The March 30 edition of the Colorado Daily featured some interesting bike-related articles that, when read together, raise some questions about our responsibilities as cyclists. One article outlines the continuing debates over trail use in the open space lands west of Boulder. In these debates, mountain bikes are a constant point of controversy, with differing trail users arguing for or against the inclusion of cyclists on certain trails. The usual concerns of this debate revolve around wear and tear to the trail and trail-user interactions. Over the past couple years, as this debate has continued, the mountain biking community has obviously worked to assert their position as responsible trail users with the right to as many trails as possible.
With all this going on, it seems especially important for mountain bikers to demonstrate the feasibility of multi-use trails by cycling actively and responsibly, yet on literally the very next page after the trail use debate article, there was a write-up about the discovery of an illegally-built mountain bike trail (see the video here). This trail was built in a protected habitat zone, designated as off limits to trails of any sort.
It is interesting to read these articles back-to-back, the one outlining the need for mountain bike responsibility, the other outlining an instance of mountain bike irresponsibility. Responsible mountain biking does not mean boring or somehow less intense cycling, it just means riding in such a way that we can the enjoy the trails in our way while also allowing anyone else to enjoy the same trails in their way, and hopefully in the long run, such cooperation will allow for the maximum degree of mountain bike trail access.
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