Here on Mt.
Tamalpais,
where I do lots of volunteer trail work, mountain bikers never
volunteer to help repair the damage they do by riding illegally on the
trails. Nor do they ever volunteer to repair the damage they do by creating
illegal trails and all the illegal and destructive jumps and stunts they build.
Not to mention the "swoops" off the fire roads that are everywhere on
Tam. In fact, Jim Jacobsen and the BTC of Marin has never even apologized for
all the negative and frightening encounters others have had with mountain
bikers screaming down hills at 35 mph, much less offered to pay for any
injuries they have caused. Nor has the BTC ever volunteered to rehab the
illegal trails that Michael Moore, a BTC leader, was caught building on several
different public lands, including Point Reyes National Seashore land.
Well, gosh, it must be nice being holier-than-thou, at least
until the truth comes out. You guys are like the Bush administration: Don't
listen to anybody else, we'll just talk to each other and reinforce our own
version of reality. The reality is that I never see hikers cutting switchbacks,
but bikers always cut or round out switchbacks so as not to slow down,
defeating the purpose of a switchback which is to run the water off the trail.
Carlo Gardin
PS- Yes , I love to bike on Mt. Tam, but sometimes I
want to wear a face shield so people don't associate me with people like the
BTC or your group.