Photos by Nic Genovese and Fraser BrittonA wise man once said that all good things must come to an end, and sadly, today was that day for a revered trail system outside of Bellingham, Washington. The North Fork trails, as they have come to be known, are a network of trails built and maintained by some of the most dedicated builders in the mountain bike world. State government has decided it can no longer cast a blind eye towards unsanctioned trails on government property due to a collection of reasons and as such, for now, the Fork is being de-commissioned and gated off. Starting Monday, tickets will be issued to anyone caught riding in the area.
The local community of mountain bikers in the area is both strong and vocal, and is coming together to attempt to work with the state to save the trails. With only 2 days of guaranteed access to go however, there was only one thing left to do: shred the Fork harder than it had ever been shredded before.
I won't fight about Obama here, but I am happy to discuss trail policy.
They did this in my home town of PG. They put up barricades and random piles of garbage around the entrance to make it so you can't enter.
The other way is around the outer fence near a smelly ass garbage dump but now they lock the gates so it's a very long walk to the hill now. If that's not enough you're also considered "trespassers" even though no one gave two sh**s about the hundreds of people biking there before. Everyone there always kept the area clean and we greatly respected our biking environment........ But good thing we can have yet another golf course that no one will use.
Hell I would ride that place anyways. Don't let them beat you down. Evil only triumphs when good men do nothing
Thanks,
Liam Baker,
PGCC - Pidherny Director
But still , this whole situation sucks. I would say to the builders and riders to stand up. Maybe a petition of sorts to make it perfectly legal? I wouldn't just let them take all that away from the people who made it all happen
But if its going to get clear cut soon there is nothing you can do really.
If anyone wants to get in contact with someone who has succesfuly brought back a Mountains Classic (Rennies handywork anyone?) then message me and I'll pass the info on. He has worked closely with NPWS to learn the right things to do/say/attend/ask to get what he wants from local governments. I'm sure there is something we can share between us even for the better of the riding communtites on both continents.
I bought 9mm ammo at Sports Authority the other day, and they wouldn't let me use a gift certificate. The dude had the audacity to tell me it was Obama's fault. No, it's your store's policy dipshit!
basically, I replied to the initial comment which was encouraging people to break the law in a country that arguably just endorsed direct sovereignty on a national scale, but I assume not everyone online has taken political science and may not be familiar with Foucault so I figured it'd be a good idea to include a bit of a description.
Checkout this massive landslide, that dammed Racehorse Creek, raised the creek level 100ft, until it finally broke the dam, carvinf out the creek and delivering thousands of tons of sediment into the Nooksack River. I'm sure that helped the Salmon Recovery....
www.flickr.com/photos/wastatednr/3303618505
1.Same authorities that make bans for MTB allow clearcuts
2.MTBikers can fk up nature as well - it just depends how much you give as we are great at taking
"DNR is responsible for sustainably managing more than 2.9 million acres of state trust lands and 2.6 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands. Most of these lands earn revenue for trust beneficiaries."
"While DNR will be temporarily closing the area to repair the damage caused by these unauthorized trails, there are many other opportunities to recreate on DNR-managed lands in the area. The Blanchard State Forest is open for recreational use, which includes several cross country bike trails developed by DNR that are safe for the user and protect trust assets and the environment. "
For some reason "earn revenue for trust beneficiaries" makes my stomach turn, then reinforcing it with why don't you play on our other pieces of land (Blanchard) that are not economical for logging, ie "safe for the user and protect trust assets and the environment"
Sighh.... cast upon deaf ears, I guess.
Total BS. Money clouds the ability to see anything beautiful. Its just bigger houses, fatter guts and bigger cars for company owners. Never preserve. Just destroy.
He'll probably fire a rifle at you ("I have every right to defend the right of private property from those lazy biker parasites"), or if you're lucky, let you build the trails and then charge you for the pleasure of riding them...
I.e. stop complaining about the liberals, the government, etc, etc. If that property belonged to some big forestry corporation, you probably wouldn't be able to ride it anyway.
Thank you!
Nice photos Fraser, except for the first one of the midgets mud wrestling
www.komonews.com/news/local/State-removes-illegal-biking-trails-jumps-from-state-land-146035485.html?tab=video&c=y
Please, if you haven't already, send emails and letters to our legislators.
www.pinkbike.com/news/Help-Save-North-fork-trails-whatcom-county-2012.html
Also, I doubt there are many law enforcement officers out there who would consider enforcing this a good use of their time, its not going to help keep the roads or the cities safer in any way.
www.pinkbike.com/news/Help-Save-North-fork-trails-whatcom-county-2012.html
Very sad indeed =/
they love!!!
The timber and environmental industry is a lot more bothered about potential lawsuits than the thoughts an insignificant minority of mountain bikers.
Don't get me wrong - It's not right and I'm totally on your side but that's how it stands.
We're a passionate bunch XD