WHEELS OF MISFORTUNE

I’m a professional bicycle mechanic with more than 20 years in the trade. However innocently the mountain biking phenomenon may have started, I’m here to report that it has become just one more destructive, wasteful toys-and-money game, featuring a lot of overblown “high technology” being slung around by a bunch of feckless white guys (“The Pedal Wars,” by Jenifer Warren, April 10).

I’m sorry, but I have no sympathy with the mountain bike cause. I have watched it grow from its inception, and from an industry insider’s vantage point it still looks like an invasion of barbarians to me. Bicycles should be, as we used to say, part of the solution, not part of the problem.

MICHAEL COMPTON

Cayucos

“Pedal Wars” made one gaffe: Tensions in Southern California between hiker, equestrian and biker are not easing--they are accelerating. As a board member of the Santa Monica Mountains Trails Council for seven years, I have watched while biking groups have tried to teach safety rules. But the message hasn’t gotten through. Hikers and equestrians take their lives in their hands when they use a trail frequented by bicyclists.

Warren notes that compromises are being struck. But the more the trails council tries to give bikers access to trails, the less these trails can be safely used by hikers. Once bikers start using a trail, it becomes impossible for anyone else to enjoy it.

Let the bikers have the fire roads and other four-track trails. There are many, many miles of them to use for their adrenaline rush. Just give me back my silent, sylvan trails, where I can be close to nature without being scared out of my wits.

DAPHNE ELLIOTT

Agoura

Five years ago a hike in the San Gabriel Mountains was an effective antidote to the stresses of our mechanized urban culture. Nowadays, a hike on all but the most remote trails is invariably a nerve-shattering experience from which one returns feeling emotionally exhausted. Mountain biking provides thrills, all right--nothing can compare with the adrenaline rush of having to dodge four or five mountain bikes careening around a blind turn. When we can no longer take a simple walk in the woods without having to worry about getting run over, our society has become that much more impoverished.

DAVID LEMON

Sylmar

“Pedal Wars” is a prime example of how we are slowly but deliberately destroying the very environment we are trying to embrace. We do this by first building a simple hiking trail. Then equestrians use it to ride horses. Climbers, skiers, parasailors, hunters, fishermen and other outdoor enthusiasts see it as “access” to pursue their outdoor activities. What finally ends up happening is that more trails are built to satisfy the needs of all. This defeats the original purpose, which was to restrict human impact on the outdoor environment.

Pedal wars will continue to exist as long as we have trails. More trails may end one skirmish, but soon some other specialized group will want access and another war will begin. So we need to make what trails we have accessible for all to use, or abolish them. I suggest the latter.

BRUCE NYBERG

Mountain Center

Warren should see the miserable conditions that local hikers endure in Southern California due to the increasing hordes of bicyclists who clog mountain fire roads and trails. Any “compromise” is at the expense of hikers, who are repeatedly traumatized by incessant pressure from speeding mountain bikers. Curtailing these abusers with speed limits, ranger patrols, closure signs and radar will not work in our immense areas. At the very least, bike riders should be banned from all single-track trails.

MARY ANN KEEVE

Culver City

I have been hiking since I was 8 years old. When I was a child I had a problem with motorcycles and a fear of being run over by them. Now I have to deal with mountain bikes. I hike to let go of stress and adrenaline that build up in daily life. If the trails are full of adrenaline-junkie mountain bikers, how will I accomplish this? But I do think some sort of compromise should be reached. This is America, after all, and the bicyclists should have a place to ride, too.

SHARON LENT

San Clemente

The problems for mountain bikers in Orange County may not be as great as they are for those who ride Mt. Tamalpais, but loss of trail access in county and state parks is a serious problem for us. The most recent loss is a wonderful trail at Whiting Ranch, a beautiful county park near El Toro. As usual, rangers and park officials are arguing that safety is their concern. However, their action is disproportionate to the accidents that have occurred. Officials do not close access to city streets when a road cyclist is injured or close parks to equestrians if they fall off their horses.

The only way to preserve access to the few remaining trails is for mountain bikers to respect other users, help maintain and repair trails and become politically active. Mountain bikers in Orange County who want to become more involved can call Concerned Cyclists of Orange County, also known as SHARE, at (714) 22-3334.

MAE LON DING

Tustin