Welcome to our website!  This is a community website to provide our neighbors with easy access to the latest newsletters and meeting topics for ESCCRR and MHRIA (Mt. Hamilton Range Improvement Association), an archive of previous newsletters, documents, and community responses.  We encourage you to comment on them, or any other issues, constructive or not, that you want to share with our community.
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This is a message from Cheryl. The Bike/Parade ordinance is in the final stage of approval. I'm including a copy here for all to review and comment on if you would please. If you're not interested in adding any input that's fine just don't bother to answer.  The only thing I ask is that you keep the comments relative to the ordinance.  If we start sending in off the wall suggestions then it will lessen the credibility and sincerity of the responses.

From Cheryl> Do you mind sending out the copy of the new propsed draft ordinance.  We need to ask people to review it and get back to us with any questions, additions, deletions comments etc. The county is hopeful that this is a plan we could live with for a year. The plan is for it to go to the Board for approval later this month with a review after 1 year to be sure that it is a workable compromise for all.

The county and members of bike groups would like to meet with interested people to discuss bike riders who show unacceptable behavior. The bike riders believe that they can be helpful in getting some of the bike riders to behave better and ride more safely if we work together. The county will help facilate the process.  Let us know if you would like to be involved and when you could meet

Thanks, John
Click Below To Read The Ordinance
2010 meeting dates:

Wednesday, June 9, 4-6 p.m.
Wednesday, September 15 4-6 p.m.
Wednesday, December 15, 4-6 p.m.
To: Residents & Property Owners, Del Puerto Canyon area

Re: Early Bird Bicycle training race to be held in your area Sat. January 23, 2010

(This year we are again doing notification by e-mail, pursuant to your request; as this will not reach everyone we would appreciate you letting your neighbors know, or providing other e-mails addresses to us for us to send out.)

Dear Friends:

    The Golden Chain Cyclists and Velo Promo are plan¬ning to conduct the 20th annual Early Bird bicycle training race on Del Puerto Canyon Road on Saturday morning, January 23, 2010. We ask your cooperation in making this a safe and successful one again this year. Care will again be taken to address concerns of you, the residents, after past problems. This year we will have a nurse on the course, as well as better communications, more police assistance and transportation.
The event will take place on a 23 mile stretch of the canyon road, with an assembly point and start area west of Patterson off Rogers Road at Villa del Lago.. From there, starting after 8:00 a.m., 12+ separate groups of bicycle riders will start out. All should be done by 12:00 Noon, all groups going up the Canyon to the top and then back almost to the freeway, where the finish line will be located.
The cyclists will include California and Nevada amateur riders; some 300 riders in all, split into 12+ different starting groups by age and ability. Part of each rider’s entry fees can be donated to the San Antone Valley Volunteer Fire Department, if someone can give us a contact address.
While the road will not be closed to regular traffic during the events, we ask that you keep your eyes open while driving the morning of the race. Likewise, we will stress to the riders that they should be watching for and cooperating with drivers. The riders are required to stay to the right lane as under normal conditions, but there may be as many as 25-50 together at any one time, moving along at up to 40 mph on the downhills and 25 on the flats. Please be aware that the riders may be going downhill faster than you normally would in a car.
If you have dogs or other animals (other than range cattle, obviously), we ask that you keep them under control if possible for the morning, as loose animals often mean injured bicyclists and animals in this sort of situation. Course marshals will be stationed along the course, along with the California Highway Patrol, to direct and assist the riders and to inform motorists. If you are having difficulties with the events, please contract them and they will try to assist you. If you have difficulties with a particular rider, and can notify us of the race number (on the right side of their body) we can disqualify them from the event and recommend harsher penalties.
We hope that you will enjoy the event and that it will not be a major inconvenience for you. Our crew will pick up debris left from the race during the afternoon of the race day. In 2006, we picked up a total of three 33-gallon trash bags (only one each in 2007, 2008 and 2009!) of beer bottles, cigarette packages, cans, cardboard boxes, glass and plastic soda bottles, and fast food containers –not race debris--, as well as several water bottles, inner tubes and power bar wrappers and the like from the racers.

Thank you for your cooperation,

Robert A. Leibold, Race Director
Golden Chain Cyclists
19780 Soulsbyville Road
< img src="tp.gif" alt="" border="0" width="30" class="lpxtab">Soulsbyville, CA 95372
(209) 533-4996
velopro1@sonnet.com

Attachment to Robert Leibold's Letter

Be Aware of the Locals’ Concerns!!

Riders: Be aware of the concerns below; ride to the right especially when alone, stay in your lane, and don’t react negatively to the drivers! They live here and we don’t!

“Some of the residents are long time ranchers; asking them to control their cattle so you can have a bike race is ridiculous.”

“Some of the residents are 8-to-5ers that welcome their weekend to possibly take a little trip down to town to do shopping or just relax. Pretty hard to do when there are literally 100s of bicyclists on the road. By the way, the riders in one race far out number the residents who live here.”

“Some of us, like myself, have equipment we move up and down the roads on weekends. Could you imagine the confusion created by cows, tractors, local and tourist traffic, (not to mention thick fog and rain) all on the same road at the same time?   Who’s to give?”
“Should the residents stay off the roads so that cyclists can litter, cause wrecks and confusion, urinate and harass the locals?  I think not!”

“We have very few problems up here. We have no police dept, no sheriff, no full time fire department; only our volunteers. When the riders wreck, it sometimes takes hours before help can be on scene. The whole time the roads are at least congested if not closed.”
“My guess is that your people like to ride up here for a combination of the scenery and the challenge of some of the hills. Speaking only for myself, I live here for the peace and quiet and the freedom from town noise and clutter."

Note that the letter was received on 1/21 for a race on 1/23
From John Chamorro   02/11/10

For those of you that have been anxiously waiting to see if we'll be able to host the stage 4 leg of the Amgen bicycle race, wait no more!! On May 19th we will all be able to sit back on our properties and watch the Race!! The race will start in San Jose and continue to Livermore then up Mines Road heading South and then East down Del Puerto Canyon ending up in Modesto. You shouldn't plan to use the only two viable roads in and out of here on that day. I would also suggest that residents pay careful attention to the pre-race practices that will invariably clog the roads for a couple of weeks before. Not to worry though because these practice rides are not escorted but they will have the right of way. Please also be careful of the crowds that are to be expected on race day and try to be courteous and accommodating to them also. If by some chance that your are unable to sit home all day while the roads are closed, you should have the chance to see all the wanna-be's that will follow for months afterwards. If you should like to see a more organized race then the following weekend will give you a chance to see three different races all coming from three different directions all at once. I'm sure looking forward to these coming in May!!!
The next meeting for the Rural Roads will be this coming Wednesday the 17th at Mt Hamilton in the lecture hall (same as usual).  Besides all the normal agenda items there will be a report on the meeting with County Counsel regarding the latest Bicycle Ordinance revisions.

This will also be the last meeting before the Amgen Race closes our roads on May 19th. Hopefully the CHP and Sheriffs dept. will have representatives attending to address any concerns you may have.  For many, the last race was a non-issue.  For many more it
was quite a problem with crowds and trespassers.  This year the race doesn't go over Mt. Hamilton.  It will proceed up Mines Road to Santa Clara County and then down Del Puerto to Modesto.

Hope to see many of you there.


Hi all,

The folks at CAL FIRE have been kind enough to let us use the Sweetwater
station for our meeting tomorrow, so we will go ahead as planned. Attached
is a revised agenda. Hopefully, we will see you all there tomorrow at 4.

Thanks,
Colleen Valles
Policy Aide to Supervisor Donald F. Gage
408.299.5010 Office
408.295.6993 Fax
colleen.valles@bos.sccgov.org
www.dongage.org

NOTE:  MEETING LOCATION CHANGE
Eastern Santa Clara County Rural Roads Meeting Agenda
Sweetwater CAL FIRE Station, 47405 Mines Road
Mar. 17, 2010, 4 p.m.

AGENDA

The Eastern Santa Clara County Rural Roads Meeting is an ad hoc community meeting for residents and property owners of the Mt. Hamilton/San Antonio Valley area to discuss road concerns with elected officials, county staff and law enforcement. The intent is to hold these meetings quarterly to address these issues.

Questions can be addressed to Colleen Valles, aide to Supervisor Gage, at colleen.valles@bos.sccgov.org or (408) 299-5010.

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Introductions (Gage)

2. Roads Department update/announcements
   - Update on meeting with County Counsel re: special event
   ordinance (Cheryl J.)

3. CHP update/announcements
  - Discussion of Tour of California

4. Sheriff’s Office update/announcements

5. Other announcements

6. Questions/concerns

7. 2010 meeting dates:
                                                  Wednesday, June 9, 4-6 p.m.
                                                  Wednesday, September 15 4-6 p.m.
                                                  Wednesday, December 15, 4-6 p.m.

Hi, all:

Firstly, I met with Michael Murdter, our Roads and Airports Director, last Friday, and we discussed the fact that we need to prepare for a minimum of three bicycle events (that are known to me) that are soon arriving in your community:

Devil Mountain Double Century Ride on April 24

Fortieth Anniversary Mt. Hamilton Challenge on April 25

Tour of California event on May 19 (San Jose leg of the ride).

My hope was that we'd have a new ordinance in place, but since we met at the Cal Fire station, I've been asked to also serve as the Acting Director of our Health and Hospital System so I haven't had the time to spend with this matter.   That being said, Michael is reporting back about our game plan to have these event organizers comply with our existing requirements including notification.   Stay tuned for more info.

Secondly, we heard you very clearly at our meeting, and attached is a new revised Special Events Ordinance, which creates a section pertaining to event requirements in San Antonio Valley.  PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THESE PROVISIONS, AS SOON AS YOU CAN.

Thank you,   Sylvia

_____________________________________
Sylvia M. Gallegos | Deputy County Executive/Acting Director, SCVHHS
Office of the County Executive | Eleventh Floor – East Wing
70 West Hedding Street | San Jose, California  95110
(408) 299-5107 or 885-7490 p | (408) 295-1613 f


From: John Chamorro [mailto:redmt@netvelocite.net]
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 7:08 PM
To: Argula, Dawn, BOS Dist 1; Brett Moore; Cathy Wayne; Valles, Colleen; Pat McGrady; Gallegos, Sylvia
Cc: Cheryl Jorgensen; Don Turner; Glenn Dolfin; Jean, Jess Leasure; Mines_delPuer_SanAntone@yahoogroups.com; Nancy Hildebrandt; Shannon Moore
Subject: Bike teams

The amgen bike teams are practicing already. They were blocking lower Mines road this afternoon not letting traffic by.  I believe it was the Australian team but I'm not sure.  Their support vehicle was blocking the entrance to the Junction this afternoon.  I didn't see the riders but the reports I got said there were 25+ riders.  I saw the van but didn't pay it much mind until tid-bits of info came in later.  I wish it was possible to tell these riders to share the road and that they do not have exclusive use of it. The game is on!!  Only 2 more months!!!

Click Below To Read The Ordinance
Tour of California ready for its Patterson encore
by Amanda Matthews / Patterson IrrigatorMay 12, 2010 

Cyclists in the 2008 Amgen Tour of California race down Las Palmas Avenue. They will return to the streets of Patterson this year on Wednesday, May 19, for the 2010 tour. Irrigator file photoslideshow It’s been two years since hundreds of the world's top cyclers were last spotted speeding around the Circle in downtown Patterson. This Wednesday, seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstong will — for the first time — join the horde of wheeled athletes participating in the Amgen Tour of California.

The tour will bring 127 riders from 23 countries, seven of which are Olympic medalists. Cyclists will start the Wednesday, May 19, stage of the race — the fourth of eight total — in San Jose, head north to Livermore to Mines Road, then southeast to Del Puerto Canyon Road, where cyclists will endure steep climbs and curvy roads while crossing the mountain range eastward. They’ll descend into the Central Valley through the West Side and hit Patterson at about 2 p.m.

Last year, the world’s top cyclists took a different route, through Tracy, during the fourth stage of the tour. In 2008, the tour began in Modesto and headed west to San Jose.

From 2 to 3:30 p.m., the tour will cause road closures — for both through- and cross-traffic — on Sperry Avenue, West Las Palmas Avenue, Las Palmas Avenue, the Downtown circle, and then east on Las Palmas. Cyclists will turn left on Carpenter Road and head toward Modesto, which is the last stop of Stage 4.

Patterson’s parks and recreation director, Adrienne Chaney, said the afternoon road disruption — which will probably last less than two hours — will go as smoothly as it did in 2008, and she’s hoping people will go out and enjoy the spectacle.

Though, because Patterson School District has an early release day this year, she isn’t sure the streets will be as lined with students this time, since they will likely have all gone home by the time the riders race through town.

“It there’s any bummer, that’s it,” she said.

But she’s still hopeful the students will find a way back to the tour route. After all, it isn’t every day Lance Armstrong pedals through Patterson.

« redmt wrote on Saturday, May 15 at 07:59 AM »
The race certainly is exciting in many ways. It's odd to see though how only the positive spin is put on it. The costs and ongoing inconvenience factors are well worth looking into. The cash strapped state pays for days of 24 hour per day CHP escort. The cities and counties kick in more than their fair share of under funded budget as well. All this while school after school is closed and teachers are laid off. Last but not least are the crowds it draws to rural area like Del Puerto Canyon and Mines Road. While it can be a minor inconvenience for traffic to reroute around the race in town, the only roads for canyon residents will be closed for the majority of the day. Travel to or from the Junction will not be possible from either the Livermore side as the race progresses south nor to or from Patterson as the canyon will be blocked also. They are held captive so to speak.

Many enthusiasts will turn out to see the race and they should be made aware that there is no public access to lands of Mines Road and Del Puerto canyon except for Frank Raines Park where they will have to pay for day use. Basically , there are no legal places to park along the route so trespassing is the only option for race enthusiasts. Hopefully the Sheriff from all three counties will be out in force to protect property owners rights.
« area_observer wrote on Saturday, May 15 at 11:14 AM »
The Minnear Day Use area is a three mile stretch of property 12 miles up along Del PUerto Canyon road that is a free, and legal area to watch the race. There are many pullouts in the day use area that are suitable for parking many vehicles.

Just be sure to get there in advance of the road closures if you do decide to watch the race from the canyon.
Information below are comments to a recent article by the Patterson Irrigator dating May 12, 2010. 

Click here to read the article.