Umm, can you please tell me where you can get a bike for 5k. I'd like to save some money for a new Rzc helicopter next time…

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Yeah, that'll work…. To get Cowels closed to all mountain biking.

Yesterday I had to go out to Grossmont College on some football related business. Just for fun I stopped off at MTRP and asked about this immenant closure. I was told there are no plans to close any trails at the moment…

But the trail closure might be classified, or it might be temporary and for some other preventative purpose. Who knows…

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not so sure. ocd, an avid trails advocate at mtrp, raised questions in an mtrp meeting regarding 'just where do you suppose those displaced mtn bikers will go when the spring trails are closed?'



so far the responses from 'sources' are all over the map. i hope you're correct on this d.

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Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. ~Milan Kundera

I hope so as well.

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I would like to start by saying I have no idea if it is true about these trails being closed- I hope that they are not going to close. Truth is these trails aren't really even the best trails by any means, but they are trails and single track trails at that. I would not be surprised if they did close, would anyone really be that surprised. anyway..

I have just returned from a field trip to the DF&G office whose address is listed earlier in this thread. The department of fish and games office has no knowledge of any of these areas planned closure. I have not received my follow up phone call from earlier, but don't worry I'll keep ya posted.

I do understand that it is very likely that it is actually planned, but that they are not talking about it yet.

I just talked with one of the Rangers at the visitor center and he said they will be putting up signs as early as next week. He said that they're mandated because of the planning process to curtail illegal use of the land. I asked him why he couldn't keep the user bilt and user maintained trail system that is so badly needed in the area open. The Ranger ignored my comment. There some good ideas here about creating mayhem over at Cowles Mountain, also start calling the visitor center and talking to the Ranger, use up some of his time make your complaints,get involved.

usa cycling

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Ambition is a poor excuse for not having sense enough to be lazy. ~Milan Kundera

The reason the dolts at MTRP are not saying they are closing any trails is simple. They never opened any. Their perspective: Mtbikers have been trespassing, now lets stop them

I say we have regularly scheduled ride at the grasslands loop. How about 100+ riders all taking some wonderful laps on that glorious trail network

well.. that sucks! I really wanted to believe, but knew damn well we were fucked. So long for now spring canyon.

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"We'll ride it until they pave it."

-Big Clyde

This is outside of park boundaries though, so why would they care? Unless, however, there's another agenda that hasn't come to light. I'm really interested to know what MTRP's angle is here.

It's currently outside of park boundaries, but the area is part a proposed expansion of the park, known as the East Elliott Expansion. I'm not sure what the timeframe is for the expansion, but "decommissioning" any existing social trails may be on their to-do list and could be what's driving the current situation.


Obviously, the current social trails are totally inadequate - some of them are (gasp!) only 18" wide! The land they're on must be rehabilitated back to its natural state, so they can bring in work crews to build proper trails, which, ideally, will be nice and smooth, 8-10 feet wide, surfaced with DG and lined with split-rail fencing - all in keeping with MTRP's standard trail guidelines.



Grrrrr....

Assuming all this is accurate, which from what I was told yesterday it isn't.

Who will write these tickets?

The park rangers at MTRP aren't really "Rangers". At least that's my understanding.
They aren't LEO's, there just city employees.

Much like when I was in college and home in Montana for the summer I worked for BLM and/or the Forest Service on fire crews. With BLM part of our job was helping to police a couple BLM camp grounds in the area around Ennis Mont.

Basically we "enforced" camp ground rules. But there wasn't much we could really do short of letting people know they were violating rule, most of which were state or Federal laws BTW and ask them to leave if necessary.

But we had no real legal authority. If we couldn't get compliance and we needed to we had to call the Sherif, state police, Mont. F&G (back then) or a Forest Service Ranger.

In other words a law enforcement officer. Which is probably why F&G is writing tickets at DMM, because the "rangers" aren't Rangers in the real since of the word.

So, who will respond and write Tess tickets? Since some of the area is city property it might be SDPD. That's who responded when got scooped up in the ambulance a couple years ago; but then they can't really ticket you on someone else's word. If I'm not mistaken this wouldn't be a felony, so, they need to see you to write the ticket don't they.

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Well, they are actively sitting on the top of the Mesa "protecting" it already, so why couldn't they just do the same right under the 52? That is the most used entry point into spring canyon, so I'm pretty sure that would be effective to catch trespassers.

DWill -- I don't know who you spoke to, but the head ranger confirmed the trail closures yesterday. It's real.

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A bicycle is a splendid thing.
~Ernest Hemingway