Biking in Wilderness Areas

M

mightyhunter

Very Active Member
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1,181
I saw that the two Senators from Utah are proposing legislation to allow biking in wilderness areas. I am adamantly opposed to this. I have seen the damage mountain bikes do to mountain trails. I don't want to have skinny idiots in bicycle shorts whistling down remote mountain trails. I admit watching them crash and tumble might be mildly entertaining. Other than that, I see no reason to allow this practice to be extended to millions of wilderness acres. What do you think?

just sayin...mh
 
I'm with you on keeping it to what it is now MH, but not for the reason you mentioned. Once they get their foot in the door to allow a bike, what will be next?
 
Yes, horses mess up trails. They have been doing it for hundreds of years. I suffered my worst ankle sprain by steeping into a soft horse track on a trail out of Kelly Creek in Idaho. I don't see any reason to add to the list of what is allowed to destroy trails in the wilderness.

just sayin...mh
 
I hike 2 or 3 times per week in an area that allows horses and bikes. There is a difference in what the two modes of transportation do to a trail.

Horses tear up a wet trail, that's for sure, but the bikes "round" the bottom of the trails into ditches which makes it very difficult to walk.

I'm not sure I like either one but at least horses are organic rather than mechanical and horses don't come flying down the hill at 39 miles an hour, usually.

I do like the tights on some of the biker girls however. That's entertaining for this old guy!!!!

Zeke
 
Screw the mountain bikers. They cause more issues around here than any other group. They make illegal trails, they do not want to share etc. Locally we are fighting to keep shooting open on BLM ground against the mountain biking groups. They claim that recreational shooters are ruining their experience and putting them at risk of being shot. The area in question has been the local shooting area for over 50 years. Yet a new group of bikers who started riding in the area in the last 10 wants to close all shooting. They then are planning to attack ATV users and dirt bike riders as they "Drive to fast putting the bikers at risk of being ran over".

Sorry but the bikers do cause major issues with errosion. THey create new trails all the time and feel like they are above everyone else. When a horse walks a trail they cause some issues, but they help prevent erosion by creating holes and chopping up the water flow. Bikes are just like trucks and atvs etc. They create a rounded bottom erosion pannel and over time the ruts get deeper. Eventually the rut is too deep then a new trail is established then another one etc.

Keep them out of the wilderness. I would prefer they were kept off most trails. Nothing worse than trying to hike, or ride horses and every 5 minutes getting yelled at by a biker to get out of the way while the fly by.
 
I'm in favor.

We need to remember Mt. bikers are not the enemy. They have many positives to a few negatives and also do a fantastic job of maintaining trails. draw a tag in 16b new mexico Gila forest/ wilderness and try and find some of the trails that are on the map. not near enough users to keep a trail open and maintain it in many places there. Dry Creek trail above Alpine goes in to wilderness and that trail is in rough shape, has been for years. I think Mt. bikers would improve it and make it a ton better. There would also be more users and less solitude so there are some minuses.

AS for trail conditions erosion etc, bikes are better than horses and similar to hikers in most situations. See https://www.imba.com/resources/rese...tain-biking-science-review-and-best-practices .

go hike some HEAVILY used trails by Mt. bikes and see if cupped out and eroded. such as mid mountain trail in park city, rode it on a bike one day and hiked it the next. It is in much better shape than say timpanogos trail is when I hiked it this past month. I don't think bikes cause the middle of the trail to be worn (my opinion and may be cause I can't ride my bike down the middle of the trail).

I have horses, atv, and mt bikes. my preference is to hunt on foot, but we need to work with all those groups to keep land open or we will find ourselves with no place to hunt. Public opinion is a fickle thing and hunters are not all that popular right now. Let's work with groups and get some good will and karma going. It will change things, I wouldn't dream of riding my horses in corner canyon with all the bikers there, but a mixed use trail plan can be a win for all users.
 
Keep em outta all wilderness except Wyoming. Non residents can't use that Federal land anyways..mayb they'll need a guide in cute little tights to keep em safe. BH1
 
>Keep em outta all wilderness except
>Wyoming. Non residents can't use
>that Federal land anyways..mayb they'll
>need a guide in cute
>little tights to keep em
>safe. BH1


There ya go! Problem solved, LOL!
 
Keep wilderness, WILDERNESS!! once you open the door to one form of "Mechanized" use, then the whole idea behind what the wilderness act is will be taken away. The wilderness areas around me, are busy enough, we dont need another form of travel to create more issues. Hikers and Horses go roughly the same pace on a trail, obviously horses travel a little faster especially uphill! but the last thing you need to worry about is someone coming downhill 30mph and causing wrecks with either hikers or pack strings on some of the steep dangerous trails that are used all over the wilderness areas. Keep em out for the sake of the Wilderness Act and what it stands for.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-16 AT 08:44PM (MST)[p]LAST EDITED ON Aug-03-16 AT 08:42?PM (MST)

Great thoughts mntnguide. Keep wilderness as wilderness.

---

I DO NOT wear the spandex shorts because they are too restricting for my taste. I just want to make sure that is very clear before I proceed.

I don't know how many of you have a mountain bike, but I would much rather hunt off a horse or even just hiking. I manage a state park that has about 50 miles of mountain bike trails and I have a mountain bike to maintain trails and rescue injured riders. It is a heck of a lot of work to bike uphill without any weight on your back. I can't image biking out elk quarters, especially uphill.

I guess these problems are "area dependent" because I have not seen any problems with the mountain biker user group that I work with. Sure they can be an odd group, but they do take very good care of the trails where I work.

I am certain you all have good reasons for not allowing mountain bikers in wilderness areas. I can see this being a bigger problem near large cities.

Dillon
www.dillonhoyt.com
 
These UT senators see money in bike tourism and I can see why they want to make the most out of those resources in states that are 70% federal land. Perhaps there are some wilderness areas where bikes would be okay, but I would prefer that most wilderness use remains traditional, with NO bikes.
 
>These UT senators see money in
>bike tourism and I can
>see why they want to
>make the most out of
>those resources in states that
>are 70% federal land. Perhaps
>there are some wilderness areas
>where bikes would be okay,
>but I would prefer that
>most wilderness use remains traditional,
>with NO bikes.


I've never really looked at what wilderness areas are in Utah. Is there very much in your state?
 
Utah is approximately 70% federal land. I think there are 33 wilderness areas, but most of them are not very big. I guess that is why we don't make non-residents have a guide (ha ha).

The largest wilderness area in UT is the High Uintas area, which would be comparable in size to most of those in Wyoming, except that some of Wyoming's are virtually connected together to form larger areas.
 
I already see mnt bikers on the wilderness trails. They come flying down and cause some serious horse wrecks. Some build stupid ramps and leave them
 
>I already see mnt bikers on
>the wilderness trails. They come
>flying down and cause some
>serious horse wrecks.
> Some build stupid ramps
>and leave them

If I was on one of those trails and an illegal biker came down it, I'd bet he would have one terrific crash and there would be nothing he could do about it since he was there illegally!
 
>If I was on one of
>those trails and an illegal
>biker came down it, I'd
>bet he would have one
>terrific crash and there would
>be nothing he could do
>about it since he was
>there illegally!

Open season on assaulting illegal bikers? That's not the "go by the book" TOPGUN I know. Someone must have hacked you Mike.
 
jm77 I liked your post.

A few years back, Topgun said he thought less of me because I was thinking about messing with trail cams hanging in the wilderness. They do annoy me and I believe them to be illegal under current federal regulations.

I was out hiking all day yesterday and was thinking about how allowing bicycles in the wilderness would alter my wilderness experience. For the first part of my travels, the trail would become trenched and rutted. For the bulk of my hike, the bicycle would have to be fitted with a helicopter rotor to follow me. I still don't want the mountain bike crowd to ride in the wilderness. I might have a different perspective if I could actually still ride a bike at 61. Those big fat tire bikes are looking kind of nice if they came with an outrigger wheel.

just sayin...mh
 
I never said one word about touching the person or their equipment and that's completely different than messing with a trail cam that isn't yours! All I would do is stand my ground on the trail since I'm the one that's legal until they got real close and they would either put on the brakes or go into the brush when they see I'm not moving! Why make a big thing out of nothing when I said absolutely nothing about violating any laws? jm77 you're getting to be a stalker just like your butt buddy was before he got canned and it's not becoming of you!
 
>I never said one word about
>touching the person or their
>equipment and that's completely different
>than messing with a trail
>cam that isn't yours!
>All I would do is
>stand my ground on the
>trail since I'm the one
>that's legal until they got
>real close and they would
>either put on the brakes
>or go into the brush
>when they see I'm not
>moving! Why make a
>big thing out of nothing
>when I said absolutely nothing
>about violating any laws?
>jm77 you're getting to be
>a stalker just like your
>butt buddy was before he
>got canned and it's not
>becoming of you!

I'd pay 100.00 to see that trail wreck!!
 
My issue with Mt Bikers is that I think they are more dangerous than OHV's or horses, because they are so quite for how fast they go. Like all people on bicycles they seem to always feel it's someone else's fault for not getting out of their way. This is true Wilderness or Not.

Law says no mechanized travel in wilderness, so if their gonna let bikes in that should open door for other wheels.
 
>My issue with Mt Bikers is
>that I think they are
>more dangerous than OHV's or
>horses, because they are so
>quite for how fast they
>go. Like all people on
>bicycles they seem to always
>feel it's someone else's fault
>for not getting out of
>their way. This is
>true Wilderness or Not.
>
>Law says no mechanized travel in
>wilderness, so if their gonna
>let bikes in that should
>open door for other wheels.
>

I think you hit it right on the button with your comments. Many of the bikers I see go by my house are going faster than the 35mph speed limit a lot of the time! I know those aren't mountain bikes, but I think the "go fast" mentality is there with both groups.
 
If you want to get technical, the true Wilderness traveler doesn't use trails. They never should have made trails to begin with. Trails ruin the spirit and anybody can blindly follow a trail.
 
>I'm with you on keeping it
>to what it is now
>MH, but not for the
>reason you mentioned. Once
>they get their foot in
>the door to allow a
>bike, what will be next?
>


Exactly. Bikes, then horses, then atvs on weekends, and god know what else. Someone must have found it "emotionally troubling" that they cannot ride a bike in the wilderness.

And you can expect more of this to happen as well. So unfortunate.
http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/06/29/grizzly-bear-kills-person-near-west-glacier/
 
>>I'm with you on keeping it
>>to what it is now
>>MH, but not for the
>>reason you mentioned. Once
>>they get their foot in
>>the door to allow a
>>bike, what will be next?
>>
>
>
>Exactly. Bikes, then horses, then
>atvs on weekends, and god
>know what else. Someone
>must have found it "emotionally
>troubling" that they cannot ride
>a bike in the wilderness.
>
>
>And you can expect more of
>this to happen as well.
> So unfortunate.
>http://flatheadbeacon.com/2016/06/29/grizzly-bear-kills-person-near-west-glacier/

FYI horses and other pack animals are allowed in wilderness areas.
 
Too many of you nonresidents would get lost without trails in the wilderness. They're for your own good, eel! ;)
 
In my opinion, most wilderness areas are an overly restrictive joke. Especially the small ones near cities.
The wilderness area nearest my home is so small that there is not any place anywhere within it where you can't hear trucks on the highways below. To me, that's no wilderness.
One good thing about mountain bikers is that a large part of the new crop of tree huggers tend to be bikers. Since bikes are not allowed in wilderness areas, they don't want any more of them. That has had the effect of greatly reducing the pressure from tree huggers to create ever more new wilderness areas. So they (mountain bikers) have accidentally done some good.
 

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