[pct-l] Forest service reconsidering mountain bikes?

[Timothy Nye]

James,

The issue is not whether wilderness areas should be reserved for hikers.  The issue is whether a national scenic trail that was constructed for foot and horse use should be opened up for mechanized transport outside of wilderness areas.  

The refusal of the bicyclists that PCT hikers encounter on the trail to abide by the existing restrictions taints a hiker's view of the bicycle community as a whole.  It's not a question of whether a violation has ocurred, but only a matter of the extent of the violations.  I have yet to see a mountain biker on the trail yield to a hiker, other than attempt to ride around them off trail, and that's an exception, and this bodes ill. Similarly, I have never seen a bicyclist turn around when confronted on the trail and they invariably claim they had no idea they weren't allowed on it. Instead they ride away as quickly as possible up trail.  Are we really going to see bicyclists turn around once the reach a wilderness area?  Most, some?  I'm skeptical.

Let's be honest here.  The bicycle community has every other trail, but the PCT available to them.  Why must they have the only trail dedicated to equestrians and hikers as well?

I think it is the level of maintenance of the trail which makes the trail so attractive.

I know that bike groups have in the past asserted that they will provide maintenance.  They will have to because I'm pretty sure that we'll lose many Backcountry Horseman that currently volunteer to do maintenance.  If there is a significant fall off in trail maintenance by disappointed volunteers the very thing that made the trail attractive to the biking community may disappear.   Existing trails other than the PCT could be maintained by them if they wished this level of trail experience, but, if my supposition is correct, the PCT is attractive since they aren't doing the heavy lifting.  If they wound up having to do the majority of the maintenance in order to keep the trail bike friendly there is a good chance it just wouldn't happen, at least on the majority of the newly accessible portions of the trail.  

I for one would be perfectly happy to have a less well maintained trail as a trade off for a trail that is not bike friendly. 


Sent from my iPad

On Oct 8, 2012, at 3:40 PM, CHUCK CHELIN <steeleye at wildblue.net> wrote:

> Good afternoon, James,
> 
> The greatest damage to trails by bikes doesn’t specifically relate to
> contact pressure or area.  While footprints, and even hoof prints, may make
> staggered impressions here and there, tire tracks are substantially
> continuous the entire length of a hill.  The resulting grooves invite – in
> fact even compel – water to fallow and wash out an ever deepening rut.
> Additionally,
> whether accidentally or on purpose, water bars that have been installed to
> get water off the trail are damaged by tires.
> 
> Steel-Eye
> 
> -Hiking the Pct since before it was the PCT – 1965
> 
> http://www.trailjournals.com/steel-eye
> http://www.trailjournals.com/SteelEye09/
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