Mountain Bikers Aren't Interested in Restoring (Removing) Their Illegal Trails

Subject: "Parker Ranch Restoration Project"
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2008 08:26:11 -0800

Mike,

As the word "illegal" in illegal trail indicates, the mountain bikers
were not allowed to build the bike trail. They worked quietly hidden
in
wooded areas on private lands, even without the property owners'
knowledge.

They not only ignore, they destroy signs. The City has been fighting
with them for quite awhile.

Unfortunately, no one from the illegal bicycle trail builders stepped
up
to help this past Saturday to restore the land to its natural original
contours. Please check the City website for more details about the
volunteer opportunities on Parker Ranch trail restoration if you are
interested.
http://www.saratoga.ca.us/pw/parker_ranch.html

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Vandeman ]
Sent: Monday, March 03, 2008 7:21 PM
Subject: "Parker Ranch Restoration Project"

Why are mountain bikers allowed to build an illegal trail? Trail
building is habitat destruction -- not appropriate for land under a
"conservation easement". Mountain biking, in particular, is
incompatible with conservation.

Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are
inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to
mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1994:
http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/mtb10. It's dishonest of mountain
bikers to say that they don't have access to trails closed to bikes.
They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else -- ON FOOT! Why
isn't that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of
walking....

A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more
harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and
that science supports that view. Of course, it's not true. To settle
the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited,
and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see
http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7). I found that of the seven
studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2)
in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to
come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously
avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did
not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.

Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et
al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently
incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain
biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them,
but scientifically, they are worthless.

Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills
small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife
and other trail users out of the
area, and (worst of all) teaches kids that the rough treatment of
nature is okay (it's NOT!). What's good about THAT?

Mike Vandeman


Date: Sun, 2 Mar 2008 20:56:36 -0800
From: "Josh Moore"
Subject: Parker Ranch Restoration Project

First and Third Saturdays in March and April
09:00 AM Saturday, March 15 2008 Duration: 5:0
The Parker Ranch Trail was an amazing feat in trail building and
riding pleasure. Unfortunately it is on private land which is under a
conservation easement. Even the private land owners are not allowed to
build on it. Please come out and create some goodwill by helping to
restore this trail.

The city of Saratoga requires that you fill out their volunteer form
and sign a waiver for this event.

This trail is officially closed. Please don't ride it or rebuild it
anymore. ROMP is working with land managers to provide more riding
opportunities like this.

Location:
Top of Picea Court
Picea Court
Saratoga CA
--
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

I'll bet that I have done far more trail maintenance than you have. Some
maintenance was on historic routes in the forest that you would deny access
to, other maintenance was done to restore land closed due to environmental
whackos like yourself to open land. Land was closed to visitation in my
local National Forest, and as a result the closed areas were set aside via
the use of barbed wire strung for miles through the forest. Forest managers
finally agreed that the land should be open, and I personally took down
nearly 5 miles of fence posts by myself, well myself and my daughter.

I don't know the voracity of your assertion of "illegal" trail, but your
assertion that we don't care is a blatant lie.

I do not pretend, as you do, that just because you failed to show up at any
of the sites I cleaned up, then environmenalists don't care about public
access to public land. I do pretend, rightly I might add, that you are a
blithering idiot.

On Wed, 05 Mar 2008 01:46:08 GMT, "Jeff Strickland"
wrote:

I'll bet that I have done far more trail maintenance than you have. Some
maintenance was on historic routes in the forest that you would deny access
to, other maintenance was done to restore land closed due to environmental
whackos like yourself to open land. Land was closed to visitation in my
local National Forest, and as a result the closed areas were set aside via
the use of barbed wire strung for miles through the forest. Forest managers
finally agreed that the land should be open, and I personally took down
nearly 5 miles of fence posts by myself, well myself and my daughter.

I don't know the voracity of your assertion of "illegal" trail, but your
assertion that we don't care is a blatant lie.

I do not pretend, as you do, that just because you failed to show up at any
of the sites I cleaned up, then environmenalists don't care about public
access to public land. I do pretend, rightly I might add, that you are a
blithering idiot.

What does any of this have to do with the FACT that no mountain bikers
showed up to restore their illegally constructed trail?
--
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

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...

What does any of this have to do with the FACT that no mountain bikers
showed up to restore their illegally constructed trail?


You didn't show up either. What's your point?

I'm not even a mountain biker, but I've done far more to restore and
maintain stuff than you will ever hope to do.

We could take all of the miles of route that you have affected and multiply
it by 10, and I've done more in a day on that much.

On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:44:53 GMT, "Jeff Strickland"
wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .

What does any of this have to do with the FACT that no mountain bikers
showed up to restore their illegally constructed trail?


You didn't show up either. What's your point?

They created the mess, and refuse to clean it up. They shouldn't be
allowed to mountain bike, except on paved roads.
--
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

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...

They created the mess, and refuse to clean it up. They shouldn't be
allowed to mountain bike, except on paved roads.
--

Are you stupid, or what?

I didn't create the messes I cleaned up, and I'm thrilled to have cleaned
the crap up anyway because I use the forest for recreation. Nobody, except
you, keeps score on this ****. They go out and find a clean-up effort
underway and grab a trash bag and pitch in.

Get a life. While you're at it, put down the score card and pick up a trash
bag.

As for the messes I did not make, among the messes I cleaned up was one that
was erected by the envirowhackos. So, get off your dead ass and stop
bitching and get to work. If you are not willing to get to work, shut the
**** up.

On Mar 6, 9:19*pm, Mike Vandeman wrote:
On Thu, 06 Mar 2008 23:44:53 GMT, "Jeff Strickland"

wrote:

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .

What does any of this have to do with the FACT that no mountain bikers
showed up to restore their illegally constructed trail?

You didn't show up either. What's your point?

They created the mess, and refuse to clean it up. They shouldn't be
allowed to mountain bike, except on paved roads.


Good point Mike, it is their mess and they are responsible for it.

Now that we have that straightened out, you've got a whole bunch of
CO2, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and oxides of nitrogen and
sulpher floating in the atmosphere that you are resposible for when
you CHOSE to fly on a commercial airline instead of taking a sailboat.
When are you going to get that mess cleaned up?