After decades of battling for access, and being ticketed and fined for riding singletrack trails, Chris Beratlis along with other members of the mountain bike community in Pleasanton, California are fed up. A few weeks ago, Beratlis decided to hold a protest ride at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. He gathered as many local mountain bikers as he could and they rode down the fire roads, shared with pedestrians, at Pleasanton Ridge on February 6.
“It’s just getting to a point where we keep hearing the same argument,” Beratlis told us over the phone. The park has historically taken the stance that mountain biking degrades the environment, Beratlis says.
East Bay Regional Parks District Chief Anthony Ciaburro cited this as a reason for issuing $275 tickets to mountain bikers riding off-limits singletrack ahead of the protest ride. “It was off limits, it was posted. There was environmental damage [that] was taking place, so we were at a place that we were going to issue tickets to anyone who came into that area,” he told a local CBS affiliate.
East Bay Regional Park District manages 73 parks around the San Francisco Bay Area, though most of the singletrack in the system is prohibited for mountain bikers. As more and more people have ventured outside during the pandemic, the increase of people on the fire roads and conflict between them has been palpable, Beratlis says. The protest ride was a way “to raise awareness that we can’t all use the same fire road and be happy. It doesn’t make sense.” Since the ride, local news outlets have taken notice and there is a glint of optimism that the parks may review their stance on mountain bike access.
Beratlis argues that concentrating everyone in one area is illogical. Not only are there more people in one area trying to avoid one another, but descending dirt roads can be dangerous for mountain bikers themselves with flat, loose turns which are typical of fire roads. Beratlis says that they’ve been trying to get access to singletrack for decades and the park hasn’t budged. With the closest mountain-bike-friendly singletrack as much as two to four hours away, it often makes more sense to risk a ticket and ride the trails illegally.
“Everybody rides illegally,” Beratlis says. “We’ve been doing it for 20, 30 years. It’s just the way it is. And I’m 54 years old, and everybody I know rides illegal singletrack because it’s the only place we can ride unless you go to Tahoe or drive three or four hours away to get to trails that are legal.”
What’s even more frustrating to local mountain biker and advocate Joel Shrock is the statement issued by the park’s assistant manager Carol Johnson after the protest ride: “We challenge mountain bikers to work with us and not create or ride on unauthorized, unsafe trails as was the case in Pleasanton Ridge that caused the need for enforcement last week with cyclists who were cited,” she told CBS 5.
Shrock started Bay Area Mountain Biking (BAMBI) which is an 8,000 member strong Facebook group that shares local mountain bike information.
Shrock called the park’s statement “frustratingly hollow.” He attended an East Bay Regional Parks District board members meeting on February 15 and held up multiple newspaper clippings from the past 20 years highlighting their access challenges and their attempts to work with the organization.
In the meeting, Shrock asked the board to suspend enforcement on “some of the bootleg trails across the park system until a meaningful trail plan can be implemented.” Other community members spoke out also, and added their stories about past advocacy attempts, and why cycling the parks has been important for their health.
At the end, Shrock said he felt positive about the meeting and that board members started to change their tune regarding mountain bike and even e-bike access. Shrock has been in the same boat as Beratlis and other mountain bikers, where he needs to drive several hours to ride singletrack trails. It’s counterintuitive to him that the parks have cited environmental issues as to why they won’t allow mountain bikes on most trails and instead he has to spend hours driving his vehicle to places where it’s allowed. Usually, it’s easier to just take the risk and ride the trails anyway.
Beratlis and Shrock remain optimistic after the board member meeting on February 15 though. Beratlis isn’t planning on any more protest rides at the moment, he told me over a text message. Board members reached out to him following the meeting and say they are trying to move forward with mountain bike access on singletrack. Beratlis is being patient and if access stalls again, they’ll be starting this dance once again.
East Bay Regional Parks did not return requests for comment.
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Sounds a bit like a fire road critical mass ride. Also sounds like it got the attention of the parks district which seems like a positive step!
I hope the bikers are aware of the research that shows bike tyres create LESS impact than lug soled hiking boots.
And that bike riders are more likely to stay on the trail and not shortcut.
User conflict is always a difficult matter, but this environmental argument is fallacious.
Don’t leave equestrian and pack animal traffic damages to the infrastructure… It has been studied more times than folks realize however, completely ignored.
Voting for idiots has consequences.
Good article. One thing I haven’t heard mentioned is that the land use plan EBRPD published 10 years ago specifically states a goal of “A stacked loop trail system that provides a range of parkland experiences accommodating a broad range of skill levels and multi-use (hike, bike, equestrian, dog walking) connections to parkland destinations”. https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/pleasanton_ridge_lup_final_07_17_2012_1.pdf, 1.2.2, p. 6. They’ve done next to nothing in 10 years to accomplish this. It goes to Chris’s point. People ride illegal trails because there is no evidence EBRPD is ever going to build legal trails that accommodate one of the largest groups that uses the park, despite it being a documented goal.
I lived in the East Bay 20 years ago and road there often. The story then was the same as it is now, no mountain bikes on singletrack. I had been ticketed twice for riding trails that were deemed off-limits for bikes back then. If the parks don’t provide legal options it makes sense that folks will feel forced to ride on illegal trails. In the end this lack of legal trails or any trails for bikes—fireroads aren’t a solution—creates conflict. It’s a shame that 20+ years later the same issues are still being fought over and that the parks dept. continues to use the same old tired arguements. Best of luck to the NorCal riders out there.
I know it’s a sensitive subject, but MTBs do often degrade the environment. I see this manifest as the wear and tear on my local trails. The second element is that some people on bikes are just jerks. It only takes one jerk to turn a community against all riders. The first problem can be addressed with trail maintenance, but I also recommend looking for local conservation organizations and joining them. When they see your dedication for maintaining and improving the environment, their eyes begin to open. You will be an ally, not an enemy. As for the jerks, we have to continue to emphasize good behavior and even helpful behavior within our own groups and communities. Actions speak louder than words. Become an influencer.
What a bunch of BS drivel. EVERY manner of trail usage whether it be mountain bikes, hikers, horses or freaking rabbits hopping up the trail will eventually cause “damage”. You ever seen game trails? I’ve seen 1000’s upon 1000’s of them riding all over the west and on my daily hikes in Prescott. There has been study after study on this issue.
As for jerks, there are jerks in every walk of life and I’ve seen plenty of people “acting the fool” on mountain bikes just as I have on skis and snowboards the last 30+ years. When was the last time a MTBR got caught purposely vandalizing trails in an effort to hurt or maim other user? I’ll wait. In the meantime, you read about hikers (or anti MTBRs) doing it on a regular basis.
I agree with you. All trail users have the potential to degrade the trail/environment and be jerks. I see it often. What I am suggesting is that if you want access to trails and want to keep the access you may already have, there are ways to get it done. I know this to be true because I have been doing it. If you want to see successful models of advocacy for mountain biking take a look at New England Mountain Bike Association (NEMBA). A more commercial approach was used by Kingdom Trails in VT. They managed to get access agreements from something like 90 private property owners. They lost some of that access when a few property owners withdrew from their agreements due to behavior on the part of the “MTB community.”
It’s shortsighted to claim that MTBs have zero impact on the environment. Even if it were true, you’d still have to change the perceptions of others who see it differently and happen to have power over access decisions.
I agree that this is frustrating for so many of us. I also agree that government “process” can be maddening. We are not all cutout to do advocacy work, but there are still many ways to participate directly and indirectly.
I think you should look at equestrian and pack animal traffic, post haste… The ruts they have left will hang your pedals so your bike is effectively a teeter totter on the remnants of the trail. Many studies dating back to the 70’s have shown good data.
The word that did elude you is something called “Stewardship”. Every one of us that have knobby tires, no shox, shox etc. should be on point and displaying and participating in Stewardship. Follow the damn rules and leave the ego at home.
Jerks? What user group doesn’t have some of those?? Seriously!!
Do bikes do trail damage? Well, yaaa however, when done right, bikes are like Nikes and leave a slightly different foot print, C’est La Vie! Kinda need to be cognizant that each trail user is doing damage wether you realize it or not!
Trail maintenance… Over 30 years of it with the local bike and snowmobile clubs.
Break out a McLeod and get to work, run a snowcat 12 hours a day… Well, if more peeps would come forward and volunteer, we could see great things come to be.
Access policies need to be supported by data and we all know that in many cases like this, decisions are being made without data supporting them. Take water quality for example. This was a canard hauled out regularly in our battle for access in the Middlesex Fells, which has a series of reservoirs right in the middle that the trails surround. So, we dug up all the state and federally mandated water quality reports for the prior 10 years. Our finding? Water quality actually increased, despite strident claims to the contrary. So, either the water management people are falsifying their public reports or the argument is BS. Our search killed the argument. And the same false assertion has been used more recently in the Ware River Watershed in Central MA. Guess what? Looking at the public water quality reports also belied the argument. So, go start digging up data to help support your efforts. We are way, way past the time when bikes on trails was a novel activity – it needs to be normalized and access equity needs to happen on all trails. If anyone involved in the article’s efforts would like to have a copy of the report we put together on the Ware River Watershed, which also has examples of other trails in watersheds nationally, ping me at adam at nemba dot org.
This same issue exists around the Loch Raven and Liberty reservoirs in Baltimore MD. The city owns the land even though its in various county limits. Their claim, even though refuted by numerous experts, is that the mountain biking causes too much damage leading to contamination of the drinking water. The battle has ebbed and flowed for many years and currently I don’t think anyone knows what is legal to ride and what is not. A city employed DNR officer will from time to time appear at Loch Raven to hand out citations. I have not heard of the same happening at Liberty which is more remote and farther from the city. Has anyone heard of a resolution to this type of dispute, and more importantly have any data to support the argument that bikes do or do not contribute any more or less than hikers and runners to the water contamination? Because, of course, hiking and running is permitted.
I know that MORE (Mid-Atlantic Off-Road Enthusiasts) is collecting community data and support info for mountain biking at Loch Raven. I’m pretty sure there is a petition or survey of some sort on the LR mountain biking facebook page.
It seems at this point petitions and other grass-roots methods have had their day.
I hate to suggest this but it’s high time for a lawsuit. Anyone know a lawyer in Marin county?
One of the million locations that is experiencing the same sorry excuses and newer board members are likely more interested in a carefully spoken, written and executed report supporting bicycle access as a respectable use. So much needs considered as a plan moves closer to ratification. Can folks actually do this without conflict to sully the whole thing?
Now, if we can stay on point and respect the rules created in opening access…
Annnd, the clincher! We all need to be better than average stewards of the mountain bike, period!
Get it done!
Sad to think there are areas where mountain biking is illegal. Pleasanton in the 1980’s had lots of green countryside and a watering hole named HAP’S. I didn’t recognize the place when I visited a few years ago. Not a dairy cow to be found.
These are the goons of the government you continue to vote in. No sympathy.
The land of the fruits and nuts and unfortunately being exported to other parts of the country. Eco-Facist do-gooders
That’s an interesting perspective. Would you mind telling us more about it?