Just spreading the word about the upcoming swap in downtown Providence. Bring down all your old MTB, road and ‘cross stuff and walk away with a few bucks to buy new parts! Or, just swing by and check out all the great deals!

From the Craigslist posting:

The bike swap is here again and its time to get down to AS220 and swap/buy/upgrade all of the items on your bike list! Bikes / Parts / Accessories are all available at the swap. If you’ve never been to a bike swap think of it as a yard sale for bike stuff. And, if you have been to one, you know that it’s a lot of fun to come down, have an esspresso, and hang out with a bunch of bike folks.

So heres the scoop:

Address is 115 Empire St in lovely Providence, RI.
October 24
12- 4pm (vendors please show up at 11 am)
Admission : Free
Vending: Free

Matt B over at NBX is working on his annual cyclocross race to be held at Goddard Park. If you have never been to a ‘cross race but have been wondering what all the fuss is about this is a great opportunity to take in all the action close to home. This is a BIG race, and Matt is working to make it a family friendly and spectator friendly affair. We (RI NEMBA) will be there racing, spreading the NEMBA word and assisting. Please see Matt’s call to arms below. If you can lend a hand let him know. You can race for free if you assist with the volunteer efforts!! The weekend should be a blast with all sorts of food, coffee and Narragansett beer on hand! So go, relax, and enjoy watching others suffer like dogs. Or, better yet, jump into the fray and enjoy Goddard park in a unique way. Remember, you can always race ‘cross on your MTB, just be sure to lose the bar ends (rules) and you are good to go! Hope to see you out there. Without any further ado here’s Matt’s message:

Hello everyone,

Hope everyone is doing well, I’m sending this email to reach out and ask you to join me for the NBX Cross weekend coming up Dec. 6/7. We have been preparing for the weekend with much help from a lot of you already. Many have offered so much assistance in helping make the weekend better than ever, whether it was at the store or the training race on Wed. nights or even after a few beers at the Mews (yes, I’m going to hold you to those offers) thanks for reaching out in this effort! For folks that I don’t get to talk with this is our schedule of events and what the times are, very similar to what has been happening over the past years.

Friday December 5th 12:00 till 5:00 or so:

Course set-up, most of the course should be done on Friday. The pit is going to be the same for both races, so we can set that up and be done for the weekend. The course for Saturday is slightly different from last year, the big difference is that it runs in the same direction as Sunday’s course, which will make setup for Sunday even easier on Saturday. The carousel for registration, etc.can be setup later in the day, it has lights inside and won’t have the daylight time restraints.

Saturday December 6th NBX GP #1 FIELDS course

6:00am: Course set-up and tape.
8:30am to 3:30pm: General race help/will need marshals mostly
3:30 to 5:30: Course break-down and set-up of the woods course

Sunday December 7th NBX GP #2 WOODS course

6:00am: Finish course set-up and Tape ,
8:30am to 3:30pm: General race help/will need marshal help
3:30 to 4:30: Course break-down
The weekend will have a great festive feel at the carousel this year, looking to make it very enjoyable for the whole family to come down and watch some great racing. There will be a variety of food from chili, soup, burgers and dogs to some of Hannah’s original cupcakes. Amy will be there for the Cycle For Life Foundation with some great merchandise for the holidays, serving up UN coffee, hot cocoa and her very own homemade cookies, all to benefit C4LF. And our favorite neighbors will be there to provide some of Narragansett’s finest at the beer tent.

So my request is an easy one, if anyone is available to help out, I would greatly appreciate the hand. The race weekend has grown into something very special for me and a lot due to the hard work from the NBX Team and the Cox Team over so many years. When Joel and I decided to have a second race in RI never did I imagine how strong the two teams and social circles would become! Thanks for all of your help and let’s continue with the success in hosting the best cross weekend in all of New England. Please let me know if you’re available to help.

Thanks for your time,

Matt

p.s. For those who can help and want to race, we will comp your entry for the racing over the weekend. Please get me your info asap so Gail can get all the manual entries in!

matt bodziony

www.nbxbikes.com

401.782.4444

“ride for the fun of it”

Please consider buying a ticket or two (or 10) to support NEMBA’s annual Land Access Raffle! Sales are lower than expected due to the craptacular economic downturn we are all experiencing these days. The prize list is incredible (Giant Trance XO, Western Spirit MTB trip, VDO computer, Mavic CrossMax SL wheelset, Fox F series or Float fork – your choice, etc..).

While we’re on the topic of supporting NEMBA… please also consider working to convince any holdouts you ride with to join. For RI NEMBA it’s not about the money, it’s about the numbers. While we’ve held steady at ~ 150 members the last few years we need to grow. 150 riders does not represent the true number of MTB riders in RI. I don’t expect to get them all, but we should be doing better than 150. More members equals more representation, and it adds clout to the organization when it comes time to lobby for access and event permits.

I know things seem to operate at a nice status quo in RI with regard to MTB access, and the sheer miles of trails we have available to us all. Many people riding in RI don’t think about NEMBA because they don’t have to (thanks to the work the organization does on their behalf). I’m asking that you think about it, and ask your non member riding pals to think about it a little as well. $25 may not “get” them much in terms of tangible items, and it cuts into the bike part budget, but what it helps us all “get” in terms of visibility, clout and consideration is well worth the annual dues. Most of us spend in excess of $1,000 a year on bike parts, race and event fees, lisences and associated gear. $25 is NOT going to kill you, I promise. That said please work toward getting some riding buddies to join! Everyone riding in RI should be represented as best as possible.

Thanks,
Brendan

huffin & puffin pete

Just a quick reminder that NEMBAFEST is on 9/8 at Wompatuck SF in Hingham, MA. It’s ~ 45 minutes from Providence and is worth the trip. The trails are a nice mix of easy – technical without and leg crushing climbing. It’s a lot like Foxboro only bigger. The official description and directions from the NEMBA site are below:

http://www.mtbadventureseries.org/mtbadventure/NEMBAFest2007.htm

$15 – kids under 15 attend free of charge with a registered guardian. Registration runs from 9 – 11 AM.

Bicycle Expo ~ Live Music ~ Group Rides ~ MTB Olympics ~ Food ~ Fun!

New Bike Demos from Jamis, Scott USA, Specialized, Trek, Van Dessel and more! Specialized is bringing all of their women’s -specific bikes too!

Trials Show by Jamis Bicycles Pro Rider, Mike Steidley.
Check out his amazing moves on YouTube!

Bike Swap. Register by Sept. 3rd for your free spot!
Lots of Vendors! There will be plenty of opportunities to get great deals on bike stuff. Vendors, if you want to come, contact Philip Keyes – pk@nemba.org

Live Music. Blame the Dog will be blasting out some great classic rock tunes

There will be all sorts of Group Rides for people of all abilities, including some family rides, and you’ll be able to participate in the Mountain Bike Olympics –log pulls, wheelie contests, tire tosses, bunny hopping, limbo and more. The NEMBAfest is the largest of the Kona Bicycles -Kenda MTB Adventure Series.

There will also be a short track XC race on Saturday afternoon, and the Landmine Classic MTB Races are the next day.

6/3 Lincoln Woods Trailwork

Arcadia Ride Series:

June 24th, July 8th, July 22nd, August 5th, August 19th and maybe Sept 9th.

NEMBA MBAS rides:

6/10 – Bear Brook in Boogie NH
7/1 – Wendell SF in Wendell MA
8/12 Bradbury MTN in Bradbury ME
9/8 – 9 NEMBAFEST Wompatuck in Hingham MA
10/28 Wicked Ride of the East in N. Andover MA

7/21: 29er Meat Up II (Electric Boogaloo) in Williston, VT at the Catamount Family Center. Hosted by George at Bike29.com. Info here – soon to updated I’m sure. http://bike29.com/blog/2007_03_01_archive.html

7/22: New England Single Speed Championships – rumored to happen at Catamount in VT as well. I have yet to hear anything else about this though…

7/29 Not MTB but really cool: The George St. Uphill TT will once again happen in Worcester, MA. Bust your ass getting up George St. in Worcester and get beat by some DH racer on a borrowed road bike or a guy riding fixed… 20 % + grade and 500 feet of self flagellation for a good cause: http://www.majortaylorassociation.or…street07.shtml

Root 66 Race Calendar can be found below. This is a well run race series in New England with a good number of races close to RI. http://www.root66raceseries.com/

EFTA Race Series – NE XC big race series all over NE.

http://www.efta.com/

There will also be a standing Lincoln Woods ride starting this Friday 6/22. Intermediate to Fast Intermediate. The goal is to show folks the rideable loops in LW. This is a “show and go” and bad weather cancels. Watch the below thread on the NEMBA forum for any cancellations and a full description, times, directions etc : http://www.nemba.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19528

That’s all I can muster for now if anyone wants something added just let me know.

Thanks,
Jim Grimley..

Bring your bike gear as well as we hope to ride afterwards!

Leo