President Bush Talks With IMBA, CA Bike Show Staff

Don't know if any good will come out of this, but I thought it was pretty
cool.

The Santa Monica mountains have some great trails and awesome views of the
ocean and LA. Unfortunately, many miles of it are off limits to riding, but
there are still some very fun trails open to us.



[full text snipped from www.bicycleretailer.com]

AUGUST 18, 2003 -- LOS ANGELES, CA (BRAIN)--On Friday President Bush spoke
at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area about his $5 billion
National Parks Legacy Project, and several times mentioned the importance of
hiking and biking in national parks. Four mountain bike advocates were among
the fewer than 30 private citizens invited.

Dozens of press members and national park staff were also present, but the
event was small enough that bike advocates had access to President Bush,
Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton and Fran Manella, director of the
National Park Service.

"We invited Bush on a mountain bike ride," said Peter Heumann, promoter of
the Southern California Bicycle Expo and member of the Concerned Off Road
Bicyclists Association (CORBA). "He said it's something he's never done but
would like to try."

Jim Hasenauer, an IMBA board member, told Bush that bikes aren't allowed on
the trails of most national parks--something IMBA is fighting to change.

Secretary of the Interior Norton also listened to what Hasenauer and Heumann
had to say about mountain biking in national parks.

Nonetheless, the fact that mountain bike advocates were present at all is
significant.

"We were the redheaded stepchild with access issues 15 years ago. But now
we're invited to events like this," Heumann said.

Also present were Terry and Holly Harmon of CORBA Youth Adventures Program,
which leads mountain bike rides for inner city kids. The Harmons also are
members of the Mountain Bike Unit, a volunteer patrol that rides in the
Santa Monica mountains.

In his speech, President Bush promised $5 billion over five years for
national parks projects. He referred to national parks as "the crown jewel
of America's recreation system" and encouraged people to take advantage of
the resource and volunteer to maintain it.

The approximate $5 billion figure includes $1.8 billion already spent over
the last two years, plus $1.1 billion a year for the next three years. Some
1,800 projects could theoretically be completed with the $5 billion,
provided Congress approves the $1.1 billion each year.

People protesting Bush's policies lined the route into the recreation area,
where multiple layers of security checks and armed personnel defended the
president.

"It was an honor to meet him," Heumann said. "And the credibility the
meeting gave mountain bike advocates is wonderful. I think IMBA can leverage
this, and it means nothing but good things for us locally."

Heumann and Hasenauer are founding members of CORBA, which has been active
in the area since 1987. Heumann credited their long-standing relationships
with local land managers and other trail user groups for their invitations
to the event, as well as the rare access mountain bikers have to the Santa
Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.

[end]



--
Slacker

"Slacker" wrote

AUGUST 18, 2003 -- LOS ANGELES, CA (BRAIN)--On Friday President Bush spoke
at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area about his $5 billion
National Parks Legacy Project, and several times mentioned the importance of
hiking and biking in national parks.
[...]
In his speech, President Bush promised $5 billion over five years for
national parks projects. He referred to national parks as "the crown jewel
of America's recreation system" and encouraged people to take advantage of
the resource and volunteer to maintain it.

Great. Just what we need. IMBA aligning itself with Bush
"environmentalism" will do nothing but destroy its credibility with
_actual_ environmentalists. Do we really want to put ourselves in the
same league as snowmobilers in Yellowstone? As ATV'ers? Calling the
National Parks a "recreation system" reduces them to the level of
amusement parks, and the Dewbie mountain bike contingent that wishes
to view all wilderness this way is doing no favors for the sport.

Kudos to IMBA for a publicity coup, but they should be very careful
with whom they go to bed, lest they alienate the portion of their
membership who believe that stewardship and conservation come before
recreation. Like me.

CC