Patrick Farrell’s Sept. 18 cover story, “Going
Big,” presented a fairly accurate picture of the current challenges
facing the mountain-bike community. As an active mountain-bike
trail advocate since 1989, I have witnessed the gradual acceptance
of mountain bikes as part of the trail equation by land agencies
and most trail users. The upstart downhill/ freeride crowd will, no
doubt, go through the same growing pains the more traditional
cross-country riders went through 15-plus years ago. Their
existence depends on how they respond to those who want to shut
them down.
The construction of unauthorized trails could
be reduced by land agencies lending a more receptive ear to the
needs of trail users. One major obstacle to this process is the
ever-shrinking federal agency’s recreation budgets. Some
mountain-bike trail groups and local federal land-management
offices are developing innovative modes of financing trail
development with the help of local and national business concerns.
My experience on non-motorized trails is most trail users
tolerate other modes of trail use, and most trail users are
well-behaved. It is the responsibility of all trail groups to
educate their members about trail etiquette and tolerance, and
police their own.
Bill
Harris
Montrose, Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Bikers must police our own.
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