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8/1/2009
Location
IL
Edited Date/Time
11/2/2017 10:33am
The city of Los Altos, CA has implemented a ban on mountain bikes in the Byrne Reserve following complaints by other user groups. It seems that speeds recorded on Strava helped the council reach its decision:
“I’m done with this as far as I’m concerned,” Councilman John Radford said. “The speed numbers that were talked about tonight are just incredibly unacceptable. I can’t even believe. Sorry, whoever’s done those apps and whoever puts that together – that just put a hole in the whole argument.”
Perhaps it's time to reconsider how we mountain bikers use the app, before we collectively shoot ourselves in the foot?
“I’m done with this as far as I’m concerned,” Councilman John Radford said. “The speed numbers that were talked about tonight are just incredibly unacceptable. I can’t even believe. Sorry, whoever’s done those apps and whoever puts that together – that just put a hole in the whole argument.”
Perhaps it's time to reconsider how we mountain bikers use the app, before we collectively shoot ourselves in the foot?
On the other side of the issue, land managers should be able to clearly see huge number of the MTB users on the land (2nd largest user in our area) and the trail over-use due to limited riding areas. Banning won't solve the issues, MTB is growing, and now CX, and gravel, and bike packing... more trails and more access will solve their issues.
Strava turn off Heat Map upload
(please share this)
Settings --> Privacy
--> Strava Metro & Heatmap = uncheck
I do no know what the trail(s) in question are like, nor do I intend to travel to the location to find out (AND BECOME THE KOM!!!! MUAAHHAHAHAHAA).
Blaming an app for the loss of trail rights is stupid. Sure, it gives ammo to the "anti cause", but the real problem is the attitude land managers and other trail users have towards the two-wheeled users. I personally hate horses, always have (and I'm from farm country and have worked on multiple farms, so that's saying something), but I do not get all up on my "high horse" and complain about piles of shit everywhere - or dickhead runners with headphones in who run in the middle of every trail/walkway/place of passage ever.
The underlying issue here is not a gps app that people enjoy using to gauge their performance/compete against their friends after work. The issue is that morons in local government in California, a place known for it's idiocy regarding land use rights, are snubbing an excellent form of recreation over "excessive speed". Road riders have not had it any easier, just in case someone wants to start down that road.
This issue echoes skating's growing pains i.e. "Skating is not a crime". Basically, for this MTB issue, it's give us access to the land we want, or deal with the fact that a slow-paced ride is an easy 20mph - a speed achieved by horses and runners alike. Again, blame the system, not the mechanism the system is blaming.
My buddies and I have all agreed to do this for our group outings. There is no reason to draw heat to the trails you ride or the speeds you carry. We have a look and compare our times over a post ride beer and then go private.
Strava definitely changes the way people ride. I've found it a useful tool in pushing my training. I agree though, its easy for competitiveness to displace some of the fun factor (and bring out the inner asshole) if you are not careful.
Blowing up illegal/secret trails since day 1 and making general mountainbiking way too competitive. I'm with stickman on this one.
Strava is not responsible for riders being stupid but riders are responsible for sending information to rangers, governments thru Strava. On a side note, these informations are not even reliable ;-(
I'm more interested in an alternative at this point... to track my own progress. I don't really care about leader boards and where I stack up. If I did, I'd sign up for a race.
Our behaviour on the trail is a big part of it.
As a group, if all mountain bikers:
Slowed - Yield the trail by stopping or slowing down. Announce your presence if approaching from behind.
Talk - Share a word or two about the beauty of the day! A simple "Howdy" goes a long way too!
We would have no issues and would be banned from no trails.
Most of the problem is that we "scare" other trail users by coming up on them fast (I've done it) and it is the perception of danger, not the reality of danger that is killing us - they think we are out of control and are going to hit them. We know we are not out of control, and are not going to hit them. But stopping early and a quick "Hi" kills any negativity.
Being overly nice is a small price to pay for access.
It only takes a few old complainers who are retired and have lots of time on their hands to squeek the wheel against us in the land manger's ear to make problems for us.
P
Given that only supporters of the ban spoke up and provided evidence, the council's vote is no surprise. We can all think of several counter-arguments that would have made it much more difficult for the council to steamroll this ban through. Without participation, we have no voice...
http://home.trainingpeaks.com/
For what it's worth, the "trails" that bikes got banned from in this dispute are not worth mentioning.
All horse stuff, super small area, never even though about going there....
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