Take a Peek at the New Buena!/No Ride Saturday

Post Land Exchange Buena: Wondering about what the new post-land exchange Buena Vista is going to look like? Well, it's time to unveil it. We finished up all of the trail layout that needed to be done, gathered the shape files, mapped it, and shared it with the USFS. This was one of the two tasks STBVF was given when we last met with them in August. And so, with no further adieu, here it is:

Existing trails are in bright red, and the proposed trails are in blue. Included are two new beginner loops, a connector from the second beginner loop up to Differential. In total, that constitutes about 3.5 miles by itself. We have a re-routed Chihuahua Pines Connector (about 8/10 of a mile). And we have a a re-route of lower Petrified to where trailhead #2 will be built, and then a run back up from trailhead #2 to the upper part of Uncle Tom's (1.6 miles). You'll note that this proposal includes making Murder Hornet and Bat Soup official as well which should please our downhill crowd. USFS says they want "progressive" stuff out there. Well, now they'll have some. Ignore the part of Petrified on this map still shown running into section 32. There were technical reasons I couldn't remove that from this map. But that's not all the good news, because . . .

STBVF Has Secured Funding for the Heritage Study: Yes, you read that right. Not only do we have a plan, we have the money to begin execution of the plan. We received an initial estimate late this summer from a firm by the name of Logan Simpson out of Tempe of about $17,000 to do the Heritage Study. The developer of the land exchange area is donating $10,000 toward this cause, while the City of Show Low has agreed to kick in the balance. Given that we have the funding commitments and a final trail design plan, STBVF is now seeking USFS approval to enter enter into a contract with Logan Simpson. Hopefully we can get the Heritage Study done over the winter and be ready to start marking our social trails as "official" come spring time and start on building a new trail or two. I already can't wait for spring because . . .

Winter is Coming . . . and no, not on Game of Thrones. Here in our neck of the woods. On Thursday. We are supposed to get 2-5 inches of snow Thursday/Thursday Night. And the low Friday night is supposed going to be in the upper teens or low twenties. So no ride is planned on Saturday morning. This storm is a signal that our regular Saturday morning rides should come to a close for the winter months. This isn't to say there will be no group rides over the winter. They will just be more "catch-as-catch can" in nature. When they occur they'll be announced here and on the Cyclemaniacs group on Strava. The Snowflake trails are great in the winter (so long as it isn't windy!) and I'm sure we'll visit them a few times as well as checking on the Buena when trail conditions allow (there are always a few windows of opportunity in the winter).