It's finally here - a complete, technical, 3-D topographic mountain biking trail map of Southern Oregon. The map, which will be in stores for the Memorial Day weekend, features trails in Ashland, Applegate Lake and Brown Mountain Areas. Printed on water-resistant paper, the map is full-color, 2-sided and features 3-D visuals of trail terrain. Created with data from: USGS, RRNF, City of Ashland, Jackson County and field research with GPS receivers, each trail description includes: GPS navigational waypoints, total ascent and descent in vertical feet and length (mi & km), graphic elevation profile, 3-d picture of the individual trail terrain, directions to trailhead and more. The map retails for $9.99 with 5% of map profits donated to SOMBA. The map is the first of the "Treadmaps" series designed by GIS Analyst and Cartographer, Lled (pronounced "Led")Smith. Keep an eye out for "Treadmaps" of other Oregon locations due out this Summer. Lled got to know the local Southern Oregon biking scene when he lived there 10 years ago. He worked for what used to be Third Hand/Loose Screws and attended bike mechanics' courses at UBI. For more info and a list of local retailers carrying the map, visit www.LLEDMAPS.com/retailers.htm. The new trail map was also recently featured in an article in the Ashland Daily Tidings.

SOMBA Featured in Daily Tidings Article

	Photo by Satsuki Doi, Ashland Daily Tidings

Ashland Daily Tidings writer Vickie Aldous wrote a featured story about SOMBA's trail building and maintenance efforts that was featured in the March 18th edition of the Tidings.

The story centered around SOMBA's partnership with the US Forest Service and the Ashland Parks and Recreation and contains several quotes from USFS recreation specialist Tom Lupes. To read the complete story, click here.

SOMBA Builds New Trail Section at Applegate

SOMBA offers a special thanks to the 24 hearty volunteers who arrived at Applegate Lake on a chilly Saturday morning ready to put in a full day of trail building. The day began with fresh bagels provided by the Key of C Coffee House, followed by a brief orientation on trail building. What resulted was an impressive section of new trail, designed to bypass a damaged section of the Payette trail on the east side of the lake. SOMBA fed our volunteers a great lunch, compliments of Becky DeSalvo, and by the end of the day, everyone was thoroughly tired but pleased with the day's work.

The 10 Most Common Trailbuilding Mistakes

For as long as humans have been following trails, we've been making mistakes on trails. Still, our missteps - whether they left us in the digestive tracts of saber-toothed beasts or wandering the intestinal roadways of trail-encroaching suburbs - usually only affect ourselves. When trailbuilders make mistakes, however, they affect everybody. Trail users, land managers, vegetation and wildlife all feel the sting of the well-meaning but inexperienced trailbuilder. In our travels, we often see the same mistakes again and again, but the good news is they can all be avoided. In an effort to bury them alongside dinosaurs in the evolutionary graveyard, we bring you the top 10:

1. Not Getting Land Manager Approval
We know, we know: you just want to build trails. But believe us when we tell you that nothing - not a single darned thing - is more important before starting trailwork than the approval of the land owner or manager. In our experience, a failure to secure permission is the single biggest cause of trail closures. When it comes to building trails, to ask for forgiveness is not better than to ask for permission.

2. Falling for the Fall Line
Put simply, fall line trails are erosion nightmares. They turbo-charge natural and user-created erosion, exposing rocks and roots and generally living short lives before becoming loose, wide, ecosystem-damaging disasters. To build trails that last, use the Half Rule: trail grade, or steepness, shouldn't exceed half the grade, or steepness, of the hillside; and the 10 Percent Rule: overall trail grade should be 10 percent or less.

3. Guessing the Grade
Nobody, no matter how masterful their eye, can guess trail grades right every time. Trust us, we know. Sure, it's fun to try, but use a clinometer to confirm the grade whenever you're laying out trail-it's worth a regiment of self-powered, Fantasia-style Pulaskis, because no amount of trailwork can fix a trail built on an un.sustainable grade. If you don't have a clinometer, we highly recommend an investment in this indispensable tool.

4. Going Against the Row
Not even race courses - which are sometimes designed with erratic flow to throw off a racer's rhythm - should make this trailbuilding faux pas. All trail-builders should make "smooth transitions" their mantra. Bad flow, especially fast sections leading into sharp turns, is a primary cause of user conflict. When you are building, think flow-it's the key to an enjoyable trail.

5. Half Bench is Half Baked
The only time you should ever skimp on a fully bench cut trail is (1) when the sideslope is so steep-80 percent or greater-that the backslope exceeds six feet in height, or (2) when your trail design forces you to build close to the downhill side of a large tree. In both cases, a proper crib wall should be built to support your partial bench, and, as in all trails, the tread should maintain a five to seven percent outslope.

6. The West Virginia Climbing Turn
Our friends in West Virginia affectionately gave this name to some of their steep, fall line turns, and while they've gotten away with it in a few locations because of the soil and user types, most fall line turns will erode badly. If you want your climbing turns to endure, build them on sideslopes with no steeper than a seven to 10 percent grade.

7. Building Houses of Straw
Remember the little piggy who built his house with straw? He got chowed by a wolf. Using shoddy materials when building trail structures leaves you and others similarly vulnerable by reducing the structure's safety and longevity. This opens the door to things like pain, guilt and even lawyers. Build it right. Keep the wolves at bay.

8. Finishing a Line Before Its Time
We heartily support on-the-trail training, but some new trailbuilders are so eager to keep building more! new! better! trails that they don't devote enough time or care to each new trail section. Resist the temptation to move forward. Don't finish a line before its time, and always patch past mistakes.

9. Building a Pathway to Grandma's House
This is what we call some trailbuilders' obsession with lining trail with logs. A properly constructed trail shouldn't need them. In fact, lining a trail with logs can trap water and increase erosion.

10. Ignoring Old Wounds
As mountain bikers we may think our scars are cool, but scars on the land left by closed trails are damaging wounds that need to heal. Always reclaim eroded areas with check dams - natural obstacles like logs or rocks that divert the flow of water and soil - and reclaim all closed trails with transplanted native vegetation that conceals the old corridor. Shine the spotlight on the great trails you've built, not the ugly scars that have been left behind.