Mountain Bikers Shift Gears for a New Image

After being portrayed as a bunch of marauding, two-wheeled warriors and being barred from trails in the Santa Monica Mountains, a group of mountain bikers has banded together to lobby state and federal park officials in an attempt to regain access to the trails.

The group, Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Assn., is planning to set up mountain bike patrols beginning this spring to aid park rangers in handling any accidents that arise from the use of bicycles in the hills from Griffith Park to Point Mugu.

The plan is the latest in a series of good-will gestures aimed at persuading park officials that bicycles can be ridden safely on the trails without environmental damage. Currently, mountain bikers are restricted to fire roads that many riders view as unchallenging.

“We want to show that we’re just there to use the park and that we’re very concerned about park resources,” said Jim Hasenauer, a member of the group’s steering committee. “As long as safety is preserved, then we believe that the park (trails) should be opened for all types of uses.”

Hasenauer said the current restrictions are unfair to off-road bicyclists, who should be treated like other hikers and trail users as long as they prove that they are “riding responsibly.” The only reason to close trails to bicyclists, Hasenauer said, is if park officials find that bicycle use is causing significant environmental damage.

“One of the reasons for closing the trails in the first place was because hikers and other people were just not used to having bicyclists on the trails,” he said. “They were just rejecting something that was new. I can understand how they felt, but it was prejudicial just the same.”

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Board, following the lead of the state Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Park Service, closed the trails to mountain bikes in August. The action followed numerous complaints from hikers and equestrians about mountain bikers on the trails. Park rangers said the restrictions were needed because several downhill bikers injured themselves, scared horses and collided with hikers.

In addition, park rangers are concerned about several lawsuits that have been filed against the state parks department over accidents involving mountain bikers.

About 30 bicyclists, some riding their mountain bicycles, gathered at the conservancy meeting at Red Rock Canyon Park in August to ask the board to delay its decision. After the board voted 3 to 2 to close the trails, the bicyclists decided to form their own association to deal with public agencies over trail access policies.

Park rangers have said that since the group was formed, the majority of mountain bikers have adhered to the restrictions and have had better relations with other mountain park users.

“They have definitely been trying to gain some credibility, and I think they’ve been successful,” said Ken Leigh, chief ranger for state Park and Recreation Department’s Santa Monica Mountains district.

Leigh said his department was reviewing its policy on trail access for mountain bikes. Although he said he would expect some changes in park policy, he cautioned that it’s unlikely any “dramatic changes” will be made.

Few Connecting Trails

“We’re not ruling out the possibility of opening some more trails, but one of the problems is that there are very few connecting trails between the fire roads,” he said.

His view was echoed by Ron Webster, the conservancy’s trail specialist, who said that the trail access controversy will remain as long as hikers, equestrians and bikers want to share the same paths.

“We still have a long way to go on this,” Webster said. “I wouldn’t expect a lot to change right away.”

During the six years that mountain bikes have been mass-produced, they have become increasingly popular. They have fat tires that can grip the rough, hilly terrain and up to 20 gears for handling the steep slopes.

Officials Concerned

But as the number of mountain bikes increased, park officials became concerned over their use on public trails. During the previous year, trails had been placed off limits on the 40,000 acres owned by the state parks department and the 12,000 acres owned by the National Park Service.

Hasenauer said the group is optimistic that more trails will be opened to them by the summer, especially if the group’s 130 members contribute to building more trails in the hills and set up safety patrols. Bicyclists who volunteer for the patrols will be required to take a basic first-aid class and cardiopulmonary resuscitation training.

The patrols would consist of up to five riders, he said, who would use walkie-talkies to communicate while they covered the numerous mountain trails. He said the patrols would be modeled after the equestrian units which scour the hillsides.

Hasenauer said the mountain bikers would be opposed to any attempt to set specific areas aside just for their use.

“We don’t want to be ghettoized like that,” he said.