBA members are encouraged to attend and ride after the ceremony (weather & trail-condition permitting!!).

Then, Sunday June 17:  Join us for the public event celebrating the trail with group rides, beginner clinics, food and music.  11 a.m.- 5 p.m.

In case of foul trail conditions and/or bad weather, group rides will be cancelled until the trails dry out….but other events on Sunday will continue!
In the meantime, send an e-mail if you have any questions (trails ‘at’ camba.us).

Royalview Grand Opening!…..Sunday, June 17th

Mark your calendars……….barring catastrophic weather, the official and anxiously-awaited grand opening for Royalview is Sunday, June 17th.  Yes, yes……we know it’s Father’s Day….but what better way to celebrate the day than with ol’ dad (or Old Grandad?) on some SWEET new singletrack??!!!?  Cleveland Metroparks has some grand plans for the day, with many local shops showing up, food, beverages, group rides, beginner clinics……way big festival atmosphere that our MTB community needs around here!  Festivities officially kick off at 11AM, and run until 4PM……so plot your Father’s Day activities carefully.

Metroparks staff does need some volunteer help with setup and breakdown…..if you’d like to help, please send an e-mail to Nancy Desmond;  nd ‘at’ clevelandmetroparks.com.  In the meantime, adjust your calendar so you don’t miss out, and come help us celebrate 10 new miles of primo NEW singletrack in the Mill Stream Run Reservation!  This project is a wonderful celebration of collaborative efforts between Cleveland Metroparks, Student Conservation Association, and CAMBA!  BIG HUGE thanks to everyone (especially volunteers) who helped this project meet the June 17th opening date!

If you plan to ride, please be prepared for some parking challenges;  best bet is to park along the Parkway (closer to 82 or 130th), and just ride in.  If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an e-mail (trails ‘at’ camba.us).

CAMBA Monthly Meeting, April 2nd, 6:30pm

Our next monthly meeting is on the schedule for this coming Monday. Some of the items we will discuss are the IMBA chapter followup, trail building updates and  projects we are working on this year.

The meeting will be held in the basement of an office building in Independence. The address is:

Date: April 2nd
Time: 6:30pm
Location:5755 Granger Road
Independence, Ohio

Please send me an email if you have any questions at president@camba.us.

CAMBA Spring Campout!

For those that like to plan ahead the spring campout is set for Friday June 1, 2012 through Sunday June 3, 2012 at Blue Knob State Park in Pennsylvania. More details closer to the date! (click pic for better view!)

 

CAMBA Christmas Party

Please join CAMBA on Thursday, December 15th at 7PM for its annual Christmas party. This year the festivities will be held at the Market Garden Brewery in Ohio City. We have reserved the area by the back bar for all of us to share memories of fun rides and flowing trails with some good food and beer. We will also have drawings for some prizes courtesy of 331 Racing, Bistro on Main restaurant, Edge Outdoors, Eddys Bike Shop, and RaysMTB. So come join us to celebrate a good year of riding and to toast to dry trails for next year. You can find us at Market Garden Brewery right next door to the West Side Market in Ohio City. For more info, menu, beer selection, directions and address go to http://marketgardenbrewery.com/

What: CAMBA christmas party

When: Thursday, December 15th @ 7PM

Where: Market Garden Brewery

Who: Anyone who likes to ride their bike on dirt trails

CAMBA Board of Directors Meeting

The CAMBA board of directors (Tom Zopatti, Mike Ryba, Rick DeShields, Brett Zink, and Mike Farley) will be meeting on Tuesday, November 1st at 6:00PM at Aladdin’s in Independence.  The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the appointment of CAMBA’s next president.  CAMBA member Greg Spickard has expressed interested in taking on this position and the board will be discussing this with Greg at this meeting.  This meeting is open to the public, but OMBA bylaws dictate that only the chapter board of directors (who are elected by the membership) can vote for the President.