Pioneer Press Article

[KleinCrazy]

The Pioneer Press will be running an article about MORC and last weeks trail work at Lebanon in Tomorrows Paper.

It will be in the Out-n-About section of the Express.

Should lead to some very good exposure for us and might lead to more members/workers

James

[Don Youngdahl]

Glad to see that one of our riders had success in getting the Pioneer Press to give us some coverage. I've had three contacts with an outdoors writer for the PP, a mountain biker who I met on the trail, and couldn't get him (or his editor?) interested in a story. Guess it's the old story that persistance pays off.

Don Youngdahl:)

[Trevize1138]

Originally posted by Don Youngdahl
Glad to see that one of our riders had success in getting the Pioneer Press to give us some coverage. I've had three contacts with an outdoors writer for the PP, a mountain biker who I met on the trail, and couldn't get him (or his editor?) interested in a story. Guess it's the old story that persistance pays off.

Don Youngdahl:)

Actually, I didn't persist. I just sent one email and they jumped all over it! :crazy2:

But, hey, maybe you helped soften 'em up for me?

Seriously, though, I really tried to pull on my experience as a graduate of a mass comm program to get them interested. I took classes that touched on PR techniques and how to grab an editor or reporter's attention effectively. As a result, the email read more like a press release.

I may have to buy a few copies of the Pie Press tomorrow! Woo hoo!

[Lil' Punk]

BOOYAH!!:banana: . . . .hehe:D

[Jake]

Thanks, Chris. Excellent job. ...now THERE'S a contribution!

[gopherhockey]

Posted on Thu, Jul. 31, 2003

Trailblazers
BY RICK SHEFCHIK
Pioneer Press

As sporadic groups of mountain bikers ride past Jan Lee's trail-building crew at Lebanon Hills Regional Park in Eagan, many express their gratitude for the guys with the picks and shovels.

"Thanks, fellas."

"Appreciate your hard work."

"Thank you, guys, for fixing everything!"

The trail crew — members of Minnesota Off Road Cyclists — is grateful for the thank-yous, because that's all they receive for their work.

Every Tuesday evening, MORC musters a crew of about a dozen volunteers to either build or repair mountain bike trails at Lebanon Hills Park in Eagan. Since the volunteer effort began, they've extended the park's mountain-bike trail system from a 2.2-mile loop to 7.5 miles. In addition, MORC estimates they've saved the park system as much as $70,000 in maintenance costs each year.

Mountain bikers generally prefer tight shorts and wildly colorful shirts, but Lee's crew looks more like a chain gang as they assemble their tools and spray on their bug dope prior to plunging into the woods at Lebanon Hills Park on a recent Tuesday evening.

The project this night is to reroute a steep downhill stretch of trail that had become rutted from constant braking and skidding. The typical mountain-bike trail winds through dense woodlands along the sides of hills, rather than through the bottomlands, so water can't pool on the course. Many of the older trails follow cross-country skiing trails and were not properly built to withstand the erosion created by heavy bike traffic and bad weather.

Before the crew goes into the woods, Jan Lee instructs them on how to carry their picks, axes and shovels (always below the waist, rather than over the shoulder: "It's not, 'Hi-ho, it's off to work we go,' " Lee says. "We don't want to turn and hit anybody.") and how to lay the tools trailside when they're not being used (handles out toward the trail, rather than lying in the weeds, to prevent coming in contact with poison ivy).

Welcome to the glamorous sport of biking.

"This is not the place to meet women," joked James Ford, MORC's first vice president for trail development. "That's what paved trails around the lakes are for."

When they reach the section with the braking bumps, Lee and fellow MORC member John Lundell quickly survey the situation and bounce alternate routes off each other.

Lee determines that an S curve to the right of the existing trail will slow bikers down and allow them to enter the left-hand turn at the bottom of the hill under control, rather than riding the brakes.

"That'll be a fun trail," Lundell concurs.

Then both Lee and Lundell actually run the new route, as though they were on bikes, in order to experience the way a biker will handle the new curves between trees. They pronounce the route acceptable, and the crew immediately sets to work clearing a new trail by scraping off leaves, sticks and topsoil. In less than 10 minutes, the path of a new trail exists.

Meanwhile, bikers continue to ride by on the old trail.

"Riders up!" the crew shouts when each new biker rounds the turn at the top of the trail. Each of them rides the brakes as they take the steep, straight old line.

"See the problem?" Ford says. "Lock your brakes, skid the tires, kill the trail."

"Sometimes riders actually stop and help us," Lundell says. "It's so cool. Once you've helped build a trail, you feel a sense of ownership. It really changes the riding experience."

There is now a science to mountain-bike trail building. Members of MORC have attended trail-building seminars put on by the International Mountain Bike Association, which insists on a 45-degree bank on the upper side of all trails and a 5-degree slant to the trail bed itself, all to facilitate runoff flowing smoothly over, rather than down, the trail.

Later, as the trail nears its completed stage, MORC officers Dale Gundberg and Tim Weg-ner arrive to check out the work. There are so many MORC volunteers on the scene now that subsequent riders are asked to walk their bikes around that section of trail.

Wegner and Gundberg oversee the embedding of large rocks on the top of the trail, to serve as a visual impetus for riders to slow down entering the new S-curve. Meanwhile, crew members dig up the old trail and drag logs and leaves over it. By the time they leave, the new section will be open and the old trail will be gone.

"The riders will define the trail," Lee says. "We'll put the leaves around it and in the fall, it will be perfect."

Wegner and Gundberg are the ones who deal with public bodies to push trail building and offer MORC's assistance. The group has also built trails in Battle Creek Park and the Minnesota River Trail and is beginning a new project at Harmon Park in Inver Grove Heights.

"I did 120 hours of volunteer work in June and didn't ride at all," Gundberg said.

Just like those bikers who offer thanks as they ride by, Dakota County Parks Director Steve Sullivan is grateful for the effort MORC puts into trail building.

"I think they're Dakota County Parks' finest example of a volunteer effort that results in a win-win solution for one another," Sullivan says. "And I think it's truly a good example of participatory government.

"They've been able to demonstrate leadership via their planning and expertise with their sustainable trails approach, and they've been able to be implementers through their own labor force in moving forward and advancing mountain biking within Dakota County parks."

The result? According to MORC member and trail volunteer Chris Druckenmiller, "Most people would agree Lebanon Hills is the best single track in the Twin Cities area."

All it took was a little bug dope, a lot of sweat and a dedicated group of bikers willing to trade their time for better trails.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rick Shefchik can be reached at rshefchik@pioneerpress.com or (651) 228-5577.

[Kingbozo]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[KleinCrazy]

Great article, though it might get me in trouble with some female riders I know. oops.

Pics look great in the paper, and we take up a large piece of the front page and the whole back.

Only thing that would have mede it 10X better is if they had included our Website address so people knew where to go for information on us.


oh well, can't ask for to much I guess.

L8er
James

[Trevize1138]

Doh! That's right, no URL!

I think every time I talked to them I said "You know, you can really find out a lot of information at www.morcmtb.org ..."

Oh well, still a great article! I like that it starts by describing riders going by and thanking MORC guys for their work. Very nice. :)

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Trevize1138]

Just had to add:

I'm very glad the story was structured the way it is: concentrating on how much work MORC puts into these trails and only getting scattred "thanks" back from riders happening by. Then it has quotes from Dakota Co. singing our praises. Only at the end do you get a quote from me saying it's the "best singletrack in the Twin Cities."

My biggest fear was seeing the article turn out like this:

Lebannon Hills: Xtreme at its best!

by Xtreeeem Dan, Dirty Rag Times

Yo! If you're looking for the most extreme mountain biking in the Twin Cities area, get yo azz to Lebannon Hills, boyeeee! I don't care what you have to do to get there: rob old ladies to buy a mountain bike, knock off a liquor store. Whatevah!

This trail's da BOMB! There are signs saying to ride one way, but it's XTREME if you ride it backwards and watch those silly foos crash into trees when you kick 'em outta the way.

And, when it rains, the mud is HELLAFIED fun, doods!
(rest of story buried as MORC on E7 ... )

(MORC continued from E1)
Oh, yeah, and MORC builds it, probably with your tax dollars ...



Be sure to send an email to Rick Shefchik at the Pie Press and thank him for his work! :)

[Brick]

It's good to see the press run an article like this. The press seems to have been willing to recieve a story idea, take input from the group in question, and write a good positive story. (I love it when a plan comes together!!)

Back in early June, the Press ran a story on Geocaching that worked out in just the oppisite fashion. The MNGCA (Minnesota Geocaching Association) worked with the press and provided resources about what geocaching is, our work with land and park management, etc. The article that resulted was NOT positive and portrayed our group in a somewhat negative fashion, completely counter to our understanding of the purpouse and scope of the article.

:mad:

Wheter the issue was one with the writer, his editors, has never been determined. Needless to say I kinda held my breath when I started reading the story this morning, expecting the worst. I was pleasantly suprised to find the article that I did, a well written piece on a group of enthusiasts who give back to their sport and community.

For those who are interested, the 'Caching article is here:
http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/local/5992641.htm

and the Minnesota Geocaching Association site is here:
http://www.mngca.org/

[manual63]

Chris has written for a newspaper before.........let's hope that never happens again......:)

[gopherhockey]

I too am glad it did not center on the XX loop or anything in it. Although interesting and probably would have also made a good story, it definitely isn't what we would have been shooting for in an article. Great timing that we just happened to be off the XX loop that night for the first time...

I too think it was very well written (except I asked them to leave out the comments about women on the trails and they still kept it in there...)

I don't know about the picture of Tim on the back page although the fake rock he is carrying is a nice touch though ;)

[ryno lite]

Great article! I think it made us sound pretty good! Nice to see some positive press. It took an article about MORC for me to buy my first Pioneer Press in years! I'm still a little irritated that they took down my favorite basketball team a few years ago (not saying they didn't deserve it). I might have to start reading it again now that they've given us some press.

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

[Maverick]

It was a good article but I was hoping they would've included a group photo. Oh well, at least it focused on the good and that it included info about MORC.

Gave us attention, whoooooo hoooooooooooo :banana: :banana: :banana: