MAMBA - Moscow Area Mountain Bike Association

Board Meeting Tonight
posted 01.16.20

MAMBA Business Meeting
Thursday, Jan 16, 7pm at Hunga Dunga Brewing Company, 333 N Jackson, Moscow.

Agenda

• Alternative Giving Market of the Palouse (AGMP) report - We received $1,098 in donations! Thanks AGMP and Donors!
• Changes to MAMBA membership/Map access. With the availability of trails on apps like Trailforks, is having MAMBA maps behind a membership login obsolete?
• Initial planning for April Membership Meeting
• Winter grooming updates
• Trail Committee formation
• Potties at parking areas - Moscow Mtn Rd this spring

John Wenz
MAMBA President

Winter Grooming Update
posted 01.14.20

• There was some trail use yesterday that was leaving too much of a mark on the trail. Kinda a bummer because it got real cold last night and froze the marred trail.
• We are getting some nice light powder now, yay! But there is a big tree down across the road above the Headwaters trailhead so we can't get the groomer up there right now. It was a live tree so we need to check with Bennett before we think about doing any sawyer work.
• The Headwaters parking potty has been liberated. Er, well, you can again access it as a path has been shoveled through the snow bank! During this snowy season, if you are heading for fun from Headwaters parking, think about bringing a shovel and lend a hand keeping the potty accessible. THANKS!

Enjoy all this wonderful snow. And if you are enjoying it on Moscow Mountain, be thankful to the private landowners that let us play on their property!

John Wenz
MAMBA President

Respectful use of Winter Trails
posted 01.13.20

Well we got at least a foot of wet snow this weekend and had a number of volunteers come up and contribute to the grooming efforts. Got cold last night so the trail should set up nicely for use today.

HOWEVER, if you are leaving an obvious track that is marring the trail PLEASE STOP. These are multiuser trails so please think of all users. Bikes and foot traffic do the most damage. Skis and snowshoes help pack the trail and generally don't cause damage.

Bikes minimum 3.8" tire please. Softer, dry surface run 1-4 psi. Hard surface run 6-8 psi. If you are leaving a rut, slipping and find it hard to start from a stop, STOP! Runners and hikers shouldn't be leaving more than a 1.5" footprint.

Please, provide and check trail condition reports here on FB and on Trailforks..

Thanks to Ed, Joel and Bert from Palouse Road Runners for packing trail yesterday!!

John Wenz
MAMBA President

MAMBA Board Meeting
posted 01.12.20

MAMBA Business Meeting
Thursday, Jan 16, 7pm at Hunga Dunga Brewing Company, 333 N Jackson, Moscow.

Matt Pollard
MAMBA Secretary

Clearing the trails
posted 01.12.20

We got those pesky trees that were wrecking the flow on Headwaters! If you can't easily clear the trail yourself, please contact us and we'll get'er cleared as soon as possible.

Matt Pollard
MAMBA Secretary

Do you STRAVA?
posted 01.12.20

Do you STRAVA? If so, follow this tutorial to connect your activities to Trail forks! Why? DATA! We can use trail usage statistics when applying for grants and it also help us focus our trail maintenance, upgrades, and development.

https://www.trailforks.com/ridelog/stravaguide/

Matt Pollard
MAMBA Secretary

Thank you!
posted 01.09.20

Thank you for the generous donations during the Alternative Giving Market of the Palouse this holiday season. Funds help us to supply a portable toilet at the Headwaters Parking, install trail signs, purchase maintenance tools, groom winter trails, and host numerous trail building events. This provides both recreation and community for the greater Moscow area. Together, your donations and landowners who allow access to their land, help make Moscow Mountain the special place that we know and love. As always, feel free to drop in on one of the upcoming MAMBA meetings. We hope to see you on the mountain soon and we will see you at next year's Alternative Giving Market!

Sandra Anamo Townsend
MAMBA Board Member

Winter Trail Grooming
posted 01.06.20

Winter trail grooming has begun in earnest! Check out Trailforks for the trails we will be grooming this season. Show just the winter trails by clicking Layers at top left of Map and selecting Winter Trails. Packed all the winter trails 2-3 times this morning - New record of 27 miles of grooming. The wet heavy packed well and should establish a nice base as things cool and we get more snow later this week.

These are multi-use trails (hike, run, snowshoe, ski, fatbike) so don't expect perfect conditions for your particular use. That said, PLEASE be courteous and if you are leaving an obvious track/footprint that is trashing it that means it isn't set so please stay off.

Please consider logging your activity on Trailforks either using the trailforks app or Strava linked to trailforks. This will allow us gather trail use statistics that are very helpful for future planning.

Hope to have some sweet groomed snow trails ready to use by Friday into this weekend. Check Trailforks for condition updates and contribute trail condition reports so we have the best info.

ENJOY,

John Wenz
MAMBA President

Palouse-regional youth mountain bike team
posted 01.05.20

Got a young rider in the house? The newly-formed Palouse-regional youth mountain bike team will be having an informational meeting from 5:30-6:30pm on 1/18/2020 at 404 S Monroe St, Moscow. The team is open for 6th to 12th Grader’s in the quad-cities region.

More info

Matt Pollard
MAMBA Secretary

PLT mid-section closure
posted 01.02.20

When PLT (originally named Private Lands Trail) was built, the trail inadvertently crossed onto land for which MAMBA did not have approval to build. Despite this, for a number of years, the private landowner was gracious enough to allow us to continue to use the sections of trail that crossed their land. Unfortunately, over the past couple years, there have been numerous instances when the landowner has encountered people on their property far off the PLT trail. This is not acceptable to the landowner, MAMBA or the responsible users of MAMBA trails which are ALL on PRIVATE LAND. Out of respect for the landowner, MAMBA decided it was best to close that section of trail to mitigate the risk of future problems.

We are working with landowners to determine the best place to build new trail to connect the two sections of PLT. Until further notice, please use the PTL trails as OUT AND BACK adventures. Do not continue on PTL beyond its trail closures which are blocked and clearly marked with "Private Property KEEP OUT" signs. PLEASE DO NOT GO OFF TRAIL to bushwhack your way to the other end of the trail. Remember going off trail in this area is what led to the closure in the first place. We have been granted permission to enjoy THE TRAILS. Please respect PRIVATE LAND and STAY ON THE TRAIL.

PLT's mid-section is temporarily closed:

If you are coming up from Moscow Mtn Rd (lower PLT) park in the Trail Landing Parking area and ride up Moscow Mtn Rd (gravel) 0.25 mile, looking on right side of the road for PLT which is directly across from the trailhead for Gemini. The trail closure is about 1.8 miles in where the trail drops into the trees.

If you are on the trail coming from LaFortunes Flight (upper PLT), the trail closure is immediately after a new logging road about 1 mile in.

The MAMBA board would like to thank all the Private Landowners of Moscow Mountain for giving our community the opportunity to use THE TRAILS they have allowed us to build on their land. We would also like to thank the landowner in this case for being gracious enough to let trail remain on their land when it wasn't supposed to be there in the first place and apologize for people going off trail and disrupting their privacy. Here's to a great new year, enjoy the trails, respect private land and stay on the trail.

John Wenz
MAMBA President