Bike Decorah

February 2010 Meeting Minutes

 

Iowa Bike Summit

• Deke, Jesse, Kirk and Brad recently attended the Summit held in Des Moines Jan. 29^th and Jan. 30^th
• Deke and Brad presented during a session on Urban Dirt
  • Brads newest mapping of the area off-road trails a hit!!!!
  • Overlying theme- There is money in grants out there, we need to come up with ideas on how we can use money (Trailhead, Equipment Trailer, Equipment, etc)

 

Time Trials

• 2 months away
• Course Design
  • Deke presented a route- Start at Glory Hole and End on River Trail. Possible crossing of trails in Death Valley. Provides for start and finish to be within 100 ft. of each other. (
    Preliminary Route
    )
• IMBCS Points Series
  • Time Trials are on the schedule
  • Focus on getting categories set up in computer system to allow for series points to be announced at awards ceremony

Discussion on registration gifts

• T-Shirts as in the past
• Goodie bags with Sponsors on them, Socks, Energy Gels, etc.

Sponsor Board

• Discussed the possibility of having a sponsor board at the finish line to recognize all sponsors also a board that results could be posted to at the awards ceremony

 

Website Switch

• The website that was formally run on Yahoo is now going to be run through Go Daddy.
• Feedback on how the site is being transitioned can be directed to Jesse.
• Discussed a need to check email list, making sure everyone is getting emails that are being sent to group
• Pictures- if anyone has pictures to be included in the website update and other publications that are promoting the single-track of Decorah.

 

Summer Sizzler

• Discussion on weather or not this race is going to be taken on or abandoned.
• Trevor interested in taking charge of race.
• Discussion tabled till next months meeting

 

2010 DHPT Goals

• Trail Work
  • Palisades reroute top of Smebby’s
  • Additional trail connecting Lower Dead Pet to Middle Palisade switchbacks
  • Continued work on Mother’s Day shoring

Kiosks

• Better usage of kiosks to include sponsor recognition, upcoming events calendar, trail recognition.

Equipment Purchases

• Discussion on any equipment purchases that may need to be made this coming year (nippers, blowers, trimmers, etc.)

 

Agenda Next Month (March 2010)

• Adopt a Trail- Revision
• Time Trial Volunteers and Duties
• Palisade Trail Building Projects
• Trail Tool Purchases- What do we need??
• Summer Sizzler?????

 

Novmember 2009 Meeting Mintues

At the November meeting we identified all the locations that will be included in the 2010

 

Kiosk Maps.  The kiosks will also be receiving names to help identify their locations in the Park System.  We will be selling advertisements on the maps this year to help cover the costs of printing them.  If you know of a business that would be interested in an advertisement, please let me know.

The trail signs are in and some of them are assembled.  They will be installed sometime in the next few weeks.  Contact Deke if you would like to help.

We will be doing some more work with GPS to implement our trail systems into Google Earth, look forward to that.

There will be a group ride going to Yellow River Forest this Sunday, Nov. 8th.  Contact Deke if you are interested in going along.

The dates are set for the 2010 DHPT Events.

Time Trials: April 25
Dirt Burger: June 18-19-20
Summer Sizzler: August 14
Night Shift: October 30

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Jes

• www.bikedecorah.com

• www.bikedecorah.blogspot.com

Mobile: 563-419-1548

 

Meeting Minutes DHPT August 4th 2009

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Summer Sizzler –

We got behind the 8 ball on this one. The problem is that even though we have a large number of mtn bike riders in Decorah and a lot of names on the e-mail list, we have few active contributors. The support necessary to promote this event never surfaced. That being said, we decided to have the race anyway but in a much less formal manner than last year.

• Race starts at 12:00 Noon at the Van Peenen Fire Pit
• Registration 11:30 – 12:00 Noon Same Place
• Free Will entry fee
• 2 or 3 Laps
• Cook Out to Follow – Bring Food and Beverages

 

Bandit Trail work –

There has been some work don to the River Trail, Dust Bowl, and Little Big Horn lately that was not approved by the group. While we appreciate help and need as much as we can get, unapproved trail work is a problem because:

1. All of our trails must be approved by Park & Rec. A plan for the existing trail system was presented and approved last year. We are allowed to build trails in some areas and not in others. We need to gain approval for anything additional.
2. Since we’ve been granted rights to build trails in the park system, anything that is built or done in the Parks is accredited to us – Good AND BAD.
3. Some of these trails take a lot of work to build sustainably. When a person comes and starts moving logs and stick, they could be tearing out shoring and stakes (as was the case with Dirty Harry on Dustbowl). Be sure you’re not doing more damage than good.
4. Some things like the log ride were taken down for insurance and accountability reasons and should not be re-built and left up there.

 

A possible solution is to post a To-Do list online (Blog) so that people who want to help can easily find out what needs to be done.

 

Maps –

The maps need to be re-done. The Trail Names are finalized and will be placed on the Kiosks. In Addition to Bike/Hike trails, we are going to show the Horse Trails on the Maps. The reason for this is while the trails are becoming better marked, the Maps will help indicate where the Horses can be and where they cannot be. There is roughly 7 miles of trails in the park system that can physically sustain Horses. We will identify these on the maps in hopes that they will not ride on and damage the nearly 10 miles that cannot physically sustain horse traffic. The Kiosks will also post the Rules, Fines, etc.

 

Signs –

O’Gara has secured $2000 for trail marker signs that will be installed throughout the park system. The markers are a high visibility and very durable fiberglass 2-sided post. They will have the trail name and the official Park & Rec logo. The initial estimated cost was around $2300. DHPT may need to find a way to come up with the remaining $300.

 

T-Shirts –

I have about 8 T-Shirts left that were ordered and never claimed. I will be dropping them off at Deke’s shop on Friday afternoon to sell – First Come First Serve. If you ordered one and still want it, contact me before then.

 

Other -

Grant –

Deneb and Sarge have found another grant that we can apply for worth $1000, we’ll be needing someone to write it and a decision on what to do with the money. Ideas are for the mobile tool trail tool trailer, push lawn mowers, event prmotions, and I’m sure there will be more to come.

 

RAGBRAI –

The City of Decorah will be putting in a bid to host RAGBRAI next year and has asked DHPT to sponsor their application. It was unanimously agreed in favor of support.

June Meeting Minutes

T-Shirts are ready.  Contact me if you have ordered one.

Dirt Burger Preparation and Schedule

Trail Maintenance:  We need our trails to be trimmed and ready to ride for the Dirt Burger.  Please adopta trail if you have not already.  If you have, please plan to trim it prior to June 19.  There will be a work day this Sunday, June 7 to fix the river trail and some other issues.  Meet at Oneota River Cycles at 11:00 AM.

1. Deke is working to update the Maps.  The maps in the Kiosk will need to be replaced before the event.
2. Friday: People will be coming into town ad setting up camp.  There will be a casual night ride some time around 9:00 PM
3. Saturday: There will be group trail rides at 10:00 and 2:00.  There will also be a Bucket ball game at 6:00, location to be determined.  The rest of the night there may be events, but nothing solid is going to be planned.
4. Sunday: Gravel ride to Bluffton around 11:00 AM.  Eat, Drink, Ride back and kick everyone out of town.
5. The City will be mowing the area where we camped for the Ballyhoo 2 years ago, just west of the Bruenning Bridge behind the dike.  Firepits are ok to have in the Dirt Burger campground.  There will be Porta Johns, sponsored by Surly Bikles.  We will be putting in Snow fence around the Community Garden and announcing/asking that everyone stay out of/away from that area.
6. Deke will be buildign a toolshed with a combo lock and let us know the combo.
7. Next Tuesday, Monthly Time Trials will be held in Dunning's Spring Park.  Meet at this year's Time Trial Exit at 6:30 PM

 

April Meeting Agenda

Thursday April 9, 7:30 PM T-Bock's

1. 2009 officers will be the same as last year.

1. President Jeff Friedhof
2. Vice President Doug Osborn
3. Secretary Jesse Reyerson
4. Treasurer Pete Blodgette

2. Time Trials: The Course has been drawn out and Saturday April 11th will be the work day. Gather at the Trail entrance for Boa and Wold's off of Ice Cave Road at 3:00 if you can help.
The course map will be available on the blog and the website this week. The most work will be restoring the east end of the river trail and a replacement for the exit from Boa/Wold's to Ice Cave Road has already been built. The remaining work will be nipping and raking.

3. Dirt Burger: June 19-20-21.
The Camping area will be the campground used for the Ballyhoo 2 years ago. If the area is wet like last year, we will move up to the Pines and Fire pit area in Van Peenen.
Friday night there will be a casual night ride around 9:30. Saturday will consist of 2 organized group rides. Saturday night there events and it is still undecided if there will be any official "party". Sunday will be a gravel ride to Bluffton leaving around 10:00 AM.

4. DHPT T-Shirts will be $15. I will be sending out more information this week.

5. The weekly Time Trials will start this coming Tuesday, April 14 starting at 6:15 from the Van Peenen fire pit.

6. Adopt a Trail
Again this year, please adopt a section of trail to maintain this summer. You can do a section in a group or by yourself, we just ask that you make sure that you find time to keep the weeds down and make sure the trail is ride-able. Jeff O'Gara will take care of any chainsaw work in the case that a tree falls in your trail, but weeds and leaves will be your responsibility. Please send me an e-mail with your preferred trail section.

Other than that, the trails are already in rockin' shape. Get out and enjoy them!

March Meeting Minutes

2009 Officers

• I will be forwarding out the policies set 2 years ago when we initially wrote up the officer policy to the group and we will be voting at the April DHPT meeting.
  

IMBA Des Moines

• Despite efforts by IMBA to try and accommodate the Decorah Mt. Bike Riders, the date will be staying the same as The Decorah Bike Festival this summer.
  

Maps

• Deke has printed off a new copy of the trail map which includes some new trails such as North 40, New Randy's, and has all the names listed from the December Trail meeting.  The only trail missing is Mother's Day because it was built last fall and has not been GPS'd yet.  We will be getting more information soon from a student who will be mapping the trails with GPS and he will be making that data available to the group this spring/summer.
  

T-Shirts

• The cost of the shirts will be around $15.  I will be sending out an e-mail asking for orders soon.  Profits from the shirts will go into the DHPT fund.
  

Beer Cans

• The last Can Run turned up 870 cans for $43.50
  

GPS for Gravels

• Deke is holding a contest for a Garmin GPS unit that will be given to the first person who can ride all of the gravel roads in Winneshiek county.  The first person to do it wins the GPS.  See Deke for details.
  

Grant

• We did not get the $4000 Grant that Sarge applied for despite his effort and timely proposal for the trailer to act as a mobile shed for trail clearing and building tools.  There are additional grants that we will be looking into.
  

Summer Ideas

• A proposal has been made to officially rename the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo to The Decorah Dirt Burger
• We are looking into putting a DHPT entry into the Nordic Fest Parade.  More to come later.
• Once the River Trail is thawed out, we will be installing the features that were built for last year's Eagle Scout project onto the trail.
  

 

February Meeting Minutes

Tuesday February 3rd DHPT Meeting at 7:30 PM in the back room of T-Bock's. 

• The can redemption program - has been doing well.  The last can redemption we took in 910 cans and came up with $87.50 for the DHPT Fund.  Fro those who don't know, you can donate cans and bottles to the group for recycling.  i'll send out an e-mail the week we are taking the recyclables in.  Take your cans and bottles down to Deke's shop and someone will take them into the redemption center.  The profits will go into the DHPT fund.
• Trail Names - have been decided on for all the trails in Pallisades, Ice Cave/Dunning's, and Van Peenen Park.  We will be working to get signs made and posted as soon as the weather permits.  Deke is also in the process of renewing the trail maps, which will include the new names.
• T-Shirts - for 2009 will include the DHPT logo.  We will get some made with the logo on the front and a list of events on the back.  The price of the shirts will cover the cost to make them and profits will go into the DHPT fund.
• Iowa Bike Summit - Deke and I attended the iowa Bike Summit last month where we learned that what we are doing with our trails and our group is far ahead of msot of the state.  Sov made the comment that we are probably way ahead of most of the country.  We can take pride in the work we do, trail building, events and races.
• Bike Festival - this summer we will be creating our own bike party to replace the big wheeled ballyhoo the weekend of 20 to 21.  We're not planning on having any vendors presenting or selling.  Rather, this should be a laid back event with a lot of riding and enjoying bikes and beverages.
• Eagle Scout project - This spring we will be helping in another Eagle Scout Project to clean up the trail sections in the Dustbowl and North 40 area.  There are some old appliances, bottles, car parts, etc. that we will be clearing out.  Sometime when the ice and snow have gone, I'll get the schedule figured out and forward to the group.
• Time Trials - The 19th annual Time Trials will be held April 26th.

 

December Meeting Minutes

The December meeting was held at Deke's place.  Food, drinks and jokes were shared and we actually got a little bit of business done as well.

Points of Discussion:

1. Park and Rec has expressed some concern about some of our projects in the Parks.  One of their concerns is attaching signs directly to trees.  They are very happy that we have numbered all of our trails because it can give Emergency Services a point of reference in the case of a rescue, but they ask that signage not be nailed, screwed, or bound to trees.Another issue is the amount of trails we have put into the system.  We will probably be holding off for a little while as there seems to be some confusion between the understanding of the Proposal made this spring between the Park and Rec Board and the DHPT group.  I'll let you know more when I know more.

2. The First Eagle Scout Project is nearly complete.  The structures are built and are currently being stored at Casper's Plumbing and Heating.  In the Spring,  these structures will be installed.

There is a second Eagle Scout who has approached the group and is looking to remove the old appliances and other garbage from the North 40, Dust Bowl trails in the Van Peenen park.  There will be more discussion about this project in the Spring.

3. We sat down and named all the trail sections so we can refer to them with Official names as well as the numbers.  When we get time and resources to place all the signs, it will be done.

November Meeting Minutes

The Eagle Scout Project -  The last work day to finish up the structures will be this coming Saturday, Nov. 15.  We need a few more 2x4's and 4x4's to finish up.  If you would like to donate lumber for this project, please bring it down to Oneota River Cycles.

We will be working on the Jersey project and will be bringing the plan to the December Meeting.

Due to the new trails we've been building over the last 18 Months, the trail maps will be redone this winter.

Park and Rec will be helping us get signage for all the trails in the Parks.  We will be working to get these signs up and P & R has asked that we do not place signs on trees.

Trail Work -

The top section of the new trail has been finished.  There will be another work day on Sunday, Nov. 16th to finish the lower section.

Other trail needs are a work around for the climb into the Dunning's/Ice Cave park.  Possibly a work around on New Randy's or Old Randy's.

Deke has started taking a collection of Cans and Bottles for recycling and the moeny collected will be donated to the DHPT Fund.  If you would like to donate cans and bottles, please bag them up and set them in the back of Deke's pickup behind Oneota River Cycles.

Sarge has been making progress on the Grant Application process.  The Arlen Falk Foundation grants up to $5K, and we are looking at applying for a trailer to keep trail materials, tools, etc. up in the prarie. 

Reminder: Monthly Time Trials will be Wednesday, I'll send out the start time this week.

October Meeting Minutes

From October 7th, 7:30 PM T-Bock's

1.  This coming Wednesday, October 15th at 6:00 p.m. the Eagle Scout guys are going to start working on features for the river trail.  They plan to assemble a few ramps and skinny's and store them at the Casper's Plumbing and Heating building.  Casper's is on Pole Line Road, near the bus barn, about a mile past Luther College but before hwy 52.  All the help we can get is very appreciated.

2.  This coming Saturday, October 18th is "Night of the Living Deb" - Cancer Benefit for Deb Paulson who recently was diagnosed and treated for Cancer.  There will be a bicycle poker ride for those who are interested in riding or being a dealer, as well as many other events though out the evening.  Please see Deke if you have any questions.

3.  Trail Work!  There are a lot of leaves down and we need everyone's help to get the course cleared for the Night Shift.  SUNDAY, OCTOBER 19th will be the rake day.  Plan to meet at Deke's shop at 11:00 a.m. to rake if you are available.

4.  The Night Shift will take place Saturday, October 25th.   The Course will be similar to that of the Summer Sizzler.  We are looking to do some new and fun things this year, maybe even a few surprises.  Last year's event drew a field of 50 racers. 

5.  We will be talking about finishing off the trail that we started in the Dunning's/Ice Cave park sometime this fall.  Hopefully we will be able to finish it off this November.

6.  Sarge has been meeting with the Winneshiek County Supervisors to get Bike Signs on local county roads.  They will be placed on th Bluffton and Middle Calmar Roads at first, and depending on the acceptance, they may be placed on more roads next year.  They will read "SHARE THE ROAD" with a picture of a bicycle.  It will be up to the group to let the council know we are excited and glad to have the signs up, and help promote bike awareness in Winneshiek County.

That's all I have for now.  There are a lot of chances to make an impact in the group this month.  Hopefully we'll get to see some new faces on the Eagle Scout project, the Trail Rake day, Night of the Living Deb, or working/riding the Night Shift.  Hope to see you there.

September Meeting Minutes

September 2, 7:30 PM  T-Bock's

This year's Night Shift Night Race is set for October 25.  The course will be one lap of the Summer Sizzler Course (Jamie's tree has been removed from the course). Details will be laid out at the October Meeting.

Sarge is moving forward with the grant proposal.  He has spoken to Decorah Park and Recreation to work out duties that would qualify for the Grant Money.

We are looking for new ways to fund our group.  As we accumulate more trails and equipment, we run into the issue of maintaining these trails and running the equipment.  It doesn't seem fair that a guy who volunteers to maintain a trail pay to fill up the DR trimmer or Weed Eater.  If you have any ideas, please send them to me or feel free to present them at the next meeting.

Alex Michels is working on an Eagle Scouts project.  He will be working with the group on the "Teacher Features" section of the River Trail this fall.  He is drawing up some plans, and will be bringing in some other Eagle Scouts to work with us.  We hope to get some media coverage (News Paper) and also expose a new user group to the trails.  Watch for more information on an upcoming Building Party.

In case you forgot, this area will be at the very west end of the river trail and instead of following along the river, we will be utilizing the area in between the existing trail and the Ice Cave Road.  We plan to build beginner "Features" in a new section of trail.  Features may include small teeter totters, ramps, log rides, burms, etc.  The plan is to make these features manageable but impressive.  Each Feature will most likely have a bypass as well.  Due to the weeds situation, we will most likely build the features off the trail and deliver them once the weeds have begun to die down.  Kent Klocke has agreed to donate $4,000 to $5,000 in recovered materials to build the features, and they will most likely require weather proofing.

The Luther X-Country team helped clear the river trail last week and I've heard lots of compliments from the Trail Group.  Thank Head Coaches Steve and Yarrow Pasche with a Beer or Margarita Pitcher if you see them out this month.

Marty brought up another grant that we may be eligible for from the Arlen Falk Foundation with a Deadline of November 8.  We decided to apply for another DR trimmer, weed eaters, and various hand tools.  We also talked about ways to store the trail clearing equipment in the Van Peenen Park System.  More discussion will need to follow on that topic. 

August DHPT Meeting Minutes

Aug. 5th, 2008 7:00 PM  T-Bock's

Summer Sizzler 

Everything is in place for the first Summer Sizzler.  Check the website for information.

• Thanks to Ron Moffat, Captain, Judy, Alice Bjergum and Deke for volunteering to run registration and timing.

• Thanks to Doug Osborn, O'gara and Shockey for volunteering to set up the course.Thanks to Marty for transporting the tents, coolers, and other park and rec stuff to the registration site.
• Thanks to Doug Osborn, O'Gara and Ben Shockey for setting up the course.
  

• If you would like to help set up, show up at Oneota River Cycles Saturday at 11:00 AM.
• We will discuss clean up following the race.
• The race will be 2 or 3 laps in Van Peenen park. 
  
• The results will also be posted on the website.
  

The Luther X-Country teams will be helping build and maintain trails again this year on August 28.  We will be doing some prep work Aug. 24 that will include sawing out trees.  If you have a chainsaw, please bring it. 

Dave Paquet (aka Sarge) has just moved back to the area and is an avid cyclist.  His wife works to get grants for Organizations in North East Iowa.  We are going to be trying to receive a grant to hire a full time summer trail manager to build and maintain our trails. 
 

July DHPT Meeting

July 1, 2008 7:00 PM T-Bock's 

Ballyhoo

• A long discussion was held about the events leading up to and following the weekend that was supposed to be the 2008 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo.  Unfortunately, it is very likely that the Ballyhoo will not be coming back to Decorah. 
• However, we are starting to look into hosting another type of Bike Festival that may not be specific to 29ers.  This will have to be discussed further.

Horses

• Recently there has been some major damage to the Dead Pet Extension from Horses riding on that trail.  Some trails are built with the intention of being used by Horses, some are not and can not withstand Horse Traffic.  That particular trail can not sustain Horse traffic and it is in need of repair before hikers and bikes can effectively use the trail.
• Decorah Park and Recreation has specified where Horses are and are not allowed.
  • Pallisades 
    • Allowed on the paved road
    • Allowed on the very top trail section
      • Not Allowed on Dead Pet or Lower Pallisades
      • Not Allowed on Middle Pallisades
      • Not Allowed on the Smeby's hill section

Dunning's and Ice Cave

• Allowed on the Louge/ Climb in from Bruening
• Allowed on Old Randy's
• Allowed on the Top Loop
• Allowed on Wold's
  • Not Allowed on New Randy's
  • Not Allowed on Boa
  • Not Allowed on Captain's

Van Peenen

• Allowed on Rocky Road
• Allowed anywhere in the Prarie
• Allowed on Horsey
  • Not Allowed on Little Big Horn
  • Not Allowed on Fred's
  • Not Allowed on Dust Bowl
  • Not Allowed on North 40
  • Not Allowed on the Switchbacks

The burden is on the Biking and Hiking Community to inform the Rider that the particular trail they are riding is not built to accomodate a horse.  If you are riding and you see a horse on one of the trails that they are not supposed to use, please talk to them in a calm, cool and non-confrontational tone. 

• Get the Rider's name
• Inform them that the trail is not built to withstand horse traffic
• Inform them that you must report their name to Park and Rec. which can fine them for Vandalism of the trail.

Important:  It is not your duty to enforce the rules.  Park and Rec. is the Police, you are just the Witness. 

Signage

• We will be pursuing metal signs to place the trail names on each section of trail.

Trout Run Trail Head

• There is still no discussion about the Trout Run Trail Head Building/Parking Lot.  When there is, we have been assured that DHPT will be brought into the conversation to best serve the bike community.

 

June DHPT Meeting

June 3, 2008 7:00 PM T-Bock's

 

Monthly Time Trial will be this coming Wednesday starting around 6:30 PM in Van Peenen.   

Items for discussion included preparing the trails for the ballyhoo.

The Ballyhoo Campground will be mowed the week of the event.

Porta Johns will be available again.  The afterwards event on Saturday night will be either in the Ballyhoo Campground or in the basement of T-Bock's.

Palisades will be the demo loop.  Last year vendors were having problems with people taking bikes and riding them the entire weekend, so demo bikes will be rode in Palisades and asked to be returned after the loop.

Night ride on Friday night if weather allows.

Ballyhoo Pre-Meeting, June 17, 2008

• Group Ride Leaders
  • Rides will leave at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM and 4 PM.  Locals will be asked to sing up to lead groups on these rides.  2 or 3 each time.
• Unfinished Trail Work
• Campground Events

We'll also be working to get signage on all the trails prior to the Ballyhoo.  The numbers are good but it has been the concensus that it is much easier to remember Trail Names rather than numbers.

May DHPT Meeting Minutes

May 6th, 7:00 PM  T-Bock's 

1. Time Trials Recap - In general we heard a lot of very positive comments.  Visitors were very happy with the condition of the trails following the week of weather we had.  Trans Iowa will not be taking place on the same weekend as the Decorah Time Trials next year.
2. Trail Projects - A county road grader destroyed the bridge leading into the new trail section in Pallisades where the Time Trials started.  There will be some work to do in Death Valley this summer where the very bottom of Fred's turns to head up to Randy's.  It's not a high priority right now because it's easy to ride around.
3. Trail Work Day - We are planning on a work day this Sunday, May 11th.  Yes it is Mother's day and we understand if you are unable to make it.  The project of the day will be walking a section between Boa and Wold's.  We will be attempting to create a way to ride parts of each and eliminate the near impossible climbs.
4. Adopt a Trail - This year we are going to try something new.  Deke will have a Large trail map in his shop.  You can go in, look at the trails, and claim your section of trail.  You can also e-mail me what section you want and I will go make sure it is claimed for you.  PLEASE consider adopting a trail this summer.  It is a step in earning a DHPT Jersey later this summer.  If you have any questions about how to maintain a trail or what it involves, feel free to ask me or either bike shop.
   1. Doug has claimed Palisades (not including the new Dead Pet section)
   2. Shockey has claimed Log Jam

Jersey Advertising - If you have a potential advertiser for the DHPT Jersey, let me know and set up an appointment to talk to them.  I will accompany you and bring a Jersey with to discuss prices and placement of their advertisement.  Let me know if you have any questions or would like to advertise.

Rain Jackets - When the DHPT Logo is finalized, we will be selling yellow rain jackets at cost.  Please see Deke for details.

2008 Trail Plan Approved!

March 16, 2008 - The trail plan for 2008 that was discussed in the February DHPT meeting was presented to Decorah Park and Rec Sunday night.  The plan was approved with no amendments or adjustments!  We are excited and looking forward to this years projects!

• Adding to the West end of the River Trail including some Beginner Features
• Adding a section that connects the upper Boa trail to upper Wold's
• Adding features to the Log Jam in Pallisades 

Mark Stevenson (aka Guitar Ted) came up for the March DHPT meeting to talk about ideas for the Trans Iowa and the Big Wheeled Ballyhoo which are both taking place in Decorah this summer. 

Mark brought copies of the Posters for this year and talked about distribution of those posters.  There may be a T-Shirt idea in the works as well.  Ideas for a schedule of events was disgusted.  Registration will be held on site at the Ballyhoo Campground.  The giveaway will be on Sunday rather than the Saturday night this year, but the party and events will still be held Saturday Night. 

We set a goal to have all of our trails labeled with signage that is the actual name of the trail.  The number system was a good idea, but it is hard to remember the numbers and is less recognizable than the names themselves. 

We hope to have a DHPT tent on location with maps and other information for the out of town visitors.

Inspired Media magazine is interested in writing an artile about the Ballyhoo and helping promote the event.

Expect to see Reps and Bikes from Gary Fisher, Raleigh, Siren, Salsa, Niner, Quality, Trek, and there is rumor of the Surly Boys showing up as well.

Below are the websites for each event.  Transiowa takes place the same weekend as the time trials, which there is a link for as well.

Big Wheeled Ballyhoo

Trans Iowa

18th Annual Time Trials

Meeting Minutes.  February 5, 2008

1. Ward and Jackie Budweg donated $295 from the sale of a car they don't need because they are biking around the world.  Thanks!

2. Jeff Friedhof was nominated for the office of President after Bill Fanter respectfully declined to be nominated.  We also held a discussion of the roles for each officer.  Terms are 1 year and officers can be re-elected.  Your new DHPT officers for 2008 are

   1. President Jeff Friedhof - Community Liason and attends Park and Rec meetings
   2. Vice President Doug Osborn - Organize Work Days
   3. Secretary Jesse Reyerson - Meeting Agendas and Minutes
   4. Treasurer Pete Blodgett - Keep track of the money
3. Additionally, Kirk Johnson is going to manage the DHPT Press and Media Presence.  He will be in charge of press releases/news stories for local publications as well as larger media like Dirt Rag, Bike, and Bicycle magazines.

4. Trails - the trail projects for 2008 were voted on.  These will be proposed to Park and Rec for approval and built this riding season.

   1. Boa to Wold's - a trail built to connect the top section of Boa to the top section of Wold's in the Ice Cave/Dunning's park.
   2. West End River Trail - The plan is to build a new trail from the very beginning of the river trail in the land between the current trail and the road, and incorporate into it some beginner type features.
   3. Fred's around the Bluff - A route that will allow riders to climb into Van Peenen without climbing the huge switchback.

5. Time Trails -

   1. Takes place April 27, 2008
   2. Marty Grimm will be in charge of the 2008 Time Trails.  Due to Deke's recent surgery (which went very well and so is his recovery), he felt it was time for someone different with different ideas to come up with the race course.  Parties interested in creating the course threw their names in for a drawing and Marty's name was pulled.  This may become the process for all races in the future.  Since 1981, Deke has been setting up every race course.  He sees this as a way to get new people involved and new ideas for race courses.
   3. This year there will be NO Single Speed or Beginner Class.
6. Big Wheeled Ballyhoo
   1. We will be looking for funds to pay for Printing Ballyhoo Posters. 
   2. These posters will be distributed to area shops to promote the event.  Also, getting these posters into race packets to promote the Ballyhoo at area races and events.

   3. Event Activities - This yearwe are looking for ideas to help bring more participation from attendees.  Some ideas (keep in mind, these are just ideas so far)

      1. Log Pull
      2. Huffy Toss
      3. Bike Hockey
      4. Figure 8 Death Race
      5. Bike Limbo
      6. Bike Jump into the river
      7. Beer Run
      8. Bike Joust
      9. Tandem Barrel Races
   4. Exhibitors will be encouraged to sponsor things like porta poties and trail maintenance.
   5. This year's registration will be on site, as well as the Sunday drawing to help streamline the registration process.  The Saturday night Shindig is still planned to be held at T-Bock's.
   6. The Ballyhoo Crew is working to get Gary Fisher to attend this year.  

Jan. 8, 2008 Meeting

The Jan. meeting was held at 7:00 pm at T-Bock's

1. Trail Approval Process
   1. This year we are going to try something different as far as trail building and maintenance.  At the January Meeting, we heard suggestions for new trails to be built in the 2008 riding season.  We will take the trail ideas and put them on a ballot to be voted on in the February meeting.  The top 3 ideas voted on by the group will be presented to Park and Rec to be built in 2008.  This should help with some of the discrepancy between where we can build, where we can't build, and what we are allowed to build. We will also be asking to build "Features" into the trails.  Things like bridges, teeter totters, and erosion control systems.  The Ideas that were presented are as follows.
      1. A new trail in Dunning's Park that would consist of switchbacks to climb rather than Wold's and the big steep Boa Climb.
      2. Building Features into sections of the Log Jam in Palisades Park
      3. Building trails on Luther Grounds including Roslyn Woods, Hickory Ridge, Falcon Hill and the Ski Hills
      4. A section that would Connect lower Boa to Backbone
      5. River Trail, making it more windy at the Dunning's end and building a feature at the Bruenning's end to cross the creek, possibly build a landing/dock as well.
      6. Wrap Fred's around the Bluff.
         • E-mail or stop in to either of the Bike Shops if you want to know more about the trails.
2. Officers
   1. Nominations for the new DHPT Officers were made at the January meeting.  The Election will be held at the February meeting.  Nominees
      1. President - Bill Fanter
      2. Vice President Doug Osborn
      3. Secretary - Jesse Reyerson
      4. Treasurer - Pete Blodget
         • If you would like to nominate someone or yourself, please e-mail me and I will put the name on the ballot for the Feb. meeting.
3. Grant Information
   1. Deke has been working on the grant writing process.  What we will need to do is to draw up a 3 year plan and a 5 year plan as to what we would like to accomplish for our trails and what we want to do as a group.  The best way to accomplish this is to look at what we have accomplished and inventory everything we have, have done, and have contributed to.
      1. Events
         1. Time Trials
         2. Summer Sizzler
         3. Night Shift
         4. Big Wheeled Ballyhoo
         5. Trans Iowa
      2. Surrounding Clubs
         1. LaCrosse HPT
         2. Platteville Chain Reaction
         3. Blue Dog
         4. Prairie Du Chien's Prairie Pedaler
         5. New Cedar Rapids Club
      3. Tools/Equipment
         1. 1 DR Trimmer - $1300
         2. 1 Chain Saw - $400
         3. 2 Weed Eaters - $400
         4. 5 Pruning Shears - $125
         5. Countless hand tools including rakes, shovels, hoe dags, pick axes, etc.
      4. Maps/Signage
         1. 50 Trail Locator Number signs
         2. 4 Kiosks
         3. Approximately 10,000 handout maps
            • Please e-mail me with items and such that we can use here.
   2. We will also need a way to track the hours that we put into the trails.  This is important because it shows how much time our group spends bettering the community by making the outdoor trails available.  We can also use these hours when we apply for new trails to Park and Rec.  We will be working on a way to make tracking hours convenient for all members.
   3. We will be putting together a proposal to receive some funds from the Park and Rec Trail Maintenance Fund.
4. The 2008 Big Wheel Ballyhoo
   1. www.bigwheeledballyhoo.com
   2. Just a note, remember how much work we put into the trails last year and assume at least the same amount of work will be necessary this year.  We want to make sure that everyone who visits our trails leaves here with the idea that we know exactly what we are doing with Mountain Biking in Decorah.
5. Bikedecorah.com
   1. www.bikedecorah.com
   2. This is a website I have recently built.  There is a DHPT page where I will list the Meeting Agendas prior to each month's meeting and the minutes after each month's meeting.  Please check it out and let me know if you have any suggestions.
6. Other Topics
   1. We will be looking into putting signs at every trail head with the name of the trail.  The number system is working, but it makes sense to label each trail with a sign that has the actual name of that trail.
   2. We talked about putting drop boxes on the Kiosks for comments and for visiting riders to request information about DHPT and Decorah trails.
   3. Time Trials this year will takes place April 27, 2008

Playing in the snow - Jan. 9, 2008

Kiosks -

One of DHPT's accomplishments this year was the construction and installation of 4 Trail Information Kiosks that are located in the Park Trails Systems.  A big thanks to all those who helped with the project.

2008 Big Wheeled Ballyhoo -

 The hype has already started for the 2nd Annual Big Wheeled Ballyhoo.  Click HERE for all the information about the Event.

2007 marked the first ever 29" Mt. Bike Event/Festival.  The brain child of Guitar Ted and Tim Grahl of www.twentynineinches.com brought this event to our trails for 3 days of Bikes, Friends, Drinks and Dancing.  See what they thought and what others had to say here.