Happy Solstice from Passion Trail Bikes

This week’s word on the trail, on December 15, 2009

1. Leave a Good Mark: Waterdog Trailwork 12/19
2. The Ecocyclist’s Notebook: Good Dirt for Winter


1. Leave a Good Mark: Waterdog Trailwork 12/19

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Travis and crew dig in the new trail on the south side of the lake

On Saturday, December 19th, from 8:30am to a bit after noon, we will work once again on the new Lake Loop alignment around Waterdog Lake. It looks like we should have a few days of clear weather, so we are hoping to stick with our original goal for this workday, which is to finish two retaining walls that we started last spring and have been making quite a bit of progress on lately. We will move earth, compact it, top it off with crushed rock for an all-weather surface. We will wire in retaining wall posts so they stay standing straight. We will dig dirt, and sculpt the hillside. We will make a trail in one of the prettiest places in the whole park.

Please, PLEASE volunteer some time this season to help out on this awesome project. If you can come, please RSVP to Patty at patty@passiontrailbikes.com, and let her know you’re coming. And please pick another date or two below and put them in your calendar, and shoot an email out to your friends to let them know you’ll be helping out. We need recruiters too!

People who are so kind as to RSVP will get an email from Patty with details on the project, including meeting location and some other helpful info. RSVP’s are important because that allows for the proper amount of tools, planning, bagels and coffee to be prepared.

Dates on our trailwork calendar are as follows:

Saturday 12/19
Sunday 1/10
Sunday 1/31
Saturday 2/13
Sunday 2/28
Saturday 3/20
Sunday 4/11
Thursday 4/22


Robert straddles the big culvert while setting cobbles in the catch basin.

To get a chance to leave your mark on this incredible trail, please volunteer some time this season to help out. If you can come on one of the dates above, please RSVP to Patty at patty@passiontrailbikes.com, and let her know you’re coming. And shoot an email out to your friends to let them know you’ll be helping out. We need recruiters too!

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2. The Ecocyclist’s Notebook: Good Dirt for Winter

Editor’s note: Now and again, meaning nearly constantly, Patty dons her docent hat and waxes more or less eloquently about some subject related to Mother Nature that she has been pondering while pedaling. Depending on time and whimsy this may become a regular part of our newsletter.

This week, we bring you a couple of articles recycled from our December 2008 blog entries. The first article is titled Soil Types and Where to Ride in Winter, Part 1”, and the second is Part 2.

These articles explain why attempting to ride after a rain in Santa Teresa County Park in San Jose will stop you in your tracks, due to the “rolling donut effect” but Skeggs is a viable option.


It’s not much fun to walk in this either, which you will have to do when your wheels won’t turn cuz
they are glued to your fork brace and chainstays. Photo courtesy of Kyle Maxwell


You can get away with riding on sopping wet sandstone based trails, but you should expect
to replace your cables, housings, and drivetrain components much sooner.

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To contact us, email us at info@passiontrailbikes.com, or call the shop at 650-620-9798.

Happy Trails, from the PTB crew
Charles, Patty, John, Bret, Sterling, Pancho, Will, Peter, and Reba