Trail Wars Between Marin Mountain Bicyclists, Environmentalists Heats Up Again
CHINA CAMP STATE PARK (CBS SF) -- In Marin County, motorists are told to share the road with bicyclists, but it seems that sentiment changes where the road ends.
While Marin County is known as the birthplace of mountain biking, China Camp State Park is one of the few places in the entire county where bikes are allowed on trails.
Those who ride for the thrill of navigating the narrow paths say they deserve greater access to their public lands.
"The trails were kind of closed off to bikes 30 years ago in an administrative decision and since then, as the sport's grown, the trail access really hasn't kept up," said Ryan Gibson, a member of the rider advocacy group -- New Paradigm Trail Group.
Cycling activists say riders have complete access in places like Sonoma and Santa Cruz so they've organized the "New Paradigm Trail Group" to begin putting pressure on open space agencies to free up more trails for biking.
"Bikers want to get into the woods just like a hiker and equestrian does. It's no different. We're looking to also enjoy it…just on a different mode of transportation," said New Paradigm member David Carbonell.
But environmentalists say nature trails were never designed to be used for vehicular traffic.
"The impacts on wildlife, the impacts on the trails themselves and the displacement of other visitors … are key points on why it doesn't work to have bikes on trails," said Linda Novy, a member of Footpeople, hiker advocacy group.
The rules currently favor the environmentalists, and the bicyclists say, so far, they've gotten no compromise by showing patience with the process.
"I think that's a great approach to start with, but it hasn't really worked from our perspective…so we are going to take more assertive action," Gibson said.