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Illegal Trails in Portland Found

Oct 23, 2009
73
0
Hillsboro
Anyone read this ridiculous article or hear the broadcast from KATU news. If so, why hasn't the mountain bike community here in Portland put together a statement to show the public the other side of the story. Mountain biking, freeriding, and DH are all getting dragged through the mud and slandered due to some very very poor news reporting.

There are 4 stories on the website, all with different responses.

http://www.katu.com/outdoors/featured/85143537.html

http://northwestportland.katu.com/content/rogue-mountain-bikers-build-illegal-trails-forest-park

http://www.katu.com/outdoors/featured/85382337.html

http://northwestportland.katu.com/content/big-trouble-whoever-damaged-forest-park

I could rant and rave about my personal discontent about Portland and the people who live here, but I won't, instead I'll leave another link to a community formed in my home town who worked together with the Forest Service, local people(opposition and supporters), and actually received Gov Grant money to help neutralize the illegal trail building and build sustainable trail in Teton County. This is what mature and open minded people can do to continually make our sport thrive and prosper. Mind you this was all done, in my opinion, in some of the most beautiful and protected areas of the US. I can't believe the people of Portland can get so angry over a small trail system in a park that borders a city full of 600,000 plus people, river systems that are horribly polluted, and clear cutting across the entire state. I fly over these mountains all the time and I see the logging industries swath of destruction zones that are one of the worst eye sores but more importantly is completely devastating to the environment and ecosystem...but I don't see KATU news or the autobahn society out there writing articles about the MASSIVE destruction and how loggers are Bad People or how they should be punished or blah, blah, blah, blah....Soooo **** you in the neck Portland :)


http://www.tetonfreedomrider.org/ - :thumb:

On the flip side, yes, some mystery people cut some trails with out permission in a park. That was a no-no and should have assumed that sooner or later they would get caught with the amount of foot traffic up there and the massive restriction to bikes that is already in place. So, lesson learned and it's time to take a new approach to this if we want this sport to be in the area. So I'm urging all cyclists in this and surrounding communities to flood KATU news with letters and emails regarding their one sided news reporting and I'm hoping that some of the organizations around here release a statement in response to this most recent tarnishing of the mountain bike culture, community, you, me, and the love of the sport.
 
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Oct 23, 2009
73
0
Hillsboro
I understand, I should watch more south park...or beat those hippies with a Louisville slugger. I know this has, is, and will continue to be beating a dead horse, but things can be made better and I'm willing to continue talks with area governments to get trails built. If not, well then this city will continue to see illegals built..not by me of course. We've actually been working with Hillsboro City to help with funding for a new free ride training park..and dirt jump park in Hillsboro. It's a long ways from building trails in Forest Park, but it's a start.
 

dklopp

Chimp
May 1, 2007
83
0
Carnation/Spokane, WA, USA
that kind of stuff makes me mad too. there is no way there is $80k in damages from a bike trail. if left alone for a few months it would look like it was untouched. i hate how the government will even consider spending so much money on something that can be healed in a short amount of time. and what would they do to repair it anyways, transplant ferns? i mean come on. that said though, it would have been better to approach building trails through the proper legal channels to avoid this (such as with Duthie and Colonnade).

(btw, the comments for the 3rd news link make me angry with some of the ignorant people we have to deal with, but i am trying to be reasonable in my opinion and not be a jacka**)
 

muddy beast

Turbo Monkey
Nov 26, 2005
1,815
0
Blah that Jeepers guy...he's getting to me. Considering I'm also on the Jeep/4x4 side of the "illegal" trails track, he's wrong when he says 99.99% of ORV users use it properly and LEGALLY. In fact, I'd say only 75% AT BEST wheel legally all the time. I can't believe he's trying to say Jeeps/quads are less of an impact then bikes too, that's ridiculously ignorant. But I can't post my replies on there without making an account, so I just hope he sees this message.

Another thing I don't get is all this crap from the "hikers" who say all the bikers should be held responsible for others actions. With the attitude, I suppose I should blame all the hikers for all the short cuts and plant erosion from rest stops on trails dozens of "city" people hike everyday and all the people who hike and don't pay for a pass? I think hikers in general need to man up for being just as responsible for illegal and irresponsible trail use as they claim the bikers are being (which I don't believe MOST are). The Sierra club is ultimately who I blame for the hugely inaccurate facts regarding trail USE and trail DESTRUCTION.

Like my bumper says, "Keep public lands open to the public."


^And before anyone says anything, yes this was legal wheeling in a place I've spent over 20 hours of volunteer work in a location I've spent my own money to help preserve.

~Scott

P.S. This is coming from a responsible user of both bikes and Jeeps.
 
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Uruk-hai

Monkey
Oct 13, 2004
144
0
The 'Quah
I've heard it said that to put into perspective the impact that a singletrack trail has on it's surrounding environment go to your backyard and lay out a single strand of dental floss across your lawn...and even at that the floss to lawn ratio is probably larger than the trail to forest ratio. My point is that it is incredibly hard for me to swallow the claims made by other user groups stating the incredible damage mountain bikes do to the environment. And claims of permanent damage? Please...

Of course, I'm no environmental scientist so I clearly don't know anything about what I'm talking about.

BTW, I am NOT advocating illegal trail building...that's a separate issue in my mind.
 
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fuzzycatnuts

Monkey
Dec 14, 2005
944
0
I like how they messure the little grove and the ground and then point out that the damage was caused by a person jumping a mountain bike. Compair that to a animail track or even building a fence.

Forest Park does not have 30% bike trails it has 29.9% fireroads and a tiny tiny single track that must be less than .1% of the trails in the park. These people have no idea what mountain biking really is, they interview a person on a road bike wtf??
 

Spahman

Monkey
Dec 13, 2006
502
0
Arlington
People Are Afraid Of What They Don’t Understand..


jesus look at this geezers comment
"So-called "free riding" is not only destroying trails and forests, but it's also extremely stupid and dangerous.
But with Oregon Field Guide promoting it as a ground-breaking 'extreme' sport worthy of growth, it's no wonder punks with nothing better to do destroy nature like this."
 
Oct 23, 2009
73
0
Hillsboro
Funny story from today at the zoo. Me and a couple of friends were standing at the bottom of a trail(on bikes) on the paved road when a guy walks across the trail above us and yells, "HEY! Thanks for fuc*ing up the trails". We got a kick out of it. More proof of uneducated, brainwashed idiots in and around the zoo, forest park, etc. I think we are going to buy some fake police uniforms, you know, super tight spandex with some dog the bounty hunter stars hanging from our necks and enforce the trails..because "These here trails are now designated one way traffic...down... and only bikes ma'am, so please remove your shoes to lessen the impact while you march off this trail".
 

downhillracer

Turbo Monkey
Jan 28, 2005
1,230
0
Sammamish, WA
Funny story from today at the zoo. Me and a couple of friends were standing at the bottom of a trail(on bikes) on the paved road when a guy walks across the trail above us and yells, "HEY! Thanks for fuc*ing up the trails". We got a kick out of it. More proof of uneducated, brainwashed idiots in and around the zoo, forest park, etc. I think we are going to buy some fake police uniforms, you know, super tight spandex with some dog the bounty hunter stars hanging from our necks and enforce the trails..because "These here trails are now designated one way traffic...down... and only bikes ma'am, so please remove your shoes to lessen the impact while you march off this trail".
hahahahahahaha. yes please!