VERY bad news for Mt. Beacon...

[tom church]

So yesterday the City of Beacon and Scenic Hudson Donated 1,200 Acres of land including the entire Mt. Beacon area and North up to I-84 to the Hudson Highlands State Park.

This means that we are now officially prohibited from riding up there.

I would like to change this. I am going to contact Mike from IMBA this weekend to try and set up a meeting to discuss options on how to proceed. I am hoping to get support from both the Fats and WMBA on this...I've been working on a plan for a while since this was pretty inevitable.

More info to follow...

Tom

[bike this]

Imagine that...
No more Beacon rides...

I've been riding on that Mtn since I was 7 years old, and b4 that
i was sleigh riding on the ski slopes. I grew up a block away from the ski lodge. To think I can't ride there anymore, is devastating. Let me know what I can do....
_________________
Shut up and ride.!

[Tim845]

There's some heavy motorized activity up there, its infuriating to lose bicycle access.
I am struck by what excluding mtb's is based on...Not science or incidents
Its not as if 60,000 acres in Bear Mt. and Harriman, etc being closed to bikes IS ENOUGH?!!
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Pedal, b*tches!!

[trekkie]

it's to bad they treat mtb as outlaws or something
_________________
Get out and ride..... you'll love it
group rides are the snizzle !!!!
"mom can you take off my training wheels i want to ride the skinnys"....mini trekkie FTF 2008

[pinklewurst (tschneller)]

First thing, don't give up hope. Write a letter, a real one on paper, that congratulates the powers that be on the donation. Find out who is going to be the authority. Its new so they'll probably start with a new land manager. Then get involved any way you can with trail marking and maintenance. Try to get to any meetings that the park holds. Think like they do and not like a poacher. Present yourselves as locals and experts of the terrain.Volunteer for anything. Tell them you will watch out for illegal motorized use. Explain that you "hike" the area a lot and sometimes bike it. Once you become a familiar face you can change a lot of attitudes. Keep it open for yourselves first and then work on opening it for all of us. If you think a lot of letters will help we can start writing.
Scenic Hudson purchased Shaupeneake Ridge a few years ago and we thought there would be no way they would allow bikes. But they do...
Good luck! This is why we formed the club.
Tom Schneller
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Definition of Stinky: My gloves!

[tom church]

Un fortunatly this is not a new park it is being added onto an already anti-mtb run park that the NY/NJ Trail Conf has a lot of influence over. I plan to do exactly what you said though...be professional. Being a Land Surveyor I deal with land owners and land managers every day.

Tom

[sick4surf]

Just saw this post.

I'll send an e-mail to my contact at NY/NJ Trails Conference and find out what their plans are.

At our last Trails Council Meeting we discussed how beneficial it would be to allow bicycles on the Highlands trail and extention. There is hope.

First we need to find out if there are objections to bicycle use.

Here is the press release:

http://www.nysparks.state.ny.us/news/press/view.asp?pressID=665

I am meeting with the head planners of NYS Parks at the end of next month.

What I need to know is: Were the trails ever official for bikes?
_________________
Michael Vitti
CLIMB President
http://www.climbonline.org
Trips for Kids Affiliate
NY State Trails Council Member

[tom church]

I don't think so...I think we could ride up there on the Beacon side of things (not in the State Park) only because there where no rules saying we couldn't.

Tom

[bike this]

I've never seen a no biking sign.
_________________
Shut up and ride.!

[Tim845]

I saw a few No Bike signs in the NY/NJ Conference areas. However there were different land managers each with different rules up there.

The same user exclusion seems to have occurred by the NY/NJ Trail Conference that happened @ Fahnestock State Park years ago. My understanding was they made an agreement with the state to maintain the trails, and the No Bicyclessigns went up on most (not all)trails there.

http://www.nynjtc.org/

They are a well organized group who help to conserve land and public access to trails. However, they are largely pro-hiker at the exclusion of mt bicycling. Another example is their stance on the Catskill Master Plan that if finalized may reverse mtb access to mean all trails closed to mtb unless designated otherwise.
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Pedal, b*tches!!

[sick4surf]

Here's the story:

The new park manager for Mt Beacon will most likely be Bill Bauman who currently manages Fahnestock State Park. He probably is overworked and under staffed like most park managers and would love to have volunteers help maintain the trails.

If you decide to seek access, what mountain bike club wants to take on maintenance of the trails at Fahnestock as well as Mt Beacon?

BTW regarding single track trail access: the NY/NJTC desires that single track trails be designated for single use. It reduces conflicts. Besides, you guys have tons of room for dual trail systems.

Even though we have single track multi use trails on LI that are successfull...there are always the one or two idiots that ruin it for everyone.

Let me know if you need more info.
_________________
Michael Vitti
CLIMB President
http://www.climbonline.org
Trips for Kids Affiliate
NY State Trails Council Member

[bike this]

[Tim845]

[sick4surf]

It doesn't have to be a club but if you start a club, you would have more clout and there are more resources available for clubs. It can be informal to start off.

How to start a MTB club:

http://www.imba.com/resources/organizing/club_start.html

BTW you can get a free DVD and some pamphlets about trail building and maintenance from the government. Get the dvd, the trail maintenance handbook and the info on wetlands trails:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/trailpub.htm

Also pick up the IMBA books if your serious:

https://secure2.convio.net/imba/site/Ecommerce/405689526?JServSessionIdr004=ioewofxfm3.app6b&FOLDER=1032&store_id=1121

Others on this board can tell you what's involved in maintenance, basically keeping the trails clean from trash, clear from trail growth and minimize puddles and erosion. This is a valuable service. In our area about 10 miles of trails equals about 400 hours of maintenance x $20 per hour (minimum wage) = $8,000.00 per season. That's how much the park saves by having you maintain their trails.

(minimum wage plus benefits equals about $20 per hour)

---------------------

When you seek access and you don't have a track record or a previous relationship with the park manager, it would be best to seek access on existing trails and only create a small amount of new trails (perhaps with IMBA's TCC crew help) necessary to create a loop system.

We work with a NY/NJ TC chapter here on LI and they always prefer a dual system. However, we always maintain a great relationship with the hiking clubs and they have helped us build trails and we have helped them as well. Sometimes a dual system is the only way you can get access. The land manager doesn't want to be a baby sitter breaking up arguments and fights from the kids on the play ground.

There are four basic concerns managers have when considering opening up MTB trails:

1. What are the environmental impacts? (erosion etc)

2. What are the social impacts? (will they play nice?)

3. Will there be liability impacts? (mountain dew dudes)

4. What type of experience do MTBers want?

------------------------

My question is this: between WMBA and FatsintheCats is there another group in between? What MTB club or bike shop exists for Putnam County? The Highland trail, Fahnstock, Mount Beacon and Ninham seem to all be in Putnam County. Am I correct?

What counties do fats cover?

Whose got Orange County with Stewart Forest and Sterling Forest?
_________________
Michael Vitti
CLIMB President
http://www.climbonline.org
Trips for Kids Affiliate
NY State Trails Council Member

[Tim845]

I believe you are correct that presently there is no organized group to cover Ninham, Mt. Beacon, and Fahnestock. Orange County's most significant maintainers are shops like Dark Horse Cycles.

However, mtb'ers from Westchester(WMBA) and Dutchess/Ulster (FITC) often frequent each area others areas as the proximities are fairly close. There isnt much of a population to draw from in between. As you know, the internet can enable us to coordinate and reach a greater number of trail users than ever before. It seems that with the large pool of concerned riders from nearby enough could be mobilized to step up and take responsibility.

It will be valuable to learn if a formal entity needs to be created to maintain and build in the Parks of concern. It seems that is what the land managers will be looking for. Using the hiking clubs as a model, members are regional and not formed by county.
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Pedal, b*tches!!

[burtondogs]

From the NYNJTC web site: http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/beechy.html

A large number of Trail Conference maintained trails have either permitted but very light use by ATBs or short sections of multiple use. Since so many hikers want nothing to do with ATBs, it is sometimes difficult for us to find maintainers for these trails. We welcome those of you who both hike and bike to take on the maintenance of these trails. Contact us and we will find such a trail for you.

Even those of you who only bike and almost never hike are welcome to join the Trail Conference and maintain a multiuse trail. We will work very hard to find such a trail for you. There are parks who would open more trails to ATBs if they had maintainers.


Also, a bunch of trail building workshops at Fahnestock here:
http://www.nynjtc.org/workshops/trailu/index.html

But then there is a bunch of anti-MTB swill here:
http://www.nynjtc.org/trails/bikes.html

Including this incorrect info:
No ATB riding allowed in any NYC park (including Staten Island)

[Tim845]

Some of those studies are fair to bikes, but I am surprised to see this slanted rant still up @ their site:
http://www.efn.org/~k_mccree/MtBikes.html
Yes, cutting switchbacks and skidding are bad, but that last pic caused by bikes?! And the one that turned into a ditch would have without any user on it because its down a fall line! Sorry, ranting
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Pedal, b*tches!!

[firemandivi]

[Tim845]

http://www.ricesigns.com/buy/no_bicycles_signs.htm

_________________
Pedal, b*tches!!

[sick4surf]

They should remove that antiquated info from the website. It's no longer valid. Intelligent, sophisticated people should use facts to base such decision making. Here is the latest research that shows "Wheels and Heels" make the same impact:

http://www.imba.com/resources/science/index.html

This study was done by a hiking club:

http://www.imba.com/resources/science/trail_shock.html

But what...there's more...alot more:

http://www.imba.com/resources/science/index.html
_________________
Michael Vitti
CLIMB President
http://www.climbonline.org
Trips for Kids Affiliate
NY State Trails Council Member