Ask a mountain biker what he does for the environment, and he will likely say "trail maintenance". He won't mention the fact that that "maintenance" was required only due to the damage that he and his friends CREATED! Nor that that trail "maintenance" entails doing a lot more damage to nature.

Photographs don't lie. See for yourself.

Mike

Date: Tue, 19 Jul 2005

From: [a friend]

Subject: Stop the Insanity!

Dear Mike: A little while ago I sent you the link to trail building pictures on the NSMBA site. I do not believe I have ever seen other mountain bike sites so "in your face" with their so-called trail building days. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to see the damage these kind of trail building techniques wreak. Even the guy from Wales (who won an award from the Queen) for his trail building and tourism was aghast at the MESS on our beautiful North Shore Alpine forest land. He was not impressed at the NSMBA, etc. and leadership of the municipalities. Like I said before, the NSMBA seems to be calling the shots, and getting away with it's massacre of our woods.

Here is the link: http://www.nsmba.bc.ca/cms/index.php?option=displaypage&Itemid=80&op=page&SubMenu=

Pass it all around to your supporters around the world to expose this travesty called "trail building" by the NSMBA and other mountain bikers. Comments on the pictures and "trail building" techniques are welcome. I will forward these comments onto our Mayor and Councillors (I do not know if it will do any good?). The farther these awful trail building pictures go, with criticism attached, the better to expose the NSMBA, IMBA, and mountain bikers in general. Rock armouring takes rocks from the forest floor, destroying habitat. Tree roots are left bare, and many cut in the process of trailbuilding, leaving the tree exposed to disease and rot. And this cycle gets repeated every time we have very heavy rains in our temperate Alpine rain forests, as "gold dirt" gets washed out, silting our streams, ponds, etc. When they go back to repairing the rain damage, they have to find more dirt (more trees damaged for it, etc.) It is an endless cycle, and they are rock armouring all trails, etc. It is disgusting the lack of backbone by our municipal leadership.

This is just a sample of what you will see if you click on various trailbuilding venues on the red hilighted words on the "Volunteer Labour Summary" page. This is an example of Griffen (a purposeful misspell of "Griffin", just outside our local park: (Note all the exposed and cut roots; where do you think they get all the "gold dirt" from; and where did all the glacial rocks come from? Griffen trail washed out about 10 months later due to heavy rains, and has been "repaired" a couple times since --- the trail lasting 20 years?? ---Idiots!) The commentary states it all:

Griffen Trail Day - May 16th 2004 (http://www.nsmba.bc.ca/traildaypics/griffentdmay04/griffenmay04.htm).

Thanks to Dan at ON TOP for the food and sponsoring the Griffen Trail day! Thanks to the 46 Volunteers that came out and hauled all the rocks to bring this trail back to its former glory! Hauling rocks is hard, but necessary work to make this trail last the next 20 years for our riding enjoyment! [Actually, this trail won't last even a single season. Mike]