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September 2000

Highlights and Upc,oming Events

Sep 29-0ct 1 Ocoee Camping Sep 30 Cheaha workday NEABC Oct Oct Oct Oct Oct 7 8 22 28 29 Bankhead Ride Workday - Oak Mtn LBL Ride Jump to BUMP Party Florence MTB Race NEABC Race - Cheaha GCC Cycle cross- Oak Mtn Holiday Party

Meet for workdays at the South Trailhead at the BUMP shed. Time to meet is 9:00 a.m. Call the hotline for any possible changes. Workdays subject to weather cancellation. October November December 8 - Sunday 4 - Saturday 10 - Sunday

JUMP to BUMP PARTY 2000

Laura and Joe Cotlin are hosting the first ever "Jump to BUMP" recruitment party. The idea is for BUMP members to bring along friends (or exBUMP'ers) that are interested in BUMP, but have not made the jump to BUMP. We figure stuffing them with tasty eats and go-go juice, and Ultimately helping them help themselves to preserve and increase the offroad lifestyle we love and cherish. Come see Reverend Bill Garrett play Pres, Bill Clinton in foozball! The deal will go down on October 28th at 7pm. The address is 1333 Cresthill Road. If you haven't noticed, the party is uu up against i-iaiioween, so all you freaks and ghouls can feel free to come in costume. Joe will be leading a Halloween Mystery Ride from the house at 5pm before the party. This is not a race ride, it is a mystery ride. BYOB&B (B.Y.O.Beverages & Bike). Phone is 591-BEER for extra info. Wa-hoo! Come see us

Nov 5 Nov 19 Dec??

Call our hotline 592-BUMP (2867) for any recorded changes or additions in BUMP events.

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TO BUMP MEMBERS JOliN ItND {fDTtIANNE

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September's workday continued to improve Johnson's Mountain. Water bars have been added to several areas over the past year to control erosion. One particular area has exposed several dangerous roots near the crest. Paul and Derrick combined their efforts for a morning of work. A timber and all supplies (tools, concrete, water, etc.) were hauled up the trail to begin placement of a single bar. The design is to create a stable tread surface for both directions. The incline in the region will require additional bars, but the BBC Century had taken its toll on the workers. After placement of the first bar and back filling, we decided to call it a day.

FORMltlNI ON THEIR NEW It"",T/ON. THE' IIIf" THEIR FIUT BAB' ", ON SfPTfMBfJt 7TH! MICHAEt THOMAS WEltHlED IN AT It'S 1461, Z/.5 INCHES. JOHN SAI", "HltVENT 'EEN ON THE B//(f SINCE."

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-ROAD TRIPS - - ROAD TRIPS - - ROAD TRIPS - ROAD TRIPS

September 29-0ctober 1 An Ocoee trip has finally come together. Debbie LaRussa has reserved two cabins for the weekend (Friday and Saturday), Several BUMPers will be heading up Friday to ride Saturday morning. If you have not received notice (e-mail, phone tree, etc.) contact her for more information at 870-0890 or e-mail heratdeblaruS@bellsouth.net

October 7 - Bankhead Forest - Double Springs Enjoy the smooth wide and fast trails of the National Forest. This trip can consist of 10 - 30 miles of trail. The drive is approximately 2 hours. Meet at the Cracker Barrel off Fieldstown Road and 1-65 (Exit 141) at 8:00am with a departure at 8:30am. Steve Berry is the ride leader. October 22 - Land Between the Lakes was such a great trip we will try to do it again in the fall. Bill Johnson is the ride leader working on the details for cabins or camping at the beautiful area.
The BUMP Club meets on the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. at the Southside Library.

Check the BUMP Hotline for any changes in dates and time.

592-BUMP (2867)

CmIIine CYCLE ~- ~-#11 Dexter Avenue, Mountain Brook Village (205) 879-6255

www of Mountain Biking

By Paul Brookes Continuing our (now very occasional) series on WIJ\N'J mountain bike links, this month will cover letters L, M, N, 0, P of the alphabet. For those of you who want to drool over some Ti frames, visit www.litespeed.com or www.merlinbike.com to see what you can get for 2 month's salary. If you need convincing that the UK is still a major force in MTB'ing (the author's bias aside), then go to www.pace-racing.co.uk. Pace has been around since the late '80s making carbon fiber forks and the like. Of course, we'll really see who's good at MTB'ing at the Olympics - which are on-line at www.olympics.com. For clothing and components, check out some of the following .... www.louisgarneau.com, www.marzocchi.com, www.mavic.com, www.nukeproof.com, www.oakley.com, www.onza.com, www.paulcomp.com, www.pedros.com, www.primal.wear.com. There was a race at Munny Sokol on September 24th, so go to www.singletracks.com/htmllalabamalmunnysokol.shtml if you want more information on this trail. Also the race itself (the "Black Warrior Challenge") has a website at www.gccycling.org. "0" also stands for our beloved Oak Mountain, and you don't need a website to find out about that! Of course, M also stands for www.MTBR.com. where a lot of these links came from, and where I see there's only a couple of reviews of t e Tr..usssville trail - why_not visit and add your own oplnion.

Fall Festivities in the Area

Several clubs around the state have fall events planned to keep the summer fun going well into the fall. If you are interested, let us know. Maybe another BUMP member is also interested. October 28 - The 1st Aimual Monster Mash Mountain Bike Race at Wildwood Park will be held in Florence, AL. The event is organized by the Northwest Alabama Cycling Club (Wildwood Rundlers) and will feature First Timers, Beginners, Sport, and Expert classes. The expert and Sport classes will be challenged by the entire 5 mile course (Sport 3 laps, expert 4 laps) and all other classes will do a modified loop. Entry fee is a low $10 for first timers and $15 for all. others with a T-shirt to all preregistered riders. NORBA License required. For more information, contact Bikes Plus Bicycle Shop at (256)
381-2453.

November 5 - Cheaha Mountain Express Mountain Bike Race in Anniston. NEABC has replaced their "lion Legs" race due to ciosure of the trailswith a race at Cheaha Mountain. The event will feature the challenging trails of the mountain where over 25 classes will compete for over $5000 in prizes. Proceeds are to benefit the Alabama Head Injury Foundation. For more information go to www.neabc.org or e-mail pudd98@usa.net. November 19 - GC Cycling Cycle Cross at Oak Mountain. Plans are under way for another cross race at Oak Mountain. Mount your skinnies and get ready. Go to www.gccycling.org for all the information.

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Hoover 822-6600 Cahaba Heights 967-2003

www.cahabacycles.com
OakMtn
987-4043

Bike Clinic Being Planned for January New BUMPers

BUMP members make the difference. We would like to thank the recent additions to our club! Scott Ford Harry Rutland Lee Carter Hugo Isom Lanier S. Isorn Thanks to our new members for supporting BUMP and the sport of mountain biking. Membership dues are $20 per year. You can become a member at a local shop or contact us for an application. Applications are available online at www.BUMP.org.
Remember the Mountain Bike Clinics we had in 1999? Derrick is planning to organize another event for Saturday January 20, 2001. The goal is to give a brief informative session on the basics of maintenance, repairs, techniques, and riding. A little information will then be taken to the trail classroom for a short ride. On the trail we will break up as needed to allow all levels to discover Oak Mountain at different paces. We will stop, answer questions, and demonstrate techniques. The clinic will be designed for beginners, but all levels are welcome. January 20 has been selecetd to correspond with the post-holiday season. If you are interested in supporting this, helpiung out, or attending, please call Derrick at 987 -3827 or e-mail us at iBykDoU@aol.com. The 1999 sessions were a great success with nearly 40 participants. We will select the exact date soon. and expect a rain date to be chosen.

Trail Talk Riding, Responsibilities,

Ken Hester ran across the following from an 1MBA list server and was submitted to IMBA by Craig S Mckinnon Kirkland, WA from a member there named Bob (bbtcRJDES @pol.com). Clubs are made up of individuals who share a common bond. Some take it deeper to their soul than others. Should the felks of lesser passion take a beating from the "Stump Preacher"? Not really. Passion is what it is really all about. Passion for riding, passion for the experience of being away from it all. Passion for retaining what was/is ours to enjoy. The passion is fulfilled in many different ways. Some, which I do not agree with but actually make my riding, experience better. Ultimately, if we feel good about what we contribute, we are doing the right thing. In our own minds. Should that be a basis for judgement? Probably not. But, it is. Never led a ride, done trailwork, contributed to the newsletter? You're not alone. Feel good about the club? You bet. Otherwise, you would not be reading this. Should we have a bake sale, car wash, or other fundraiser to raise money to pay other people to build trails for us? Just a thought. If we won't (I find it impossible to type can't) do it ourselves. Maybe we can buy a few miles. Should we get the journalism department at the U to do our newsletter as a class project? We might even get a better one (oooh glossy paper!) for free. I bet we could even hire guides and charge a fee for rides to support paying the guides to lead bitchin' singletrack only rides with beers and pasta at the end of each one. But, we don't. Because the club is a volunteer organization. We are not the Sierra Club, or the frickin' WTA for that matter. We can't afford a full time lobbyist at the capitol or huge ad budgets. Heck, the board fights over every precious cent we spend. The club is you. And what you give to it. If it's $15 bucks a year and you feel good about it. Great. If it's 50 hours of trailwork and leading 20 rides a year that's great too. If you have been lurking for years (and I

and Support
are to facilitate this sharing of passion for that something special. Go to a board meeting. Come up with an idea and try it. The worst thing is that it could fail. Share what worked and what did not. Look for what works with other more established groups. Let's learn from their failures. I think Theo's idea of every "tuesday" meet here at this time is great. I wish I would have thought of it. It is a painfully obvious idea. But, it shows we're thinkin'.

personally know a few) and have been on several rides but have never forked out at least the 15 once. Well, in my mind, that's a different story. But, hey, that's MY opinion. The point is, we all share something special. The hum on a hardpack trail. The view from the climb you never were able to make before, the camaraderie around the waning fire after a long, hard day. And, it is a very special thing. Days, hours, minutes, seconds I will take to my grave as if they were yesterday. The board in particular, and I speak loosely here, as well as every non-card carrying member. :) needs to know what ideas there

Workdays are scheduled each month and we can always use more volunteers. Several hundred hours are spent each .year on maintaining Oak Mountain's Red Trail. This year hundreds more were spent in Trussville creating the new trails (many thanks to Andrew Greene and David Passmore). These are not yet complete, and plans are under way to continue the development and create a more continuous loop. Look for a scheduled workday soon with the refreshing cool weather. BUMP is working on new opportunities in the area. These trails may be in your back yard, at an area park, or just down the road. They may be convenient for riding as well as working. Join us one weekend and ride it responsibly. Workdays are only one way you can contribute. Submit an article, lead a ride, share a new ride with us, donate some time, join the club, join another club, join IMBA, or just get involved.

A ""Bunch" of Support for BUMP ... Bryan Bunch, seen here competing at the GC Cycling race in Tuscaloosa, is one of several employees that work to support to BUMP's excellent web page. Walls New Media donates the web space, technical support, maintenance, and design services to BUMP.

Trail Talk

24 hours of Anything is a Long Time

By David Passmore
If you think about it, 24hours is a long time to do the same thing especially making laps on one of the hardest courses around. Derrick and I joined TEAM NEABC and TEAM FUN WHEELS (both out of Anniston) to do just that. Both teams were in the 5 person 150 -200 year old cumulative age. Derrick's team was the faster team. The unlucky person to start the race gets to run 200-300 yards (more like half a mile) to their bike (what they call the Le Mans start). Our starting man was sick with the flu (in other words he threw up four times on his first lap) after that we were 13th out of 14 teams after we made our first rotation we moved up to 9th place. Team Fun Wheels was chasing the leaders (REI I Brickworks Pub) by only seconds at times and minutes at others. My 2nd lap started at 8: 15pm the mongoose front end took a severe beating losing all the air in one side ten min. into the lap. When I was done the front end was compressed about two inches just riding on it. Bill J. helped me swap my lights and bib to my spare-spare bike (glad I brought three) for my midnight lap. It was just like driving when you're sleepy you look up and you- don't-know how you got to that point. .It-Mlas strange but awesome. Our next problem came when one of my teammates light was still being charged when I finished my midnight lap it cost us 10 min. Somewhere down the line I realized that I was sick and having asthma wasn't helping either. Being miserable up to then and not able to rest, was all I could take. I had to skip my 4:00am lap (sorry guys). About this time one of Derrick's teammates was sick and that's when Derrick kicked in and did two laps back to back. Prior to these, he was informed by REI they were in the wrong age group, but did not take that seriously. When the sun came up, the leading team was in fact in the wrong age group and it moved everyone up one place. In other words, Derrick's team wrapped it up (they couldn't have done it with out him [editors note: it really was a team effort, and Derrick needed the others help as welm and my team moved up to 7th. Fun Wheel's team did 30 laps and my team did 26. An average lap takes about 4550 minutes. The solo winner did 23 laps in less than 24hrs. How, I'll never know. Several other locals (some BUMP members and others we all know) were present at the event. Jerry Moore's Are We There Yet team took home second place in the 5 person 200+ bracket, James Hall and Michael Balliet's Earls- Golia Die team won U,e" dual event with an impressive 28 laps. John Michaels was happy on a corporate team that came over just for the fun. For results, info, and photos go to www.24hoursofadrenalin.com You still can't begin to imagine what it's like until you do it! Adrenalin Abounds ... Bill Johnson, Derrick, Anne and David ventured off to Conyers, GA to participate in the 24 Hours of Adrenalin. As volunteers, Bill kept ~ several riders refreshed at check point two, and Anne kept tabs on the solo riders passing by the Transition Tent (baton exchange for all others). Their support throughout the event would be invaluable. The event had 80 teams and 350 participants riding for 24 hours over the 1996 Olympic course.

BBC Centurv - What a Blast

By Doug Daughhetee
Brook Highland Plaza shopping center in Birmingham was the place to be on Saturday, 9/9 for area road cyclists (and a few mountain bikers taking a ride on the paved side). For the 4th year now it was the base for BBC's fall century and this year over 300 people turned out and rode with us. Our last century of the millenium was by far the largest crowd in recent memory, up about 20010 from last year and up nearly 200% since 1996. Maybe the 200 mile option attracted the extra attention. The 200 added four different tough, hilly 25 mile loops out of Ashville to the standard century route. It was started by 8 riders, 6 of whom made the distance. John Morris of Opelika and our own Hardwick Gregg rode in together less than 12 hours after the 4 AM start, having spent about 10.5 hours actual saddle time at an average speed of about 19 mph (they got a LOT of fun for their entry fees)! "... thanks to everyone whocame out to the BBC Century last Saturday. Anne & Paul

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(205) 991-3335 www.bikelinkbham.com

worked a rest stop and I saw a lot of BUMP folks doing the roadie thang - Ken, Bill G, Margot, Mickie, Steve, Mark R, Derrick, etc. Yourparticipation helped push us over the 300 rider mark this year and BBC netted about $2000 to donate toward saving Vulcan's butt!"

Ride turns to Kegger at Oak Mountain

The social never came together this summer, but we still had a great ride at Oak Mountain August 26. David, Mike I, Leong, Jim M., Bill J., Derrick, Jerry, and John F. all convened at the RC track area for a nice loop. The day was perfect with several visitors along the way. After the loop, several went on about their ways, but Derrick, Anne, Mike I., were joined by Joel and Margot for lunch. We played "kill the keg" with the remaining BUMP supplied Gatorade by offering an open bar at the road crossing. Several fellow bikers stepped by and said hello inclUding Randall Crow, Ellen English, Joe, and Graham. We never did kill the keg, but someone had to drive home!

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1410 Montgomery Hwy, Vestavia 205 979-3460 www.bobs-bikes.com

If you would like to run a classified ad, please submit it by the next meeting for inclusion in next month's newsletter. The newsletter is printed by the 15th of each month. For Sale: Trek 830SHX - 13 inch Orange aluminum, $279.99 call Hardwick at 967-2003 RST Fork, 24 speed Grip Shift.

FOUND at Bump and GrindTwo computers, gloves, a watch, a bracelet, camera, etc. Call Anne or Derrick to claim at 987-3827. Items not claimed by the end of the year will be donated to the needy or recycled.
The MV~U~6l~ is published to inform the local mountain biking community of current happenings in the area, and promote safe and responsible use of mountain bicycles. If you would like to submit infonnation of any kind, please let BUMP know. Your ideas and suggestions will be appreciated. Leave a message on our HotUne at (205) 592-BUMP or send
an e-mail to iBykDoU@aoLcom.

For Sale: Schwinn Paramount Series 5 PDG, 54 cm white cr-moly frame and fork, Shimano 105 2x7 with down tube shifters. $350 call Hardwick at 967-2003 For Sale: 1996 Trek 990 - 18 inch True Temper CrMo with rigid fork, Deore XT I Grip Shift SRT 800 24 speed, XT cantilever brakes. Never Ridden! $499 call Hardwick at 967-2003 For Sale: 1999 Specialized FSR, Blue, white, red. Ridden less than 50 miles. $700 contact Andrew Green at 324-6515 (days) or e-mail Drew72@zebra.net. For Sale: Cannondale F500 Mountain Bike, Small frame, Black, 21 speed Grip Shift with Head Shock $429 call Hardwick at 967-2003 For Sale: Bump and Grind T-shirts. Several shirts remain from previous races. Contact Anne Seys for purchase at 987-3827. Price and availability varies: $10 for current 2000 (tan with red, XL) and several from 1999 (grey-green), 1998 (tan), and even a few 1996 (tan, M only). 1999 and earlier are just $5 for members and $10 for non-members. For Sale: WHEELS - Need and extra set of wheels for road or cross riding? MTB . wheels, LX 9 speed hubs laced to WTB Laser Beam rims with DT spokes. Ritchey Tom Slick tires and tubes. Brand new and only $160 o.b.o. Call Hardwick at 967-2003. Wanted: COOL old bikes 1930's - 1960's Especially Call Joel 252-1612 SChwinn. Absolutely any condition.

2000 BUMP Board of Directors

BUMP is a notfor profit organization
President Vice Pres. Treasurer Secretary Member Member Member Bill Johnson Joel Robertson Anne Seys Laura Cotlin Paul Brookes David Passmore Barry Hair 678-9752 252-1612 987-3827 591-2337 320-0918 661-9800

Twisting and Turning on an Overcast Saturday in Tuscaloosa ... Munny Sokol is always a great place 0 fun Several people new to the sport of mountain biking joined several BUMP members ,- and the Buck-Creek' Bikes crew fOI: C9:re51f'f~e Saturday September 23 prior to the GCC Race. The trails were in excellent ~~.~ condit~:m ali.~:riiad~~f.~ great rid .)u~ti.r ~e~~~ck,Eric, Paul, Dee, Mickie, Paul B., Keith, Margot, Joel, Serge, Tom, and Karen ~ would pEfln the ,OrigiOal~g.rouP, butl'u~r~~: bY..:~1JI G. Ken, and Sean F. near the completion of the ride.
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Birmingham Urban Mountain Post Office Box 590061 Birmingham, AL 35259-0061 Internet page www.BUMP.org

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