Clip a card in your spokes and fluff the rainbow wig …Tour de Fat is back for its 11th season! New Belgium Brewing’s traveling celebration of all things bicycle rolls through 13 cities this year, raising money and sharing bike love. Tour de Fat is coming to San Diego's Balboa Park for it's 2nd year on October 2, from 9 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Tour de Fat is free to participants and all ages, but beer(21+)  and merchandise proceeds from the San Diego stop go to support grassroots bicycle advocacy for SDMBA & the San Diego Bicycle Coalition. Since its inception, the philanthropic cycling circus has raised more than $1.25 million on behalf of non-profit organizations.

“As you know, SDMBA promotes and encourages bicycling in San Diego County and works to make it a better place to ride,” said Piep van Heuven of BikeDenver. “Take it from us, Tour de Fat is the FUNniest FUNdraiser of the year, and event proceeds will help fund SDMBA programs and advocacy efforts that improve policy and sustainable trail infrastructure as well as enhance trail experiences for you and your bicycle.”

SDMBA will need plenty of volunteers to help out this year. The more folks we have, the more money we'll raise. If you'd like to help, please drop us an email at social@sdmba.com. Also keep an eye on our Facebook page for ways you can help.

Here at SDMBA, we're committed to fostering good relations between mountain bikers and other trail users out on San Diego's trails. Another step in this direction is our new Bike Bell Program. To find out how to make a difference, please click here

Saturday, January 30th: 4PM

While SDMBA  has been busy following and contributing to the process of finalizing the Del Mar Mesa (DMM) Resource Management Plan (RMP), [check out the Timeline] we realize that our participation at Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve (LPCP) is equally important to representing the interests of all trail users.
 
Los Peñasquitos Canyon Preserve lies between Rancho Peñasquitos, Sorrento Hills, Del Mar Mesa, Torrey Hills and Mira Mesa. Stretching approximately seven miles from the I-5 and 805 merge to just east of I-15; it encompasses some 4,000 acres. The Preserve is jointly owned and administered by the City and County of San Diego. For more info, including a map, visit the City web page for LPCP.
 
SDMBA has recently doubled our representation there by assigning a new SDMBA-LPCP Liaison and a new LPCP Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) representative.
 
Michael MacGregor is the new LPCP-Liaison. He is able to dedicate the time and attention to LPCP that it deserves. He has been a SDMBA member for a little over a year, but has proven his commitment and ability to represent the mountain biking community. He was Volunteer of the Year in 2008 and now oversees the Trailwork Committee. He is also a new SDMBA Board Member. As Liaison at LPCP he will act to facilitate the interaction and communication between the Ranger Staff, our Board Members, our members and volunteers. 
 
Rob Mikuteit will represent SDMBA at the CAC meetings. Rob has been a SDMBA member since 2001 and been involved at LPCP even longer. He will focus on the duties of the CAC, which includes participation in making policy recommendations on the management of the preserve to the City- and County-elected Task Force. The primary concerns of the CAC are to protect the Preserve as a natural resource for habitat, for education and for recreation. Their meetings are held on the 3rd Thursday of odd-numbered months, at 7:00 p.m. in the Ranch House, off of Black Mountain Road.
 

If you are interested and able to help at LPCP please send an email to Michael MacG. 
If you are interested in learning more about the CAC visit the LPCP-CAC member discussion forum. 

For the full article with photos click here.

The April 18 Del Mar Mesa "Tunnels" trash cleanup led by City of San Diego Senior Ranger Gina Washington proved to be a huge success. 93 volunteers were organized into three teams and spent five hours picking up trash on City-owned open space within the Del Mar Mesa Preserve.

Special thanks goes to all the hard working volunteers, including Shasta Landscaping, and sponsors who helped support the event: Luna Grill Neighborhood Kabobery; Clif Bar; REI; and local bike shops Black Mountain Bicycles, North of the Border Bikes and ProBuilt Wheels.

The event was a special opportunity for the mountain biking community to demonstrate environmental stewardship. It was evident that everyone who participated enjoyed taking part in this event.

Taking care of open space that supports healthy and biologically diverse habitats contributes to quality trail experiences for all. This is part of being a responsible stakeholder. SDMBA will continue to support more open space stewardship events in the future. We hope you will join us in these efforts to protect, preserve and enhance our local natural environments.

SDMBA is proud to announce our newest retail sponsor- North of the Border Bicycles!

Many of you already known of Doug Wolken and Mike Crowell's "toughest little bike shop in San Diego". Last year NBBikes was voted the best bike shop by MTBr. To find out more, store location and hours check our sponsor page-link. Thanks Doug and Mike.

As of December 12, 2008, all city-owned land is closed to trail users. Most tunnel trails at least in part go through city land. Also, California Dept. of Fish and Game does not allow biking on their lands because of vernal pool sensitivity.  You can help the situation by showing respect for the habitat and following the posted signage while we continue to advocate for a legal sustainable trail system.  Stay off of the closed trails so we can demonstrate responsible and respectful stewardship.

Del Mar Mesa “Tunnels” Timeline and Update 2009

SDMBA is regarded by many local land managers as the premier trail building and maintenance resource in San Diego County. No other organization does so much volunteer trail work. Over the last ten years, these land managers have come to rely on us more and more as budgets have been cut. SDMBA wants to help them do quality trail design and management, so in light of that, REI recently awarded SDMBA a $5,000 grant.