Clean Up @ Ipswich

I've been riding around Ipswich recently, getting ready for the Wednesday night rides. By the end of summer vacation the place had been trashed: given the abundance of fruit-flavored Philly Blunt wrappers, and the accompanying, munchy-induced soda bottles & potato chip bags, I'd guess that there's been some stoners out there...


The trails are in pretty decent shape, and a few kind souls have cleaned up some of the recent windfall, but the trash has gotta go! So this Saturday, 9/26, Liz Schleeper & myself will be coordinating a cleanup at Ipswich, starting at noon. We're looking for folks to come out for an hour or two, pick up litter, and maybe do some minor trail maintenance.

There are a few "potholes" in the trails that we've been calling & avoiding for a year or more during our group rides. It would only be a couple of minutes work with a shovel to fill them in, but who thinks to bring along a shovel on a mountain bike ride? There are also some inclined sections that could use similar attention: a bucket of dirt spread on the fall line would make for a smoother ride. There are also a couple of larger donut holes left by dirt bikes that need to be filled in, too.

The trails are relatively clear of branches and weeds, although there are will always be some new growth that needs to be trimmed. If you're inclined to do so, bring along a small, folding handsaw.

Finally, I could use 10-15 gallons of gravel. If you can get it to the trailhead, I'll take it from there in my B.O.B. trailer: I need it to lay at the base of a new ladder bridge.

So here's a list of what we need, Saturday Afternoon:
1. You.
2. Your friend.
3. Willing hands to pick up trash.

Optionally, we could also use the following:
A. Shovels
B. Handsaws
C. 10-15 gallons of gravel
D. 5 gallon plastic buckets w/ handles (good for moving dirt)
E. Wheelbarrows (good for moving more dirt)
F. Bike trailers. (2 wheels good, 1 wheel better)
G. Your Bike

After we finish cleaning up, we'll celebrate with a group ride around Ipswich, followed by a group hug.