Mountain Cyclist –
November-December 2001
Lead Stories
...by Henry Pastorelli
ROMP Vice President
Big Basin Redwoods State Park, the oldest State Park in California, is beginning an 18-month planning process to develop a long-range general plan.
General plans are broad policy documents that direct park management and future development. Big Basin does not have a general plan, though much planning has been done for this park since it's founding in 1902. Two workshops (workshop #1) were held at two locations; September 26, at Boulder Creek Elementary School, Boulder Creek and September 27 at Fisher Middle School, Los Gatos. The Workshop Agenda included:
- Orientation to planning goals and process
- Review of Big Basin Redwoods State Park Resource Inventory
- Public comment on Big Basin planning issues and concerns
I had the opportunity to attend the September 27th meeting and was impressed with the large turnout of mountain cyclists. ROMP, MBOSC, Stewards of Soquel Forest and Team Wrong Way all spoke out in favor of more access to trails, through routes from Skyline-to-the-Sea, and increased representation in the planning process. There were approximately ten large flip charts filled with mountain cycling comments. The folks conducting the meeting made a thorough effort to note all the issues.
The next step in the planning process will be workshop #2 to be held early 2002. Topics of discussion will include a presentation of proposed plans and a discussion of alternatives. So if you’re hoping to ride some of these great trails then try to attend the upcoming workshops. Remember, right now biking is only allowed on fire roads within the park. This is our chance to lobby for singletrack access!
More information can be found at the California State Parks website.
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...by Patty Ciesla
A Draft General Plan has been completed for the California Dept. of Parks and Recreation, the managing agency for Nisene Marks. The General Plan will be the primary management document, establishing the Park's purpose and a management direction for the future by providing long-term strategies, guidelines and goals. It will define the framework for the Park's development and public use and will guide design of focused management plans (such as a detailed Trails Plan) and other projects, as well as day-to-day operations.
A Public Workshop will be held Saturday, Oct. 20th at the Soquel High School Auditorium at 401 Old San Jose Road in Soquel from 9:30 to 12:00. Three different General Plan Alternatives will be presented followed by a public comment period.
Alternative C appears to be favorable for increased bicycle access in upper Nisene Marks, while setting aside a portion of the Park in the Aptos Creek drainage as a Natural Reserve that excludes bikes. The other two alternatives present barriers to access that is concerning. Alternative A is the most alarming: it would designate the vast majority of the upper park as a Wilderness area, would "decommission" the Aptos Creek Fireroad and would eliminate access for bicyclists through Nisene to the Soquel Demonstration State Forest. Alternative B would designate that area as a Natural Reserve, which would preclude access to bicyclists from any singletrack and eliminate the possibility of providing bicycle access to the Western side of the Soquel Demo by building a new trail in the Hinckley Creek area.
Alternative C, while favorable, is not without problems. The existing Cussacks Meadow trail, (off Buzzard Lagoon and Aptos Fireroads), as well as a potential new trail along China Ridge (just East of upper Aptos Fireroad above the incline) would be off-limits to bikes if the Natural Preserve boundary extends all the way to the Park Boundary and Aptos Fireroad. The boundary drawn fits the "watershed" model of resource management but falls short with respect to smart thinking for recreation management. These trails along the remote perimeter of the watershed could be opened to bikes and reduce user conflicts on trails in the congested lower area of the Park.
If you are interested in seeing increased access in Nisene Marks, please attend the meeting or write a letter and express support for Alternative C, with the boundary of the Natural Preserve modified to permit development of multi-use trails close to the ridgeline in the extreme high reaches of the watershed. Your input will help the Park department decide which alternative to adopt and prepare for an Environmental Impact Report - the next phase of the General Plan Process.
Details on the plan can be found on ROMP's website. Letters can be sent to nisene-marks@rhaa.com or Nisene General Plan, c/o RHAA, 225 Miller Ave, Mill Valley, CA 94941 or you can call 831-429-2882 for more info.
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...by Alicia Borowski
Task Force Representative for ROMP
The Coyote Lake-Bear Ranch Task Force has met 6 times since March 2001. Existing conditions of the Park i.e. water, soil, mineral, flora, fauna resources as well as cultural (historical), visual and physical resources have been presented in extensive reports by several consulting groups.
On October 29th the Task Force will be presenting the Park Goals and desired Wish List (Program Elements) for the park's use to the public. We are still one year away from the completion of this process and so the public's comments are highly desired at this time. Another Public Meeting will be held on December 6th in the Gilroy area. Watch the ROMP email announcements for further details.
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Saratoga Reviewing Lower Parker Ranch Trail Closure
...by Henry Pastorelli
The Lower Parker Ranch Trail running parallel to Prospect Rd. in Saratoga is used as a primary access trail to Fremont Older Preserve. The trail has recently been signed as closed to bikes at the bottom where it exits onto Prospect Road.
The closure of this trail requires mountain cyclists to ride on Prospect or Parker Ranch Road forcing them to negotiate a narrow dangerous route (Prospect) or climb a step, twisty, residential road (Parker Road) in order to access Fremont Older Preserve.
ROMP member Esther Kim noticed the closure on her way to Fremont Older and begin an investigative process which when presented to the Saratoga City Council prompted Mayor John Mehaffey to request the Parks and Recreation Department review the closure. The Parks and Recreation meeting is currently scheduled for October 15th and ROMP is planning on presenting additional information. Additionally, we have notified our membership via the ROMPlist (and also local Saratoga ROMP members) to express their concerns and attend the meeting. Stay tuned for the outcome.
To get the details go to this website:
http://www.lug.calpoly.edu/~eskim/parkerranchtrail.html.
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...by Steven Jones
Be advised that the Los Gatos Creek Trail is closed to bikes in Los Gatos at the E. Main St. Bridge in Los Gatos due to pipeline construction. You can no longer go south to Lexington Reservoir that way. It will be closed through March '02. The only way for bikers to get between Lexington and Los Gatos is the Jones trail, which goes over part of St. Joseph's Hill. Take College Ave up and right from E. Main St., turn right onto Jones Road, follow to the end to get to Jones trail. Allow a little extra time (and energy) to take this route when you are planning your ride.
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...by Henry Pastorelli
The Cupertino Stevens Creek Trail Task Force Committee presented proposals for
two areas in the Stevens Creek Trail system. If accepted, these proposals will have
significant impact on trails access. The proposals under consideration from the Oct.
2nd meeting are Area C and Area D.
Study Area C Trail Alignment Recommendations--- Linda Vista Park through McClellan Ranch
to Blackberry Farm
Study Area D Trail Design Recommendations--- McClellan Ranch through Blackberry Farm to
Stevens Creek Boulevard.
Study Area C in detail:
The current alignment proposal submitted by the design consultants recommends an off road, multi-use all weather route through Linda Vista Park with direct access to the Quarry and Fremont Older Preserve. The local neighborhood residents are very concerned about the parking area at the entrance to Linda Vista Park. Currently, the city park has 33 parking spaces and 2 handicapped parking areas. The recommendation is to designate 6 parking spaces for trail users. Residents believe this is insufficient parking. Of primary concern is mountain cyclists using Linda Vista Park as a staging area to access Fremont Older Preserve. The Task Force Neighborhood Committee representative recommends MAKING THIS SECTION A WALKING ONLY TRAIL! The Task Force almost voted on the issue, but thankfully, the decision has been delayed. If approved, this section would be the only part of Stevens Creek Trail not open to cyclists. It would also force cyclists onto an alternative road route.
Study Area D in detail:
Study Area D alignment recommends an east bank trail through Blackberry farm, a route between
the creek and orange orchard through the Stockmeir site. The four major discussion topics in-cluded;
- Alignment Overview—where the trail is going.
- Blackberry Farm Entrance—some redesign to more efficiently accommodate traffic.
- Blackberry Farm Trail Fencing.
- Elimination of Varian Park Spur Trail—committee discovered it ran through private property.
This is proposed as a multi-use trail and (from the meeting) does not seem to be generating much discussion opposing bicycling access.
On the Mountain View end, Reach 4 segment 1 construction has begun. This brings the trail from Landels School south to Yuba Drive and is expected to be completed in the summer of 2002. The final Mountain View section, Reach 4 segment 2, will stretch from Yuba Drive to Mountain View.
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...by Dan Vardamis
IMBA Trail News Editor dan@imba.com
!! ATTENTION CALIFORNIA MOUNTAIN BIKERS!!
The Campaign to turn much of the roadless land in CA to Wilderness is forging ahead with letter writing and meetings with local Chambers of Commerce, Boards of Supervisors and Senator Barbara Boxer's staff. We need to show that we care about these areas also.
GROUSE RIDGE (also known as GROUSE LAKES) is an area in Northern California, half way between Nevada City and Truckee that many of the locals have kept a secret from people across the state. It provides a kick ass rock hopping experience hard to find in most places. If you haven't yet ridden there, pack up your bikes and head for the high country. With luck, you have a month before the first snow falls. Please take a moment NOW to write an important letter to Senator Barbara Boxer.
Here's why: We have met in person with Sen. Boxer's staff, who tells us that they are working on a wilderness bill that is to get introduced sometime soon. Boxer has been receiving letters from proponents of wilderness; if they do not hear from us, they may assume there would be no opposition by the mountain biking community. At this time, Grouse Ridge is a key target for wilderness designation. We know that hundreds of you have ridden there or will be riding there soon, and all of you should write a letter as soon as possible.
You can help protect your access to these fantastic trails. The important thing is to send a letter. The time to act is now. For updates on this issue, visit the BONC website, and the Wilderness Coalition website (check out all the areas that they are working on!); Grouse Ridge area map can be found on the Tahoe NF's website here. And a word of advice for people that want to ride it for the first time, this is a rocky technical trail system. The Beyer Lake trail is one of the hardest, don't try it till you have ridden a few other of the trails.
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...by Henry Pastorelli
Sept 23rd (Sunday) turned out to be a chilly, blustery day in the Marin Headlands but nevertheless a group of four hardy ROMPites still managed to turn out for the event; 3 riders did the 38 miler (one of us starting late of course) and 1 fun station volunteer. The ride was a beautiful and challenging loop through the Marin Headlands past Muir Woods to the top of Mt. Tam and then back and yes, it was a hard ride. Other rides consisted of the 25 mile, 16 mile and 7 mile fun ride.
Although the ride and festivities were enjoyable, the real reason I attended this event was to demonstrate support for TFK and make a monetary donation. While the money raised in past events was not as large (probably due to the economic downturn and the shock of the terrorist attacks) it did draw 110 energetic riders and also included, as usual, longtime TFK supporter Gary Fisher and Juli Furtado to help set the pace.
So I got a T-shirt, socks, food, and some other goodies, but what I really received was a sense of contributing to an organization that’s trying to help disadvantaged kids. Using mountain biking as a means to achieve this is even better. For more info on TFK go to :
http://www.webcom.com/tfk/home.htm
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