Bill’s Trail, in a steep, remote section of SamuelTaylorState Park is under assault by IMBA, the International Mountain Bike Association, and other local mountain bike proponents. This well funded and determined lobby has managed to convince State Park staff, that opening the fragile, narrow, fern lined trail to aggressive downhill mountain biking is within the definitions of state park shared use trails. IMBA maps of the trail depict only a few hairpin turns when in fact there are up to 40 such switchbacks. The trail is accessible by an arduous climb to about the 850’ elevation of BarnabyMountain and would provide a mostly moderately steep downhill ride (7-8% grade) for bike users.
Mountain bikers have proved on numerous occasions to be poor stewards of the trail systems in Marin and Sonoma counties. Bikers in Marin, have been arrested for building illegal trails in sensitive wildlife habitats on numerous occasions, threatened local residents who report or encounter them on illegal trails, destroy private property, cut down redwood and other trees and continue to build downhill ramps and jump courses in off limits county open spaces. Their tire tracks leave deep erosive ruts in healthy trails especially during the rain season. Recently, an injured mountain biker had to be air lifted out of nearby AnnadelState Park.
Check out this mountain bike video shot at Annadel and you get the point:
The remoteness of Bill’s Trail poses significant problems for state park resources in both maintenance and monitoring in an economic climate that is in serious decline. Endangered Coho salmon spawn in a creek at the base of the trail. The impacts of substantial bike traffic near this creek have not been studied. When over a hundred miles of legal trails remain open to them in Sonoma and Marin, one wonders what the feverish urgency is in opening up more trails. The answer is that the mountain bike industry is a billion dollar commercial enterprise that must sell products. IMBA takes its marching orders from corporate giants. This is not care for the wilderness but yet another exploitative grab of traditional wilderness and open space for basic thrill seeking.
Voice your opposition to the plan by June 26, 2009. Demand a full CEQA review from state authorities. Call or email staff head, Roy McNamee rmcna@parks.ca.gov
"Remote": It makes sense to open less accessible trails to biking because fewer hikers can get there.
"Steep": You say yourself that the grade is 7-8%. This is a moderate grade (not steep) and well within compliance with modern trail building standards.
"Mountain bikers have proved on numerous occasions to be poor stewards of the trail systems". Wrong. In fact bikers are proving to be the most progressive and best stewards of trail systems. Google the Mt. Sutro Stewards in San Francisco.
"Bikers in Marin, have been arrested for building illegal trails in sensitive wildlife habitats on numerous occasions" This is true, but it's been done by ONE GUY, not the mtn biking community.
"threatened local residents who report or encounter them on illegal trails" This is totally unsubstantiated. I have three times in my life heard threatening remarks on a trail and it was from hikers telling me to get my bike off the trail. Liar.
"cut down redwoods". Please I'd like to read about one factual story regarding this. Liar.
"Recently, an injured mountain biker had to be air lifted out of nearby Annadel State Park" So getting injured is a reason to restrict access. Recently some hikers also had to be airlifted. How is this a reason to ban bikes?
Please explain how hiking and horseback riding is less impactful than biking. Guess what? You can't.
""Remote": It makes sense to open less accessible trails to biking because fewer hikers can get there."
Refer to the Annadel airlift of an injured biker. Also numerous stories of high cost mountain biker rescues in the Santa Cruz region. Biking is inherently more dangerous than hiking, the proof is in the rescue stats and the cost.
" "Steep": You say yourself that the grade is 7-8%. This is a moderate grade (not steep) and well within compliance with modern trail building standards.'
The grade at Annadel is far less than Bill's. See the Annadel video, courtesy Mike's Bikes to see how the basic speed law is violated in a state park with even less grade than Bill's. Bill's would be just about downhill thrills, please don't kid us.
""Mountain bikers have proved on numerous occasions to be poor stewards of the trail systems". Wrong. In fact bikers are proving to be the most progressive and best stewards of trail systems. Google the Mt. Sutro Stewards in San Francisco."
You obviously have not read any of the stories in this blog...next
""Bikers in Marin, have been arrested for building illegal trails in sensitive wildlife habitats on numerous occasions" This is true, but it's been done by ONE GUY, not the mtn biking community."
Michael More was arrested with William McBride and Neal Daskal, two other guys whose illegal 4 mile trail cut into 4 districts and plowed through endangered species habitat.
More was a prominent Marin Bike official siting on the Open Space Committee and BTCMarin. Many illegal trail builders go un-arrested, but that will change.
""threatened local residents who report or encounter them on illegal trails" This is totally unsubstantiated. I have three times in my life heard threatening remarks on a trail and it was from hikers telling me to get my bike off the trail. Liar."
Read this blog again Aaron. Death threats have been made to me on numerous occasions by Mountain Bikers. Next
""cut down redwoods". Please I'd like to read about one factual story regarding this. Liar."
read the blog Aaron. The redwood cut down is documented by Marin County Open Space Rangers. Next.
""Recently, an injured mountain biker had to be air lifted out of nearby Annadel State Park" So getting injured is a reason to restrict access. Recently some hikers also had to be airlifted. How is this a reason to ban bikes?"' Where's your documentation? Look up the story in the Press Democrat
and http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-news/bad-mountain-bike-crash-at-nisene-marks/
use your computer skills and enter mountain bike injuries into the google search bar. next
" Please explain how hiking and horseback riding is less impactful than biking. Guess what? You can't.
I'll see you on Bill's Trail soon! "
Aaron, spend some time on this blog, you may learn something. Watch the Bill's Trail video here. Horses use Bill's Trail. I didn't see any damage from horses on the trail at all. Now look at the photos from China Camp, all the damage is from mountain bikers.
See you on Bill's ?, sure I'll see you there, and you can count on it that you'll be hiking, not biking, because you and IMBA have already lost this one and you all know it.
Oh and didn't your parents ever teach you some manners?
Simple question for you JP. Hikers literally have thousands of miles of trails in Marin County. Obviously you are not interested in sharing your trails with others, so why don't you just give us Bill's trail and 20% of the other singletrack in Marin? Why do you get to horde all the good trails for yourselves? We pay taxes too, and it's quite evident that the old guard is being replaced with more mountain bikers. Why do you think MCOSD has been opening more and more trails to us? They realize we put in the hard work to build AND maintain locals trails. Don't believe me (don't answer that- I don't expect a prodigious fanatic like yourself to entertain any type of basic reasoning on the issue), join the 680 trail construction crew and you'll be eating crow. See you on the trails :)
3 comments:
Let's break down some of your poor arguments:
"Remote": It makes sense to open less accessible trails to biking because fewer hikers can get there.
"Steep": You say yourself that the grade is 7-8%. This is a moderate grade (not steep) and well within compliance with modern trail building standards.
"Mountain bikers have proved on numerous occasions to be poor stewards of the trail systems".
Wrong. In fact bikers are proving to be the most progressive and best stewards of trail systems. Google the Mt. Sutro Stewards in San Francisco.
"Bikers in Marin, have been arrested for building illegal trails in sensitive wildlife habitats on numerous occasions"
This is true, but it's been done by ONE GUY, not the mtn biking community.
"threatened local residents who report or encounter them on illegal trails"
This is totally unsubstantiated. I have three times in my life heard threatening remarks on a trail and it was from hikers telling me to get my bike off the trail. Liar.
"cut down redwoods". Please I'd like to read about one factual story regarding this. Liar.
"Recently, an injured mountain biker had to be air lifted out of nearby Annadel State Park"
So getting injured is a reason to restrict access. Recently some hikers also had to be airlifted. How is this a reason to ban bikes?
Please explain how hiking and horseback riding is less impactful than biking. Guess what? You can't.
I'll see you on Bill's Trail soon!
""Remote": It makes sense to open less accessible trails to biking because fewer hikers can get there."
Refer to the Annadel airlift of an injured biker. Also numerous stories of high cost mountain biker rescues in the Santa Cruz region. Biking is inherently more dangerous than hiking, the proof is in the rescue stats and the cost.
"
"Steep": You say yourself that the grade is 7-8%. This is a moderate grade (not steep) and well within compliance with modern trail building standards.'
The grade at Annadel is far less than Bill's. See the Annadel video, courtesy Mike's Bikes to see how the basic speed law is violated in a state park with even less grade than Bill's. Bill's would be just about downhill thrills, please don't kid us.
""Mountain bikers have proved on numerous occasions to be poor stewards of the trail systems".
Wrong. In fact bikers are proving to be the most progressive and best stewards of trail systems. Google the Mt. Sutro Stewards in San Francisco."
You obviously have not read any of the stories in this blog...next
""Bikers in Marin, have been arrested for building illegal trails in sensitive wildlife habitats on numerous occasions"
This is true, but it's been done by ONE GUY, not the mtn biking community."
Michael More was arrested with William McBride and Neal Daskal, two other guys whose illegal 4 mile trail cut into 4 districts and plowed through endangered species habitat.
http://www.ptreyeslight.com/stories/feb22_01/bike_trail.html
More was a prominent Marin Bike official siting on the Open Space Committee and BTCMarin. Many illegal trail builders go un-arrested, but that will change.
""threatened local residents who report or encounter them on illegal trails"
This is totally unsubstantiated. I have three times in my life heard threatening remarks on a trail and it was from hikers telling me to get my bike off the trail. Liar."
Read this blog again Aaron. Death threats have been made to me on numerous occasions by Mountain Bikers. Next
""cut down redwoods". Please I'd like to read about one factual story regarding this. Liar."
read the blog Aaron. The redwood cut down is documented by Marin County Open Space Rangers. Next.
""Recently, an injured mountain biker had to be air lifted out of nearby Annadel State Park"
So getting injured is a reason to restrict access. Recently some hikers also had to be airlifted. How is this a reason to ban bikes?"'
Where's your documentation? Look up the story in the Press Democrat
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/search?category=search&crit=injured%20mountain%20biker%20annadel
and
http://www.singletracks.com/blog/mtb-news/bad-mountain-bike-crash-at-nisene-marks/
use your computer skills and enter mountain bike injuries into the google search bar. next
"
Please explain how hiking and horseback riding is less impactful than biking. Guess what? You can't.
I'll see you on Bill's Trail soon! "
Aaron, spend some time on this blog, you may learn something. Watch the Bill's Trail video here. Horses use Bill's Trail. I didn't see any damage from horses on the trail at all. Now look at the photos from China Camp, all the damage is from mountain bikers.
See you on Bill's ?, sure I'll see you there, and you can count on it that you'll be hiking, not biking, because you and IMBA have already lost this one and you all know it.
Oh and didn't your parents ever teach you some manners?
Simple question for you JP. Hikers literally have thousands of miles of trails in Marin County. Obviously you are not interested in sharing your trails with others, so why don't you just give us Bill's trail and 20% of the other singletrack in Marin? Why do you get to horde all the good trails for yourselves? We pay taxes too, and it's quite evident that the old guard is being replaced with more mountain bikers. Why do you think MCOSD has been opening more and more trails to us? They realize we put in the hard work to build AND maintain locals trails. Don't believe me (don't answer that- I don't expect a prodigious fanatic like yourself to entertain any type of basic reasoning on the issue), join the 680 trail construction crew and you'll be eating crow. See you on the trails :)
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