Thanks to stellar FATRACer Patrick M., a group of cycling wine lovers enjoyed a great weekend.  Camping at Lake Sonoma was perfect.  Well, an enthusiastic raccoon did enjoy Jamie's cinnamon bread.  Otherwise it was sipping wine, sharing food, enjoying an easy time.  The riding between beautiful wineries was so fun.  Expert rider Jim had to gear down, while new cyclist Jamie managed her longest ride.  A nice blend of skills.  Some of us rode the cool trails of Annadel on Sunday and gathered afterwards on the Sonoma town plaza for dinner before heading home.

FATRAC is having its second annual wine ride starting from Sonoma Lake from June 12-14.  We'll carpool to Lake Sonoma's Liberty Glen campground on Friday evening, then descended into Dry Creek Valley below the lake early Saturday for a day of riding and wine tasting. We'll ride to the end of Dry Creek Valley on the less traveled Lambert Bridge Road and hit 6-7 wineries that look good for tasting on our way back. We'll stop for lunch at the Dry Creek general store / gourmet deli half way through the ride. Saturday evening we'll share dinner around a campfire while taking in the view of the rolling oak woodlands surrounding Lake Sonoma. Sunday morning, we'll depart early-mid morning for some mountain biking at Annadel State Park before returning home.If you are interested  email mcdanielp@gmail.com

Chris from Bicycle Chef created another extraordinary meal for us on Saturday, May 16.  We had 40 riders show up for our monthly Try the Divide Ride and then we held a raffle to honor all of the volunteers who led rides, did trail work and supported FATRAC in 2008. Many thanks to everyone for everything they do to make this the best mountain bike club in the Sacramento region!

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FATRAC wishes to extend a THANK YOU to REI Roseville and their bike mechanic Justin Cone for taking the time to write the Mechanics Corner article in our current newsletter. In our haste to get the newsletter out we forgot to give credit where it is due! Be sure to stop by REI Roseville's bike department and let Justin know how much you appreciate his and REI's commitment to the trails in our area and to FATRAC.

And Don't forget to mark your calendar to Celebrate National Trails Day with the support of the wonderful folks from REI! They are teaming up with FATRAC to  maintain the trails at Hidden Falls park in Placer County on May 30th If you plan to attend be sure to pre-register with REI to be eligible for some special swag from REI – e-mail Erin at eharrin@rei.com. A complete description of the event is at http://www.fatrac.org/index.php?q=civicrm/event/info&reset=1&id=238

Mark Sunday, June 14 on your calendar for the American River Confluence Festival. There will be tons of entertainment and food for the whole family.  It is held each year at the American River Overlook on Pacific Avenue in Auburn. It will start at 9 AM and lasts until 4 PM. FATRAC will have a booth there and we are planning on a mountain bike ride into the canyon from there.

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Over the past three years, Ron has volunteered countless hours as our Trailwork Coordinator for FDLT. Whether you saw him at the 24 hours of Cool or on a training ride on the FDLT, be sure to say thank you for the great work he has done.  He has now stepped down as Trailwork Coordinator and we are in need of a replacement.  If you are able to tow the FATRAC tool trailer once a quarter to lead trailwork, contact Craig Wilson at cwilson at sanjuan.edu and let me know. This is one of those jobs that none of us would be able to  do without. If we do not hit the trails once a month, the brush will reclaim what we have carved out. If you enjoy riding the trails, come give some sweat equity to keep them accessible.

This pig gave its life for the hungry mountain bikers and Cathy can't revive it!

This past weekend six FATRAC'ers attended the 2009 Ales and Trails benefit for IMBA California. Despite light showers on and off all day and generally muddy soggy conditions, we all got excellent rides in around China Camp State Park with small organized groups. Afterward we enjoyed beers from at least six microbreweries and an excellent barbeque including roasted pig.
 

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Go to http://www.mayisbikemonth.com and register for the "May Is Bike Month" pledge and add FATRAC as your team. Last year riders in the Sacramento area rode over one million miles during May.  This is a powerful statement to all stakeholders during these troubled economic times. Make your voice heard by pledging (and then riding) as many miles as you can for the month of May. It is a great way to set a goal and then log your miles to see how you are doing.

If you rode the Foresthill Divide Loop Trail on Sunday, April 26 then you ran across the 14 volunteers who were cutting back the poison oak and other bushes crowding the trail.  MadCat Bike brought goodies before the work and provided swag for after the event. We were able to work on almost all of the loop.  There is only a small section we did not touch.  Next time you are near the Town and Country Center, stop by and say thanks to Mike for supporting this important work.  Our next trail work is on May 30. Come out and help support the trails that you use.  I was inviting every rider that passed me on Sunday to come out next month and help.  The one rider (you know who you are) said he was going to buy a round of beers for the crew!  We are ready any time you are! Email me and let's work out the details.

Sunday at Granite Bay – We had a great ride.  Five of us started the ride from Cavitt Jr. High, including 2 riders from Reno who came down just for the FATRAC ride.  We heard from other riders that there was a major triathlon with bikes and runners on most of the Granite Bay trails, so we started off by heading south on the newer multiuse trail to Beal’s Point – that’s a good warm-up.