This is an open letter to those who are building more and bigger jumps at Mt.Penn/Duryea: Please stop. OK, that pissed everyone off, but please read on. I ride XC and DH and I love both of them. I'm not a "law and order" guy; I'm a "question authority" guy. But one thing I do know (and have seen evidence of in the past at Mount Gretna) is that if the people with power oppose you and your chosen sport, you will lose. I just rode past the new jumps on A-Line yesterday, and my first thought was "cool!" But later after talking to one of the guys who represents us bikers with the Reading Parks and Recreation authority I realized his point: the size and quantity of the jumps/obstacles being built on the mountain are bound to draw negative attention from people who manage the land. If any of the parks/rec management guys or gals sees those jumps the only thing they will think is "Liability!" Next thing you know they will shut down the parks to DH and XC, because they see no difference; we're all on bikes in the woods. I know it seems like no one in authority much cares about what goes on up there, but both the City and the County (who manage the area closer to Antietam Lake) have already enacted regulations limiting the use of the area for groups over 25 people. Mass quantities of shuttle riders at the Fire Tower parking lot on a past weekend brought a phone call of concern from park management to one of the mtb guys who represents us. Our days of anonymity at Mt. Penn are over, and the attention they pay us will only increase.
Anyhoo, not sure how to end this, so I guess I'll just ask that everyone that uses the Mt. Penn/Duryea area look at the big picture and act in a manner that ensures we can all ride there for a long, long time.
Thanks for reading.
Anyhoo, not sure how to end this, so I guess I'll just ask that everyone that uses the Mt. Penn/Duryea area look at the big picture and act in a manner that ensures we can all ride there for a long, long time.
Thanks for reading.