Mountain Bikes: OK On Park Trails?

The U.S. National Park Service and a growing number of park jurisdictions are banning mountain bikes from off-road areas. Enthusiasts say human-powered bikes cause no more wear and erosion than hikers.

Mountain bikers, who climb up and zip down the narrow paths they call ?EUR??,,????'??single tracks,?EUR??,,????'?? are running into some legislative roadblocks. In December 2004, a judge ruled that deed restrictions exclude bikes from the popular mountain bike trails at the Forest of Nisene Marks State Park in Santa Cruz County, Calif. In January in New York state, officials were making final revisions to a plan that would keep mountain bikes off designated ?EUR??,,????'??wilderness?EUR??,,????'?? lands in parts of Ulster, Greene, Sullivan and Delaware counties that make up Catskill Park.

Non-bikers cite two arguments in their effort to push mountain bikers off public trails. The first says that the bikers go too fast, posing safety issues and ruining the ambience of open space. The other argument says that bikes tear up trails, resulting in much more erosion and wear on wilderness paths.

Mountain bikers at the Nisene Marks park create a ?EUR??,,????'??huge problem?EUR??,,????'?? when they cut new, unauthorized routes through the forest, ranger Nedra Martinez told the Los Angeles Times.

In response to the court decision, bikers are sending hundreds of letters protesting the ban. They plan to appeal the decision.

?EUR??,,????'??The idea of an absolute ban on mountain bikes because of user conflicts is a raw deal,?EUR??,,????'?? said Mike Van Abel of the International Mountain Biking Association.

The group's website, www.imba.com, quotes several studies in defense of bikers' rights, including one from Montana State University that claim mountain bikes cause less trail erosion than horses or hikers.