Three (More) Mountain Bikers Arrested for Illegally Mountain Biking in Grand Canyon National Park

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Conviction For Illegal Mountain Biking

On January 20th, three men – David Yost,, Sean Monterastelli, and
Jacob Thompson – hiked out the Bright Angeel Trail, backpacking out
their mountain bikes. The group of three cyclists told visitors that
they were on a two-year-long mountain biking trip, riding their bikes
from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to the tip of South America, and that they
had carried their bikes across the canyon. They also told them to look
at their web page (http://www.ridingthespine.com). Several days later,
ranger Paul Austin checked out the page and discovered photos and
video of the group riding their bikes on the North Kaibab Trail. In
addition, there were photos and video of them camped on an upper
section of the trail. In their journal, they wrote about riding the
trail and their concern about being caught by rangers: "(We) began
riding down the trail…'Goat' [one of the three] managed to bomb
section after section of the trail, walking his bike only when coming
into contact with other trail hikers, and when those infuriating water
bars were too high to bunny hop…we were excited bby the prospects of a
day filled with epic downhill, we hopped on our bikes and headed down,
sliding our way down a treacherous mix of snow and loose rock. Almost
immediately I flew over a series of ledges and cracked the rear end
off my Xtracycle." On February 16th, Austin and AUSA Camille Bibles
presented a criminal complaint and affidavit before US Magistrate
Judge Mark Aspey in Flagstaff, who in turn issued a summons for the
group to appear in his court. Yost, Monterastelli and Thompson were
charged with camping without a permit, camping in an undesignated
area, use of a bicycle in a closed area, giving false information, and
conspiracy. Austin tracked the individuals through their website as
they rode to Southern Arizona and prepared to cross into Mexico. They
had posted in their blog that they were attending the "24 Hours in the
Old Pueblo," a large and popular mountain bike race north of Tucson.
Saguaro rangers Todd Austin and Heather Yates drove to the event site
on February 17th and were able to locate the trio. Austin posed as a
freelance writer interested in the group's trip, then later identified
himself as a federal law enforcement ranger and issued each his
summons to appear in court in Flagstaff. The three men retained an
attorney and subsequently reached a plea agreement to three charges.
In lieu of a $500 fine, the men agreed to donate $500 each to the
Grand Canyon Search & Rescue Fund. They also agreed to redact sections
of their website pertaining to illegal activities and were sentenced
to 48 hours in Coconino County jail. The case generated considerable
media attention.

Contact Information
Name: Bil Vandergraff, Supervisory Park Ranger, Canyon District
===
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande