The BTC is planning a special event this year, geared to getting more of you all involved. We will do our traditional Pot-Luck Picnic BBQ, but in a new location! This year, we are going to celebrate the completion of the Tamarancho trails and host the picnic there. The Ghilotti family campground is the site. The Boy Scouts are using the camp until 10:00 am, so don't drive up before then. Limited parking available at the site. Drive up Iron Springs Road, and follow the signs. Everybody is invited to try the trails as a guest of the BTC, even if you are not a current Friend of Tamarancho. Rides for all abilities will start at the Fairfax Post Office parking lot at 10:00. We will offer a pot luck shuttle at the start. Bring your food and clothing change to the ride, and we will bring it up to the picnic. The picnic starts at 1:00, No alcohol is allowed at Tamarancho. The BTC will have plenty of soft drinks. The BTC will also provide the main course and we ask that all of you please bring a side dish to share. Besides bringing a dish, we want you to bring a friend! If your friend's a dish, even better. We're looking for a few good volunteers. We desperately need to broaden our volunteer base. We have some important trail access issues approaching that will need support and organization and we need your help!
By Lisa Luzzi
A shared used trail, why is this concept so unacceptable in this county?
Is the population density just too great in the Bay Area to make it feasible
to share the trails? Or is it the snobbish attitude of the equestrians
and hikers that believe the trails exist for their tranquil recreational
experience and theirs alone. Is it a safety issue or is it more of an
education issue? Education is essential if it ever is to become a reality.
I was contacted recently by some equestrian friends who are very much
interested in sharing. They have a story to share with the mountain biking
community. Their story begins on Monday, July 3rd, a day off for most
folks. Four women headed west from Sonoma County, with their horses in
tow, looking to ride in the glorious Point Reyes National Seashore. They
started from Five Brooks Stables out in Olema, and headed out to Wild
Cat Beach on the Stewart Trail, which is actually a 10 foot wide fire
road, legal for all users. They had a pleasant ride down to the beach
on a wonderful sunny day. After a relaxing break at the beach, the foursome
headed back up the Stewart trail, for their steep ascent out. The four
horses were in single file as they climbed out. The road winds up the
mountain, with a few blind corners to negotiate, and the equestrians chose
to take the outside edge so as to broaden their line of vision as they
approached the corners. As the four were coming around one of these sweeping
corners, they encountered a bike heading down the trail.
The biker, seeing the horses, came to a stop along side of them. One of
the four horses, the second in line, had never encountered a bike and
was beginning to get a bit nervous with this strange metal beast so near
by. Just then, a second biker came down. Seeing his buddy stopped and
the horse traffic, he came to a stop near his friend. The skittish horse
was backing up as the rider is trying her best to get him under control,
at which time, the third biker in the group arrives, this one with squealing
brakes. The second horse is totally freaked out by this squealing creature
and is backing up sideways. The third equestrian jumps off her horse to
guide him up trail, as the fourth rider is trying to move up along the
outside. All four horses are precariously close to the edge of the fire
road, which has a steep drop off. The fourth rider feels her horse's leg
slip off the edge of the road, she slides off the saddles, just as her
horse, Noah tumbles off the edge.
Noah dropped approximately 100 ft. to a small landing and popped back
up on his feet. The hillside is covered with thick brush and nettles.
He attempts to get his footing and falls again, another 500 ft. down the
hillside. Noah's owner, in extreme panic, jumps on one of the other girl's
horse and races off for help. She runs into a ranger as she gets close
to the stables, and still crazed with panic, she gets out only that she
needs water. The ranger tells her he has none and to go down to the stables.
It is unclear if there was any further communication with that ranger
(this story was recounted by her friends that stayed behind). Meanwhile,
one of the equestrians and one of the bikers had hiked down to Noah to
wait for help. It took 5 hours before anyone came to their aide! And finally,
the woman's husband, whom she had called from the stables, arrived from
Sonoma. The other two girls had walked out by this point and alerted the
ranger, expecting that some kind of rescue would get underway, only to
find that nothing was being done. The husband, being knowledgeable in
veterinary medicine, brought an injection to put Noah down if need be.
That's what was needed. Apparently being exposed to the nettles in that
quantity and for that duration is what killed Noah
Could this accident have been prevented? Should the equestrians have not
been riding on the outside of the trail? Should the bikers not have gathered
along side the horses? Perhaps the bikers should have just slowed and
passed. Definitely those squealing brakes should have been fixed. And
all horses should be introduced to bikes before they hit the trails. There
are many lessons to learn, and we all need to be educated.
In memory of Noah, my friends and I are planning a joint project between
the Bicycle Trails Council and the Marin Horse Council.
Together we hope to produce a brochure that would help address these questions
and educate us all so accidents like this can be prevented. If
you're interested in helping out with this project, have ideas or suggestions,
please call the BTC.
Western States Tour 2000
By Peter Hively
In April I quit my job as a Project Manager for a local software company
to enjoy the Year 2000. On June 2nd I loaded my mountain bike, dirt bike,
and camping gear into the van and hit the road. My only plans were to
visit Moab, Utah where I would meet some friends for an off-road
motorcycle tour, and Whitefish, Montana where I would stay with
friends and explore the northwest corner of the Big Sky state. Otherwise
I played it loose, and kept to the back roads.
A friend told me about some hot springs outside of Austin, Nevada. Austin
is an old mining town on Hwy. 50, the loneliest road in America!. Lonely
is right! Want to see what your van will do? Let it loose on Hwy. 50,
put the pedal to the metal baby! I spent the first night of my trip camped
at Spencer's Hot Springs, soaking and stargazing with snow-capped
peaks in the distance. Austin is trying to drum up some tourist business
by promoting mountain biking in the surrounding Toiyabe National Forest.
For camping info and maps call the USFS, Austin Ranger District
at (702) 964-2671 or the local bike shop, Tyrannosaurus Rex
at (702) 964-1212.
In Utah I camped at Zion National Park and spent the next morning
doing some serious hiking. Next stop was Boulder, Utah where I
spent the day motorcycling down the Burr Trail, through Capitol
Reef National Park to the Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area, where I cooled off by putting around Lake Powell in a
little rental boat. By the time I got to Moab it was hot, about 100 degrees.
It seemed like more fun to twist throttles than push pedals, so the bicycle
stayed parked the whole time! We explored the La Sal Mountains,
where we did some trailside carburetor tuning for the thin air at 10,000
feet; went out to Chicken Corners where I discovered an outfit
offering camel tours; cruised around the White Rim, where Thelma
and Louise finally parked their car; bounced all over the Poison Spider
Mesa which is just plain gnarly; and of course we rode the famous
Slickrock Trail, which we learned was laid out by moto-heads. Marla
Streb had told me that Utah is a BYOB state: all they have is 3.2% beer
and you can't always get that. I'd stocked up on full-strength brew before
I left town, and became very popular as I shared the good stuff with my
thirsty riding buddies.
In Moab we stayed at the Redstone Inn (800) 772-1972 which offered
reasonable rates and was biker-friendly, they even have a bicycle workstand,
hose, and cleaning rags set up in the parking lot for your convenience.
By the time the five days were up and my moto buddies went home, I was
ready to move on, so I headed out to Fruita in western Colorado.
At the visitor's center I happened to meet a nice young lady mountain
biker from upstate New York. She told me she had an old Rockhopper, and
that while working in Colorado for the summer she planned to upgrade.
She was on her way to a local shop where she hoped to find her dream bike,
and asked if I had ever heard of Moots bicycles? I said sure, you
want to come out in the parking lot and see mine? She fell in love at
first sight, with the bike I mean. We headed over to the bike shop "Over
the Edge" on East Aspen St. where she got busy picking out
a new Moots, and I got busy picking up some trail maps. Fruita has some
active mountain bikers who are building sweet single-track with the full
cooperation of the local authorities. They are very protective of their
trails; if they think you might be a skidder or a litterbug they'll run
you out of town! I got to sample a few of the local trails such as "Mary's
Loop" and "Prime Cut" and judged them most excellent. The
Kokopelli trail, which runs from Fruita all the way to Moab, will
have to wait for another trip.
I headed up to Wyoming where I toured Grand Teton and Yellowstone
National Parks, spotting plenty of wildlife such as moose, bison,
elk, coyotes, and RV drivers. Arriving in Montana a few rainy days
later, I settled into my home for the week, a really cute little log cabin
near the not-too-yuppie-yet ski resort town of Whitefish. My first
weekend there, my hosts and I took off for the remote little outpost of
Polebridge, where we stayed in a little cabin and got really baked.
No, not like that, I mean Sandy was worried about being cold and built
such a raging fire it was like a sweat lodge in there! Luckily we made
it through the night and the next day explored Glacier National Park,
where we saw lots of waterfalls, and a mama mountain goat coaxing her
little billy into some radical rock climbing. On the way back over the
pass it started raining so we made Sandy some very stylish raingear out
of trash bags and duct tape.
During the week my friends Sandy and Andy had to work so I spent the mornings
drinking coffee, reading and hanging out with their dogs, Gunnar and Scout.
In the afternoons I holstered my bear repellent, which is basically a
Costco-sized can of pepper spray, and bicycled through the surrounding
Flathead National Forest. There are nearly 80 miles of
sweet, legal single-track at nearby Tally Lake. I also rode to the
top of the mountain at the Big Mountain ski resort for some incredible
views, and explored some sweet biker-built trails at Spencer Lake.
I spent a few days fire-road cruising on the motorcycle, got up into Canada
a little, and my last day there we went sailing on Flathead Lake, said
by the locals to be the biggest lake west of the Mississippi. It was
time to head for California. Another Friend had told me about her favorite
riding trails in the Sawtooth National Forest near Ketchum, Idaho
and they were truly incredible, endless miles of deserted singletrack
with spectacular views of the Sawtooth Mountains. 10 miles west of town
on Warm Springs Road you can find camping and hot springs at
Frenchman's Bend near the Red Warrior trailhead. I pedaled 40 miles
the next day and saw only a tiny fraction of the trails there. Ketchum
is only about 12 hours from the Bay Area so I will be heading back there
for sure. I took lots of pictures, if anybody
wants to see them give me a call at 459-7746.
Calendar - October to January 2001
Sun. 10/15: Trips for Kids 60 k ride. call 458-2986.
Wed. 11/1: BTC general meeting 6:30 PM
Flatiron Sports Bar 2nd & B St. San Rafael.
Sat. 11/4: Mountain Bike Basics.
Free class for beginners & intermediates. Call 454-3206.
Sat. 12/2: Mountain Bike Basics. Free class for beginners & intermediates.
Call 454-3206.
Wed. 12/6: BTC general meeting 6:30 PM
Flatiron Sports Bar 2nd & B St. San Rafael.
Wed. 1/3/01: BTC general meeting 6:30 PM
Flatiron Sports Bar 2nd & B St. San Rafael.
Sat. 1/6/01: Mountain Bike Basics.
Free class for beginners & intermediates. Call 454-3206
©2000 Bicycle Trails Council of Marin
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