Sunday, January 20, 2008

Trail Running, Mountain Bike Access, and Hypocrisy

On Saturday, I did a very fun trail run with a friend. We parked at Boston Mills Rd. by the Towpath, and ran the Buckeye Trail into Peninsula. We then took the towpath back to our cars at Boston Mills.

I love that section of the Buckeye Trail, but parts of it were in very poor condition because of the people who ride their horses on it when it is soaking wet. Thousands of deep hoof prints rutted the frozen trail, making it very easy for a hiker or runner to turn his or her ankle (or worse).

The real joke here is that mountain bikers have zero access to off-road trails in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (I believe the recently opened CAMBA trail near Harvard Rd. is part of the Cleveland Metroparks, not the national park.)

Those who say the reason for this is that mountain bikers degrade the trail are full of crap. The horses do so much more damage than mountain bikers. Know that I'm not picking on horses or horse riders here....I'm just noting the hypocrisy of this situation.

5 comments:

What is Cyclocross said...

true!!!!!!

Feel It: The Factory Rider said...

totally right. don't go to Bear Creek! hooovey!

Ray Huang said...

Mark and I were starting to get mad as we rolled past all those sweet bridal trails whiwe were relegated to the asphalt!! Chapin allows mountain bikes on there trails, why not every where else???

Unknown said...

No doubt, there's some serious hypocrisy. Call the park and tell them you think it's crazy and you want access. If you really want change: call AND write a letter to the park and your congressional rep. The louder the voices, the faster things will change.

Unknown said...

I got a $100 fine for riding my MTB on trails that were full of hoof marks. I tried to explain it to the Ranger but it was no use. I think they are being paid off by the horse people.