My apologies to Greg, I mean no disrespect to you but Im not one who finds it easy to keep his mouth shut.

Something stinks here, something stinks.

Yah. I too find the "co-inky-dink" explanation just a tad grassy-knollish.

But just how DO we get to the "bottom" of this. I'm assuming we have ruled out waterboarding?

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Scum on a Bike

No apologies needed. OCD.

I agree it does appear fishy by reading on forums what took place at the meeting that night.

I'll give the benefit of listening to both sides, as I know they're are two sides to every story.

What is strange is the importance of Erik being on the board to fight the anti-MTB board & no SDMBA area liaison is in attendance, but all blame shouldn't be put on him till we figure out.I thinking paying members do have their right to figure out what actually happened.

So I'll say it again.

So was there anyone else from SDMBA there that had Mikes # to try to figure out why he wasn't there, in case he forgot, someone could call him to get down there quickly to vote.

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Some of you are curious as to why the sdmba rep didn't show up to the most important LPQ/CAC meeting last week. Inquiring minds want to know. That's understandable. But knowing "why" will not change the outcome of the election, it will not change anything.

Knowing why the sdmba board failed to publicly apologize to Erik Basil might be a question that may shed light to what is really going on here.

Moondoggy (a sdmba board member) said Mike simply "FORGOT" to show up to the most important meeting of the year. The pathetic "open apology" simply "FORGOT" to apologize to the one person that deserves an apology more than anyone else.

Seems like sdmba board members "FORGET" about a lot of things. Here's something else they FORGOT about; All of us are not as god damn stupid as you so arrogantly believe us to be. All of us are not of the "sdmba is the best thing, and if you want to make change come join sdmba and help" BS brigade that, when anyone voices an opininion that questions sdmba actions, mindless brainwashed responders go into defense mode and spew rhetoric that has nothing to do with a question that is asked.
I'm not attacking anyone. If people would just look at what is going on and seek answers to questions that mean something, thats how we make change. Seems to me a lot of people are afraid to find out the real answers to very important questions. It's a lot easier to be complacent and accept the BS than to have to face the fact that maybe some good people that do good things don't have what it takes (time,knowledge,) to progress the scene as others have done elsewhere.

Erik, it sucks that you got backdoored.

If you really want to know so badly, you can contact people directly through SDMBA website:

http://sdmba.com/index.php?option=com_c ... &Itemid=29

Or you can show up at the next SDMBA meeting or trail work event and bring up your concerns directly to the board members around.

Leave out the "mindless brainwashed responders" bullshit. That is an attack Mr. "I'm not attacking anyone."

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There's a lot of shame on a road bike. -- evdog

Adamantly agree on all counts!



Take a look at Flightline and contrast that with Rancho La Costa. I don't know the inside scoop like many of you do, just simply that the latter was done through legal, political channels. That means lots of PITA hoops that had to be jumped through and channels and rules that had to be addressed. There is one person in particular that knows in detail what this involves. And I curse his name every time I ride up the never-ending switchbacks, and thank him every time on the ride down.

Perhaps an issue with some mountain bikers, which is similar to some of the equestrians at LPQ, is that they may be a little complacent still remembering, or currently having, an excess of trails and open space to enjoy. As the city expands, trails get shut out. In order to get on the political track and have a voice you need an organization. The larger the organization the larger the political clout. Simple math. Running around like a bunch of nomads won't help anyone.

Is SDMBA perfect? No. A lot of concerned volunteers giving their time and effort do deserve some kudos though for all they do, and do behind the scenes too. As OffRoadie says, if you have an issue with them, call. The more they hear the better they can address the problem.

Alternatively, start your own mountain bike association. Build up a large enough membership and gain political clout. That's the bottom line. I'm not being cynical. I'm pretty sure you'll get a lot of support from around here, especially if some of your aims are different than SDMBA, but it will take some work. If you don't think it can be done, just look at this site. MTBR.com was too large and not focused on this area, but for awhile was the only game in town. SoCalTrailRiders was, well, SoCalTrailRiders. And this site has become pretty successful in a short period of time. Which shows, there is an audience here, and after Tunnels, a lot of people are becoming more concerned and proactive. At least that's my feeling.



Sucks big time.

Erik spent years on that committee, and does the field work that seems below the pompous crowd seated on the LPCP-CAC. If you've had the opportunity to see the committee in action, he's one of the few actually involved in all the topics and does his homework prior to the meeting. A lot of the horsey people sit there twiddling their thumbs looking blankly around the room. But they sit there to protect and promote their agenda. All of Gerst's minions were in attendance to support that agenda. And even so, if not for the no-show of Mike, AND Walt Heiberg, both of whom would have voted for Erik, AND the swing vote of Gail Hanna, of the San Diego County Trails Council, who's vote was completely at odds with the mission and goal of the organizations she purportedly represents (http://www.sdctc.com/about.php), we would have Erik as Da Prez.

Yup, sucks big time. Bottom line- we had the chance, and dropped the ball.

Was there something fishy in play? I sure hope we find out.

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

OffRoadie,

You are right. I should have left out the "mindless" comment. My intention is not to bitch about an association that tries to better segments of our sport. I guess the majority of posters on this forum believe SD has great trails and are content. Nothing wrong with that. I raise my bottle and toast the great trails of San Diego. Cheers.

Fullmoon, I just want to clarify that I am not arguing with your point, in fact your point is very well taken. I think we are just looking at different situations, of possibly he same situation from a different angle.

My view: The lesson I see from Intestines/Tunnels is that (a) we need to build up and support an organized body to act as an instrument to represent mountain bikers in the political arena so we can stop the hemorrhaging of trails that occurs at the hands of the politically connected developers here in San Diego. (b) We are on our way to doing that as we (Erik) SHOULD have won the election at the LPCPCAC if one of the 2 no-shows came, or the swing vote actually voted to represent her organization. So we dropped the ball, or rather individuals dropped the ball, but the organization helped to set the stage where we should have won.

Your view (or at least what I am hearing from your concerns): Many other mountain biking organizations throughout the country have been more active in making and improving trails than what we are seeing here in San Diego.

I agree with your assessment. And that is why I suggested you start your own organization because I think you will need to confront the politics of it to make the projects legal, and thus not taken away at a developers whim. And I think you will get a sh!& load of people here, myself included, to support such a direction. Another possibility would be to get involved with SDMBA and use your efforts to move their agenda forward in that direction. I'm sure you'll find a number of like-minded compatriots either way. If both of those avenues kinda suck, then you can go it alone and make some trails. You don't have to be a big organization for that, as witnessed by Rancho La Costa, but I'd talk to someone who's been there and done that though, to see how to best protect the trails you create from becoming 'Flightlined'.

But yeah, I completely agree, a lot more can and should be done with the resources we have here in San Diego than just building more and more houses for profit. Considering the workforce we have with guys like you, it should be a no-brainer.



Another lesson from the Intestines/Tunnels issue, at least in my eyes, is that the developers own and rule this county and do not favor mountain bikers.

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

Hey everybody,
I've been sort of on the down low lately, being plenty busy with plenty of things, but I just spent some time reading this thread and I wanted to hit just a few points:

--Mike Maio is a good guy. I think of him as a friend, and he has been instrumental in the MTC/SDMBA work on Deer Canyon. He is a bike advocate and has been a force of advocacy for more trails. I haven't heard from him post CAC meeting, and there are times when I'm still a little piqued ( ) but I love him anyway.

--I'm still on the CAC. The attempts to bully or force me off will surely resume, but that hasn't happened yet.

--One of the best things you can do at public meetings to support public access is, whether you're a member of Sierra Club, SDMBA, the NRA, the Back Country Horsemen of California or the Audubon Society, is to say, "My name is _______ and I am a member of the Multiuse Trails Coalition and ____fill in other org___. I support equal access to trails and the preservation of our open space." It matters. Do it in your emails, too.

--The fight for Deer Canyon isn't over, unless you allow it to be.

Eric, i consider you not only the Numero Uno ally in the fight for multiuse policies, especially in the LPQ/DMM area, but as I've gotten to know you, a friend as well. As to yer feelings of benevolence towards Mike Maio, I count that as a testimony to the further integrity of YOUR character: the fact that mike has yet to even bother TRYING to speak up on this situation that he is largely responsible for certainly does not speak well of HIM.

I too know Mike personally, somewhat, and have also thought him to be a good guy, altho he does not know who "Ray" is, and will continue to remain in the dark about me, by my choice.

You, my friend, have gotten the shitty end of the stick in this deal, no matter which way you cut the cards. And as i've indicated to you in email, I'm willing, to help a friend, to do whatever it is that needs to be done. I've been there, done that, all before.

Hang in there, and keep on point. For all of us.
/"Ray".

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. As our "point man", and the one who has stuck out his neck repeatedly, SDMBA really DOES, IMHO, owe you a SPECIAL apology.

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Scum on a Bike

I'm calling you out "Ray." You calling out Mike for not speaking up on this situation, yet you choose to remain anonymous? That's bullshit. That does not speak well of YOU. Maybe Mike chooses to remain quiet about this situation, "by his choice."

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There's a lot of shame on a road bike. -- evdog

his real name is marvin

I laughed so hard that I .... Gerst in my pants!

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Velo Ergo Endo

How did you find out?

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Scum on a Bike

+1

Ldood you owe me a new keyboard.

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