Thanksgiving, A Time For Mountain Bicyclists To Give Thanks For Lax Enforcement

Thanksgiving, A Time For Mountain Bicyclists To Give Thanks For Lax Enforcement



Illegal mountain bike trips abounded on China Camp peninsula this Thanksgiving weekend. Anyone can count the nearly 20 cars parked outside of the official China Camp gate almost any given day, more on weekends and holidays. None of these mountain bike riders pays a dime to the cash strapped State Park system in China Camp. The state is probably losing somewhere between $6,000 to $8,000 dollars a month (about $70,000.00 per year) in lost revenue from one of the parks biggest users and abusers. Now add to that illegal trail riding which flourishes during holidays. I spotted two illegal bike riders riding on private property near Back Ranch , trail signs kicked down on closed trails on the Bay View trail and evidence of illegal usage, large bike outing on closed to bikes Santa Margarita Island, and a steady stream of illegal speeding down-hillers on the north slopes of San Pedro Ridge in Marin County Open Space, on their favorite illegal riding spots.

Before granting any further trail access, County officials need to give this bunch of determined trail destroyers, quadrupled fines, bike confiscations and trail closures. It’s out of control and the lawless know it.