Photo report from Whiting Ranch

[OMR]

Originally Posted by David Whiting

Wow!!!! Thanks so much for all the kind words! I've been reading this site for a while. if you want to read some local mountain bike stuff (yeah I do ride) go to "Trails" on this page. Trail Angels, Vision Quest, Traverse, El Moro, and some stuff on drivers killing roadie brothers and sisters.
http://www.ocregister.com/sections/d...42-and-places/

David,

You need to come out and ride one of our events...such as:
1st annual STR Vintage Bike Event..., It was more than a ride!

One of the great things about STR is that we ride with each other ... that keeps the flaming down to a minimum on the board... and is a great source of info (such as your post) and a quick way to keep up to date on the rides available on any given day.

Appreciate your reports & see ya soon...

[David Whiting]

Good question on the photo and mention of mountain biker trail print. Why not hikers? - I have no way of knowing whose footprints - workers or hikers. Why mbs? The rangers did say mountain bikers were a problem in the park. Ditto with Cleveland National Forest rangers on closed areea of Saddleback. I think to ignore this would be ignoring a (albeit a small) part of the story. I know some readers will paint all mountain bikers with the same brush, just as many drives do with roadies and the very few who rip through traffic lights and flip off drivers (usually when a driver has just nearly killed them - me included). Perhaps it's a gentle reminder to the folks who are riding in the closed areas as well to wait until the fragile areas are opened. I'll mention my other stories on mountain biking portray riders as tough role models and trail riding as something we do for the beauty, for the rush, for the challenge and to feed our souls.

[EJ_92606]

Originally Posted by David Whiting

County officials let me in the park early. Here's a preview of what you'll find when Whiting reopens on Saturday at 9 a.m.
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/p...55-ranch-homes

Thanks for posting. Have enjoyed your articles. By the way, are you any relation to the person Whiting Ranch was named after or is it just coincidence? Oops, nevermind, just saw the reference in the article.

[Wrecker]

Since we have you here, as captive audience in a sense, do you think you could cover some of our trail maintenance events? Not only would it shed a different light on mtb'ers, but hopefully others could see the work put into the trails....maybe we could get a few more volunteers out with us.

[2wheel_lee]

Thank you for your reply. It's interesting to note that the rangers say that mountain bikers are a problem, but say nothing about hikers. We all know there are just as many, if not more, hikers illegally poaching the very same trails, but the rangers didn't identify them as a problem (many here will remember the photos of the hikers and their campfire recently posted here up at Old Camp). As a reporter, asking if hikers were a problem would have been a good question to ask the rangers, instead of just taking their unquestioned statements as the way it is. Would that have been too much to ask? Remember, you're a professional journalist, right?

Originally Posted by David Whiting

Good question on the photo and mention of mountain biker trail print. Why not hikers? - I have no way of knowing whose footprints - workers or hikers. Why mbs? The rangers did say mountain bikers were a problem in the park. Ditto with Cleveland National Forest rangers on closed areea of Saddleback. I think to ignore this would be ignoring a (albeit a small) part of the story. I know some readers will paint all mountain bikers with the same brush,....

[EJ_92606]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

Thank you for your reply. It's interesting to note that the rangers say that mountain bikers are a problem, but say nothing about hikers. We all know there are just as many, if not more, hikers illegally poaching the very same trails, but the rangers didn't identify them as a problem (many here will remember the photos of the hikers and their campfire recently posted here up at Old Camp). As a reporter, asking if hikers were a problem would have been a good question to ask the rangers, instead of just taking their unquestioned statements as the way it is. Would that have been too much to ask? Remember, you're a professional journalist, right?

Hopefully the Rangers also mention that mountain bikers do most of the volunteer trail work, helping to keep trails open for all to use. I don't know of any other user groups that come together to help out the parks like we do. Are there some that poach, sure, but frankly the tracks you saw could have been from an LA Times journalist the day before you rode there or from authorized riders checking out the trails for safety prior to the Saturday opening. However, to your credit, I didn't take the photo and your comment about the tracks as a slam against mountain bikers.

[David Whiting]

Originally Posted by 2wheel_lee

Thank you for your reply.
Remember, you're a professional journalist, right?

Not sure how to respond. How abot a big hug? I'll make it a point of doing something on a ride or trail maintenance gig soon. Wish this was my "day job" and I had time for much more coverage. As is, it's a labor of love. Sounds kinda lofty, but might be worth mentioning...My goals are to help build our outdoor communnity, promote safety and get free stuff! No wait! That last one isn't right. I think it's something about healthy living.

[ladera Dave]

Dave, your pictures were alsome, I can not wait to ride catus again on Tuesday's & Thursday evenings. When can we loop it into the Luge?

[DISCO]

November at the soonest.