PV: The axe is falling.....

[Freerideco]

Originally Posted by Sharky

I asked Troy to start a new thread with updates but anyone who wants I'm sure can get it started. Good idea. I was glad to see South High added to that map (socaldirt.org) my niece goes there Del Cerro would be perfect to train on. A few of us including my niece and nephew will be there late Sunday if anyone else goes say hi.
And there is still hope for more bike access it's open for review in the future by the City Council. Stay positive....(Burma is the main fireroad)

That's good to hear. Tell your niece and nephew to keep an eye out for our first meeting. Or drop me a line and I can keep you in the know. It will be next week sometime. Brad freeride_co@hotmail.com

[roach]

Originally Posted by Freerideco

Given your history, I'll take advice from someone with a more respectable rep. I'll just advise you to keep it on pause. That's probably what you'll be doing anyway as I manual past you down your favorite singletrack. I ride street, freeride, DH, and XC. Label that!!!

Sorry to have replied directly to you. I can't expect to relate to riders with mad skills like yourself. I should have known that anyone with freeride in their title would have intense skills that would put me to shame. You da man.

However, Socaldirt.org still seems pretty cool and Del Cerro is able to provide a good location for riding/training.

[Sharky]

Let's just leave it at that to stay on topic. (and positive) Very much agree Del Cerro can be a huge asset to these teams. Here are some threads on the subject.

New SoCal High School Mountian Bike League needs your help!

Donations for high school team needed (SD area)

[Stray_Bullit]

Originally Posted by roach

Sorry to have replied directly to you. I can't expect to relate to riders with mad skills like yourself. I should have known that anyone with freeride in their title would have intense skills that would put me to shame. You da man.

However, Socaldirt.org still seems pretty cool and Del Cerro is able to provide a good location for riding/training.

Brad is BY FAR one of the best riders that I have ever been around. You don't hold a candle to him. Here is an example~


You're right, you DON'T have his skills. You never will. You have no place talkin' smack like that. I know very few people that can ride better than him. He is a very unselfish person and quite humble. He would never boast about his skills.

Besides the fact that he has "intense skills" he is a very thoughtful and personable guy. I am very proud to be his friend and very insulted by your comments.

[drclark]

The resulting trail map at del cerro is essentially an over-reaction by the local hiker, equestrian, birdwatcher, and environmentalist communities to what they perceived as years of "abuse" of the land by bikers coupled to some extent with a snobish "locals only" attitude. The result was punitive toward bikers but hopefully, we will gain back some trail access eventually. It will be a long process however and don't ever expect the area to what it was. Unfortunately, I have not been able to participate in ongoing issues in PV due to work and other commitments, but there are people still fighting on. Offering support to those people will do much more good than pointing fingers at each other and trading insults on the interweb.

Infighting will get us no where. There is no doubt that demands and desires of gravity style riding presents challenges to publicly managed trail systems and that style of riding is not the most "compatible" with other user groups. There are issues with speed, erosion and the construction of unauthorized trail features. Hopefully our members of the "adrenaline factory" are cognizant that their behavior and trail ettiquete can have direct consequences on overall mtb access to public land. I hope that they are out there trying to set the example for other riders to follow on ther SSDH rides.

That being said, the XC set needs to recognize that the non-biking user groups do not make the distinction between xc rider, downhiller, dirt jumper, free rider, etc. To them we are all one and the same. Heck they probably even lump us in with the roadies that they curse at while driving to work too. The entire MTB community needs to work together to establish areas in so-cal where DH/FR/DJ/AM styles of riding are legit and legal. We need to recognize that the "adrenaline junkies" are a big part of our sport (and industry) and they need places to ride that suit their needs. Otherwise, what choice are they left with other than to poach trails and build unauthorized stunts which only futher the negative perceptions of bikers in general. (i.e. when bikes are banned from the trails, only outlaws will be riding mountian bikes). I find it hard to believe that in a metropolitian area the size of LA and OC counties that its not profitable for someone to be operating some sort of MTB park.

drc

[Wing Bamboo]

Gravity addicts -screw Del cerro. They don't want us anyway. Shhh Friendship park in San Pedro. Go to the end of Calle Aventura, turn quick right onto trail & go ¼ mile to drop 400’. Map
Yuck yuck yuck!

[TYM]

Bummer to see what has happened to the old stomping grounds.

[PVt]

Originally Posted by Sharky

I asked Troy to start a new thread with updates but anyone who wants I'm sure can get it started.

Why did this happen?
The trails we used to ride in Rancho Palos Verdes were all on private property. Even though they were in a landslide zone, developers were trying to build a golf course below Del Cerro Park. Although it stood only a small chance of happening, the city decided to buy the land and put an end to the threat of development. Since the land was too expensive for the city to buy alone, they searched for public funding.

Most of the money to buy the land was granted by state agencies whose goal is to preserve and restore native habitat. While this assured open space would not be taken by development, the city was obligated to implement policies that will protect and restore native plants and increase native animal populations. Habitat preservation now has priority over allowed uses.

Free for all is over.
The city has consequently developed a land management plan that regulates all activities within the preserve. This wasn’t done in secret; it was a grueling two-year public process that was open to everyone. The few in this forum who participated can be recognized by their calls to keep working to reopen trails. They understand the process and what’s at stake.

During the development of the trails plan, the city heard hundreds of comments, suggestions, and complaints from the public. Some very prominent and influential locals fervently opposed bikes. The council viewed formal presentations from organizations like the Sierra Club, Native Plant Society, Audubon Society, and local horseman’s associations, all of which wanted to severely restrict or exclude bikes from trails. CORBA PV and a few dedicated mountain bikers stood against these formidable adversaries.

What were the issues?
Habitat destruction by bikes was the biggest complaint. In the past 5-6 years the number of new trails exploded. While hikers made some, it was pretty obvious who made most of them, especially big drops, ladders, and jumps. Opponents pointed to this blight as the strongest reason to ban bikes, saying mountain bikers have no respect for the land and never will. We countered with; all of this was done before the city bought the land, and most people were uninformed about habitat issues. Let us show that once the plan is in place, bikers will only use existing designated trails.

User conflict was also a key issue. Emotional testimonials proved to be very persuasive to the council, especially when it came to horses. Equestrians, bolstered with historical entitlement, claimed there was a fundamental safety problem with bikes. Our argument was that bikes can coexist with horses if bikers observe trail etiquette guidelines. We offered to help educate bikers and work with other user groups. In addition, we pointed out that two city mandated public surveys indicated user conflict was actually low.

A compounding issue was the closure of redundant and unsustainable trails mandated by state resource agencies that put up the money. Naturalists were zealous about creating more contiguous open space for wildlife by eliminating many trails. We offered data showing that less than 2% of the land was taken by trails, so having some redundant trails would not significantly impact habitat. We also asked that trails be left open unless professionally trained biologists established specific environmental conflicts.

Win, lose, or draw?
Portuguese Bend was disappointing. Bikes were squeezed out by equestrians’ demands for trails without bikes and closure of half the existing trails. Many trails that could have offered alternative routes to separate bikes from horses were eliminated for habitat reasons. Lower Slalom is an example of this closure policy. On the other hand, Forrestal, Ocean Trails, Agua Armaga, and Three Sister reserves strike a reasonable balance for bikes. If you stop for a second and consider the combined forces opposing bikes, we were amazingly successful.

Is this the end?
We know the city is willing to reopen trails to bikes because they did it at Forrestal. Mountain bikers earned their trust by riding responsibly and volunteering for trail work. The city rewarded us by reopening a bunch of trails to bikes.

We have another chance at Portuguese Bend. The council will review the trails plan in six-months, sometime around February, and then annually. We’ve been challenged to show that the complaints against us can be overcome. We have to accept that we can’t have every trail we want. The way it stands, we can get some back or we can lose them all. In many respects we control our fate.


We have two simple options:

• Obey the new rules and convince decision makers to open more trails to bikes.
• Disobey the new rules and face a total bike ban from all trails.

I’ve committed over four years of my life to keep mountain bikes in PV. During that time I have probably spent more hours fighting for trail access than most people have spent riding trails here. I’m not bragging, I’m pleading for everyone to get on the same page. Don’t undo what’s been accomplished. Don’t sacrifice the future for a few minutes of pleasure or revenge. Don’t stand by and let others take this opportunity away from mountain bikers.

You can’t always get what you want but if try sometimes you just might find you get what you need.