NATIONAL TRAILS DAY!

THINGS BEGINNING TO SEEM OMINOUS FOR GALBRAITH MOUNTAIN BIKING

Bummer story today in the Bellingham Herald reporting that Polygon Financial, who owns the 3,000-plus acre hiking-biking-running-family walking playground, is ending their agreement with WHIMPs Mountain Bike Coalition. (WHIMPs is the Bellingham mountain biking club that's been the recreational stewards of Galby for some years now.) In January, Polygon started logging the lower flanks of the mountain closing (we hoped temporarily) a few trails. Now though, they're ending the stewardship agreement and I can't help but wonder what's next. My guess is nothing good. (And boy, I'd love to be wrong on this one.)

A part of me wonders if they're doing this to try to get the city (and/or county?) to pony up the $20 million to buy it. Read (and weep) the story here.

Here's a link to Preserve Galbraith, a group working to keep public access to Galby. And here's a link to the WHIMPs site which details the agreement termination.

Ugh.

EIN SUNNY DAY IN BELLINGHAM

Two days in a row with beautiful, sunshiny days that are nothing less than glorious--right on in seriously groovy and righteous way! Snow at the top of Galbraith Mountain is finally gone so I headed there on the Felt Nine Pro, it of the 29-inch wheels. Views were stunning all around. Above, Mount Baker; below, our fair city by the bay.

Below is something that's pretty cool--a kiosk with tools set up by Brandon Strong, a Bellingham High student, probably for his senior project. (I don't know details, but he gives shout-outs to Kathy Salisbury from Fanatik, Mark Peterson and Darren Clark from http://www.whimpsmtb.com/ and Allen Young.) It's at the bottom of the Mullet Trail. Speaking of da' Mullet, see video farther down of the Mullet's long cool bridge.

Me, looking all short and stubby leg-like at the top of Galby, as the kids call it.