New Trails Coming to Anne Arundel County?

New Trails Coming to Anne Arundel County?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 21, 2008
Contact
Michael Klasmeier

Millersville, MD -- The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and the Mid-Atlantic Off Road Enthusiasts (MORE) have entered into agreement to survey the current state of trails in the Severn Run Natural Environment Area. The process will involve volunteers cataloguing the current trails and ascertaining their viability as part of a sustainable trail system on the 1800 acre piece of land.

Severn Run NEA encompasses the headwaters of the Severn River in the Millersville area. Currently the piece of land situated in the central part of Anne Arundel county and is underutilized. MORE's partnership with DNR is purposefully limited to feasibility for multi-use trails. If the soil and topography are appropriate for natural surface trails, design and construction could begin in early 2009.

'Many hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers head to Rosaryville State Park 30 miles to the south or Patapsco Valley State Park 25 miles to the north. There are no other large tracts of land in the immediate area for these users,' said Patrice Miller, Maryland Advocacy Director for MORE, an all-volunteer group that does trail maintenance and development in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC. 'Where there are trail users, there are people willing to act as stewards of the land to ensure it maintains its natural beauty.'

MORE is interested in getting hikers and equestrians involved in volunteering for this project. 'It will benefit everyone in the area to have a sustainable, healthy activity that is easily accessible,' said Michael Klasmeier, a member of MORE and local resident. 'I'll have my kids out there every chance I get. This is something great for the citizens of Anne Arundel county.'

Founded in 1992, MORE is a 501c (3) representing thousands of area mountain bikers. MORE maintains over 250 miles of natural surface trails in 25 parks around the region. Members contribute over 3,400 hours of volunteer labor annually, and have opened or constructed over 80 miles of new trail since 1995. The club leads hundreds of rides each year at local parks. MORE is committed to environmentally sound and socially responsible mountain biking, facilitating recreational trail cycling, educating about the sport of mountain biking, maintaining local trails, and advocating for increased multi-user trail access.


Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the state agency responsible for providing natural and living resource-related services to citizens and visitors. DNR manages more than 449,000 acres of public lands and 17,000 miles of waterways, along with Maryland's forests, fisheries and wildlife for maximum environmental, economic and quality of life benefits. A national leader in land conservation, DNR-managed parks and natural, historic and cultural resources attract 12 million visitors annually. DNR is the lead agency in Maryland's effort to restore the Chesapeake Bay, the state's number one environmental priority. Learn more at www.dnr.maryland.gov.

Patapsco Snow Ride

RickyD threw a line out this week looking for a ride on Friday. I offered to join him around lunch time and our group tripled in size.

It snowed a bit in the morning while I toiled away at work. I was hoping it would continue, not for the accumulation that might happen, but simply for the magical effect that snow seems to bring to people, especially goofy mountain bikers.

The snow stopped around 10:30. It snowed hard for 1/2 hour then nothing.

I got a call from Kent letting me know he was pulling out of the driveway to meet us. Good omen. As I piloted the auto up Landing Rd towards Rockburn Branch Park, I saw a flake. Then another.

Then a horizontal near white-out. 25 knot winds, HUGE flakes... I pulled in right behind Kent and we both LEAP out of our cars and rejoice at the heavily falling snow!

As Kent pulled out his new electric bike (carbon Kestrel with full Dura Ace) in the heavy snow, I bolted for the heated bathroom to change. When I came out, my bike was covered in snow. After waiting a few minutes for RickyD & Co., we got started on a beautiful ride through the snow-covered woods.

There was no ground. It was only snow and leaves. Pure white with perfect browns. And slippery. Not ice-slippery, but slippery. Especially the logs.

There were falls, there was laughing. There was slowing down. And there was cold.

The snow stopped, the wind cut and we rode. It was wonderful to be out.

After a mechanical delay and cold sunk into the bones, we finished the ride on perfect trails with tacky, cold dirt. It was a great day to be out.

I missed some of the mythical snow rides from last year but this year, this first snow ride was mine. And I got to share it with some good people.

Sue Wins Lawsuit

Mountain biker bounced from '04 Olympics wins suit

Friday, November 7, 2008; 11:31 AM

WHEELING, W.Va. -- A federal jury has awarded mountain biker Susan Haywood nearly $319,000 in a lawsuit over her removal from the U.S. Olympic team in 2004.

The West Virginian was replaced by Mary McConneloug for the Athens games after an arbitrator overturned USA Cycling's decision to add 15 points to Haywood's total in international rankings.

The arbiter said the award of the additional points wasn't justified.

The Davis resident sued USA Cycling in 2005. A federal jury in Wheeling decided Thursday that Haywood was entitled to the money as compensation for reasons including expenses, inconvenience, mental anguish and anger.

A spokesman for Colorado-based USA Cycling didn't immediately return a message Friday seeking comment.

True.

Thanks from DNR!

If you did work in Patapsco in the last year, this is for you, and it's funny...

Barrier Jumpin

I know it's been two weeks but we've been busy. Marc sent me a link to this photo so sorry for stealing it but...

I'll be uploading more of my DCCX pics for you to steal later. Good shot. Thanks.

The kids are now 4 and 7. Where does the time go?

Smart Car Passion - Road Trip

We had a pre-bid meeting on the eastern shore for a cleanup project at work and I managed to secure our Smart car for the trip. It's a little two-seater city car with a tiny engine. I put a few hundred miles on it and it's pretty sweet. Not a whole lot of pickup and the shifting is odd but once you get up to speed, it's a great ride!

I moved the seat all the way back and I couldn't reach the pedals. Sweet. A/C, rear defrost, rear wiper, tire pressure monitoring, am/fm/dc, panoramic glass roof, 5 speed auto or auto shift on the steering wheel with paddles or at the shifter on the floor.

I would totally drive one. Once you get in (the door is 80% the length of the whole car!), you forget that the car is small. EVERYBODY wants to know about it even though they dismiss their interest with 'be careful' as if the car itself makes you less safe. It doesn't.

If you have $12k and live in the city or need a second car, I would check it out. I would buy one, for sure. It's rad.

WE DID IT!

They announced the 11am states when I was on the phone with BK in NV and it was TOTAL CHAOS! He screamed back at me 'WOOHOO I'LL CALL YOU BACK!'

WOOHOO!

Can't wait for Inauguration Day!

Obama

It's looking good!

I've been texting with my buddy from Google. He's in NV still canvassing!

WOOHOO! (predicted).

Oh My God.