In this issue:

1. Heavy snows wreck havoc on the trails in the Santa Ana’s

2. President Bush lifts mountain bike restrictions in National Parks

1. HEAVY SNOWS WRECK HAVOC ON THE TRAIL IN THE SANTA ANA’S

The snows we had during the storm two weeks ago broke and pushed trees, broken branches and brush from the forest canopy down on trails, which was blocking them making them virtually impassable. Most of the damage was done at the higher elevations and all of the trails above about 3,000 feet were affected. I have never seen this amount of damage done by snows, virtually blocking all the upper reaches of the trails with the forest canopy.

We had a crew go up and they cleared Joplin on Friday removing over 100 areas of fallen canopy. We went up on Holy Jim on Sunday and today and that trail is completely cleared. We also cleared Trabuco from the shale to the Christmas tree and on Wednesday a crew is going up to finish it. The club will be working in January doing minor preventative brushing in the areas were the canopy did not fall and also removing what ever canopy fell on the West Horse Thief Trail.

The following trail work events we will be removing the fallen canopy from the Bell Ridge Trail. We hope to get all the brushing done in the Trabuco Canyon area by the second week in January so we can focus on what earthwork needs to be done in this area. We’ve been focusing on removing/cutting back the poison oak on all the trails in the Trabuco area over the last three years and will continuing that effort next year.

We had the same thing happen the last time it snowed substantially and the snow levels dropped as far as they did. This posting shows the brush down on Holy Jim before it was removed and is a good example of what the other trail suffered:

http://www.socaltrailriders.org/forum/trail-talk/28473-miss-kitty-gets-bushwhacked-holy-jim.html#post435968

Thanks to all the club members who on such short notice did a tremendous amount of brushing over the last 5 days.

2. PRESIDENT BUSH LIFTS MOUNTAIN BIKE RESTRICTIONS IN NATIONAL PARKS

On Thursday, Assistant Interior Secretary Lyle Laverty ordered the National Park Service to ease existing mountain biking restrictions, possibly opening nearly eight million acres of recommended or proposed wilderness lands in approximately 30 parks to mountain biking.

For the whole story and to comment go to:

http://redgreenandblue.org/2008/12/20/bush-hearts-mountain-biking-lifts-restrictions-in-national-parks/

Shimano is the Major Component Sponsor of the Warrior’s Society

Rock N Road Bike Shops, Sho-Air Racing, El Pollo Loco and Switchback Cyclery are Major Sponsors of the Warrior’s Society

Clif Bar is the Official Energy Bar and Gel of the Warrior’s Society

The Warrior’s Society is a Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) affiliated organization

The Warrior’s Society is a Tax Exempt Organization under 501 (c) 4 of the IRS Code

“Far better it is to dare mighty dreams, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take the ranks with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat!”

Theodore Roosevelt

www.warriorssociety.org

In this issue:

1. 2009 Toad Festival Registration now opened

2. “The Traverse” event update

3. Switchback Cyclery to close – Warrior’s Society Pre-event packet pick-up location changed

1. TOAD FESTIVAL REGISTRATION NOW OPENED

Registration for the Toad Festival to benefit the Wounded Warrior Program at Camp Pendleton opened last night, December 1st 2008, at 12:01 a.m.

The Wounded Warrior Program works raise awareness and enlist the public’s aid for the needs of severely injured service men and women, helps severely injured service members aid and assist each other, and provides unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of severely injured service members.

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/

Short Ride: 10 miles, 500 feet of climbing. This ride is a great beginners and kids ride through the beautiful tree-covered trails of O’Neil Park.

Long Ride: 27.5 +- miles, 5,000 +- of elevation gain

1. Start at O’Neill Park Picnic area and ride to Holy Jim Trail Head – a small amount of pavement with 5 miles of fire road.
2. Holy Jim Trail Head to Main Divide – 6 miles of steep single track climbing with multiple stream crossings.
3. Holy Jim Trail to Trabuco Canyon Trail – 6 miles of rutted fire road with steep climbs and descents.
4. Trabuco Canyon Trail to Holy Jim Parking area – 5 miles of down hill, technical single track with stream crossings with 1/2 of a mile of fire road
5. Holy Jim Parking area to Picnic area – 5 miles of fire road and a small amount of pavement.

The Long Ride is not for beginning or novice riders. Participants will be responsible to carry all food and water needed to complete the ride. There will be no sag support (except in case of total breakdown or emergency). Support personnel will be stationed at 5 rest stops along the course.

Riders in the fun rides will compete in games of chance and skill (darts, horseshoes, helmet toss and Blackjack cards). Those with the highest combined score will win prizes. You must make the checkpoints in a reasonable time or you will not be allowed to continue.

PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED TO:
175 for the long fun ride
No limit for the short fun ride

LONG FUN RIDE ($55)

SHORT FUN RIDE
Adults ($55)
Kids 13 and under ($25)

To register go to the bottom of the event web page at:

http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/toad_festival_general_info.html

2. “THE TRAVERSE” EVENT UPDATE

“The Traverse” is a race to benefit the Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund:

http://freedomalliance.org/fa/

The Freedom Alliance Scholarship Fund honors the bravery and dedication exhibited by Americans in our Armed Forces who have sacrificed life or limb defending our country by providing educational scholarships to their children.

We expect this event to sell out (we have 62 spots left in the event) so if you are serious about participating register quickly. We will have no mail in registration and you can find the links to register on the event web page at:

http://www.warriorssociety.org/events/traverse_general_info.html

Event Date: May 9th, 2009
Event Start: 7:00 AM
40+/- miles, 8,000+/- feet elevation gain

Starting Location: Black Star Canyon Road Finish Location: Trabuco Creek Road and Trabuco Canyon Road Post-event staging area: O’Neill Regional Park

There will be no same day registration.

The race will have Intermediate, Expert and Pro classes with the Pro class men and women racing for finishing cash. There must be a minimum of 5 participants in each age group or the age group will be combined with another age group.

PARTICIPATION IS LIMITED TO 175

PRO OPEN ($95)

EXPERT ($70)
18 to 30
31 to 45
46 to 59
60 +

INTERMEDIATE ($70)
18 to 30
31 to 45
46 to 59
60 +

The event fee includes awards for top finishers, finishing ribbon for all participants, t-shirt and food catered by El Pollo Loco.

3. SWITCHBACK CYCLERY TO CLOSE – WARRIOR’S SOCIETY PRE-EVENT PACKET PICKUP LOCATION HAS CHANGED

It’s with a heavy heart and a tear in my eye that I need to tell you all that Switchback Cyclery is going to close its’ doors at the end of the year.

We have so enjoyed being a part of the bike community and all the wonderful people involved it in, but the economy is getting the best of us and we need to move on to other adventures to support our family.

So with that said….OUR ENTIRE SHOP IS ON SALE UNTIL THERE IS NOTHING LEFT TO SELL !!!!

Tim and I will always continue to work closely with the Warrior’s Society and continue to put on fabulous events with them. Only difference is now you will be picking up your Warrior’s Society event packets for the events at Rock N Road Cyclery (Irvine Location 6282 Irvine Blvd., Irvine, CA 92620). The days of our pre-event packet pickup will be sent out in an update before our events.

On the bright side: Now you will see us out on the trails and not stuck at the shop!

Thank You to everyone who has made the last 10 years of business so great! We have made some great friends along the way!

See you on the trails!!!

Tim and Sherry Panttaja

(Editors note: Tim and Sherry have been a great asset to the mountain bike community – not only by their support of the Warrior’s Society trail work and events – but by their active involvement in issues related to the trails in Santiago Oaks. They are both looking forward to continuing this involvement and we are all thankful for that)

Shimano is the Major Component Sponsor of the Warrior’s Society

Rock N Road Bike Shops, Sho-Air Racing, El Pollo Loco and Switchback Cyclery are Major Sponsors of the Warrior’s Society

Clif Bar is the Official Energy Bar and Gel of the Warrior’s Society

The Warrior’s Society is a Blue Ribbon Coalition (BRC) affiliated organization

The Warrior’s Society is a Tax Exempt Organization under 501 (c) 4 of the IRS Code

“Far better it is to dare mighty dreams, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take the ranks with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in that gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat!”

Theodore Roosevelt

www.warriorssociety.org