Trails Have Our Respect

BYOK MTB DAY 10/8

2011-09-13T17:38:00.002-05:00

To celebrate National Bring a Kid Mountain Biking Day, THOR is hosting an event at Swanson Park on October 8. Bring your kids, their bikes and helmets and plan a few hours to play outdoors. FREE for everyone. No need to register. Just show up and have fun! (Parents will need to sign a waiver for kids under 18 years of age).

Then head over to the Bellevue Berry Farm where Lucky Bucket is throwing a fund raiser event for THOR and Activate Omaha. The LB Ride is a fund raiser and has a cover charge for adults.

Here is the flyer for BYOK.

Heads up at tranquility

2011-08-25T19:20:00.000-05:00

Heads up at tranquility

The inner loop climb got hammered pretty hard by the last storm. Deep ruts and washouts are pretty bad on the top 1/2 of the climb and the descent is rutted as well. I'm going to work on re-routing some of the problem areas in the near future. I'll get the descent fixed asap. Be careful rolling thru this section. I guess this is one of mother natures TTF's...

Blue line at tranq is open for business!

2011-08-15T13:21:00.003-05:00

Join us at 6 at the fort st trailhead for an evaluation ride of the revamped blue line at tranquility. If all flows well, the section will remain open as work continues. Thanks for all that stayed off the section during it rebuild.

I'd recommend taking it easy the first time thru. The water bars were overbuilt to see how the newer design would hold up and flow.

Hope to see ya there...

**Section is going to remain open. Turned out very well imo. Go ride it and give us some suggestions to name the section.

THOR to sponsor Fun Run

2011-08-12T11:15:00.000-05:00

To get to know our ever-increasing two-legged trail users, THOR is sponsoring a fun run/walk on Thursday, Sept 8, at Tranquilty Park.

Start time is 6 p.m.

We'll have different level leaders depending on the level of participants.

Expect to run/walk 30-45 minutes and then gather in the trail head parking lot next to the soccer fields off of Fort Street for eats and drinks, cuz that's how we roll. Directions here.

Dogs welcome.

Tranquility -blue section on north descent still closed

2011-08-10T21:41:00.000-05:00

Just a reminder...The blue section on the north hill descent at Tranquility is still CLOSED! Even if the debris blocking the trail is gone, the section is NOT OPEN for riding. If you ride by this section and the branches are moved, i'd appreciate you putting them back. If you catch the individual who keeps opening the trail back up, please tell them to stop. I wasted another 1:30 rebuilding destroyed berms tonight. This is time that should have been spent finishing the last berm.
Thanks!

Tranquility - Temp closed blue section on north descent

2011-07-24T15:32:00.003-05:00

I closed the blue section on the north hill descent today to continue working on it. If things go well, i'm hoping to have it open again by mid August. Had a chat with a designer on the berms and i am going to give his ideas a shot...

The berms that a roughed in are not fully packed and cut in yet, so please do not ride them. This will destroy the berms and lengthen the time the section is closed...

Trying to finish my original vision for the section. Should be sweet when done!

calvin crest reroute and signage

2011-07-17T20:09:00.001-05:00

This was the reason for the reroute.

Besides saving all that sawing, the reroute stays on higher ground at the bottom of the bluff, skipping the muddy areas and the higher plant growth. Had a mtb camp out there for middle schoolers last week and one of the sessions was putting in the reroute.

Also added some more orange tape at beginning kiosk and in the cedar trail where 3D archery has atv trails (wider, and fall line). Stay with the orange flags and the occassional arrows before and after intersections.

The knot of the orange tape is the side of the tree where the trail is.

Tranquility Trail Day July 2nd 8-10am

2011-06-28T19:57:00.003-05:00

Hey Folks,

We are having another trail day at Tranquility to finish up the tread work that didn't make it last Sunday. Meet at the Fort Street trailhead, we will work the south hill climb and the prairie from 8 till 10am to beat the heat of the day. We will have some equipment on site. Bring your water, bug spray, shovels, hoes and your coffee. I'll bring the doughnuts!

rsvp here or facebook.

Thanks!

Great Trail Day at Tranquility

2011-06-26T19:20:00.003-05:00

Had a group of 15 out to Tranquility today to get the trail ready to race. Around 30 hours for the group and another 8 hours for Dale and Tigger. The trail is all clear of downed trees, the canopy was raised and the re-routes are fully cut in and ready. Had a couple of groups out with trimmers cleaning up the north tree loop and the ridgeline/wall rides.

Good group out racing the storms rolling in...

Thanks to Frank, Eric, Martin and Dickie for the extra equipment need to complete the job...

good food, good people...

Thanks to Paul for grilling up the Grub!

We still have some tread work to do before race day. We may be looking at doing another trail day next weekend. Watch the blog and facebook for further updates.

Tranquility trail day this sunday!

2011-06-23T21:48:00.002-05:00

Trail Day!
Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 1:00pm
Tranquility Park
Meet at Fort St trail head

Looks like we have some trees down on the fort St loop, so we are going to need a few lumberjacks to handle those.

We are planing on doing treadwork, trimming back limbs across the trail and mowing/weedeating the sections tigger can't reach. Bring bug spray, water and shovels if you can. Thor will have some tools on hand for you to use as well.

Please rsvp either on the facebook page (thor trails) or here on the blog.
Hope to see everyone there!

South side of Tranquility open again/Trail Day

2011-06-20T20:58:00.003-05:00

Tranquility is now a full loop again with the installation of a temporary re-route till the city finishes its project. We are not going to invest much maintenance to this re-route because it could be gone at any time.

Due to the dirt piles, the berm after the last camel hump will no longer be used.
There is a link at the top of the south hill to get on the camel humps. We will be riding the camel humps backwards for the time being.

If the city is working in the area, please stay clear.

Trail Day!
Sunday, June 26, 2011 at 1:00pm
Tranquility Park
Meet at Fort St trail head
Please join us for the final prep for the Psycowpath race!

Thanks!

South section closed at tranquility

2011-06-05T09:35:00.002-05:00

The city is working on a dirt moving project and is very busy in the area. We are temporarily closing the south section to give them room to work and to evaluate trail impact. Please avoid the area until further announcements.

thanks,
Tranquility Trail Crew

National Trails Day A Success for THOR

2011-06-04T18:28:00.000-05:00

Twenty one people participated in our National Trails Day event at Swanson Park.

Frank Olson and Martin Bixby headed up the charge for the day: finish the new exit trail, move the kiosk next to the parking lot, take out some big downed trees and fix some of the ruts on the north side of the fire station. I don't want to give it all away. There are some new features. You'll just have to go check it out for yourself.

Volunteers were rewarded with the scrumptious beef brisket, slaw and watermelon.

We set up our THOR display and wouldn't you have it, two riders saw it and decided to help rather than ride. So awesome.

Thanks for everyone who helped. It was a great day!

3 men and a mower

2011-05-31T11:58:00.001-05:00

Got a flat tire about 7:30 Saturday night at Tranquility. Had to leave Tigger on the trail overnight till we could get a tube Sunday.

Between Paul's floor jack and Dan's van jack, we wrestled with keeping Tigger from rolling down the hill. After the third time of rejacking, success. Thanks to these guys taking time out of their holiday weekend to help maintain trail and equipment.

Just like the rite of passage fixing a bike flat out riding, so with Tigger. Learned to check the tire pressure more often; not to drive on the flat tire; metal bike tire levers will take a mower tire off the rim; block wheels when jacking; don't slime a tubeless tire, tire patches won't stick afterwords.

Finished the Inner Loop and mowed finish area for STXC. Guys out riding had to push their bikes because so muddy in flats. Monday mowed Meadows, Southhill Descent, and Southcreek Flats. Paul wacked through the trees along the creek Sunday. Will need to increase the frequency of mowing with the rain and heat.

teen serve working tranquility

2011-05-23T07:22:00.001-05:00

Want to thank Teen Serve for helping with trailwork at Tranquility last Friday. The soaking rain the night before changed the tread work agenda to branch trimming and trash pickup in the Fort St Loop.

The trail corridor width is now from tree trunk to tree trunk.

Each of the workers got a THOR business card for working the trail and finding other trails.

Phyllis, the Teen Serve coordinator, appreciates the opportunity THOR provides for the teens to work on trails. She hopes we have work for them in the Fall too.

First THORsday Night Ride a Success

2011-05-06T09:52:00.000-05:00

Thanks to the awesome THOR Social Committee the first THORsday Night Ride was a success.

About a dozen riders rode the primo trails (thank you Paul and Co) and celebrated under a fingernail sliver moon with a coronas, 5-gallon jug of margaritas and a roaster of fajita meat. Folks did a great job of finishing off most of it!

Join us for the next THORsday Night Ride on June 16. Place TBD.

Lake Manawa Clean-up

2011-05-04T21:55:00.004-05:00

Last Sunday was Lake Manawa clean-up day. Steve and I attended for THOR. The turn-out was lower than previous years.

As normal, we concentrated on the river boat ramp/mountain bike trail area. We had a crew of about 7. The crew (plus 2 that left early) is shown in the photo. We picked up a truckload of trash.

Platte River Trail Days (2X)

2011-04-29T18:28:00.002-05:00

Hey all,

Couple days delayed on getting this out. Paul the Trail Leader down at Platte River State Park is having two trail days to get the course ready to race 7 May. Psycowpath is back in town.

Trail days are 3&4 May starting at 4pm

See the map

Missouri River Flooding

2011-04-28T17:29:00.003-05:00

Once again, the Missouri River is at or above flood stage through Omaha/Council Bluffs. That means that section of the trails at Lake Manawa are under water (see photo).

pipe bridges for north tp gullies

2011-04-28T01:00:00.001-05:00

Eric donated 10" pvc pipe from his farm. We used 95' for two gully crossings.

Paul and Mike cutting the 5' lengths for the return route.

Chris and Eric working on the upper level.

Eric, Chris, Paul, and Mike on the finished product.

No endos and quick drying for this crossing now.

Dave brought his wheelbarrow to bring some drier dirt over the outbound gully pipe. I expect big rains to overflow these four pipes so take a peak after a heavy rain before bombing through this - the pipes may be bare.

Looking the way you cross outbound.

Fortunate to have a great work crew that lives within a few miles of the trail.Things went pretty quickly - about 10 hours of labor to install.

edit:
Mike is really quick at posting his pics and quips:
http://bikingfools.blogspot.com/2011/04/playing-in-mud.html

teen serve at swanson apr 15

2011-04-21T01:42:00.001-05:00

Brought out 5 teens from the homeschool service organization "Teen Serve" to work in the cold 43 degree rain last Friday. Found ponchos for four of them, but most pants, shoes, and gloves were soaked after 2 hours in the steady rain.

We started clearing the whole trail corridor for getting back to the singletrack, but norrowed down to clearing the tread of brush and digging out the roots.

Thanks guys, for working in such conditions without complaining. You were honoring to the Lord that day.

Manawa Clean Up

2011-04-14T06:32:00.003-05:00

Manawa Clean up day is 1 May 2011.

Meet at shelter 6 at just before 1 pm. The clean up effort is expect to last approximately 2 hours. THe parks department will provide the trash bags.

Raffle and food to follow at 3pm.

Wear your THOR shirts if you have them!

treadwork done on north tp expansion

2011-04-12T14:04:00.000-05:00

Nice cool day to finish the treadwork on the north Fort St expansion. We had 11 people plus Cody working 1.5 hrs for 16.5 total work hours. Thanks Mark, Dave, Chris, Bill, Paul, Brian, Greg + 2, and Steve.

We used Steve's blower to dress up the tread inside the trees. The first pic is just after the 180 at the southend of the treeline.

The next pic is the short grassland around a storm sewer drain in the middle of the treeline.

The final pic is in the grassland just before connecting to the wetland doubletrack.

This marks the end of construction. We still need to sign a couple places and install some pipe in the gulley for quick drying when we finally get rain. To get the entire doubletrack, ride to the right around the electrical tower just after the gulley north of the last ball diamond.

The doubletrack around the artificial wetland lakes was already there by illegal use of motorized vehicles, mostly 4x4s, quads, and motorcycles. Its a nice section to ride two or three abreast and talk. Watch for walkers and dogs too.

Thanks again to Melinda and Dennis at Omaha Parks for working with THOR and authorizing the expansion; and thanks to all the volunteers over last Fall and this Spring taking pride where they ride to help maintain and expand. Unfortunately, I didn't record all the non trailday hours put in by a few. I'm guessing about 125 hrs, Chris thought closer to 200, for the 3+ mile expansion. The use of Tigger (zero turn mower), Little Blue (sod cutter), and the established doubletrack made this possible in so few hours.

Enjoy the ride!

What is going on at Swanson

2011-04-10T18:40:00.002-05:00

You will see quite a number of new flags vicinity of the east side of the Swanson parking lot. The Bellevue Parks Department has asked THOR to create a new trail from the parking lot back to the existing trail head. This has started from the existing trail working our way to the front, we still have to work a few details with the City where the entrance and exits are going to be.

We will be soliciting volunteers for additional trail days to get this opened sometime this summer, keep your ears and eyes open for the announcement. If you have some time you would like to put in at your leisure please feel free to get in there and help open the new corridors where the flags are in the ground. Clip clip clip!

tranquility sod cutting sunday apr 10

2011-04-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

Work to be done: cutting in the tread from the wetlands doubletrack to the west treeline, halfway meadow, and return to the doubletrack. This should finish the sod cutting on the north Fort St. expansion. Only thing left is drainage pipe in the gulleys between wetland doubletrack and Big Papio loop. Finishing expansion just in time to move into maintenance mode, i.e. mowing.

Date: Sunday, April 10
Location: Kansas Ave and 126th Ave.
Time: 13:00

Some grilled meat from the last trailwork cutting in the tread up to Fort St. and back. Thanks, Paul!

Trail crew. Greg's girls enjoyed working on the trail, raising up kids in the way they should go. Good job, Greg! The youngest was the trail boss and she cracked the whip on us. Thanks Eric, Paul, Chris, Greg and family.

Adams Park

2011-04-07T14:25:00.002-05:00

Going to do a little trail work on Monday April 11 at about 6:30. Only need to weed eat or hoe a little bit of grass off the trail & rake the tree area.
Preparing for the Bike Rodeo on April 16th. Also Omaha Devo mountain bike practice will be that day and we want them to have a great trail. There is a short meeting at 6:00 about the rodeo that you are welcome to attend. Start as early as you like.

Any questions to poloscab@yahoo.com

Thanks
Dan

Race Weekend Update

2011-04-01T11:57:00.000-05:00

Both race venues are good to go. The season opener is on!

Swanson Update

2011-04-01T10:45:00.003-05:00

Walked Swanson last night cutting nicks in areas that hold water so they will drain...hopefully. Yesterdays light rains should absorb shortly with all the wind and sun forecasted for today! Should be rideable this evening. Don't forget Swanson Trail building 9 April starting at 8:30 am.

Thanks to the Volunteers at Manawa

2011-03-29T20:08:00.003-05:00

Trail Leader Steve sends... Thanks to all that came out to support 5hrs worth of work at Manawa today! Lots of sticks, limbs and trees moved out of the way. Probably rideable this weekend if it continues to dry out.

THOR to be at UP's Earth Day Event

2011-03-26T09:57:00.000-05:00

THOR will have a booth at this year's UP Earth Day event.

On April 13, Union Pacific will be hosting an Earth Day education event inside their headquarters at 14th and Dodge. THOR volunteers are needed to man the booth in one hour shifts from 10 am to 2pm. We will hand out brochures, maybe hold a raffle to win a prize, but mainly we want to educate the public about who we are and hopefully acquire new members.

If you have ideas or can volunteer contact Roxy at roxzanne dot abbott @ gmail dot com

Swanson Trail Building Day 9 April

2011-03-26T08:52:00.002-05:00

Hey All,

New trail building at Swanson on 9 April, 8:30am start time in the parking lot.

The city has asked us to reroute the entrance to the trails starting at the parking lot going all the way back. We will put in a new trail adjacent to the pavillion going all the way back to the single track.

Bring clippers, rakes, and other dirt working tools...and some gloves.

Probably some Smoked Meat following.

Contact Frank for details. Frank.Olson@cox.net

Manawa Trail Day

2011-03-26T08:36:00.002-05:00

29 March at 3:30pm.

Please meet at the red truck in the Manawa trails parking lot.

Goal is several trees need to be removed and some stick removal in Tony's Playground and the Wood Chopper areas.

Kids Rodeo April 16

2011-03-23T15:23:00.001-05:00

THOR is heading up a kids rodeo event at Adam's Park. This is the same park where THOR built new single track last spring along with IMBA.

Several booths will be set up for kids to bring bikes for simple maintenance, safety talks, and trail education.

Other organizations have joined in the fun: Activate Omaha, the Community Bike Shop and the YMCA are all participating to offer the kids a fun-filled day. Please join!

If you'd like to volunteer, please contact Dan Christenson at poloscab@yahoo.com

tp north starting to take shape

2011-03-21T12:20:00.001-05:00

Great turnout for less than 24hrs notice. Thank you guys and gal for changing your plans so quickly to help bring the trail in north Tranquility Park closer to reality: Eric, Susan, Mike, Dave M., Dave N., Paul, Michael, Todd, Brian, and Chris.

I was with the sod cutting crew working the out and back trail along the Big Papio Creek between Fort St. and the the wetland doubletrack north of the baseball diamonds. Eric called in some markers for access to a great 16" sod cutter.

With 6 people in about 20 work hours, we cut a mile of sod and pulled it off to create the tread! I, for one, am still sore the next day.

On the westside, Paul took these pics clearing the dead branches in order to create the trail corridor. Those 5 got in about 15 work hours along with assorted scratches and at least one puncture.

For those who need more advanced planning, this Sunday, 03.27, starting at 13:00 will be another trailday at north Tranquility. This will involved finishing the westside trail corridor and raking the multiple inches of leaves off the tread.

trailwork at tranquility tomorrow (Sunday 3.20) at 13:00

2011-03-19T09:27:00.001-05:00

We have access to a sod cutter and plan to cut sod on the north side of Fort St. Will meet in the far north baseball parking lot at the NE corner.

Will have 3 or 4 people, one to run the cutter, and two or three to throw the sod out of the trail corridor.

We also have work on the west side, cutting dead limbs and clearing fallen limbs, brush piles through the evergreen trees.

Please bring hand saws, mcleods, no power equipment. We don't want to upset the homeowners with lots of noise.

Any questions, email or call Dale.

teen serve cleaning adams park

2011-03-19T08:50:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, took six volunteers from Teen Serve to help pick up trash in the trees along the trail and the rest of the upper tree terrace to the west of the community center where the trail currently turns around. We cleaned this terrace all the way to the playground and started into the lower terrace.

We got 12 bags of trash, 2 tires, and a dog kennel in 21 work hours.

Trail is walkable, rideable, though leaves have piled up and need to be raked off the trail in the first couple of tree sections.

Trail Conditions

2011-03-19T06:44:00.005-05:00

Over the last couple days there have been trail condition updates on Facebook. Here's what has been reported:

Tranquility: Open
Swanson: Open
Lewis & Clark: Open
Lake Manawa: Open
Platte River: Too soft/muddy

Tread lightly. There may be soft spots in the trails. Rain is forecast for this evening - get your dirt fix in today!

tranquility is open for riding!

2011-03-16T14:53:00.001-05:00

Checked a couple spots on the trail this morning. Still has some wet areas but with the warmth and wind, it is time to open the gates and ride!

Please stay on the the tread through the wet areas as this will dry them out more quickly. Also the tread feels soft from the frost breaking it up. Riding the tread will help pack it down and minimize erosion from the thunderstorms.

So ride Tranquility to do your part to pack the tread!

PS. This does not mean the other trails are also rideable.

Tranquility Update

2011-03-11T17:29:00.003-06:00

No good news yet. Trails remain too muddy to ride. With the race season rapidly approaching, many are itching to ride some dirt. Please be patient and let the trails full dry out before riding. We will keep checking the trails and give the all clear when they are ready to ride.
Thanks!

Represent THOR before a legislative committee in Lincoln

2011-02-28T14:55:00.000-06:00

Is anyone able to testify on behald of THOR before a legislative committe in Lincoln on 3/3/11 at 1:30? There is a bill (LB 656) proposing to cut the amount of NRD money that goes to recreational purposes. I can prep you on the proposed bill and how to testify.

Please contact Susan Reff (new co-VP of THOR) at susanreff at hotmail dot com.

THOR Annual Membership Meeting

2011-02-19T17:45:00.001-06:00

THOR Annual Membership Meeting
Saturday, February 26 · 2:00pm - 4:00pm

National Park Service
601 River Front Drive
Omaha, NE

The annual meeting agenda will include an overview of the 2010 goals and what was achieved as a club and at each trail system. New goals for 2011 will be discussed. Voting for chair positions will take place. As it was declared at last year's meeting, Kent McNeil will be stepping down as president and we're looking for a new visionary. 1 year term is all that is expected, so think about if you or someone you know would like to take the reigns for 2011. More info as well as meeting agenda outline to follow via email and on our website.

tranquility north fort st trail is beta

2010-11-21T22:18:00.002-06:00

Thanks to Aaron, Chris, Dale, Greg, and Paul, the out and back trail corridor along the Big Papio is cleared. Little tread work - though rideable, it's not necessarily enjoyable - consider it a beta release. Sod cutting the tread will wait for another workday, probably next Spring.

The trail circled in pink is what we worked on yesterday and today - about 20 hrs. About 20 hrs were spent on the ground walking, envisioning, and flagging prior to this weekend.

The trail circled in blue at the top is a double track going around a built wetlands in order to mitigate wetlands lost from the soccer fields south of Fort St and the new cement trail around Standing Bear Lake.

The trail on the west boundary will be worked on over the winter, weather permitting. This entails clearing deadfall and dead undercanopy in the trail corridor.

Greg brought out his stihl saw with color coordinated stihl chaps -- very professional, should have snapped a pic!

Chris putted around with his walk behind weedeater to clear parts of the tread along the trees down to the dirt.

I ended up putting about 8 hrs on Tigger. She worked hard making a preliminary pass through at 5" and a follow up cut at 3.5". The air cooling screen was plugged several times from all the cut grass thrown upwind. Though she has some minor groundings with the blades, the worst was running up over an unseen railroad tie when finishing up in the dark about 6 pm. Stopped the blades and stalled the engine - ouch! In 1 hour, Tigger does what use to take us about 4 hrs to push. Thus those 8 hrs this weekend saved us at least another 24 hours of mowing by hand.

Besides weedeating, clearing branches, and some hoe work, Aaron and Paul set bridges in place over the Fort St bridge erosion ruts.

I found out Friday at 1830 that Melinda, director of Omaha Parks, and Dennis, Park Planner had given us the "Notice to Proceed" with construction of the proposed trail. This time of year, there are few weekends amicable for trailwork.

I thank God for moving Melinda and Dennis to ok the proposal, for providing Chris, Paul, Greg, and Aaron to interact with the design and construction, and I'm grateful to God for giving me the desire, eyes, and hands to help paint a mtb trail on his canvas.

mowed north tp return route

2010-11-20T23:30:00.001-06:00

Talked with Chris who was out doing some lopping. Decided not to rent sod cutter for tomorrow's trailday, we will just work on clearing and mowing the trail corridor on the Big Papio. Mowing the grass will allow the frost to melt more quickly next Spring when the sod cutter can be put to work.

This is looking south on the return route towards the Fort St bridge.

This is looking back up the return route towards the north baseball parking lot.

Though difficult to see, this is one of those half inch diameter scrub brush that has a 10' root starting back at the head of the rogue hoe.

tranquility trailday this sunday 11.21

2010-11-20T02:49:00.001-06:00

Thank you, Omaha Parks, for approving the trail extension!

Trailday this Sunday noon – 3pm.
Meet north of Fort St in east lot between front and back baseball complexes.
Will work on parallel out and back trails along Big Papio.

I will walk for obstacles, flag, and mow as much trail corridor as possible with Tigger on Saturday.

Work for Sunday:
- Mow tread low on Tigger prepped trail corridor
- Run sod cutters over tread line
- Saw, trim branches in trail corridor along creek
- Weedwack non Tigger tread
- Put in bridges under bridge

Tools provided.

We need 6 or so workers to rsvp in order to rent two sod machines.
Assumes:
- Tigger can prepare the trail corridors on Saturday
- Frost is not in ground already

With bitter cold weather forecasted and trail corridor mowed to ground, frost will set in before another trailday can be run, so as much sod cutting/treadwork must be done this Sunday as possible, or it will have to wait till Spring, in my opinion. If low number of workers are available, will leave sawing/trimming till after frost in order to concentrate on sod cutting tread.

Please let me know if you plan to work on the trail Sunday - tpmbt at cox dot net

Dale

TV Shoot Date changed to Tues 11/16 due to weather

2010-11-09T10:27:00.002-06:00

Iowa Public Television's new recreation and conservation series, Iowa Outdoors wants to feature mountain biking around Council Bluffs in a future episode in late Spring/Summer 2011 and particularly the courses at Lewis and Clark Monument and Lake Manawa.

They plan on being here on 11/16 to video riders on trail. We need riders to be at L&C and ready to ride at 11am sharp. Please let me know if you can participate.

The bigger benefit is they want to feature THOR as well and that may be shot on the same day or in the spring during an actual trail day.

It should only take an hour or so. Come on out and show off our trails!

Contact me ASAP if you can attend. roxzanne dot abbott at gmail dot com

Thanks, Roxy

Thank you THOR Volunteers!

2010-11-07T12:01:00.000-06:00

Seriously, people. What other sport on this planet has it's competitors and enthusiasts taking care of the very playground they play in? MTB volunteers have got to be the most selfless and passionate people I have ever met.

Just want to say thank you to Tom Winfield and Steve Dickey for organizing and orchestrating two successful days at Lake Manawa. A huge shout out to the guys from Extreme Wheels who came out and took care of business.

Steve says: Perfect crew along with perfect weather let 11 workers get a total of 33 hours in to make Manawa ridable in all sections except east sidewider which has two areas and very muddy in a few sections. Use caution if you haven't riden here lately, there is some muddy spots in low areas under leaves.We ended the day with pizza and some even went out for a ride after that. To all who helped get manawa ridable since the last flood you are AWESOME!

Great turnout for TTD

2010-11-06T17:23:00.005-05:00

Thanks to the 15 people that came out to tranq this afternoon and helped put the finishing touches on the fall cleanup. The water bars were cleaned up and tuned, as well as some problem muddy areas being adjusted. We also cleaned up the canopy of deadfall. This should have us ready to go come spring...

Big props to the long haulers that worked Manawa this morning, then blasted to Tranquility to work some more.

Thanks to everyone that pitched in all year. We couldn't do it without ya!

Manawa Trail Day 11/3, 11/6

2010-11-02T09:43:00.000-05:00

Manawa Needs You This Week!

Nov. 3, Wed. Meet in parking lot at 3:45 and start work at 4. This is a very short work night before it gets dark. Extreme Wheels has a crew that wants to help out. Bring your light to ride after we work. The work will include moving branches off trail in no second chance and along the entire trail by the levy to power plant. We will have two saws that night to use we just need you to help clear the trail.

Nov. 6, Sat. Meet in parking lot at 9 am. And start work at 9:15. We have two chain saws and we will be splitting up in crews with them and finish up cutting any fallen trees to get more sections ridable. Cut a few more trees in a few other sections. We do have a few sections that need to be benched!

12:00 noon meet in parking lot for pizza provided for your hard work. Bring your own drinks, no glass. Anyone who wants to work after we eat we will be running one more crew.

The goal by the end of the work day sat. Is to have all trees at least cut that need to be.
Hope to see ya Wed. Or Sat.
Things to bring is your favorite non-gas tool, warm clothing, gloves, ear plugs, and your bike.

Tranquility Trail Day Sat Nov 6th @ 1pm

2010-11-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

We are looking for a small group to come help finish up the fall cleanup. Meet at the Fort St trail head at 1pm.

Tranq - South hill warning

2010-10-21T06:38:00.003-05:00

The city has resumed work on the south hill and is moving quite a bit of dirt. In all this, we have lost some trail. The trail crew is working on a re-route for the area and should have it cut in and rideable by the end of the weekend. Please give the city workers room to work and avoid the areas they are working in. Thanks!

very successful L&C trailday

2010-10-18T11:05:00.004-05:00

No pics? We were too busy moving trees and dirt to take pics.
First timers Melonie, Craig showed from previous invitations while they were walking or riding L&C.
Brandon W. came out to ride but helped with Brian H. for the time they had available.
Steve D. saved the day bringing his saws. Very little would have been accomplished on the reconnector otherwise. His dog Cody was tracked over 7 miles while there.
Joshua S. and his dog ? added a little Kansas flavor to the mix.
Chris "earthmover" P. did his thing grubbing in the dirt.
Todd M. ran the saw to provide a corridor for tread grubbers behind.
Paul N. brought the beer, weedwacked, and sunk entrance trailmarkers with Chris.
I think there were one or two more but my mind is drawing a blank.

Afterwards Kyle (first timer at L&C), Scott N. (old timer at L&C), Todd, and I rode our work. I dubbed/fell 4 times on the 300 yard reconnector. The tread is soft in places and there are several steep ups to power through.

We also finished all of Supermodel, the final reroute of Neverest. I didn't expect to clean it my first time. It's not Neverest because there are short flats between short, steep switchbacks; but I like it better because its more sustainable, and it feels more like a twisty mtb climb than a straight up motorcycle climb. About a half mile of trail was added to the whole loop since the race in August.

We still need more signage and an updated gps map, old L&C map here.

Trail starts and ends behind the park entrance gate.
Follow sign down west trail.
At bottom, now go left instead of old right turn. The addition goes along the railroad track about 1000' before doubling back to near the new T intersection to continue the loop.
Go past the Neverest hard right turn and then right on Supermodel.

Enjoy the ride!

L&C trailday this Sunday, Oct 17

2010-10-13T23:35:00.000-05:00

Hey guys and gals, imo, this trailwork is as good as it gets. We're adding trail in sculptable dirt and increasing the overall difficulty in a sustainable way. If you ride L&C, join us in putting some sweat equity into this trail.

When: Sunday, Oct 17
Where: L&C parking lot
Time: 13:00-16:00

Work to do:
- Finish Supermodel (switchback route up Neverest hill)
- 100-150 yard addition to reincorporate part of the trail along the railroad tracks

Tools: rogue hoes, mcleods, loppers, shovels, already have two chainsaws.

Long pants (moving dirt, thorn bushes), gloves, safety glasses

Supermodel is almost done, just a little finish work and removing the downed tree blocking the entrance left.

The bottom addition between the railroad trail and current trail is more hilly than either with many downed trees and thorn bushes to clear from trail corridor. Fortunately, the dirt is easy to move. Should have 7 or 8 rogue hoes, plus about the same number of mcleods to sculpt tread.

Let's get 20+ people and try to knock out this addition in one trailday.

Entrance to Supermodel:

Supermodel switchback 1

Supermodel switchback 4

Looking down at switchback 4 (35% grade):

Switchback 2 has a bailout to Neverest in order to bypass the two 30%+ climbing switchbacks. Supermodel only is the most difficult route. Supermodel-Neverest-Supermodel is easier than Neverest-Supermodel because one is able to carry momentum into the climb instead of almost stopping for Neverest's entrance.

Bring Your Kid Mountain Biking

2010-10-10T07:40:00.008-05:00

Photos of the THOR Family Day are posted on Tom's photo site. Eventually some of them will find their way onto the THOR Web Site. Some touch-up will be done before posting (and e-mailing) to the web site.

A great time was had by all. Just awesome weather, fun on bicycles for kids of all ages, good food, and good company.

Trail Closure at Swanson Park

2010-10-05T20:14:00.003-05:00

The old trail North West of the Fire Department training area is officially closed by the City of Bellevue in both directions. The new trail that parallels the fence line is still good to go. The old closed off trail is on private property and the land owner wants everyone off their land.

THe City has made the decision to block the trail with fencing and post No Trespassing signs and Posted Private Property on behalf of the owner. The areas are well marked with caution tape.

THOR leadership is engaged with Bellevue officials to maintain a good working relationship and keep and open dialog with regards to this matter.

Please honor the land owner's wishes and stay out of the old trail. If you see someone tearing down the new fences or signage please report it to the authorities.

Take the time to educate other riders of the situation, respect the land owner's rights and wishes, and spread the word quickly.

Lewis and Clark Trail Day

2010-10-05T09:00:00.000-05:00

Hi All!
I was hoping you could join the devoted for one last Trail Day at Lewis and Clark.
I've had some contact with a person with the Geologic Society and have maps with defined boundaries. This could help us in making some decisions about any re-routing we might want to do.
Please plan to gather on
Sunday - October 17th1:00 pmLewis and Clark parking lotWhat to bring: axes, hatchets, chain saws, weed wacker, loppers, Rogue Hoes!, hand trimmers, anything to help clear a trail.
And Gloves! Don't forget gloves!
Pray the weather holds -
See you there

Save Manawa: Do it for the children

2010-09-27T22:19:00.002-05:00

Manawa is in great need! To get the trail rideable, we need all hands on deck for some serious log cutting and moving. Fifteen boy scouts pitched in last week! If they can do it, so can we!

Day: Saturday 10/2
Time: 9-noon
Place: Manawa trail head
Bring: saws, straps, loppers. Park has many tools we can use as well.

BYOK day is only a couple weeks away. Let's do it for the children!

Thank you.
Roxy

Adams Park trail work

2010-09-22T14:39:00.002-05:00

Need a little help on Tuesday 9-28 at 6:15 pm. I plan to mow, remove a down tree and remove grass from the trail. Weed eaters and hand tools are needed. Should not take long. Meet at the recreation center parking lot. Thanks so much. Dan

BYOKMTB DAY - SATURDAY, OCT 9

2010-09-21T18:44:00.000-05:00

To honor IMBA's national holiday, we're celebrating Bring Your Own Kid Mountain Biking Day.

This is a chance to bring the whole family out for a fun, guided ride, followed by some awesome food and drinks. It's the best way to introduce your kids to the most fun they'll have on two wheels!

Manawa has been off limits all year because of flooding but we are finally able to ride the short loop, and we want to celebrate. The short loop is perfect for the kiddos and first time riders. It's flat and fun! After the ride, head across the street for some grub and good times on the Dream Land playground, which was designed by children! It's huge!

We hope to see you and your family. Bring 'em all. The more the merrier.

If the trails are too wet to ride, we'll ride the paved trail instead. Keep an eye here and Face Book for details.

Click here for the flyer.

We could use volunteers. Please contact Dave Packard at 402-926-9696 or David.A.Packard@usace.army.mil.

Second Trail Day 18 Sept

2010-09-14T14:55:00.002-05:00

Hello all,

Frank has scheduled another trail day for Saturday morning to finish up where we left off. Probably trimmed 60% percent of the total trail and moved some dirt this last Saturday.

Thanks to Butch, Alex and Steve plus Frank and his son this last Saturday.

We'll have some brand new power tools to break in too!

A few areas need some drainage cleaned out and some edges on heavily rutted parts knocked down.

Its pretty sweet.

Martin

Swanson Trail Maintenance 11 Sept

2010-09-09T19:59:00.002-05:00

Folks,

Busy weekend with racing and all that. If your not racing Saturday Frank could use some help on Saturday at 8am for a couple hours.

Need a few wackers and clippers to trim the trail back, lots of stuff starting to hang into the trail.

Oh, and there is one tree that needs to be removed at the road crossing going to Tetanus Ridge.

workdays at lake manawa trail sept 2, 7, 8

2010-09-01T23:29:00.004-05:00

(Steve, Sorry I didn't get this posted a couple days ago. Dale)

Thursday, Sept 2 - mow and trim large portions of trail. 6 pm till dark.
Meet by red truck in parking lot.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Sept 7, 8 -- 6 pm till dark.
Will have shovels, blower, chainsaw, and trimmers. Come put them to work.
Meet by red truck in parking lot.

Bring work clothing, bug spray and your bike to ride to areas that need to be worked.

Thursday, Sept 9 - come and ride the trail and enjoy your work!

Steve D.

things learned on the CC inaugural ride

2010-08-30T01:38:00.004-05:00

Great to see about 20 people come out to the inaugural ride! Riders hailed from Fremont, Valley, Wahoo, Lincoln, and Omaha. Seems everybody liked the new trail.

Two kiosks were installed Saturday by an Eagle Scout. These will have maps and other info shortly.

It's easy to miss the entrance to the singletrack.
To get to the singletrack from the parking lot, ride past the buildings and over the lawn along the bluff (currently flagged). The trail circles behind a cross and then turns right onto a trail and then takes a quick left onto the singletrack. If you are riding on a wide trail along the ridge, you missed the singletrack entrance.

The tread is compacting and it's getting easier to see. Orange tape is the primary markings, though there are silver arrows inside of different colored circles nailed to trees also. You should be riding on the knotted side of the orange tape.

The armored descent to the creek is very slippery.
Currently, the entrance to the armored (cement pieces put together jigsaw style) descent requires a right turn shortly after entering. Any speed will push you off towards the left into a rut, or worse, a tree. Until this entry is improved, please brake before the cement and roll onto it at slow speed.

Check the trail availability before driving out there.
Though written elsewhere, just a reminder to check the Calvin Crest MTB Trail page to see if the trail is available. Some customers have activities that will close the trail.

calvin crest trail availability - check before ride

2010-08-30T00:58:00.002-05:00

Please check Calvin Crest trail availability before driving out there to ride.

Calvin Crest MTB Trail Inaugural Ride this Sunday

2010-08-26T16:48:00.004-05:00

This latest map includes the Tower Loop. Color shows the elevation from a deep blue low of 1213' to dark orange high of 1387'. There are also 10' dark isoclinic lines.

Chris, Craig, and I did a recon lap Wednesday evening and the trail is in great shape! Craig and staff put in 60+ hrs of trimming and mcleod work to get the trail ready for the inaugural ride this Sunday at 2pm.

Please be a part of the opening ride and celebration this Sunday and stay for hot dogs and chips afterwards. What the trail needs most is to be ridden. The tread is soft in areas because it hasn't been compacted. The more bikers and laps we put in Sunday, the better the trail will pedal.

Please don't ride before Sunday at 2. Calvin Crest received 2.5" of rain Tuesday morning and there were several climbs we had to push and a wet area along the Platter River. A couple more days of drying will only enhance the riding!

Directions to Calvin Crest.

Calvin Crest MTB Trail Inaugural Ride

2010-08-11T12:49:00.004-05:00

Sunday, Aug 29
Ride at 2pm
Eat around 5pm
$3 donation for hotdog, chips, fruit, juice, water
Park next to basketball court
Directions to Calvin Crest
Questions: tpmbt at cox dot net

Tread work at Tranquility Saturday, 07-17, 24

2010-07-14T11:50:00.004-05:00

Saturdays, July 17 and 24
08:00-11:00
Meet at Fort St parking lot

Action Items:
- tread work on south half
- clear branches, new growth on north half

Tools: rogue hoes, mcleods, pulaskis, mclintocks, loppers, folding saws

We have tools if you don't.

We will be edging the ruts, changing them from U shaped to V and tamping down excess dirt in bottom of tread. SouthHill climb needs the most work; camelback bypass and SouthHill Descent switchbacks too.

Temperature will be warm, bring water.

For those with time and energy, bring a bike to ride afterwards.

tranquility park danger!!!

2010-07-09T16:31:00.002-05:00

Just heard from a rider that the cut on the south descent where they are expanding the tennis courts - a grader went through and there is a two foot vertical edge.

We will fix after work tonight.

Always be careful out there.

I'm going to toot our horn

2010-07-02T23:28:00.005-05:00

Going to toot Bike Masters and Bike Masters Cycling Club's horn for purchasing a zero turn mower the trail crew can use at Tranquility.

THOR says: Hail to our supporters!

2010-06-25T09:18:00.001-05:00

As they say in soccer, SSSSSSCOOOOOOOOOOORE! The Hails to the Trails was a huge success. Our goal was to raise $2500. Well, because of our wonderful supporters, we bettered that by almost $1000!!! Yes, lovers of dirt and all things single track, we brought in almost $3500! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.

The movie was sold out! Can you dig it? A movie about a mountain bike race. Who woulda thunk? I was completely amazed.

The panel discussion was a great follow up after the movie. Topics ranged from the movie, to racing to advocacy and how it all ties into living a healthy and active lifestyle. All good things. Damn, bikes are fun and happy toys!

A special thanks to presenting sponsors TREK Omaha, TREK Corporation, Fox Racing Shox, New Belgium, and our partners Film Streams, Barley's Bar. And to all of the supporting businesses and individuals who contributed. We couldn't have done it without you.

And because I'm writing this blog post, a personal thank you to Dave "the Muffin Man" Packard who never said no, nah or never. You, my man, are a rockstar. I couldn't have pulled this off without your help. Thanks for always answering your phone! I promise to not call again for a long time.

It was a great event. Thank you everyone for supporting us. It makes all the time we spend working on the trails worth the effort.

THOR Prizes - Drool, drool...

2010-06-24T11:23:00.000-05:00


	AUCTION PRIZE LIST


Canfields	Coleman Cooler
Body Smith	Fitness Jump Start Consultation
Schultz	photo print of rock formation in Arches NP
TREK Store of Omaha	TREK Soho Single Speed Bike
	CAPO Monza Jersey Mens (L) and CAPO Monza Bib Short Mens (L) KIT
	Reba 29 er fork
	SID WC 26 inch fork
	SRAM XO long cage rear der.
	SRAM XO trigger shift 9spd set
	SRAM 11-32 mtn cassette
	Truv. Noir xc 175 crank
	GXP Bottom Bracket team
	Astana autographed Jersey, Tour of Missouri Team 2009
	Contour Helmet Cam x2
	WSD camelback
Tom Kessler	Photo
Jeff Koterba	Cartoon
Performance Chiropractic	Consultation Voucher (Chiropractic and Release)
Monkey Wrench	cat eye heart rate monitor
National Parks Service	Ken Burns National Parks book and DVD set
Roxy	Ladies only gift pack
Fox Racing Shox	back pack






	RAFFLE PRIZE LIST


TREK Corporation	ladies helmets & gloves, pumps, commuter bags
Backwoods	$25 gift card
Santosha Massage	(2) $25 gift cards
Omaha Steaks	gift bag of seasonings & misc.
Nierman	Death Poster
Nierman	Steel Poster
New Belgium	New Belgium Tshirt / Pint glass
TREK Store of Omaha	Ladies Trek/High Gear Carhart shirts
	Bontrager arm warmers
	TREK wsd computer
	Castelli Rosa Corsa Glove Mens
	Castelli Tenacia Gloves Womens
	Catelli Luna Sock Womens
	Castelli ROSA corsa sock mens
	Castelli Prologo Hats x 2
	Castelli Retro Cycling Cap x 4
	Castelli Prologo SL Jersey Womens
	Castelli Provocante Short Womens
	Castelli Endurance Bib Short Mens
	Castelli Prologo Jersey Mens
	Garmin FR60 heart rate monitor
	3 - TREK Time handlebar watches
	2 - TREK ION LED Headlights
	3 - BT ECO seat bags
	Honey Stinger Chews
	Jett Schwag
Olympia	serfas seat bag
	blackburn hand pump
	planet bike light
	(3) insulate bottles
	water bottle
Chili's Restaurant	(2) $25 gift cards

IMBA	hats
	racing socks
	6 prs trail builder socks
Barley's	2 - $10 gift certificates
Twin Six	(5) Tshirts, (4) bottles, (3) prs socks
Cycle Works	mtb book
	cycling experience DVD/lube/cleaner
	strata wireless computer
	wrench force mini pump
	mello yello bell
Bike Masters	Sigma BC1106 DTS Wireless Bike Computer (pink)
	Two Sigma HIRO Electronic LED Tail Lights
	Bell Array Road Helmet (small)
Monkey Wrench	kona mtb gloves
	king cage TI tire levers
	sox - 2
	chris king shirt mens (M)
	caps
	caps swobo
	wtb grips
	Kona water bottle
Xtreme Wheels	Fox helmet (sm)
	downhill pants
	flat pedals
	bike locks
	grips
	sleeveless wind jkt
	jerseys
	KORE road saddle
Bike Way	1 set of Ritchey WCS bar ends
	1 set of Adidas Climaproof MTB bootie
	1 each set of wool The Bike Way socks in Medium and large
	1 pkg of Specialized S-wrap bar wrap
	1 each The Bike Way jersey in Medium and Large
Fox Racing Shocks	Tshirts
	hats
	posters, stickers
	socks
	tech shirts
Trek Omaha	2 - Capo Track Jacket (L)
	CAPO Cortina Jersey Womens (M)
	CAPO Cortina Bib Short Mens (M)
Complete Nutrition	Energy powders, shakes, etc.
Green Street	2 - $25 gift certificates
SPOKIZ	pair of sunglasses

Auction Prize list

2010-06-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

It's all about us!

2010-06-22T23:26:00.002-05:00

It's a THOR weekend, people. We encourage all members to attend and bring friends!

Thursday FUNd raiser. Woot-woot. Bring lots of CASH!

Barleys, 5:15pm, 15th & Cuming.

Friday - mtb ride with Travis Brown.

Meet at ped bridge at 12-noon to ride L&C and back. Pray that trail knowledge gives you some kind of an edge.

Saturday - Adam's Park Grand Opening. 12-2.

Bring your kids and their bikes. Just under 1/2 mile single track loop that's perfect for the little ones. Local YMCA to have other events going as well. Family fun!

Hopefully no umbrella necessary!

Tranquility Trail Day Wed June 23rd 6-8pm

2010-06-21T19:54:00.002-05:00

Hi folks,

We are looking for 10-12 people to work at tranq wed evening. Meet at the trail head @ 6pm. The goals for the night are:

Use sod cutter to cut in the inner loop bypass
Clean out drains on erosion control devices
Replace broken trail markers
Raise canopy on north side of trail

Bring hoes and loppers if you have them or we will have some tools to use during the trail day. As always, bring bug spray and gloves. We will have some water on hand as well.

**Added bonus**
Come out and see the extremely cool piece of equipment that Bike Masters and Bike Masters Cycling Club have provided for Tranquility.

Hope to see ya there!

Tranq Trail Council

Mana-Swamp - 2010 - Part 2

2010-06-14T17:03:00.002-05:00

Once again this year, Lake Manawa mountain bike trails are under water. These trails are CLOSED until the water recedes and the trails dry out.

Hails to the Trails: FUNd Raiser Event: June 24

2010-06-10T12:30:00.004-05:00

Let's raise the roof as well as some funds! This event is open to the pubic. The more the merrier!
Over $5000 in prizes!
Meet Travis Brown!
RSVP on Face Book at Thor Trails or email roxzanne.abbott@gmail.com if you don't "do" facebook.

manawa work done - wed workday cancelled

2010-06-08T23:27:00.002-05:00

Thanks to all who helped give manawa a hair cut and trim low branches. The crew, female and child included, put in 17 hours in two days to get our trails looking awesome.

No trailwork day needed Wednesday. Too muddy to ride now but Thursday should be about the right time!

Steve D.

manawa traildays Mon-Wed June 7-9

2010-06-05T09:09:00.002-05:00

Manawa has taken the last couple of storms very well but its time for a hair cut. Please plan on attending at least one of the trail days below.

All times are from 6p.m. To 8p.m. THOR needs your help!

June 7 mowing the trails. Also trim them. I will be at the rangers station at 4:15 to pick up the mower and get started early if anyone else wants to help. The main group will start at 6p.m.

June 8 trim the trails, cut back any low branches

June 9 trim the trails, cut back any low branches

We have two trimmers that has your name on one of them. Come and put them to work.

Steve D.

SAVE THE DATE - THOR FUNd Raiser

2010-06-01T22:46:00.000-05:00

Hoes in the House!

2010-05-24T20:25:00.003-05:00

THOR's new hoes have arrived....Rogue Hoes especially designed for trail building arrived today. (Authors snivel, Only three days late!). Boy we could have used these at L&C on Saturday but with the stellar performance by all we made due just fine.

4 of these are designated for THOR collectively and three are personal buys which I'll be delivering in the next week or two. Who ever needs to borrow them drop me an email or give me a call and we'll coordinate a hand off. I'll maintain long term accountability for a while.

Exercise extreme safety these things are sharp. USE ONLY ON THINGS YOU WANT TO DESTROY.

Trail day anyone....anyone?

New Trail Entrance @ Lewis & Clark

2010-05-22T21:54:00.010-05:00

In spite of the early morning shower in N Council Bluffs, the ground was in good shape for trail work. There were 8-10 that showed up to complete the new route replacing Neverrest.

The trail crew got the rhythm - a production line down the trail.

The goal was complete the trail tread in areas that needed benching - on the downhill trail. The downhill trail provides an entrance to replace the chute the was to the right of the Monument.

When done, the crew moved over to the uphill replacing Neverrest. The new uphill trail was named "Super Model" for the curves that replace the straight shot up the hill.

At about noon - right on schedule - the crew headed back to the parking lot.

Last task was to cut open the new entrance of the trail. After that, the crew relaxed over "adult refreshments" and smoked meat.

Now, both of the trail entrance and exit are near the gate to the Monument. Entrance (downhill) is on the left -- Exit (uphill) is on the right.

teen serve at L&C greatly appreciated

2010-05-21T21:47:00.003-05:00

Teen Serve, a local homeschool service group, came out a second month to work on the Neverrest reroute.

25 teens and 5 adults put in 50 hrs clearing the trail corridor the rest of the way on the downroute and uproute. All but 75' of the downroute is benched, plus about 10' at the beginning. The 75' benching is on a steep slope and will probably need 1' dug out of the high side for a 2' wide tread. The uproute needs benching but much of that is just clearing off vegetation on contours and 20-30% uphill sweeping 180's.

I plan to have both routes open at the end of tomorrow's trailday. The quality of the uproute will depend on the number of workhours (volunteers) put into it.

Saturday, May 22
09:00-noon

Bring a bike for a celebration lap.
Heard there will be smoked meat afterwards.
Bring your favorite beverage.

Adams Park I.2

2010-05-16T04:36:00.006-05:00

THOR and Activate Omaha held a Trail Day Saturday. Nearly 20 attended to work on the new singletrack at Adams Park in North Omaha.

Kent and Steve were there early. Renting a sod cutter was an awesome idea. Made shorter work on the normal back-breaking work of stripping the sod. (The sod cutting effort was helped by Dale cutting the grass before stripping the sod).

When Tom arrived, Kent and Steve were playing football with some of the neighborhood kids. A couple hours we would have them riding bikes on the new trail.

Once the sod cutter was through, the crew started rolling the sod and hauling it up to the walk. (Parks crews will move it later - they have a spot to use the sod. Don't you love it when a plan comes together!)

The new trail turns around in the woods. The rough corridor was cut. It will take another trail day to complete that section of the trail.

Photos of Adams Park I.2 Trail Day are on Tom's photo site.

At the end of the trail day, local kids and THOR members were riding the new trail which clocks in at about 0.4 mile.

ADAM'S PARK - PHASE I.2

2010-05-13T16:01:00.000-05:00

ALL HANDS ON DECK
SATURDAY 10-12
BRING LOPPERS, SHOVELS AND RAKES, SUN SCREEN.
WATER PROVIDED.

ADAMS PARK
30TH AND BEDFORD

today's manawa trailwork cancelled

2010-05-12T08:25:00.002-05:00

Manawa work day tonight, May 12, 2010 Cancelled due to weather and muddy trails.

A BIG thank you to the two adults and a little boy that helped mow and remove the few branches across the trail.

Please make your plans to attend Adams Park trailday this weekend, 10:00-noon.

Steve D.

Platte River State Park

2010-05-11T15:01:00.004-05:00

Just a reminder to all, Platte River State park is now running the Horse Rides. That means refrain from riding anything past Owen's crossing bridge and the trails over in the horse area from 9am-4pm daily. Bikes tend to scare the horses and we don't need access stopped completely. This will continue throughout the summer. It will give you a chance to ride the other main trails in the park.
Platte Trail Crew.

L&C trailwork fri may 21, sat may 22

2010-05-09T22:27:00.003-05:00

I will be taking 25 or so teens from Teen Serve to work on Lewis & Clark Monument mtb trail additions on neverrest, from 09:00-11:30 Friday, May 21.

Will hopefully have separate entrance and exit routes functioning after Saturday's trailwork, from 09:00 - 12:00. If you ride L&C, please put in a couple hours of trailwork on Friday or Saturday to get this old girl's loop up and ridable again.

manawa traildays tu/wed may 11 and 12

2010-05-05T23:44:00.000-05:00

May 11, 2010
Mowing the trails. 430p.m. till dark. Need at least one more person to help with the mower in case we get stuck and help put the machine away. This job takes most of the night. You don't have to work you can just ride around the trails and be on call if needed, or bring your fishing pole and fish in the river.
6 p.m. till 8p.m. come down and help trim the trails and move storm damage out of the way this will be a smaller group, meet in the parking lot.

May 12, 2010
Meet by the red truck in the parking lot at 6p.m. Trim what we couldn't get with the mower. Move flood damage objects out of the way in wood chooper and other needed areas. Bench the section before the camel humps. Done by 8 p.m. and ride.

Tools to bring. We have two trimmers (just need someone to run them). We will have two sets of lopper (just need someone to use them). Shovels bring yours. Rakes we have you covered. Also need someone to wear the backpack blower to blow wood chooper. Bring your bug spray. Like always THOR will provide gatorade.

Please plan to attend at least one of these days. THOR needs your help at Manawa.

TNR. May 13, 2010, enjoy YOUR hard work and ride the groomed trails.

Steve D.

Pre-race Trail Day at Platte

2010-05-04T21:31:00.003-05:00

Last minute notice but if you have some time Wednesday head on down to Platte River State Park and give Paul and crew a hand.

Paul will be out there at 11 but other folks will show up at about 3pm.

The trail is in good shape but could use some light touching up with weed wackers, a few eye pokers trimmed back and a couple preventive strikes on a few trees about ready to drop on the trail.

Get out and ride it afterwards!!!!!

IMBA and the Great Outdoors Initiative

2010-05-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

Click here to read IMBA Executive Director Mike Van Abel joined President Obama for the signing of the "America’s Great Outdoors" initiative at a conference in Washington, DC

Lake Manawa Clean-up Day

2010-05-02T18:23:00.003-05:00

THOR members were among the over 400 folks that spend a couple hours of their Sunday to clean up Lake Manawa State Park. The THOR crew spend the time cleaning trash around the mountain bike trails.

Forgive me if I missed someone, but we did have our Trail leader Steve, former President Mike, member Mike, Webmaster Tom, and the Matheson family in attendance.

In the lower photo, THOR members take a look at the trash picked up in the mountain bike area.

Following transferring the trash to a dumpster, some lucky participants brought home prizes from the raffle. Weather turned raining just as the festivities were wrapping up. The rain and colder temperature dampened desires to ride a lap at Manawa.

Donate to THOR

2010-04-29T20:06:00.003-05:00

Folks,

Please encourage your friends to donate to THOR. The donation box will be at race forums coming near you.

THOR has some big expenses this year and the account is starting to get shallow.

Thanks!

6th Annual Lake Manawa Clean up Day

2010-04-28T06:46:00.002-05:00

Are you tired of riding by the same piece of garbage on the bike trail? Now is your chance to pick it up along with any other trash along the trail and river.

When: Sunday, May 2, 2010, 1 p.m. till 3 p.m.
Meet: At shelter 6, will we be introduced to other by DNR staff (wear your thor shirts)
What to bring: gloves, and work clothes.

May want to bring your bike to ride the cleaned trails when we are finished. This event is a lake wide clean up with us focusing on the bike area. Lets see how many mountain bikers we can get to help out with this project. If you come late just meet at the river ramp and start filling the black trailor with trash, bags will be inside it. Help celebrate earth day by picking up trash on the bike trails at Lake Manawa. Hope to see your face Sunday.

Steve D.

adams park beginner loop flagged

2010-04-22T21:05:00.007-05:00

I flagged the rest of the beginner loop at Adams Park this afternoon. Mowed to make sod cutting easier and to see layout if flags are removed. 3hrs onsite.

Standing near end of trail completed with IMBA.
Didn't take pic of open area beyond this leading into the turn around in trees.

Just past turn around. Returning to start along ridge line. You can also see lower trail to left.

Hope it goes well for those busting sod and benching this weekend.

L&C trailwork report from 4.17,18

2010-04-22T01:09:00.005-05:00

Had 22 kids and 4 adults from Teen Serve out Friday morning - about 60hrs of work. They worked hard and were great to work with. Cleared trail corridor of brush, roots, and leaves - guessing about 400' of new trail corridor cut.

Below, this is on neverrest where the new downhill crosses.

This is new down trail at bottom of neverrest just before it connects with the current ridge trail that goes south to the 4 corners.

This is the new up trail from the four corners paralleling the ridge trail and dumping onto the ridge trail just before the left turn downhill and right turn onto neverrest.

On Saturday, another 35 hrs were put in.

Martin, Butch?, and Todd took the saws and 9 hrs of work to cleared out some difficult trees blocking the trail.

Paul, Vince, Dave, Brian, Todd, Corey, and myself benched the trails cleared by the Teen Serve group on Friday. Probably half the downhill trail is done.

Because there is so much trailwork to do on the THOR trails and not enough manpower, we will use the lower part of neverrest and cut in just the top two of five switchbacks for the uphill trail, saving the rest till later this Fall, hopefully.

The current neverrest trail is still 2 way traffic so be careful.

calvin crest trailwork today

2010-04-18T08:23:00.002-05:00

Though I told the L&C crew yesterday I would return there this afternoon, I had already committed to Calvin Crest this afternoon.

Sorry for the miscommunication. Those who worked yesterday at L&C, clearing the remainder of the new down trail of brush, including the roots would be a great task if you find yourself there.

Tool of choice: pulaski or pickaxe.

At CC, we have some signage to install and checkover the trail for trees to clear. I plan to be at CC around 13:00.

For the rest of you reading this several days later, never mind. 8-)

L&C REROUTE 4/17

2010-04-15T13:38:00.000-05:00

ALL HANDS ON DECK.

Dale and Co. are heading to L&C on Saturday to work on the reroute of L&C's entrance/exit so that we can have two way traffic. Head over and lend a hand!

party or work at manawa tues apr 13

2010-04-12T12:52:00.002-05:00

Party, or work, down at Manawa this Tues. 4p.M till dark.

I have homemade goodies from the scouts at church to eat while you work.

Bring your shovels, and bikes and your own drinks if you prefer something other than gatorade. Just come and have fun, the river is waiting for you!

Steve D.

Thank you THOR

2010-04-11T22:42:00.000-05:00

To all who supported and attended the IMBA trail care class and trail building,

Thank you for all of your hard work. You came together like the amazing group you are and made some things happen.

We have much to do to finish Adams. We are up for the challenge. I saw it on Saturday. Stay tuned for a schedule of trail days coming.

You guys just rock.
Roxy

Adams Park trail takes shape

2010-04-10T21:15:00.003-05:00

From Omaha.com (Omaha World-Herald)

See article...

Adams Park Meeting

2010-04-09T20:10:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, THOR members participated in the community meeting to discuss trail plans at Adams Park. In the photo, Orentheian Everett (right), Director of the Adams Park Community Center, is talking with Steve and Morgan Lommele, Subaru/IMBA Trail Care Crew.

Director Everett, Tammie Dodge of Activate Omaha, and Kent McNeill (THOR President) addressed the attendees. Steve and Morgan gave a presentation about IMBA and singletrack trails. Representatives of the City of Omaha, National Parks Service, and the North Omaha community attended. A Q&A session was followed with a general discussion.

Watch for more information about the Adams Park efforts. Photos will be posted on the THOR web site.