mtnbykr
12-07-2002, 07:04 AM
FYI
==============================================
All,
The following letter is one that I posted to a number of BB lists and sent directly to individuals throughout the Midwest in response to a case of trail sanitation in Kansas City.
A number of people responded to me and suggested that I send the email out further, as the content really applies to any trail system.
Based on their request, I am posting here for you; the tribe, the choir, the CEO's and Presidents of Mountain Biking USA. If you are involved in trail design, trail building or trail maintainence feel free to use this letter in part or whole the next time an issue of trail sanitation occurs on your trails.
I will warn you, the letter is long. If you aren't involved on advocacy or giving back to the sport, you will most likely find it boring. If you are involved in advocacy or gicing back to the sport, then you too may find it boring. Hopefully some of you will find some benefit in the spirit of the message.
Have a great day.
Ken
An Open Letter To Cyclists Regarding Illegal Trail Work
As many of us know, we've recently been hit with the dumbing down of an expert trail at Kansas City's singletrack crown jewel, Landahl Forest Preserve located in Blue Springs, MO.
The purpose of this email is to try to bring those misguided (but obviously eager) individuals in to the trail building fold, rather than turning you away based on your lack of trail building and trail design knowledge.
The reason our local trail stewards, trail watchers and trail builders are so indignant over unauthorized trail maintenance is that we have put in thousands of hours of work to ensure that all trail users are able to ride challenging trails, up to their skill level. It's not enough that the trails are challenging. The REALLY challenging task put before trail designers, trail stewards, trail watchers and trail builders is that the trails are sustainable.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association recognizes the trails in and around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area as some of the best urban singletrack trails in the world. In the World!! We are systematically building a singletrack trail system that will be the model for global urban trail opportunities.
Sustainable trails are the key to our ability to provide the best urban system in the world. If our trails aren't sustainable, then land managers won't allow us to build any more trails on their land. If you spend a few minutes to think about this, it really makes sense:
<b>THE BEST URBAN SINGLETRACK SYSTEM IN THE WORLD </b>
The singletrack trail system in this part of the country is set up with very specific design criteria. Every single one of the trail designers and trail stewards for every singletrack track trail system in the area communicate with each other before designing trail. They design trails for specific purposes and to meet specific trail user needs. If there is an area need for a specific type of trail, the trail designers will build that type of trail in to the next singletrack trail they build, provided that the terrain can support it.
This allows us to meet the needs of all trail users from beginners to expert riders and hikers. Trail #11 at Landahl was designed and built specifically to be a challenging trail for expert mountain bikers. There are other trails at Landahl, Blue River Parkway, Independence and Lee's Summit that are designed to be less technical to meet the needs of mountain bikers and hikers who arenÕt looking for an expert trail.
<b>DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT </b>
The real crux of the dumbing down of trails is this: If you are removing obstacles without the consent of the trail designer, the trail steward or the designated trail watcher; then you are causing environmental damage to the trails.
The climb up Trail #11 is steep and difficult. It was also sustainable due to the high concentration of rocks on the trail. By removing the rocks, there is only exposed soil left, which will wash away with rain water rushing over the dirt. The rocks that were removed from the trail anchored the soil and protected the trail from erosion due to wind and rain. Now that the anchors at the top of the trail have been removed, it is simply a matter of time until the trail begins to erode.
When the trail erodes, we will have to reroute the trail. Rerouting the trail will require a few hundred hours to accomplish and it will be expensive: For example, if the reroute is 100 feet long, the cost will be over $200. This is time and money that will pull resources away from our focus of new singletrack trails to the Midwestern Singletrack system.
In addition to costing time and money, illegal trail work can lead to strained relationships with the land managers. We are not entitled to the land on which we build trails. Everyone in the trail building and designing community works extremely hard to ensure that the primary needs of the land managers are met:
- Protect the land
- Increase park or land usage while protecting the environment
- Protect the environment and increase park usage at little or no cost due to shoestring budgets.
By removing obstacles and changing the trail design without the expertise to do so, people jeopardize the relationships we've built with land managers and ultimately, jeopardize mountain biking access to singletrack. Illegal trail building damages our relationship with land managers because we have committed to protect the land on which we build trails. Removing obstacles and changing the trails damages the land and ultimately erodes mountain bikerÕs credibility with land managers.
<b>WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE</b>
OK, so I think I've beaten this horse enough. Here is the deal: If, or someone you know has performed this illegal trail work, please donÕt stop. That's right, DON'T stop. Do, however, get involved with trail building and trail design before you perform any more trail maintenance. We really need your help. Our biggest hurdle in gaining additional trails in the Midwest are trail builders. We would really appreciate your help.
Here is the deal, folks: There is an extremely dedicated group of mountain bikers who sacrifice their saddle time to ensure that anyone and everyone can ride their mountain bikes on singletrack trails in the Midwest.
- These tireless volunteers are the ones that you see hefting shovels and rakes as you ride on trails that you didn't build.
- They are the people who show up to parks meetings and "really seem to have their stuff together" when discussing trails and trail issues with land managers.
- They are the people who are members of Earth Riders, Dirt Slave, Trips for Kids, the Midwest Mountain Bike Patrol, IMBA and the Missouri Bicycle Federation.
- They are the ones who are outraged when someone makes changes to the trails that ultimately damage mountain biking opportunities for the entire area.
- They are the CEO's, the Presidents, the Vice Presidents and the General Managers of "Mountain Biking Incorporated" in the Midwest.
Spoken simply, they are the people who make it happen. Without them, there are NO TRAILS!! Period! End of story.
The leaders of Mountain Biking, Inc. in the Midwest want you to join the team. Any illegal trails or trail work that you may have done is water under the bridge at this point. The damage to Trail #11 cannot be undone.
Here is the offer: Any people responsible for the damage they unknowingly caused can email me directly at kminer(at)minertech.com . IÕm not looking to hang you, I want you to become more involved in proper trail design and building. I will go out on a limb here and make this offer on behalf of everyone who works hard to maintain the singletrack trail system in the Midwest:
The IMBA TCC Trail building school is scheduled for this Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Kill Creek Park in Johnson County. The trail building schools are extremely popular and extremely valuable in order to learn the science of trail design and trail building. Make no mistake, trail building and design is a science. In fact the schools are so popular that we are now over booked with no chance any additional people to sign up.
If you are one of the people who has performed the illegal trail work on trail #11, I will pull the school training slots from myself and other experienced trail stewards who signed up for this class over a month ago. I will replace their attendance with yours. Will it make them mad? No. They will regret not being able to attend the classroom portion of this popular class, but they would much rather miss out on that opportunity than to miss out on the opportunity to bring more people in to Mountain Biking, Inc. in the Midwest and teach everyone proper trail building and design techniques.
Thank you for your time. Please forward this email to as many people as you know who ride bikes on singletrack in the Midwestern United States.
Sincerely,
Ken Miner
Kansas State Representative - International Mountain Bicycling Association
Board Member - Earth Riders Trails Association
Trail Builder
Mountain Biker
==============================================
kurt lange
==============================================
All,
The following letter is one that I posted to a number of BB lists and sent directly to individuals throughout the Midwest in response to a case of trail sanitation in Kansas City.
A number of people responded to me and suggested that I send the email out further, as the content really applies to any trail system.
Based on their request, I am posting here for you; the tribe, the choir, the CEO's and Presidents of Mountain Biking USA. If you are involved in trail design, trail building or trail maintainence feel free to use this letter in part or whole the next time an issue of trail sanitation occurs on your trails.
I will warn you, the letter is long. If you aren't involved on advocacy or giving back to the sport, you will most likely find it boring. If you are involved in advocacy or gicing back to the sport, then you too may find it boring. Hopefully some of you will find some benefit in the spirit of the message.
Have a great day.
Ken
An Open Letter To Cyclists Regarding Illegal Trail Work
As many of us know, we've recently been hit with the dumbing down of an expert trail at Kansas City's singletrack crown jewel, Landahl Forest Preserve located in Blue Springs, MO.
The purpose of this email is to try to bring those misguided (but obviously eager) individuals in to the trail building fold, rather than turning you away based on your lack of trail building and trail design knowledge.
The reason our local trail stewards, trail watchers and trail builders are so indignant over unauthorized trail maintenance is that we have put in thousands of hours of work to ensure that all trail users are able to ride challenging trails, up to their skill level. It's not enough that the trails are challenging. The REALLY challenging task put before trail designers, trail stewards, trail watchers and trail builders is that the trails are sustainable.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association recognizes the trails in and around the Kansas City Metropolitan Area as some of the best urban singletrack trails in the world. In the World!! We are systematically building a singletrack trail system that will be the model for global urban trail opportunities.
Sustainable trails are the key to our ability to provide the best urban system in the world. If our trails aren't sustainable, then land managers won't allow us to build any more trails on their land. If you spend a few minutes to think about this, it really makes sense:
<b>THE BEST URBAN SINGLETRACK SYSTEM IN THE WORLD </b>
The singletrack trail system in this part of the country is set up with very specific design criteria. Every single one of the trail designers and trail stewards for every singletrack track trail system in the area communicate with each other before designing trail. They design trails for specific purposes and to meet specific trail user needs. If there is an area need for a specific type of trail, the trail designers will build that type of trail in to the next singletrack trail they build, provided that the terrain can support it.
This allows us to meet the needs of all trail users from beginners to expert riders and hikers. Trail #11 at Landahl was designed and built specifically to be a challenging trail for expert mountain bikers. There are other trails at Landahl, Blue River Parkway, Independence and Lee's Summit that are designed to be less technical to meet the needs of mountain bikers and hikers who arenÕt looking for an expert trail.
<b>DAMAGING THE ENVIRONMENT </b>
The real crux of the dumbing down of trails is this: If you are removing obstacles without the consent of the trail designer, the trail steward or the designated trail watcher; then you are causing environmental damage to the trails.
The climb up Trail #11 is steep and difficult. It was also sustainable due to the high concentration of rocks on the trail. By removing the rocks, there is only exposed soil left, which will wash away with rain water rushing over the dirt. The rocks that were removed from the trail anchored the soil and protected the trail from erosion due to wind and rain. Now that the anchors at the top of the trail have been removed, it is simply a matter of time until the trail begins to erode.
When the trail erodes, we will have to reroute the trail. Rerouting the trail will require a few hundred hours to accomplish and it will be expensive: For example, if the reroute is 100 feet long, the cost will be over $200. This is time and money that will pull resources away from our focus of new singletrack trails to the Midwestern Singletrack system.
In addition to costing time and money, illegal trail work can lead to strained relationships with the land managers. We are not entitled to the land on which we build trails. Everyone in the trail building and designing community works extremely hard to ensure that the primary needs of the land managers are met:
- Protect the land
- Increase park or land usage while protecting the environment
- Protect the environment and increase park usage at little or no cost due to shoestring budgets.
By removing obstacles and changing the trail design without the expertise to do so, people jeopardize the relationships we've built with land managers and ultimately, jeopardize mountain biking access to singletrack. Illegal trail building damages our relationship with land managers because we have committed to protect the land on which we build trails. Removing obstacles and changing the trails damages the land and ultimately erodes mountain bikerÕs credibility with land managers.
<b>WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE</b>
OK, so I think I've beaten this horse enough. Here is the deal: If, or someone you know has performed this illegal trail work, please donÕt stop. That's right, DON'T stop. Do, however, get involved with trail building and trail design before you perform any more trail maintenance. We really need your help. Our biggest hurdle in gaining additional trails in the Midwest are trail builders. We would really appreciate your help.
Here is the deal, folks: There is an extremely dedicated group of mountain bikers who sacrifice their saddle time to ensure that anyone and everyone can ride their mountain bikes on singletrack trails in the Midwest.
- These tireless volunteers are the ones that you see hefting shovels and rakes as you ride on trails that you didn't build.
- They are the people who show up to parks meetings and "really seem to have their stuff together" when discussing trails and trail issues with land managers.
- They are the people who are members of Earth Riders, Dirt Slave, Trips for Kids, the Midwest Mountain Bike Patrol, IMBA and the Missouri Bicycle Federation.
- They are the ones who are outraged when someone makes changes to the trails that ultimately damage mountain biking opportunities for the entire area.
- They are the CEO's, the Presidents, the Vice Presidents and the General Managers of "Mountain Biking Incorporated" in the Midwest.
Spoken simply, they are the people who make it happen. Without them, there are NO TRAILS!! Period! End of story.
The leaders of Mountain Biking, Inc. in the Midwest want you to join the team. Any illegal trails or trail work that you may have done is water under the bridge at this point. The damage to Trail #11 cannot be undone.
Here is the offer: Any people responsible for the damage they unknowingly caused can email me directly at kminer(at)minertech.com . IÕm not looking to hang you, I want you to become more involved in proper trail design and building. I will go out on a limb here and make this offer on behalf of everyone who works hard to maintain the singletrack trail system in the Midwest:
The IMBA TCC Trail building school is scheduled for this Saturday from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. at Kill Creek Park in Johnson County. The trail building schools are extremely popular and extremely valuable in order to learn the science of trail design and trail building. Make no mistake, trail building and design is a science. In fact the schools are so popular that we are now over booked with no chance any additional people to sign up.
If you are one of the people who has performed the illegal trail work on trail #11, I will pull the school training slots from myself and other experienced trail stewards who signed up for this class over a month ago. I will replace their attendance with yours. Will it make them mad? No. They will regret not being able to attend the classroom portion of this popular class, but they would much rather miss out on that opportunity than to miss out on the opportunity to bring more people in to Mountain Biking, Inc. in the Midwest and teach everyone proper trail building and design techniques.
Thank you for your time. Please forward this email to as many people as you know who ride bikes on singletrack in the Midwestern United States.
Sincerely,
Ken Miner
Kansas State Representative - International Mountain Bicycling Association
Board Member - Earth Riders Trails Association
Trail Builder
Mountain Biker
==============================================
kurt lange