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K&J riding Sat

K&I are staying close to home this weekend and going to try and beat some heat and head out tomorrow to DCF at 10am. Feel free to join us if you like….

DCF & caterpillars

Well everyone has seemed to notice the high number of caterpillars this spring. We are experiencing a Gypsy Moth “invasion” at the moment in DCF. If you have not been out since last week your next visit will be shocking. In areas there is no canopy left at all. None.

Here’s some good information passed on to me by a past MNR employee:

https://www.invasivespeciescentre.ca/invasive-species/meet-the-species/invasive-insects/gypsy-moth/

https://www.canr.msu.edu/ipm/invasive_species/Gypsy-Moth/virus-and-fungus-disease-cause

The highlights are that every female moth lays between 500 & 1000 eggs. The egg sacks will be identifiable and do not hatch until next spring. Each catapillar can consume 1 square meter of leaves.

It’s worth reading through to understand what the Forest is dealing with at the moment and for you to keep an eye out at home.

K&J Sunday Ride

K&I are heading up to 3 stages for a Sunday ride. We are starting at 1pm and heading out for a 2-3 hour tour. We will be parking at the bottom and going from there (Up, up!). If you care to join us contact me (CONTACT tab, e-mail or text) and let me know by the end of the day and we’ll figure out a meeting spot that we can keep within Covid protocol guidelines. All C-19 guidelines will be followed.

This will be dependant on not getting any rain between now and then.

🙂

TVG Food Bank Donation

I’ll admit I got a bit sidetracked by things since I first put it out there about raising $ for our local Food Bank in Dufferin. I finally found time to stop by with our donation from the Cycling Community. I visited Heather Hayes and all the volunteers at their brand new location at 3 Commerce Dr in Orangeville today and got a tour of their brand new location. It’s extremely impressive. They are still finishing the location up and I was extremely impressed with the extensiveness of what it takes to make it all happen. Amazing.

We ended up raising a total of $1335.00 and Heather will let me know in the future what that may go towards. I’m very proud of our Cycling community and they are very thankful to everyone that donated towards this.  Way to go everyone!

If you still would like to make a donation you can do it anytime through our DONATE tab and I’ll make sure it gets to them.

https://orangevillefoodbank.org

Dufferin County Forest Operation Plan Review

Dufferin County is conducting it’s five year review of it’s current operation plan. Here’s a link to the details:

https://joinindufferin.com/county-forest-operating-plan

https://www.dufferincounty.ca/forest/dufferin-county-forest-operating-plan-review

Please have a read and most importantly on the first link there is a survey you can take. It’s right down at the bottom. It’s only a few questions and will take no time at all. There are definitely some questions that address some very good concerns/thoughts of users. Even if you don’t have time to review the whole Plan please make sure you fill out the survey. This is very important for us as users to provide our feedback as it helps to guide future considerations in the Forest. It’s a chance to voice your thoughts and our participation is very important.

Here is a direct link to the Survey. https://joinindufferin.com/county-forest-operating-plan/survey_tools/review-comments

Have fun!

Friday work day…no ride today.

Three good size trees down from the storm the other day. I’m actually surprised it was only 3! We got out today and cleaned them up. Thanks to my helper (and chainsaw safety spotter) CS!

Lots of small stuff down that I notice people are just riding over. If everyone just stopped on their ride to clear off one or two sticks it would be easily tidied up.

We have had some great trimming done so far by KW & AK but still lots to do. The Lolli definitely needs a “hair cut” and lots of other random growth to be trimmed back. Anyone can feel free to take along some pruners and do a little trimming while out on a ride. No problem cutting things back as far as you can to increase visibility and safety. Even if you take 10 minutes on a ride that will add up to a beautifully cared for trail network that we all enjoy.

See you out there!

Lost and Found…

1. Anyone lose a Garmin in DCF?
2. Did anyone find a pair of glasses in the DCF main parking lot? They are Nike brand glasses with clear lenses and are prescription.

If yes to either please contact me through the “Contact” Tab.

Cheers!

Trail info…face smackers!

We have all been getting out a fair bit now and the trails are in great shape. This has been a crazy spring. Cold and wet for the longest time then warm and rain every few days. This has made for some great trail conditions. It has also made great vegetation growing conditions. The trails are closing in and there are lots of places where the “face smackers” are starting. So it’s time for the spring pruning. We are ok to clear growth back from the trail to increase visibility both on the Cycling trails and to open up the intersections at the equestrian trails a lot for better visibility. I’ve consulted and some good pruning is actually a good thing for the Forest. As we are not able to do any group work, it’s time for individuals to take a bit on at a time. The wheel hill has already been done by an avid TVG’er and is awesome! Feel free to take a pair of pruners or loppers out on one of your rides and do a section. Again, there is no issue with opening things up in the corners a lot to create better sight lines. Don’t be conservative. It is ironic, but the more you cut back, the more that it grows.

If you need a set of loppers, I have purchased a few of these beauties. They are super light and can cut everything from a tiny branch to a 1.25 inch sapling. They are only 15″ long so the fit perfectly in a hydration pack. Amazing! If you wish to borrow a TVG set, let me know. If you want your own, they are available at Home Hardware and are $28. They are awesome.

https://www.homehardware.ca/en/15-powergear-anvil-lopper/p/5067376.

So off we go, time to do some “trailscaping”. Have fun out there, take care at the intersections as our Equestrian friends are out there enjoying the trails as well.

s..

Hello all!

Hey everyone. Well it’s really great to be back. It’s not likely news to anyone that DCF has reopened a week and a bit ago. As Covid-19 is still very much in the present we will not be posting any group rides for a bit for obvious reasons. If you wish to have a riding partner best to contact each other and arrange yourselves accordingly. When out in DCF please continue to follow the most up to date C-19 guidelines.

The trails are in great shape. We got out in small groups over various days and times and collectively put in over 50 hours into the clean up. One day was two of us for around 3 hours to work on the big oak on the Lolli that came down last fall. Then three of us spend 4 hours leaf blowing the “south section” and cleaning up another big mess of a downed oak on the Lolli. Finally a group of 5 of us got out and spent over 6 hours again chainsawing on the rest of the network and with 4 determined leaf blowers, cleaned up the remaining entire network in one 6 hour plus effort. Whew! Then the best thing happened…after everything was completely cleared it rained. Then it got ridden…then it rained again. Repeat. So now even the trails that were build last year and the Ken’s rebuild last fall are all set in perfectly. Beautiful ribbons of trail through the lush green forest. Awesome.

A huge thank you to those who got out to help out as we could not do a big “clean up day” due to Covid-19 regulations.

There are also new signs going up at every intersection to indicate a trail crossing ahead. They are fairly discrete yellow signs so please keep and eye out for then and exercise caution at trail intersections. As cyclists we are to yield to every other user group that uses the Forest. Please remember that there is often others out there on other trails and they deserve our complete respect. I’m going to yet again advise everyone that rides in DCF have a bell and use it to notify others as you cross trails that may not have the best visibility. Its simple and very effective.

So there is your update…please remember those pesky waivers and we have now paid our 2020-2021 insurance premiums which allow us to exist. Any contribution of  any amount goes a long way with helping us fund all of what we do.

So please enjoy, stay safe, respect the regulations and we’ll see each other out in the woods. Cheers!

Team Van Go…insurance and waiver time. 2019 recap

Hi everyone.

I hope everyone is staying well and finding ways to responsibility enjoy the outdoors during these times. I realize it seems like a strange thing to discuss insurance and waiver requirements as all our “local trails” are still closed but May is still May and our insurance fees are due.

As with every year Team Van Go renews it’s insurance policy which provides us with the insurance we require to hold Land Use Agreements and cover the Club for liability.

The annual donation funds (as we don’t mandate a membership fee and our local trails are all free to ride) we receive help pay for that insurance, purchase any “trail tools” we may need, provide fuel for our equipment, and most importantly feed volunteers. Last year alone TVG ordered over 30 pizza’s for the major trail build days! We have no paid members or “administrative fees”. Everything goes back into the trails.

What did 2019 bring? It was a very busy year. During the beginning of 2019 our ambitious Fat Bike crew continued to snowshoe and pull tires around to keep 15km’s of single track open for Fat Biking. In the early Spring we constructed “Ralph’s Trail”…Over 50 people volunteered that day to take on the very ambitious project of constructing Ralph’s Trail in one day. Unbelievable! This trail is unlike anything else in DCF. Next, a small crew of us worked away and added in the “Max Connector” and the “Max Extension” trails. These trails were added with the intent of having an “easier” loop and set of trails to encourage newer riders. Summer went by with only normal on going trail maintenance being done. Then the logging in the Fall happened on Ken’s/Steve’s trail. The complete section of trail on the NE corner was gone and not passable and in most places, not recognizable. We designed a new trail then over 30 people came out (TVG-ers, local residents, our equestrian friends) on a cold November day and worked incredibly hard for their pizza and completed an awesome one day reconstruction. Again, amazing.

Winter came and an incentive to up our Fat Bike game was initiated. We had a Groomer fund raiser and raised enough funds from the generous contributions of many, to purchased a groomer for the Fat Bike trails. With the help of an amazing volunteer groomer crew we kept 18km’s of pure single track open for Fat Biking. This changed everything…the trails where absolutely amazingly packed and winter rides became an absolute single track experience. We also kept 2-4 km’s of groomed “walking trails” open for hikers and dog walkers. We co-hosted a “Fat Bike Day” at Mansfield Outer Centre and had over 65 people enjoying the trails of MOC, a fireplace and Rob’s great chilli. Hopefully some neat stuff coming next winter…stay tuned for that.

All the mentioned news above could only of happened with the wonderful co-operation of Dufferin County and County Staff. We can’t thank them enough for the privilege of being able to enjoy this Forest and the great formation of “The Friends of Dufferin County Forests” (FDCF) as a work and maintenance group.

So having said all that, we’ll see what 2020 brings. There are some great things in the works!! If you feel like supporting all our efforts we would appreciate any donations of any amount. Every little bit helps.

If you wish to contribute please hit the “Donate Tab” in the right column—–> that will direct you to PayPal where you can help support us.

For anyone who wishes to join in on group rides you do require an insurance waiver. You only are required to do this once a year. Please fill one out and pass it on to me in person or by e-mail (teamvango@rogers.com).  Here is a link to the form:

https://imbacanada.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/imba_canada_insurance-program-generalliability.pdf

Thank you to everyone who has supported us in the past and has believed in and appreciated what we do. We definitely have a wonderful group of people and a fantastic local place to enjoy. I hope to see you all soon!

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