[mtbikermark]

This morning I had a confrontation with a local land owner who made it abundantly clear that he felt that I was trespassing on a private dirt road (that leads to one of the only substantial trails in our area).

I was very polite and diplomatic in my response as I explained that I am a long time resident of the area and have ridden this road 100's of times over the past 10 years to access a trail without a single incident with any other landowner. It didn't take long to figure out that he was not interested in discussion...I just needed to leave.

On my way out (after I went ahead and rode the trail), I encountered another owner cutting wood. I stopped and asked him his thoughts on my riding my bike on that road. He was very friendly and stated that as long as I kept the cattle gates closed He didn't see a problem with it (by the way, this has been the response of every owner I've talked to in the area over the years).

When I told him about my earlier confrontation, he knew exactly who I was talking about and said that this particular guy has only recently bought the land and is a "rather unpleasant fellow."

So...anyone have any ideas on how I can go about protecting my access to this trail? The road is an easement that connects several properties to the main road. I want to go about this the best possible way without giving mountain bikers a bad name.

 

[sanjuro]

Unfortunately, say goodbye to your trail access...

EDIT: I would confirm who exactly owns this road and who is allowed on it.

 

[Dirty]

Unfortunately, say goodbye to your trail access...

EDIT: I would confirm who exactly owns this road and who is allowed on it.

 

[nikwho]

if someone else owns a partial easement on that part of the road, and its not totally his, ask the other property owner for thier permission. i doubt he has complete and total control over the road. especially if if accesses other properties... so, if someone else has an easement, get thier permission and tell him to kick rocks, or pound sand.....you get the idea.... i would be willing to bet that there is a way around it... or just do a little recon work and find out when he's home and jsut time your rides accordingly!

 

[johnbryanpeters]

If the public has been using the road for ten years, the use by itself has probably created a legal right of way.

 

[SkaredShtles]

If the public has been using the road for ten years, the use by itself has probably created a legal right of way.

Where do you live? In England?

 

[1TrackMind]

if someone else owns a partial easement on that part of the road, and its not totally his, ask the other property owner for thier permission. i doubt he has complete and total control over the road. especially if if accesses other properties... so, if someone else has an easement, get thier permission and tell him to kick rocks, or pound sand.....you get the idea.... i would be willing to bet that there is a way around it... or just do a little recon work and find out when he's home and jsut time your rides accordingly!

I concur.....this was a big problem in Vermont in the later years i was there. People moving up and kicking locals off of commonly used passages. Do some reserach and tell this jackwipe to shove it. Sounds like the type of old man thatll shoot someones kid on his property one day and claim it was his right.

 

[splat]

Find out which house is his , bring him a bottle of scotch to welcome him to the neighborhood.

 

[Mike Stone]

I don't know how things work in CA, but here in the northeast the first step would be a trip to town hall to find out if the road has a public right of way. There are loads of old town roads that have fallen into disuse and are now barely trails, that still have a public right of way. Also, if there are property owners on both sides of the road, typically either one can give permission to use the road. I have used this tact on right of way issues before, by getting permission from the other landowner.

It has also been my experience that the more beligerant and out of control a landowner is, the more likely that he or she is in the wrong.

Also, you may want to contact CORVA, Blue Ribbon Coalition, IMBA, and/or United Four Wheel Drive Assn. At the risk of getting beat over the head with an 853 tube, the ORV organizations have attorneys and specialists who have been dealing with these issues for decades. The MTBers are likely to run into more of these problems because many of the same people who don't like ORV access, also don't like MTB access... they just dislike ORV access more.