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Prez SezRAIN, RAIN, JUST GET

THE HELL OUT OF HERE!Well, IIIlII don't know about anybody else. but

this President has just about had enough wet weatherfor at least two summers! Oak Mountain has beengetting nailed by rain every day, and a large majorityof the sections now show it. Everyone, please do notskid your tires anywhere on the trail. We all need towatch out for those who might take our trail for granted-or do not know the damage they arecausing-and say something to them.

I want to thank all BUMP members who have beenshopping at the local bike shops which participate inour reimbursement program. (Read 5% PERCENT on

page two.) Last meeting we were awarded a check fromCahaba Cycles for $100.00. We are just now gettingthis program into full swing, but the offer isretroactive to March 1st. Please dig out your receiptsfrom Cahaba's or Bob's, and bring them to the nextmeeting. We greatly appreciate your participation,and we know the shops appreciate your patronage.

Thanks to all who showed up at the July 9th work-day. Even though there were just a few of you, quite afew " water bars" were installed to h elp steer thewater-flow off of the trails. Also some new bridgeshave been added: one on Rock Garden, and another,

just completed, on the newest section (that needs a

name) between the Cabin Road and the North

Trailhead. For this we wish to thank the local Eagle

Scout candidates for their time and efforts.

We had the big BUMP summer party at my place on

the evening of July 9th. We had a great turnout and

lots of good everything-including a cake shaped like

a bicycle created by Theresa Piercy. I want to thankeveryone who brought all the great food.

August 7th is our next trail maintenance work-day

and we need your support more than ever. Nearly allof the BUMP trail sections are in some way damaged

by the rain and need some repair. There will be prizes

awarded again: a Continental Pro tire and a water

bottle donated by Bob's Bikes. Please be proactivenow if you want to continue to ride at Oak Mountain.

See you on the trails. HUGH, THE LEADER

DIIP TffOUpffTS139 ( fac& ' 13ran J9

Sometimes when I go to a party and getambushed by a r enegade band of barley hops, I

kinda start seeing double which can be a little

confusing, and for some people it might even be

a little unpleasant. But when J get on mymountain bike the next day, I sce single ...

singletrack that is, which makes me focused,

and that's how J'd rather be.

GORTCCBy Hedda Rockhopper

Everybody knows it, but no one will just come out and say it.

WhileI risk oncemore rocking the entire trail-usingcommunity with

such controversial stuff as my articles are made oLthe voice of

journalism is yet un-tethered in this country and I must write what [must write. That said, may I be the first to break through this

universal taciturnity and proclaim .. .the goa tee i s the o f fi cial

fa cial ha ir of moun ta in bi ki ng ! With this immutable fact

firmly asserted, let us turn to trace the origins of this unique

phenomenon. Who, we must ask, grew the first goatee? Was it

John Tomac? Zap Espinoza? Roger Byrd or Bill Harrington?

Perhaps it was Sir Walter Raleigh or Sinbad the Sailor...but we're

going back too far. Then again, might we benefit from

understanding the waxing and waning fashion of the goatee

throughout the ages in order to shed light on how it has come to be

that this facial growth configuration has re-emerged and found its

identity yet again among a counter culture such as ours?

Epistemologically, we can easily see that the word goatee itself

is derived from the little pointy tuft of hair found on a billy goat's

chin. This fact I hasten to append, serves to reflectin no way on thebearers of the modem day mountain biking goatee...unless of course

we are considering that same fact in reference to a m oun ta in goat...a

resemblance which any goatee-sporting mountain biker would

proudly claim, hoping also to lay claim to the "hinds feet on high

places" gnarly rock-eleaningpropensity of said goats with much the

same attachment Samson held to his strength engendering tressesthat Delilahso rudely and deceitfully removed. rontinuedonpage2

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~lli@ G R / N D fIR

A memo from the BUMP officers to local bike shopsappearing in the February 1994 GRINDER invited a representativeof each shop to be present at our monthly meetings. We alsooffered for each shop to come and talk to us about their shop,products and the mountain biking industry at our meetings on arotating basis. The club has enjoyed a number of informative

presentations and are pleased that at least one representative fromeach shop has joined BUMP.

In the same memo mentioned above, we requested the viewsof each shop on how a dealer membership program could bestructured. The March issue of the GRINDER publishedresponses from each store, the most notable of which was the offermade by Cahaba Cycles and matched by Bob's Bikes.

B U M P m e m b er s, k ee p y ou r r ec eip ts e ac h tim e y oum ak e a p u rc ha se a t e ith er C ah ab a C yc le s l oc atio ns o r B ob 's B ik es. A t t he m on th ly B U MP m ee tin gs, tu rn inth e re ce ip ts to B U M P o ffic ers. T he re ce ip ts w ill b eto ta le d a nd tu rn ed in t o C a h ab a C yc le s o r B o b's B ik ese ac h m o nth . C ah ab a C yc le a n d B ob ' B ik es w ill w rite acheck to the B UM P c lub for 5% of the total of a llpu rc ha ses incl ud ing bi cy cl es an d sa le m erch an di se .

So far we have earned from Bob's Bikes and Cahaba Cyclesmore than $500.00 collectively! This money will go towardmaintaining the trails, funding the GRINDER, putting on events,and generally building our club to strengthen the voice ofmountain biking in Alabama.

To make it a little more convenient for BUMP members tocontribute in this program, we have a "BUMP box" in each storewhere you can place your receipt or ask your salesperson to do soif you do not see the box. Should you wish to keep your receipt,Cahaba Cycles will make a copy of your receipt, and Bob's has

purchase verification forms available for you to fill out and have

your salesperson sign.This program is retroactive to March 1st so please

look through and find your receipts from purchases made sincethen, (provided you were a BUMP member at the time), put yourname on them and turn them in at a meeting, or send them to ourTreasurer-Ken Hester, at P.O. Box 590061, Birmingham, AL35259-0061.

We wish to thank Hardwick Gregg of Cahaba Cycles forcoming up with this idea where cyclists and shops can bereciprocal in their support of each other's interests. "We want tobe as involved with the bicycle clubs as possible:' says Hardwick."BUMP is a well run organization that aggressively promotescycling in Birmingham, and more serious cyclists means moreconsumer support for the shops."

"I thought it was a good idea and wanted to offer thereimbursement too," Roger Byrd of Bob's Bikes says. "BUMPmembers are good customers and in the past we've given the clubmoney, but I think this is a great way to get the me mbe r sinvolved with raising money for the club, and it helps the shops

because the customers think twice about mail ordering."The 5% reimbursement is in addition to the 10% BUMP

discount offered by all of the shops (River Oaks offers 20%).Please show support of our local bike shops and of BUMP byspending your cycling dollars here in Birmingham and

participating in this program.

GORTCCThe first goatees were paleolithic, I'd imagine, but

since this would be so difficult to substantiate, let's bring

our study into the realm of recorded history. Archeology

bears witness that mummified Egyptian goats had

goatees-the very goats which no doubt cleaned the

pyramids and skied the sphinx. Chin hair was quite aPharaoh fashion too, but more often than not their beards

were square instead of pointy, so that lets them out.

Speaking of letting them out, we can extrapolate from

this empirical evidence that the Israelites wanderedwith Moses an d goats for 40 years in the desert...terrain

not unlike our precious Moab in certain places-way

ultimate hoof traction.

Moving on in history, Romans were generally clean

shaven, but I think Ben Hur must have had a goatee ...or

surely someone in the movie did...so it was definitely a

chariot racing thing. In the middle ages, the monks had

goatees, or at the very least. ..goats, which was cool since

they comprised a widespread network of realisticidealists clinging to truth and knowledge in an age when

provincialism and ignorance prevailed. Plus, they pretty

much always lived in the mountains, were vegetarians,

meditated daily and drank their own wine every night at

dinner. In the Renaissance, we can be certain that the

occasional goatee did spring up among the upper classes as

did a climate of renewed enlightenment and patronage of

the arts.

Bringing our query to a more modern time, let us

remember specific figures in history such as William

Shakespeare, Sigmund Freud and Jed Clampet, each of

whom either kept a goatee or kept a goat. Perhaps the

social movement which most epitomizes the goatee, is the

Beat movement of the 1950's-proponents of which were

known derisively as "Beatniks". Mainly apolitical,

these self-disenfranchised individuals brought to the fore

the style of free-form "stream-of-consciousness" poetry,

black turtlenecks, bongos and most importantly, coffee.

This brings us back to the original matter of the goatee

being the official facial hair of mountain biking. A beard

which is n ot attached to the sideburns is s o "outthere" ...like flying without a net...like pushing it to the

edge .. .like mountain biking. Although we have not

succeeded in determining who began the trend of mountain

biking goatees, it does not really matter. This columnistwishes therefore to go on record as saying, if you have a

goatee, tres cool. If you had a goatee and got married

and had to shave it off, grow it back. If you've started

growing a goatee a couple of times but keep panicking and

shaving, try doing yoga. If you've never had a goatee,

please consider growing one. If you're just in the habit of

shaving, then just shave your legs, young man. I will have

to go so far as to question your commitment to mountain

biking if y ou d o n o t s po rt a go a te e. It's the official thingnow, you know.

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~~@ GR I N lJ E R

~ @ C I D ~ ~ ~ C I D [ f 1 ) ~l P ~ ~ [ f 1 ) @ @ @D r . J u a n S a x o n o n C o m m i t m e n t

I don't know much about commitment, it's not my area

of expertise and I don't have time to look it up ...but I used

to have a good friend who always talked about that kindof stuff and I think I might remember enough to make it

sound like I know what I'm talking about.

Some people, it seems, say they "love" and what theyreally mean is that they "~eel" emotions ...emotions that

can fade, and more often than noLdo. They also say they

"care" when they really mean they feel sort of guilty

about something.

What doe$ all this have to do with commitment, ormountain biking? When it comes to love, commitment is

where the rubber meets the trail, as it were. You can say

you love mountain biking, and truly it is a wonderfulfeeling, but there are some days when you won't feel it,

when that hill is kicking your asthma a little more thanusual...when you have an off day as we all do. You can say

you care about your health, fitness and emotional well-being, but do you care enough to do what it takes to be

healthy, fit and at peace with yourself, day in and day

out? Or are you feeling guilty because you don't?

Commitment is what bridges all the gaps. It means

deciding what is important to you in a moment oflucidity-and sticking with those decisions through the

times when your judgement lapses ...when that bowl of

M&M's in front of you at that party seems more important

than climbing that hill a little quicker ...when going horne

after work and taking a nap seems more sane than driving

to Oak Mountain and taking a lap...when you feel out ofsorts and just want to veg and feel sorry for yourself insteadof exposing yourself to the healing karma of the woods

and uplifting endorphins of a good work-out.

I am not advocating riding and being miserable. I am

talking about the times when you don't remember how

much it means to you until you make yourself get out there

and do it because of your commitment. Love is a very

misused word. When you say "1 love you" or "1 love

mountain biking" you are using it as a verb. Feelings are

feelings, emotions are emotions-don't confuse this with

love because love is something you do-whether for other

people, for a sport or for yourself. Commitment is how you

do it, whether you think you feel like it or not.

W IL D E IL L 'S

E L U : a ,:B SSingletracl

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~fu@ G R / N D E R

ASK HUGHIEDear Hughie.

Everyone I know has been stung by a yellow jacketwhile riding lately and I wondered if you could give ussome tips on how to avoid it.

Dear Beestu11g,

Wellll, you're question is very timely since itseems that for whatever reason, this isyellowjacketseason. In preparation to ride, my thoughts are thatwe can spray down with deep woods insectrepellent ..which 1msuspect merely amuses theyellow jackets, but beyond that precaution,treatment is our only recourse. Formost ofus gettingstung means we say as many bad words as we need to,stick out our lower Up as far as it'll go and keepriding. WhenImentioned this question to Dr. Juan

asI

do all questions which require medical exPertise,she said that for many people asting can bring onaserious allergicreaction. ifyou react in a mild way tobeingstung, you might want to include some benedrylin with your extra inner-tube. If you react moreseverely, be sure to take antiphilactic injectionsalong on your ride, or maybe consider staying out ofthe woods while the yellow jackets are so bad.U'lfortunately, the threat of being accosted byvannints is an inherent danger in our sport.

~gf1/H /~/D/DA\'0/~/~/~A \ 7fS e J t9

This month's restaurant review features a newestablishment at 20th Street and 8th Avenue (whereDr. Piua used to be) called Reza's. Crisply andcheerfully decorated, Reza serves wonderful ~Iite-

Persiancuisine. This latest addition to the very fewethnic restaurants Birmingham offers, is open mainly

for lunch when they provide an ample buffet ofdelicious authentic Persian dishes...with only one

American influence ...Reza cooks with a healthy low-fat emphasis. Apparently it's the right combinationbecause his lunch buffet is a smash hit with the UABcrowd. Tobeat the rush.showup a little earlyor a littlelate to sample hisunique fare. Or better yet, setaside

an entire Friday or Saturday evening for a moreleisurelyand delicious dining experience. You'" find"Team Hedda- there every Friday night carbo-

loading that wonderful raison and carrot basmati riceand exquisite taboulli. Prices are very reasonable,and you may bring your own wine. Seeyou there.

S O U l B IK IN G :A Definition

by Bill Harrington

Soul biking is a takeoff on the expression "soulsurfing". In the late 60's and early 70's, surfing was

booming as much as mountain biking is today. andas money began pouring into the sport, competitions

began to spring up allover the world. Unfortunatelyfor surfing, to have a competition reqUired a judgingprocess based on style points and the number ofmaneuvers each competitor could squeeze on everywave. The result was that competition surfers beganattacking the waves to score points rather than goingwith the flow of each wave. "Soul surfing" was aphrase coined by surfing purists as a backlash to thecompetition style of surfing, and the distinction still

exists to this day.Surprisingly. what happened in surfing then hasmany parallels to what is happening in mountainbiking today. Bigger and bigger money is coming intothe sport and more and more races are being heldevery year. While mountain bike racing is moreobjective than surfing contests (the fastest rider isthe winner), the demands of racing seem to have thesame results on mountain bike riding style.Mountain bike racers have to attack the race coursesin an effort to squeeze as much speed as possible outofevery second on the trail. Style and flUidity on the

bicycle often succumb to the need for speed as theracers are continually pushing. (and frequently

exceeding) the limits of control. In bike jargon, thisis known as getting "sketchy".Soul Biking on the other hand is all about going

with the flow of the trail, just like soul surfing isabout going with the flow of the wave. The goal is toride within yourself. which is to say you can ride veryfast or very slow depending on your abilities or howyou feel that day. Soul biking is about economy ofmotion. being graceful on the bike, and ,cleaning asmuch trail as possible while leaving little or no traceof your passing. It is about flOWingdown the trailand seeking the path of least resistance. It is abouthaving fun and knowing your limits-when to get offthe bike and walk or when to slow down. Soul biking

doesn't leave skid marks on the trail or errant biketracks off the trail. You, your bike. and the trailbecome one in a tenuous harmony that feelsincredible.

Soul biking is a singular experience whichmeans it is not about competition. What someoneelse does is irrelevant. Who went the fastest, farthest.or cleaned the most trail has no value. If soul bikinghad to declare a winner, then it would be the personwho has the most fun, the person who finishes eachride with the biggest grin plastered on their face. Getit?

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~~@ G R / N D E R

bikes to admire. Riders are even pleasant on the trdil during the rnce . In the races I've

been to so far , I 've met a lot of really nice IXX Jpl e...anl have even made some friends.

One of the main r easons I keep go ing to r aces is that I fmd I am more apt to be

con scientious abou t my diet and riding in the we eks prior to an event I am a long way

from winning in the face of true competition, but I want to do m y best and that alone

is a motivational reason to exercise and to set goals for my fitness and skill leveL

After my first three races, I realize d t hat I might do better by moving up to the

spor t (intermediate) class out of the begirmer class where I was going up against

"sandb aggers" ----roperior rideI> who only r nce occas ionally and don't want to pay for aN ORB A license. The first time I me ed in the sport class in a large rdCC ,I placed right in

the mid dle of the pack, wh ich let me know that I truly h ad adv anced to a sport level

race r. Throughout the r ace I had imagined I was last and had mov ed up to sport

prematurel y, so I was especially pleased wi th the outc ome . As I steadily do be tter in

every race due to building fitness , skil l and racing experience, I find that racing is one of

the best ways to gage improvement

A fascinat ing aspect of racing which sets i t apar t from recreational r iding i s the

phi losophy of g e t t h er e t he f a st e st w a y y o u c a n on o r o f f t h e b i k e . Anyone who

follows pro racing at all is familiar with Juli Furtado, m y idol, who is the number one

mountain bike racer in the world, man or woman . J ul i is v er y deliberate about her

training. She trains and r ace s wi th a heart rate monitor and simply r ides at h e r pace ,

wh ich has earned her an unbroken reco rd of first-place finishes. Skill is very important

in racin g, b ut f itness is m o re imp ortant- and econ om y o f energy expenditu re

combined with strategy is p rim a ry. Like my pal Juli, I too wear a heart rdte monitorand r ace "my own race" . Based on what I know I can do f r om " t r aining" I determine

my most efficient range of heart rate and try to stay in that range throughou t the race.

This means t hat often it is more to my advantage to get off the bike and push it up a

really steep hil l so I'l l be fresh for the downhill , which is where I tend to be stronger.

Efficiency is more important even than speed, and it never pays to be reckle ss because it

takes more time to pick yourself up than to r ide a li t tle more judiciously in the fust

pla ce. By pacing yourself in a race and making the bes t of your strengths, you 'll ge t

there faster than a s trm ger r iderwho doesn't rdC Csmart.

Every time anyone has told me about a race comi ng up, they'v e St ud something

like, "I hear the course is grcal ." To diminish the intimidation factor , I teU myself that a

race is just somepla ce new to ride, som eplace I w ouldn't get to ride if I d idn't pay the

entry fee, (uSlaily $25-35). One thing to consider when entering a race is that the sport

class rires a longer course than tJcbegi nnerctass, continued on next page

W h y R a c e ?by Jeni fer Ja ckson

Some say that racing challenges or even destroys the Zen aspect of mountain

ik ing , and afte r my init ial exp osu res to mo un tain bik e rac ing , I mi ght have agreed

There must be a reason why I , an average mountain biker and ra re l y competitivepeI >o n, would choose to race. There must be some benefit that out-weighs the fear and

he pain. There must be som ething-~)[ many things about mountai n b ike rncing that

hav e prevented me f rom shying away to fmd r efuge in "soul biking" onl y.

Many mountain bike r ac ing enthus:asts are men and w o men w ho have

participate d in competitive sports thr oughout childhood and schooL Racing is a means

by wh ich to kee p the ir com petitive instincts sharp, to continue the tradition establi shed

by their parents and coacres growing up and to set goals to work toward being their

bes t There are surely some of you who can relate to my situation-my par en ts s igned

me up for Iiano and ballet lessons while my bIOlh crs were groomed to be lacrosse stars,

and my athletic potential and development were overlooked. I've since taken the

rtit iative to improve my skills in many sports but I have very li t tle experience withorganized competition. I found the prospect of r acing to be intimidating, and , although I

was working very hard to be as good a mountain biker as I could be (...at my age), I

knew I woold never be good enough to "r ace".Last f all I somehow a ll ow ed mysel f t o be c ajoled i nt o pa r t i c i p a t i n g in the

Maddog Dualthalon ...a two mile run and a sev e n mile mountain bike race. Several

friends who had dare it for years said it was really in[orrnal, "a hoot" and everybody did

t They encouraged me not only to sign up, but to do the r egul ar race rather than the

beginn er race. It was just for fun I told myself .. ] just want to fmish. Even so, I didn't

want to look to o bad, so I worked a l it tle harder on improving my f i tness for the

month or SOI still had before the race. Shortly after the race started, about a q uar ter mil e

nto the two mile run, which I sprinted trying to keep up with the bi g boys, I blew up

comp letely (which means I died. ..had nothing left) . For the next hour or so I had to live

with the knowledge tha1 I had made a mistake; I knew I would never again enter any

kind of race. I h ad never been in such pain but, I m ean t 10 finish--wh ich I d id, and not

even last. After my bronchial spasms subsided, I overheard my endorphins asking

IX XJplewhen the next race was going to be.

My nex t goal was to do theNOR BA mo un tain bike race at the

Spring Maddog. I applied myse lf

all winter to strength training and

r iding as much as the weather

would allow. I had learned from

my f ir st r ace the importance of

pacing myse lf and just doing the

best I c ou ld do-nev er mind

anyone else. At the spring Maddog

I learned that mud sucks. I had so

much chain-suck that I just put it in

granny and spun out the last lap in

total disgust. I s t il l won a pr ize

though, which women racers often

do for just showing up.

W hen , as a s pectator, I

mended the Specializ ed Ca :tus Cup

in Athens, Georgia earlier last fall,

t he f ir st t hin g I no ticed w as

hundreds of people who f eel abou t

mountain biking the way that I do.

The atmosphere at any race is fun

a1d festive; everyone there is fa and

he.li thy, and there are m,my cool

, ,< } -

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Uncle Dirt Wants You!(Hey, don't look behind you-yeah I'm talking to you)

A Message From Barry Hair

H ey , m oun ta in b ik er s, a sk y ourse lf this question: "W her e

h av e I rid de n m y la st te n m o un ta in b ike rid es? " Y ou r m ost

pr ob ab le repl y will be: "O ak M oun tain, O ak M o untain , OakMountain ... " ad nauseum. O ak M oun tain is where mostmou n ta in b ikers in this area f eed t he ir mou n ta in b ik e " m o n key "(f or you X genera tio n fo lk n ot h ip to 70 's s lan g, i.e. addiction).Riding there is the rule rather th an the except ion. Acc ordi ng tothc P ark , o n many week end s days over 4 ( )( ) m o u nt ai n b ik e rs u sethe wonder fu lly tigh t and gnar ly singletrac k tra ils w e h av e t h er e.

I h av e a c o nf essio n to make. F or years I was a roadie andonly use d m y m o unta in b ike for o ff-season o r o ff -d ay training. Ihad heard of BUM P and knew BUM P did work on the O akM o un ta in T ra ils e ac h m o nth. I really en joye d the tra ils thatB UM P bu ilt, b ut hey , I was to o b usy, and m y t im e w as tooprecio us to spen d a da y d iggin g in th e di rt . A s m ou n ta in b ik in ggo t more a nd m o r e in to m y b lo od , I beg an to f ee l g u ilty f or n o t

co ntribuling to the t rai ls- sin ce I e njo ye d rid in g so m uc h. G uiltcan be such a g reat mo t ivato r.

After m an y b ro ke n p ro m ises, I finally sh o wed u p f or a w o rk -da y. D o y ou k no w w ha t? I t w as fun (That' s r igh t,fun) and m yg u il t j us t v anishe d. I m et s ome n ice f olk s, a nd w e c ut-up an d

jo ked w h ile w e w or ke d. I t w as n't l ike yard work , wh ich I h ate . I tgave me a s ense o f s a ti sf action in knowing I had he lped bui ld andmaintain the trail. I foun d t ha t a ft er w o rk ing on the trai l a f ewtimes , i t became my trail an d I c ar ed ev en m o re ab out it.

O kay, so w hat is the p oint? B UM P h as go ne fro m 40 ... toover 2()() members in less th an a yea r. Y et in sp ite of t hismass iv e in cr ease in mem bersh ip , ro ughly the same 15 or sopeop le sh ow u p ea ch w ork -d ay a s d id w h e n we were a smal l g roup .

I f y o u'v e ev er rid den o ve r a ro ck y, w as he d- ou t s ec tio n or

th ro ug h a b ad m u d h ole a nd th ou gh t " tha t' s b ad, they ought to fi xth at" , ju st re me mb er n ex t t im e, they is you! You c an no thonestly say th at y our b ike alon e ha s h ad n o ne ga tiv e im p ac t onthe co nd itio n o f the t ra il. D en ial is such a transparent and uglything. To those of you who use the trails bu t hav e no tcontribute d a t a s ch ed ule d tr a il work -day . ..i n th e i m m or ta l w o rd so f G om e r P yle : " S ha me .. . Sh am e ... Shame!" Showing up fo r on ew o rk -day t hi s y ea r w o n 't k il l y o u. I t w il l, h o wev er , r el iev e tha tgui lty tu g, an d w ha t' s m o re ... y o u w il l f in d o u t t h at i t i s fu n a ft er al l. W h y d o y ou th in k th e s am e p eo ple k ee p c om in g b ac k?W h ere d o y ou th in k "Gossip Trail" g ot i ts na me ? T he " tra ilc re w" m ig ht b e ta lk in g a bo ut you s o s ho w up and d efe ndyourself.

I p ropose th at e v ery m ou nta in biker, BUMPSTER or n o t,

w ork a sch edu led B UM P w ork- day at least one day a yea r.Cons id er i t y o ur "sw ea t e qu ity " in the trai l. O f co ur se i f you are aB UM P m em ber, I h av e y o ur p ho ne n um be r a nd y ou c a n ex pe ct an ic e plea sa nt p ho ne c all o r m essa ge fro m m e or oth er B UM Phenchmen em p lo yin g th e l ate st in ps ychological techniq ues tobeg , pl ead or cajo le a lit tle of yo ur pr ec ious tim e to repa ir th edamag e you just know y o u cau sed. W h at m e , s kid m y tire s?R ide on a m udd y day ? Y ou k no w yo u did it. Co nfe ss! W h at Iwan t i s fo r each B UM P M em ber to p led ge to be t he re fo r at leastone scheduled trail work-day in the next 12 months. W h en y oufinally sho w u p f o r a t ra il w o rk-day (and w e 'v e b een wait ing ) , youwill en j oy i t s o m uch y ou'll w on de r w hy y ou d idn't do i t sooner.

Wh y Rac e? Continuedand if you can moveup, you'll get morefo r your morey in tenus of ariOO-- andthat's

just whal it feels like 0000 you stan. I am a lillie lessrervous at the sta rling line each

time becauseI know that wh ile I try to do m y best-which is hopeful lybetterthan a t

leas t som e ofmy fellowcom petiL O rs-- we' rea llin it together,and we're in it for fun

W om en in mountain bike racing make out like bandits. Th at little fact keep s

me comingback. E ven in the "Mu ddog" ,when I sloggedin last in beginn erwomen,there were only three ofus , and I got the third place prize...a set of bar ends

complimentsof Cahaba C ycles. In anolher rather smallrace, I came in ftrstin sJX)rt

women (being the only wom an there) and won a cool Avocet computer and some

otherneatodo-

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W h g i ' ~ U p W U h

C g k M c u n i g i n ?by Kenneth HesterThe Oak Mountain Trail Committee, which meetsevery other month, met on July 13 and was attended

by representatives of all user groups except theequestrians. The focus of this meeting was to address

park users' concerns about the recent timberingoperations in and around the park. Park ManagerHayden Montgomery and Natural Resources DirectorCarl Scardina made a special appearance to fieldquestions and to express a few concerns of their own.

The timbering operations were a direct result of atornado that briefly visited the park on March 26thof this year. (Not a low impact user!) There are two

positive sides to this calamity. The first is thattimber prices are high and the timber was actuallysold as timber and, not as pulp wood. The second isthat the timbered areas will actually be moreconducive to supporting wildlife as the trees, shrubsand grasses reseed themselves over the years ahead.The close proximity to the older standing forest willprovide a variety of habitat. that would not havebeen available otherwise for the critters in the park.Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

One of the issues park users were most concernedabout was that there seemed to be excessive cutting ofstanding trees by the timber contractor. ParkoffiCials answered these concerns by stating that thetimber contract allowed Mclear cutting" only indesignated loading areas. Only standing trees thatwere damaged were to be taken. It would have beenimpossible for the park officials to have directlysupervised every minute of the timbering andadmittedly there might have been an occasional treetaken that was not storm damaged. Park officials are

satisfied with the timber operation overall, but if

anyone has factual information relating to over-cutting, they would like to hear from you.

The second issue that was addressed was the

status of the cleanup operation. There were also

concerns voiced that the park officials did notconsult the user groups prior to initiating the storm

clean-up. The contracted clean-up operations are

now complete. Funding for the clean-up was provided

from timber sales and funding from FEMA on an

80%/20% split with the Feds paying 80%. There will

be sQme grass broadcast on the bare dirt spots, andthe forest will be left to itself to reseed trees, shrubs,

briars and brambles. Les Miller mentioned that Dry

Brook had been run through by skidders and therewas a potential of drainage problems. If anything is

done it will be by volunteer forces-the BUMP work-day project in August.

The main consideration that the park officialsface is the continual annual budgetary short-fall that

plagues the park system. Did you see the front page ofthe Birmingham News last week? There are several

parks that continue to be a burden on the system andremain open due entirely to the political clout of thedistrict legislators. The approximate $200,000.00 net

capitol gain from Oak Mountain's unfortunatetornado event will be channeled back into thestatewide park system account. This seems unfair onthe surface, but funds from other parks are spent atOak Mountain when needed. No park is a financialisland in this system. The parks are just managing tohold on financially, and there are no funds in sightfor needed maintenance projects much less upgradingexisting aging facilities.

New federal laws including the Americans WithDisabilities Act, Clean Water Act, etc ...continue to be

passed in D.C. with no funding for implementation.To begin to get a feel for the enormous financialburden the park system faces, first take intoconsideration that the facilities in our parks weredesigned and built in the 60's-prior to our new-foundconsciousness toward people with disabilities. Thenadd the fact that many of the parks operate their ownsewage treatment plants, and are constantly dealingwith required increases in effluent quality. Factor inthe enormous costs of salaries, utilities, grass cutting,trash collection/disposal, etc... You get the idea.Meeting new requirements and the demands ofroutine upkeep, although necessary, are not visible toJohn Q. Public. As a result, our elected rep-resentatives show no interest since they can't make asplash by re-roofing buildings, upgrading restrooms,or paving parking lots ...and sewage treatment plantsaren't exactly a perennial favorite of the 30 secondsound bite either. Do you have a clue now where trailconstruction and maintenance is located on the fiscaltotem pole?

HOW TO JOIN THEBUMP CLUB

It was recently brought to our attention that up untilnow, nowhere in the GRINDER has there appeared any

information on how to join the club. If you are interested in

showing support for mountain biking in our area, finding

new places to ride and making friends to ride with, thenjoin BUMP. To join you will need to fill out one of our

applications which are available at the BUMP meetings

on the first Wednesday of every month at 7pm at the

Hoover Public Library, or you may pick one up at Bob's

Bikes, Cahaba Cycles or River Oaks Cycles. The yearly

dues for membership is $20.00per household, $7 of which

has gone toward individual memberships to IMBA, the

International Mountain Biking Association. For 1995,we

will be considering putting that $7 instead toward

mailing the GRINDERto all members on a monthly basis.

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[alendar o f Even t SAugust 6th-Saturday 10am. BUMP ride at Oak

Mountain. Beginners welcomed, skills instruction fromrideleadersavailable. Meetat southtrail head. Call Barryformore info, 987-8510/969-6356.

August 7th-Sunday 1Oam. Trail maintenance work-day. Meet atthe park office on Terrace Drive. Bring water,work-gloves and a snack.

September 7th-Wednesday 7pm. BUMP MonthlyMeeting at the Hoover Public Library, downstairs in thesecond meeting roomon the left. Dinner afterwards.

September 10th & 11th-Camping trip to Tsali,North Carolina. Ride Saturday and optional white waterrafting on Sunday. Call Barry, 987-8510.

R aD eS and ~eStivaiSAugust 6th-Beach Fork Mountain Bike Race, Cross

Country, Huntington West Virginia. (304) 736-0682.

August 13th-14th-Mountain Bike Challenge,Snowshoe Resort, West Virginia. (304) 572-1000.

August 19th-21 st-3rd Annual CumberlandMountain Bike Championship, NORBA sanctioned,Oneida, Tennessee. (615) 933-8354.

September 1Oth-11th- The Kentucky Open, StateChampionship. (502) 484-2998.

September 17th-16th-Master the MountainWeekend. Snowshoe Resort, West Virginia. (304) 572-1000.

October 14th-16th-Specialized Cactus Cup,Atlanta, Georgia. (408) 779-6229.

November 12th-Maddog Duathalon and NORBAsanctioned Moutain Bike race, Springville, Alabama,Therese Bynum, 930-0097.

J IIU S l r J I ( ) I I ~ I t I I)Barbara Olsehner

Russell Allen

Lauren Henderson

Bill Reading

David Chandler

Thanks to our new members for your support of BUMP,.

of Mountain Biking in Alabama and of IMBA. We

look forward to getting to know you. Our membership

now numbers 205.

Marshall Pitts

Dan Meeks

Greg Kilburn

John Harrison

Perry Burnett

Bill Christenberry

Naney Brower

Laura Harrison

1()% ()ff All M{)untain

Eik.es In St{)ck. F{)r EUMV

Members, Thr{)ul!h The

M{)nth ()f AUl!ustt

1410 Montgomery Highway

Vestavia, Alabama 35216

979-3460Remember totum inyour receiptsfor a5%

reimbursement to the BUMPClub!

.')Persof1al s(lFor Sale-BUMP T-Shirts only $10! BUMP sweatshirtsonly $15. See Hugh or call 942-9128.

For Sale-New 14"mountain bike with 24" wheels. Aqua andpurple-cool paint job. Eclectic components including XT andLX. $350.00. Call John Hodgkins at 324-0235.

Needed-Receipts back to March 1st, 1994, of purchases madeby BUMP members at Cahaba Cycles or Bob's Bikes. Pleasewrite your name on them, bring them to a meeting or mail toP.O. Box 590061, Birmingham, AL 35259-0061.

For Sale-Syncros 1&1/8 Ahead Stem, 150mm, black zerorise. Used only on seven rides. $80.00. Call Juan, 595-245l.

For Sale-Brand new Litespeed titanium seat post, 27.2mm/300mm. $100.00. Brand new Kooka Crankset (no chainrings)

175mm, gold. $150.00. Call Hardwick, 967-7413.

SubmissionsPlease submit any articles, information or ad copy by

the 25th. Write to: The GR! NDR City Office,5401 9th Ave. S., B'ham 35212. Fax or phone Editorand Chief Hedda Rockhopper at 591-0990. Entirecontents 1994 by J enifer J ackson.