31/05/2022
MTB COMMUNITY PSA:
I am a member of both CCORC - Central California Off-Road Cyclists and Yosemite South Gate Trail Cooperative, butwhat I’m going to say reflects my thoughts and opinions only. Don’t get it twisted. There are some issues within our community that have been coming up somewhat regularly and I’d like to make a few comments/suggestions.
First, we need to talk about etiquette when it comes to trails, the agencies who manage the land and the organizations that build/maintain them. When you visit an area to ride that you are not an active part of building or maintaining, take a second to observe your surroundings. Who owns the land you’re about to ride? Who’s putting in the work to keep those trails running well? If you park and don’t see a single sticker on a sign or gate, or a single piece of trash around, LEAVE IT LIKE YOU FOUND IT! If you go ride Cannonball, you’ll encounter these conditions. Southgatetrails.org has been working with Southern California Edison for years now to get this project to where it is now. Through the organization’s hard work and obvious dedication to stewardship, we’ve got an opportunity to keep going for years and build something that will not be able to escape notice from the greater world of mountain biking. DON’T LITTER. DON’T PARK IN FRONT OF GATES. And for the love of God, if you don’t see stickers anywhere, don’t tag anything with yours! Especially if you’re not involved with the actual effort. I’ve worked up there a ton, yet you won’t find a single Punk Uncle Show sticker anywhere. I think they call these context clues in elementary school. Just imagine how it feels for people who have invested themselves completely in a project to see others who have not done the same come up and immediately start disrespecting the place and the work that’s been done. Worst of all, it potentially jeopardizes a relationship with a land manager that has taken a ton of work to establish. DON’T ruin it for everyone else. If you want to be a du***ss or you’ve got an ego that makes you think the rules of common courtesy don’t apply to you, get into a different sport, please.
Secondly, we have to address the lack of involvement that exists currently. If you ride more than once or twice a month, you should be supporting the club(s) that are working to keep trails open and maintained as well as building new ones. We’ve got a lot of dead weight right now and it’s a huge bummer. This sport is 💯 community supported. We don’t pay facility fees for public trails. It’s all supported by volunteers, so without donations/membership fees, how are tools and supplies being purchased. Without large memberships that produce volunteers, how does any of the work get done? This is what is all about. It’s a standard that we, as mountain bikers hold ourselves to, a way of life even. If every serious rider adopted this philosophy, imagine what we could do. Lastly I’ll make a very blunt statement. This is purely my opinion, but anyone who goes up and rides Cannonball, if they are a local resident, should be a member of Southgate. Period. I say that because that’s a big boy ride and there are no casual mountain bikers riding down that trail, much less making the climb to the top. Just knowing where that trail is means you’re plugged in enough to know what’s going on. That means you should be supporting it with a membership at the very least. I’m dead serious and if you disagree, I’d love to know why. And I swear, the next person that tells me they can’t afford a $40 membership from the saddle of a $4000 mountain bike is gonna get…
Lastly, in our local area, I feel a tremendous lack of unity within the mountain bike community. Kind of like we’ve got 2 clubs, so there are 2 factions. If you feel or contribute to any sense of rivalry or competition between Mtb clubs, you really need to check yourself. In this area, I think it’s very fair to say that our two clubs are full of passionate riders, yet do very different things. My preference would be that everyone support both. But if you feel that one really caters to your style of riding more than the other, that’s ok. What’s not ok is fostering any kind of bad vibes between the two. I’ve seen this so many times and it’s unreal to me. This is nearly always an ego thing, but what you have to remember is that mountain biking is about STOKE. Ego only ever diminishes stoke, so be aware and whether you support one club or both with your money and time, always understand and explain to others that both are needed. All effort and contribution is needed. This sport isn’t big enough and doesn’t have enough trail access as it is. The last thing we need is infighting bringing us down. Our fight is on another field, not within our own ranks.
My guess is that if you’re still reading, you’re probably one of the people who already gets it and feels the same way. The poachers probably stopped reading before the end of the first paragraph, so please, spread this message. Adopt this philosophy. If we all put community first, we will all reap the greatest personal benefits too.