Mountain Cyclist – August 1999
Lead Stories
The Koch Property, located above Cabrillo College, provides public access to The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park through both the Vienna Woods and the West Ridge Trail. This land has been used extensively by the public to access Cabrillo and Nisene Marks and for many recreational purposes for more than 40 years.
This property has been purchased by two San Jose based real estate development corporations, S&P Carmichael Enterprises, Inc. and Men-Chy Ma Properties Inc., who are now actively taking steps to develop the property and block all public use. The developers are now working on the property, applying for permits, and developing subdivision plans. They are now actively and very aggressively attempting to block all public access and use. The developers have refused to consider selling at a fair price, stating that the area is now private property and that they intend to build up to 60 homes.
The Nisene 2 Sea Open Space Alliance is committed to acquiring the Koch Property as public open space and annexing this land to The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park. For further information, visit www.nisene2sea.com or contact the group at info@nisene2sea.com or 831-662-2364.
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(part 2 in a series of 3)
The International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) has developed a set of rules of the trail as a step toward forwarding its mission of promoting environmentally sound and socially responsible mountain bicycling. This came about because thousands of miles of dirt trails have been closed to mountain bicyclists, at least partially due to the irresponsible riding habits of a few riders. ROMP, a member club of IMBA, agrees that every rider must do their part to maintain trail access by observing the following rules for safe and responsible riding:
- Ride on open trails only.
- Leave no trace.
- Control your bicycle.
- Always yield trail.
- Never spook animals.
- Plan ahead.
Last month, we covered the first two rules in detail. This month we discuss the third and fourth. Watch for the last two in next month's newsletter.
3. Control your bicycle.
Inattention for even a second can cause problems. These problems can range from injuries to yourself or others to damaging the trail due to riding off the trail or skidding your tires as part of an emergency stop. Always ride within your skill level.
Along with controlling your bicycle, you should also obey all bicycle speed regulations and recommendations. They are usually there for a good reason.
4. Always yield trail.
Make your approach known well in advance. A friendly greeting is considerate and works well. You don't want to startle others, so call out early. If you are approaching a horse, do not use your bell. A bell may make a horse jump because they may not recognize it. Instead, call out so that the horse recognizes the spandex-wearing thing on your bike as a person.
As you approach, show your respect when passing by slowing to a walking pace or even stopping. On singletrack, you should expect to be the one who stops and pulls off the trail. This may seem overly cautious, but it is needed. Perceptions vary. You may feel like you are in total control and appreciate their stepping off the trail for you, but the other trail user my think that you were flying down the trail and that they had to jump for their lives to get out of your way. And that is what they will write to the landowner.
Be ready for the trail users you can't see yet. Anticipate that there will be other trail users around corners or in blind spots. Slow down and be prepared to stop if needed. Overall, there are few incidents where two trail users actually crash, but should incidences start occurring, trails will close faster than anyone would believe.
If you look at the IMBA yield the trail triangle, it shows that cyclists should yield the trail to all other trail users. But what happens if you come across another cyclists on the trail? Who should yield? If one rider is climbing and the other descending, then the descending rider should yield. This is because a descending rider can restart after stopping a lot easier than a climbing rider. A rider overtaking a slower rider should yield to the slower rider (and the slower rider should allow the faster rider to go by on the first convenient opportunity). If a rider is in a technical stretch which you haven't entered yet, let the rider try to complete the section without getting in their way. As with all encounters, even if one side in theory has right of way, if they yield under decent circumstances (jumping out of the way in fear for their life is NOT a decent circumstance) then the other can go through (after saying hello and thanks).
Stopping to allow another to go by is a great way to show respect, and it doesn't take too much out of your ride. But if you don't like doing this, then try to avoid areas that get heavy usage. Fremont Older, Saratoga Gap, the Canyon Trail in Monte Bello, Peter's Creek Loop in Long Ridge, and Purisma Creek are all areas that often have many trail users. But we have plenty of areas nearby which don't get heavy usage – often where you can ride all day and only see a few people.
The way you ride will influence trail management decisions and policies. Please respect the lands that you ride on and the other users of the lands.
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...by Kathleen Meyer
Thanks to Bob Pemberton who has volunteered to work with Terri Baron and the City of Saratoga on the Parker Ranch Trail. As described in last month's newsletter, these folks are working to rehabilitate this damaged trail which connects to Fremont Older Open Space Preserve.
Involvement of individuals in their local trail communities is key to opening and maintaining access to our local rides. If you would like to help work with any of your local landowners, please contact Kathleen Meyer at 408-374-6136 or president@romp.org.
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Mountain Cyclist has been available online for several months now, providing rapid access to the latest ROMP news usually before the printed version arrives at members' doors. Now ROMP is taking the next logical step: in response to many inquiries, ROMP will soon enable green-minded web surfers to forgo receiving the printed version of this newsletter. If you select this option, you will receive an email shortly after each newsletter is posted on ROMP's website, notifying you that you can read the latest ROMP scoop. If you would like to participate, send an email to newsletter@romp.org with "No paper, please" in the subject and your preferred email address in the body, and we will set you up when the process is ready!
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...by Jane Taylor
A quick reminder: if you haven't done so already, please submit a summary of your volunteer hours from January 1 – June 30, 1999, using one of the following three methods:
- Use the web form.
- Send email. Compose an email including your name and the number of hours you spent in each type of activity, described in last month's newsletter. Send your email to volunteerdata@romp.org.
- Complete the tally sheet. Fill out the green form included in last month's newsletter and mail it to Jane Taylor, 406 Iris St., Redwood City CA, 94062.
Remember, you do not need to be a member of ROMP to submit your hours, just a local mountain biker who has done volunteer work. Send your hours in now, before you forget about all the hard work you've put in. Thank you for volunteering in the first place, and thank you for submitting your hours!
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...by Patty Ciesla
The Stanford Mountain Bike Team will be hosting the Subaru/Specialized Women's Cycling Summit on August 28-29 at Stanford University. The event is designed for women to meet and network with other women of all cycling levels, participate in seminars, and ride.
Speakers include Sally Edwards and Connie Carpenter Phinney. Topics include gaining muscle while losing weight, nutrition, heart rate training, skills and techniques, massage and stretching, maintenance, and safety and equipment. There will be afternoon rides for all levels of riders, on and off road.
$100 per attendee cost includes seminars, T-shirt, event bag, breakfast and lunch on Saturday. Registration deadline is August 13. For additional information and registration form, contact Specialized at 800-722-3799.
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