[pct-l] MTB Mindset and The Trail

[Barry Teschlog]

Nothing lengthy about it Melanie:  
MTBers on the PCT and in wilderness destroy these spots for foot / 
hoof borne users, plain and simple.  It's them or us.  MTBers or foot borne 
users.

As far as safety is concerned - absolutely.  The different uses (MTBs versus 
foot traffic) are in conflict - when both are present, it's unsafe to the foot 
powered users.  As a result, foot powered users tend to avoid those areas where 
MTBers are allowed / dominate (see above - them or us).

But fundamentally, keeping MTBers out of wilderness isn't about safety, it's 
about aesthetics and values.  There is nothing inherently unsafe (that I can 
think of off the top of my head) about a MTBer riding on a dedicated MTB trail 
through the wilderness. .What it DOES do is to destroy the character of 
wilderness by introducing a modern mechanical mode of transport - not to mention 
the noise....the visual blight.....the speed of movement.......it destroys all 
those things that make wilderness wild, the very essence of what wilderness is 
supposed to be as described in the Act is ruined by MTBs.  


Those who want wilderness, seek wild spaces untrammled by man.  As it was, 150 
years ago.  A gaggle of gaudy MTBers, with squealing brakes, flashing through 
the country side at 20 MPH is hardly a scene that Lewis and Clark would have 
seen.  A solitary man, walking with a ruck on his back or riding his 
horse....certainly.




________________________________
From: Melanie Clarke <melaniekclarke at gmail.com>
To: Barry Teschlog <tokencivilian at yahoo.com>
Cc: pct-l at backcountry.net
Sent: Mon, November 1, 2010 12:50:45 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] MTB Mindset and The Trail

Dear PCT,

What you said is correct, however, I'm afraid this argument would be lost on the 
general public and elected officials voting for policy.  Lengthy arguments just 
kind of make people's eyes glaze over and they stop listening.  Short 
sensationalistic sound bites work better to get people's attention.  We need to 
make this short, sweet and something they can't argue about; SAFETY!  I really 
liked Wes Rose's freeway analogy.  That is something people can identify with.  
Most people have absolutely no idea about hiking in the back country.  We have 
to give them something they can relate to.  After we have some one's attention, 
then we can elaborate with the more aesthetic arguments.  Come on, SAFETY is our 
biggest issue anyway!  Most of us think nothing of hiking far away from humanity 
with minimal gear, equipment, 30 degree sleeping bags, no tent, no one to rely 
on except the strength of our bodies etc. and we don't feel like our lives are 
in danger.  Turning a blind corner on a narrow trail facing down a 20mph 
mountain bike and we just see our lives flashing before us!

Let's decide as a group to unite behind a quick soundbite that can motivate 
people who have no idea what we do!  Let me give an example.  No one cared about 
what milk they drank as milk was healthy.  Then they compared drinking a cup of 
whole milk to eating 9 pieces of bacon and that woke everyone up to what we were 
doing to our bodies!  Instead of 9 pieces of bacon we can use Wes Rose's idiot 
who is barreling down the wrong side of the freeway.  That explains the 
situation quite nicely and what we as hikers face!

Keep it simple, most people are pretty apathetic.  I think this is our best 
strategy for winning and educating the public.  Feel free to comment and maybe 
we can come up with better or other strategies!

Melanie