Nate King said it - "Wow". There was a lot going on this weekend and we had a great turnout for the two-fold effort of a Landahl workday and ERTA fund-raiser. When it rains and people are faced with the chance of not getting to ride, it’s tough to want to come out to meetings. So thank you to all who showed up for one or both events despite the rain.

At the Landahl workday on Saturday, we knocked out some items on Aaron’s list of areas needing attention. The work included a couple re-routes and some de-berming. Granny Gear Productions appreciated our efforts so much that they donated 6 jerseys, given away by drawing, to those that came out and helped. They also gave a free t-shirt coupon to every person at the workday. After Aaron and Nikki’s hard work on the trails, they hosted a party at their house for the volunteers. Mike Coakley from Weston Brewing Company donated a keg of his Irish Creme Ale. Let’s just say that while everyone appreciated that donation, it went over extra well with Ken Miner!

Sunday was the Earthriders monthly meeting. We had a LOT of help this month with Bike Stop and the KC Cup stepping up big to sponsor a raffle in support of ERTA. They donated a ton of stuff from the shop to give away and they also provided the food. The raffle was a huge success and the latest estimate is that $1,115.00 was raised. I’ll just tell ya folks, we needed that money badly as we are working toward paying off the Dingos and other trail building equipment. In addition to that, it costs money to operate the machinery and up until now, there has been a small group of volunteers who cover those costs out-of-pocket.

For those of you who have just been learning about ERTA (Earthriders Trail Association), I’d like to add a side-note about ERTA workdays. The standard is that they consist of about 4 hours of lite work. When you get several people working on a project, it is surprising how fast the time goes by and how much work gets done. It’s all about teamwork, so the labor isn’t really that hard. I have found that workdays can actually be a lot of fun because it’s yet another chance to hang out with your friends or make new ones. If you have yet to venture out to one of these workdays, I encourage you to watch the forum this winter and find one that fits your schedule. Volunteers are absolutely our most valuable asset in building & maintaining the awesome trails we have in our area.

The remainder of the ER meeting was fairly typical, with plenty of hanging out and getting to know the new faces. We did have a short presentation from Lisa Cox, Water Quality Specialist from the City of Overland Park on how we as trail users can be involved with protecting and monitoring water quality in the Blue River Watershed.

I’ll wrap up with a list of people we can thank for all the efforts that made this weekend a success. I hope someone will contact me if I have inadvertently missed anyone.

In no particular order:

* Aaron & Nikki Browning - tireless efforts both this weekend and ongoing at Landahl; generous after-work party at their house
* Ron Acklin - tireless efforts both this weekend and ongoing at Landahl; helped with ERTA raffle
* Amy Phillips - coordination, setup and operation of the ERTA raffle
* Bike Stop - supplied LOTS of swag for that raffle
* KC Cup - supplied food for the meeting/raffle
* Mike Rago - slaved over the BBQ pit; general good looks in a chef hat
* Granny Gear Productions - rewarded us with jerseys & t-shirts after the workday
* ER/ERTA officers - lots of details to manage as usual
* ALL participants in the ERTA workday, both first-timers and old-timers
* Everyone who contributed either directly to ERTA or through the raffle

EarthRiders Mountain Bike Club and EarthRiders Trails Association are proud to present a weekend of work and fun to get ready for the 24 Hours of Landahl. If you haven't heard, the 24 Hours at Landahl will possibly the biggest mountain bike race ever to be held in Kansas City. Granny Gear Productions, world renowned promoters of 24 hour races, is joining Earthriders for this fun filled exciting weekend.

Workday - To start things off, ERTA and Jackson County Trailwatchers along with Granny Gear Productions,
are sponsoring a trail workday at Landahl Park, Jackson County, MO.

Get it on the calendar! Bonktoberfest is coming - second weekend in October.

What is Bonktoberfest?

It's a meeting of the minds.
It's a Shangri La for the weary and over-worked.
It's a collaboration of single track gurus and campsite cuisine connoisseurs.
It's an epic mountain bike ride, of course!
It's also a stellar camping trip in a phenomenal campground.

Seriously, it is the Earthriders yearly pilgrimage to the Ozarks for a really fun biking

Submitted by Michael Gier:

Great meeting Wednesday night, folks. A LOT of new faces, great trails, fun games, good times. Thanks again to OlatheJoe for putting on a fine meeting.

To recap what we talked about:

The Blue River Park "access trail" from the strip mall at 130th and Holmes is now officially closed. This is not due to any sort of evil on the part of the landowner...

We are finally underway for a women’s only ride. So calling all you dirt lovin’ girls. Leave your husbands, boyfriends, kids in the dust. Bring your bike, your wit and a good sense of humor. This ride is designed for women at ALL riding levels. Our priority is for all of you new to Mountain biking to feel comfortable and have fun riding but also for all skills levels to show up. Something for everyone.

We feel it is important to have fun, be supportive, meet like minded women, and have great rides. As I was reading on another Women’s Mountain Biking site, if you aren’t giggling and laughing - you’re riding way too hard.

We are going to meet every 2nd and 4th Saturday of the Month. We’ll meet

Steve Dowell will be hosting a monthly, family oriented, mountain bike ride. Bring the kids, bikes and helmets out for a fun time!

Kids/Family ride Aug. 20th at BRP, 3:00 start time
Start at Minor Park 1 block west of Blue River rd. on Red Bridge
Very Slow paced
All ages welcome
Helmets required
This is a ride to get kids &/or new people into riding the trails. There will be no long hills or technical trails taken.
This will become a monthly ride that will change trails & start times.
More details to be added on ER forums under Group Rides section