"My personal opinion is that if ain't paved, keep your goddamn bicycles off of it." Ken Fortenberry, kenfortenberry@ameritech.net.
"Wildlife needs to have a life cycle, which includes death" Jeffrey W. Ryan, mountain biker, jeffryan@ispchannel.com.
"The Bible (KJV) clearly states that this earth is meant for us humans to use... or as it says to 'subdue' it and have 'dominion' over it and the animals here. I believe that to be true. Humans have precidence over animals. The animals exist, as do the other components of the earth, for us." John Morgan, johnm-ii@home.com, mountain biker
"Mountainbiking is restricted often for the right reasons: Hikers need a place to find tranquility." Paul Nam, vocinam@yahoo.com, mountain biker
"What Mike has expressed at length, Colin Fletcher summed up pithily in his well-known Law of Inverse Appreciation. Basically, it holds that the more sophisticated your means of travel, the more removed you become from the landscape through which you pass. Mentally removed, that is. One might express a corollary that would hold that the more mechanized your form of transportation, the more damage you do to the environment, and the less you realize it." Bill
"There really isn't any erosion," [Mark] Farriester [of Modesto] said. "Bicycles can't cause erosion." Jim Haggen-Smit, California representative for the International Mountain Bicycling Association, agreed. He said off-road trails and environmental protection can co-exist. Haggen-Smit said he wants all parties to come together and help determine how to correctly build dirt trails. He stressed the most important detail is to keep trails well maintained. The real culprits of erosion, Haggen-Smit said, are water and bad maintenance.
"I object to Pete Siemens' characterization of bicycles as vehicles. According to the State Vehicle Code, bicycles are not vehicles, but are devices with all the rights and responsibilities of vehicles. I would be happy to find the specific Code and submit them to the Board. Therefore, I respectfully request that Pete Seimens retract his statements that bicycles are off-road vehicles - they are not." Danielle Weber, DVM
"We must learn to interact effectively with nature. By simply banning mountain biking, we are avoiding a continual relationship with the natural environment. Mountain biking cannot be banned; if so, future generations will no longer be able to experience the magnificent opportunities awaiting them." Daniel Keefer [They can't WALK?!]
"If a tree or two has to be sacrificed to build a good and sustainable trail, then so be it". Woody Keen, ascentdesc@citcom.net, mountain biker
"By the way, theres a biological need for dead plants." Dennis Ouellette, mountain biker, User720077@aol.com
"Remember, access is the is the whole point of our efforts" Jon Sundquist, East Aurora, NY, mountain biker
"Seems to me that our best biking is in logging areas? I'd rather have logging than wilderness that I am not allowed in." Nick Valison, nickv_usa@yahoo.com.
”I caught up with a group of hikers, and I was really sorry when their llama was the first to hear me and bolted in its master, who was thrust forward about three steps. It is amazing how easy it was to startle a draft animal.” Josh Moore, josh_moore@comcast.net
"Some riders are out there using their bikes to enjoy the open space, but others are just using the open space to enjoy their bikes. This latter group tends to be the least informed about the land, who owns it, who takes care of it, what lives there, and what damage can be caused by their presence. Educating this group can be difficult, because they have little interest in the land to begin with." Charles Jalgunas, imahorse@stanford.edu
"With running I could never go the distances I can on a bike." Melanie Meyers
"Virtually all of Greater Boston's local bike shops depend upon Mountain Biking to stay afloat." http://www.sharethefells.org/busines.htm
"Bikers tend to blow by anything, however interesting, when they are enjoying a downhill run." Dan Harrison (dharrisn@hfcc.net), IMBA rep for Michigan
"I also wonder if you realize that there is more to life than looking at things. You reiterate numerous times on your website that bikers are going to fast to see nature. I don't see why this is so bad. The reason I mountain bike is not to look at nature, it is to have fun. Having fun is pretty cool, you should try it sometime. also, you say all bikers would have access to all trails if only they would choose to walk. You are missing the point. We find walking too boring." Caley Fretz, yelac22@adelphia.net
"The majority of mountain bicyclists are not following a regulation or standard trail etiquette guidelines", http://www.imba.com/resources/science/trail_etiquette.html
"Hello, Nice web site. You've taken up a cause. You're fighting for your beliefs. You are saving others from a certain horrible doom. What is this thing that will destroy our environment, livelihood, and possibly take our lives? Is is HIV, cancer, or possibly mass starvation? No. Do we fear blackouts, old age, or government corruption? No. What Evil lurks beneath the waters, waiting to destroy all we hold dear? TRAIL RUTS!!!(Scary music playing in the background) OH NO! Trail ruts! Erosion! SILT! How can we ever survive? What to do? What to do! Can't you people worry about something important? Get a life." Mike Estvanic, estvanic@bright.net
"Soil compaction? Mike, if mountain bikes are compacting the soil, then your recurring claims of erosion must be unfounded. As a civil engineer with a concentration in soils engineering, I can tell you that soil compaction and soil erosion are quite different and that if mountain bikes are compacting the soil, they are not eroding it." Shaun Reid, trailrider@MINDSPRING.COM
"Much as I'd like to disagree with Richard, his points are valid. I got to thinking about where I like to hike and it's not on trails open to mountain biking. Mountain bikes are invasive; they're fast, silent and the minority that rides like idiots is out there often enough to wreck it for the hikers. Even if they don't see one each time out, having had a bad experience can make them apprehensive and fearful. Hikers do need some trails that are not used by mountain bikes." Mark Flint markflint@earthlink.net, mountain biker
"I don't agree with the logic of the Horse people on this issue. First of all the reason rogue percentages are higher among mountain bikers compared to other user groups is obvious: We're the ones that are excluded from the most trails." Shane Reed, Shane Reed, shaner@brocade.com, mountain biker
"It my perspective that hiking only trails retain the narrow back-coutry character as opposed to the multi-use highways. This is what I want when I am backpacking. Trails with this character should not have to be sacrificed for the sake of multi-use. As a trail maintainer, it is my first hand experience that narrow single track gets widened by multi-use." Norm nalbrecht@att.net, mountain biker
"Unless activities involve mountain bikes and/or parks open to bikes, we do not get involved. We use the trails and parks to enjoy our mountain bikes. We do not use our bikes to enjoy the trails and parks. This is the source of 99% of our problems as a user group." Patty Ciesla, mountain biker
"Even if the trails close they will be still ridden there isn't enough monies in the budget of any state to hire enough enforcement. So have your dreams but realize they are only that. Hopefully some night while your dreaming your little dream you'll see me flying across the sky on my bike kindly giving you a one finger salute!" huckster@hotmail.com
"MTB's allow many times more people to visit public lands then would without MTB's." Tom Kunich, cyclintom@yahoo.com, mountain biker
"Flowing 18" wide singletrack is fun. Straight, wide trails and most fireroads are boring, especially when ridden under the posted speed limit." Ben, onespd@cs.com, mountain biker
If anything, mountain biking is positive for the environment. When a person decides to go out and mountain bike in nature, they are experienceing the beauty of nature in all it's aspects. Mountain bikers gain a respect for nature. While they are riding they gain an appreciation for nature. This appreciation is not present in a person who does not interact with nature in the way a mountain biker does. People who interact with nature are often prone to being proactive to save it. Such clothing manufacturers as Patagonia, who provide clothing for mountain bikers as well as other outdoor sports, are extremely proactive in preserving an protecting the environment. If more people became mountain bikers, then more people would truely understand nature and be more willing to be proactive in preserving it." proneax@rochester.rr.com
"Personally, I won't ever support a wilderness area until the day mountain bikes are allowed to use them". Anthony L. Cree, acree@prodigy.net, mountain biker
"I am an archaeologist for the US Forest Service, and an avid mt. biker. ... In my professional capacity, I am constantly monitoring the effects human behavior has on archaeological resources. What recreational activities damage them, and how can that damage be mitigated? As an advocate of our sport in the Recreation section of our forest, I must at times painfully admit that irresponsible mt. biking can damage fragile resources." Mark Martin, mmartin@infi.net
"I don't like ... slowing down for hikers oblivious to their surroundings"
ANTHONY CREE "For every one of us that do promote this sport responsibly there are
probably 1000 idiots out there". John Silva, woodjazz@prodigy.net, mountain
biker
"Some people think I'm crazy to occasionally drive 180 miles to ride a
mountain bike in Miami Beach when we have so many great trails nearby but it's
worth it." Bob Michaels "Yup Mikey, I do advocate riding where you feel you want. It is a right of
everyone to ride on this earth, and it is not for the Mike Vaderman's or the
Senator Boxers to tell me what to do, when to do it, or how to do it."
allstar@ddminc.net
"It is a very significant flaw of the Wilderness act that it shuts out
mountain bikers and others" [HOW? Can't they WALK?!] John Gardiner
john@johngardiner.com, mountain biker
"Personally, I don't care if bears are disrupted. Why should I? Same
goes for deer, squirrels, mice and, of course, hikers. See, I have
just as much right, as an inhabitant of this planet and so long as
that use is within the parameters of the law, to use its resources as
I see fit. Bears, squirrels, mice and hikers be damned. This is one of
the advantages of being at the top of the food chain -- everything
else either has to adapt to us being there or die. If they opt for
death, well, that's natural selection, isn't it." Ken B ken_98765_b@comcast.net,
mountain biker
”On the descent, scenery becomes an unnoticed blur.” J Cass, casscade30@yahoo.com
"I also loved my Henery [sic] Coe ride because it too had not only
challenging terrain with steep decents, but no people (I saw five outside of the
three of us ridding [sic]) so I could push it as far as I wanted and still not
worry about other trail folk." Sean Thorniley, managreen@jps.net
"By the way, I find it hard to dispute the notion that there are sensitive
areas that should see no bikes, dogs or horses. Some that should see no
humans, especially since we tend to show up in huge Vibram-soled swarms." Tom
Hays, thays@charter.net, mountain biker
"Subject: Re: bikers (bicyclists, not guys on Harleys) image problem: Who cares what non-mountain bikers think of what we wear? They are never in the woods to see us anyway." Brian Crowley, brian@crowleynet.com
"No structures, games, or practices tending to injure the landsacpe, or
incommode the public in its enjoyment of the landscape, ought to be permitted.
To allow any such things or practices to grow up in a country park is to defeat
its primary and only justifying purpose. Of all the people who resort to the
landscape of a park, much the largest number enter on foot. This, indeed is as
it should be; since it is really impossible to thoroughly enjoy scenery except
when moving slowly, as in walking. ... If, as seems obvious, both carriage roads
and bridle-paths are objectionable in parks, it is plain that special bicycle
paths would be still more so. The bicycle is a silent steed, and one which
moves with much more dangerous rapidity than either the driving or the saddle
horse...In other words, a park is a preserve of scenery; and as such it is no
place for the driver's speedway, the rider's race-course, or the bicycler's
scorching-track." Charles Eliot, 1896
"We're no different than any other group when it comes to having our share of
closed minds" [to say the least!] Mark Flint "The more singletrack the better, I'm not too hot on climbing on fireroads."
Nicolas Pottier nicpottier@yahoo.com, mountain biker
"Hello ... my name is Tews and I'm a singletrack addict." mtnwuff@yahoo.com
"We that pay to sustain a Forest have the right to use it in anyway we see
appropriate." Heiss, rlangegger@hotmail.com
"Sometimes you just gotta say, 'Screw the rules!'" pasensio@worldnet.att.net,
mountain biker
"Sometimes 'don't ask/don't tell' is appropriate with respect to trail
access. If you ask, they may put up signs forbidding bikes ;)" J Savic
bewaremyethnicheart@yahoo.com, mountain biker
"We build trails when, where, and how we want." Terry Haggard
kosmo5150@yahoo.com
"Yeah, try to catch me." MTBguy, http://www.mtbguy.ca/rigaud.htm
"Until young people of my mindset, that would be a fair mindset by the way,
come into power on the local and federal level, I will continue to ride
'illegally'." Rob Frank, mountain biker
"If there's anybody that reaches the depths of trails and such, it's mountain
bikers. Trekking by foot is so bloody boring." vp@gta.igs.net, mountain biker
"Many of us road riders still can't figure out why anyone would
intentionally ride off the road." Robert Raburn, robertraburn@csi.com
"I figure my bike probably cost me about $3000." Preston Peterson, preston.peterson@cingular.com
"It's only a cheap sport if you want to do it infrequently and calmly." Nathan Quaas, nrod2k@hotmail.com
"For me riding technical singletrack is a snooze. Having started out as a
road rider (simply because MTB's hadn't been invented yet) I'm used to speed.
... I want to cover distance. I love covering large chunks of land that I could
never cover by trail running and hiking. For me, that's the joy of mountain
biking." Chris Lowe, cyclocross@yahoo.com
"WHENEVER WE GO INTO WILDLANDS, WE MUST TUNE TO THE ENVIRONMENT AROUND US.
BICYCLISTS ONLY REMAIN FOCUS ON THE "ROAD" AHEAD AND ARE UNAWARE THAT
THERE IS SO MUCH MORE IN THE SURROUNDINGS." [name suppressed to protect them
from mountain biker hostility]
"People aren't going to take us seriously if we insist on defending stupid, aggressive, obnoxious behavior. In itself, riding a bike is no sign of superior moral character - all it takes to become a cyclist is a Target or Costco store and $200. There are some real jerks out riding around, and it's a shame they get into the papers, but they do." David Coolidge, dacoolidge@hotmail.com
"Mountain Biking is an inherently dangerous sport." "JD" dij@usafcct.com, mountain biker
"I've been a mountain biker since 1982, and I enjoy riding on dirt very much. But I don't want to see bikes in wilderness. When I'm out walking in wilderness, I don't like hurrying to get out of the way of fast-moving bikes, I don't like all the flashy colors, or the dust they create. And more to the point, just seeing the tire tracks from bikes already passed makes the area feel small and shatters the "disconnect" from the modern technological world that only wilderness can provide." Tomas Suk
"Just last weekend I hiked a 10 mile loop trail in the Bowman Lakes Basin,
just north of I-80. Most of the trail was either swampy, snowy root-y or major-
ly rocky (plus a little bit of fine flat-ish forest path that did not need
churning). I met a group of 4 bikers - and remarked that they could not have
seen any of the glorious and varied scenery - surely their eyes were on the
ground the entire time!!! What *is* the point??? And, with 100s of miles of
logging roads to ride - what *is* the point? Keep up the good work. Your message
is important."
"You can't listen to nature while pounding out the miles in heart stopping frenzy." Fole Haafstra
A friend in Oroville, CA, has been forwarding your letters to me for a little over a year now. I've read through most of your web site. I'm impressed with the arguments you present and heartily agree with you.
I've been a mountain biker. Already an active hiker and exercise nut, I bought the bike several years ago to ride the 2.5 miles distance to the Post Office where I worked. It made more sense than driving my truck. Actually taking it mountain biking was a secondary consideration, and an admittance of a desire for thrills. I've been on perhaps only a dozen single-track trails and invariably felt guilty both for the destruction already caused by other mountain bikers and that which I must also be causing. So, I limited myself to service and ORV roads in national parks and recreation areas in California, Utah, and Colorado. A sense of disservice to local habitat followed me there. Now my feet only touch any trails and the mountain bike sticks to pavement.
I went to Walker Creek Schools website. Yes, it is hypocrisy for such an institution to sponsor a mountain bike race. This sport is in direct opposition with the school's mission & the students gain valuable knowledge and appreciation to help them to be more responsible stewards of the Earth's resources. (Quoted from the Overview at http://mcoeweb.marin.k12.ca.us/wcreek/edcurr.html) Unless the school's goal is to teach the students that seemingly innocent adventure sports can be irrevocably destructive, I see no advantage in providing for such a race. Taking a mountain bike on any dirt trail is absolutely not being a steward of the Earth's resources.
I have already used your argument that mountain bikers are not excluded from hiking trails as they are free to leave their bikes at home and hike the trail. I appreciate your astute assessments of these situations as they arise. Please add me to your email list.
"If you don't crash, you aren't riding hard enough." Jessica,
jessicauwt@yahoo.com
Keith Bontrager, 52, a world-class mountain bike racer who lives in Santa Cruz, said "Crashing is part of cycling. If you ride a lot, you're going to crash".
"Smooth, fast, steep and gravelly multi-use trails are dangerous because bikers have nothing to slow them down [like brains, for example?]." Aaron DelloIacono Thies, adt@sfmtb.com, mountain biker
"Mountain biking is an inherently dangerous sport." Justin Beddall
"Similar to many Whistlerites, Lisa Dickson is addicted to the sport of mountain biking." Whistler "Question", 5/13/05
"I find this truly disgusting. I have just come back from Colorado Springs
where I walk in a wild park behind my parents house. Colorado foolishly allowed
mountain biking and is paying a huge price for it. The Park I walked a year
ago has three times the amount of illegal single track trails than it had last
year, and the erosion is devastating. Also the tire tracks have cut into the
ancient sandstone formations, a damage that can never be repaired. These
formations are 60 million years old, and are now scarred and worn in one year.
There are bikers everywhere, whooping and hollering and leaping off cliffs.
Awful." hiker/equestrian
"Hey, to correct this ridiculous info, no offense, erosion is NOT harmful to
the environment. That is fact! It has to go somewhere! It is still there! What
do you know!" Joel Benford diablero@sbcglobal.net
"Got an email from a horsewoman in Orange County who lives near Whiting
Wilderness Park. She was severely injured as a result of an encounter with a
mountain biker which got her thrown from her horse. She and others have
campaigned against mountain bikes and their 'competition training' in the park.
She said that now people are referring to the bikers as 'Meals on Wheels'."
[name suppressed to protect them from mountain biker hostility]
"This species [mountain bikers] has one thing in common with horses--
blinders." Susan Sievert
If this means certain trails need to be closed then so be it because the environment comes first. The party at the expense of the forests is definitely over! John Sharpe, mountain biker, North Vancouver, B.C
“Violence does not live alone and is not capable of living alone: I is necessarily interwoven with falsehood. Between them lies the most intimate, the deepest of natural bonds. Violence finds its only refuge in falsehood. … Any man who has once acclaimed violence as his method must inexorably choose falsehood as his principle.” Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
"'He just couldn't fathom why grown adults would want to ride bicycles in the woods' That's easy - because they like to crash and hurt themselves." Terri Alvillar
"One aspect of wilderness is solitude. I've been places in the Sierras as an example, where the only way to get there is by foot, and several days travel.
The further you go, the more solitude there is. One's experience in the outdoors changes a lot once you are beyond the range of the day hikers. Because of bikes
greater day range, letting us ride some places would erode the solitude that is part of the experience and quality of being in those places." Dave Wade, mountain biker, mtnbiker94@sbcglobal.net
"The guy only seems to have one valid point and keeps bringing it up over and over. Mt. Bikes travel a farther distance then hikers on average so Mt. bike cause more overall damage. Which is valid if, as he states, all of the studies were done on a per mile basis." Dave.mountainbiker
”Everything Vandeman says makes perfect sense to me and everything [mountain bikers] say makes perfect nonsense to me. But maybe that is because you are a sinful mountain biker and I am a saintly hiker. Yes, that must be the explanation! Regards, Ed Dolan the Great – Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows – Minnesota”
"Common sense does say that we are involved in an extreme high risk sport, and there is a high risk of injury, which we do have to deal with." mountain biker
"Sea Otter just utterly ripped that trail to mincemeat." csiegel@monterey.k12.ca.us
"I want to ride my bicycle Re: How can we be more effective at recruiting volunteers for work parties? "Seems like riders don't understand how important it is to kiss land manager booty." daveschuldt@yahoo.com
"Seriously, one thing that Vandeman is right about: a lot of you guys
are total idiots." critposer@yahoo.com, mountain biker
I want to ride my bike
I want to ride my bi-
-cy--cle
I want to ride it where I like!"
Patty "caught red-handed re-
opening a closed trail" Ciesla imahorse@stanford.edu, mountain biker
