Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/126000
- - . pressures of the e nviro n- m en tal cases that purport to rep resen t th e interest of t he pe ople. It is also safe t o assume. after examining the fo ur managem en t alt erna t ives which are th e direct resul t o f earlier publi c meetin gs, th at the veh icul ar recreat ian ist was very po o rly rep resente d. Were you th ere ? If y o u wer en 't , you st ill hav e an op po rtu nity to co m men t. To date, p ublic input has been so licited, th e respon ses com p ile d into m an agement al tern a t ives and sent to anyone requestin g th em . In the p ast three weeks, t he US FS h as held an other series of mee tings. Th ese were to answer any qu e s ti on s abo ut the p ro posed al tern atives fo r th e Kern Plat eau region of th e Se qu o ia Na tio nal Forest. The meetings were anno unc ed in Cycle Ne ws well in advance hu t when I attended the one in Rid gecres t, J uly 3, I was th e o n ly biker th ere. As a m atter o f fact , the general lac k of interest was un derwhelming. Th e US FS pers o nn e l pre sent ve ry nearly ou tnu mbere d th e atte n de es. In add it ion to John Leasure, Fo res t Superv isor ; Go rdo n lI e e b e n e r , M u l t ip le-u sc Co o rdi nat or ; and John Ron ald , Can nell :\lead o w Distric t Ran ger. th ey h ad a soil scientist, a tim ber ex pe rt . a hydro logist an d a landscap e arc hitect on han d to answer your questions. Th e mo st urgen t message emerging from thi s meeting is the sam e o ld plain tive cry: U'n·t c N o url Comm en ts o n thes e alte rnatives must be in the Fores t Se rvice s Headqu arters by August 15 to hav e an y e ffect on the final p lan and the Draft Env iro nm e nt al Imp ac t State m ent (yes , even the US FS is n ow forc ed to do these ) wh ich will be drawn u p this w in te r. To com men t in telligen tly, you shou ld have th e co m p le te planning p ack age for th e Kern Plateau an d yo u still have time to ge t one . Write to Sequo ia Nati onal Forest, 9 00 West Grand Aven ue , Po rterville , CA 93 2 57 or save time and ask fo r a co py by calling (209 ) 78 4 -1500. It is qui te importan t to study the whole p ac ka ge sin ce the fin al version will likely no t be pre cisel y anyo ne of th e a l te rna ti ves b u t r ath er a modification based on the current com me n t p eri od. Make your wish es known! As an e xam p le of so mething to think ab o u t, all fo u r proposals show a de cre ase in th e exist ing available vehicle trails (see th e acco mp any in g table). This is in spite o f the ap paren t fact th at th ese trails are used more by vehicle s than by foot o r horse traffic, with little re al conflict among users. (Adm ittedly , th is is a personal o bse rvatio n based on abo ut 12 trips into the area in the last two years.) If the four p roposed al ternatives are co nsidered unal tered , only al tern ati ve u C" is viable fo r the vehicu lar re cr e a t i o n is r . Int eres t ingly , th is a l t e r n a t i ve also o ffers th e m ost recreati on o ppo rtuni ties for all in te rests fro m hiking, biking, 4 WD, e q uestrian [non -co m m ercial], to win ter sp orts an d fin ish ing. Every bo dy gain s in th is on e. Un fort unately , so do the lumber people, since th is alternative ope ns more area to lumbering th an any o ther. Th at m ean s mor e ro ads thro ugh the heart of the tim ber, m ore trees removed , and more over-lo ad ed true ks car een ing abo u t the f o r e st. Yo u might want to say something abou t that. You mi ght also want to co mmen t on the p ro p osed lim its of 17 5cc engine size and 76db noise level, both to be applied to bikes only . Sup posedly , these limits were su ggest ed by a motorcylis t at an earlier mee tin g. Somehow they did not find their way in t o th e p lanning p ack age, but th ey are definitely be ing considered an d serio usly. Pers on ally, I feel th at both are ex tremely u n reahsti c and th e size lim it in part icu lar is based o n th e impossible assu mp tio n of p er fect tr acti on pl us a perfect rider. Wheelsp in i s st a nd a r d p rocedure for small displ acern en t tr ail bikes . --- - ---------- - - -- ------------- - - -- - - ---- Sin ce I enjoy the soli tude afforded by the fo rest exper ien ce, I must m o rall y .support the no ise limit idea, Ho we ve r, t he 76 d b is incre dib ly rest rict ive and wo uld by it self p ro babl y eli minate all b ikes exce pt stock T L-I 25s . If suc h a limi t must be im p osed , it m u st be im posed on all human-generate d no ise, incl u d ing dune bu ggies , 4WD veh icles, mo torhomes with aux iliary generato rs, l o ggin g tru cks, and forest serv ice ch ai n saws. Fin ally, it is a p lain fact o f fin an cial life th at an y improveme n t to the recre ati on op p o rtu nit ies is subject t o th e b udge tary vagaries th at p lague all go vern m en t o pe ra tio ns . Even th ou gh the USF S is sincere ab o u t m aintainin g a p lace fa r the vehi cular recre ation ist in the Nati on al For ests, the y m ay not have the mo ney or the peo p le po wer to do a co m plete job. We c a ll help . 'I1,e fou r-w heelers arc alre ady do in g it with seve ral trail projec ts. l lere 's j u st two ideas thro ugh which we can be o f great service. I' ro blem : Ridin g in mud is a grea t kic k, but when said m ud is whe re the trail cro sses a meado w . th e resulting d a ma ge i s u gly an d perm an en t. Solu ti on: Re rou te the trail aro un d the m eadow with the help o f vo lun teer mot orc yclists. Proble m: :\Iost rider s en terin g the area are not aware of th e special nature of Fores t riding an d t he need to share the reso urces wi th othe rs o f differen t in te re s t s , Sol u lion : A wee ken d " lI o spi t ali ty " bo oth lo cat ed a t the en tr an ce 10 th e area ' an d sta ffed bv in te rested mot o rcyclists. Bo th of th es e ideas we re presented t o an d well received by t he fo rest service sta ff. 1I0w abo u t y o u? If you 're in terested , d rop me a note at POll 4 0 23, Lan cast e r, CA 93 534. So the re we are. The res m u ch t hat need s do ing bu t th e m ost urgen t is to ge t a co py of the plan , st udy it, and co m men t befor e August 15. You won't be abl e to m a ke any more effe c tive in p u ts until th e draft En viro nmen tal Imp act Stat ement is rele ased in th e spring of 19 76. By this t im e n ext ye ar , wh at ever plan th ere m ay be fo r th e Seq uo ia Nati o nal Forest, will be p u t in to effect. For your Bicen tenn ial proje ct, how abo ut helping p reserve s o m e o f o ur ra p idly dimin ishing freedo ms ? Terry Rezek An environmentalist looks at dirt bikes Part II: Desert cyclists are people,too If I were asked what impressed m e m ost on th ese weekends I would say , first, th e in fectiou s en th usiasm of t he bike r and h is fam ily , an d seco nd the incred ible harm being done to the Southern ~--. _ - - -- -- -_.- - - - --- Califo rn ia des ert. I' m not sure wh ich affec ted me m ore . Pro bab ly t he peo ple. I knew what en viron me ntal da mage was all abo ut lo ng before m y invitatio n to wi tness a race. I saw ple nty o f it alo ng th e scrambl es co ur ses th ose weekend s, to o. but th e eve nt s w ere in areas pretty we ll be at to hell already so I pocket ed m y cod e o f eth ics and be gan focusing o n the main event : th e rid ers and the ir kin . Most of th em we re very friendly and I learned they h ad soul, wi t and a real dedicat ion to their thi ng. I d o n't like thei r Th ing m uch but one can still tu m on to pe op le without hu yi ng thei r po lit ics. In fact , I be ca me. pre tt y go o d frien ds with th ree o r fo ur guys o ut th ere . I k now th eir feelin gs and the y und erstan d mi ne . \\'c may never agree o n this ORV th in g bu t yo u tend to throw diffe re nces to t he wind co me suns c t time when beer cans begin popp in g (wine fo r m e ) and the steaks arc bro iling. I h a d an interest ing ca mp fire conversat io n wi th a burly devot ee (no w a n o n-rider ; too mu ch beIly ) who go t wind th at I was a Sierra Clubber (o n eac h of t hese occa sions I h ave tri ed to main tain a lo w pro fil e to avo id co nfro n ta t io n) . I learn ed fro m hi m that t he Sierra Clu b was a po wer ful le fti st gro up tha i had a ha m me r lock o n go ver n men t and w as against everyth ing. I did n' t tell hi m t hat a basi c goa l of the Sierra Club and o ther co nserva tio nist gro up s is to p ro t ec t an d save ; I just listened. As he co n tin ue d dri n king he kept rep eating, "The Go d dam Sierra Clu b h as go tte n to o polit ical : ' I don ' t think he was really angry, j us t frustrated. The co nversatio n drift ed and before lo ng he was talking abo ut the cit ru s groves of Orange County . " Th a t 's what ge ts me ," he said, " h o w th ey 've go ne in an d subdivided and blac kt o pped all th at bea ut ifu l co un t ry. They 've taken th e trees awa y , an d t h er ere all those cru m my little houses. You t alk ab o ut the dese rt - there 's nothi ng o ut here. We 're no l doi ng an y harm . Th e real damage is in Oran ge Co un ty. Yo u sho uld have seen it 20 years ago . I'm a conservatio nis t to o. " I agree d 100 percent with at least 5 0 per cent of what he .said , I talked to another fe llow who said he u sed to belo ng to th e Sierra Club "whe n it was a hiking ou t fit , bu t th at now it had go t te n too inv o lved ." As the flag d ropped an d h is young son roared o ff into t he cre oso te, I was imp res sed by this guy's d evotion to famil y and his a l m o s t d e s per at e ap pe a l fo r un de rs ta nding. Th e reactio n I go t fro m people who lear ned I was a Sierra Clubb er was, " We don 't hate you, we just wan t you to appreciate what b iki ng in t he desert mea ns to us." I now kno w. I have friends wh o thin k th at all desert bikers ar e Hell 's An gels t ypes surly deviates, defian t o f th e law , up for a scrap. Th ey 're wr ong. You peop le m ay not know or care wh at irrepar able harm yo u 're doing to our desert lands but y o u're not ogres. The vast majority of you , a ny way. T here are some exc ep tio ns, o f co urse, and that 's wh y the image o f the ORV rider is at stake . The q ue st io n is, what are you goi ng to d o abo ut it? Th ese mixed feelings (the good vibes I got from a lot of b ik ers vs, th eir ind ifference to the de sert as I know it) bugge d me every weekend I attende d a race. How co uld such wholesome, att ractive people be so callo us? I kept th inkin g, we're all brothers under th e skin back in the city but o u t in th e w e s p l i t r a nk s. Th e d es er t environ me ntalist keeps hi s ey es and ears o pe n and th e cyclist s put o n blinder s. "Desert people are th e grea test ," wri tes a Ch atswo rth co up le (Cycle New s, Le tte rs, Mar ch 1 I ), th anki ng fe ll ow ri d er s fo r lo ca tin g their I l -ye ar -old son lost in t he h ills after he b ro ke a sp ark p lug . Th e fac t that peop le . _~- - --- - --- ---- ------- - perform such deeds and write suc h lett ers is a feather in th e ca p fo r d irt bikers . I unde r stan d th at even fron t-runn ers in a cru ci al ra ce have be en kno wn to forfeit th eir lau rel s by pulling up and tending to some fallen co m ra de. If on ly this co m passio n for fello w man co uld be transferr ed to the d eser t itself! If y o ur lo ve of a pet dog o r cat at home , or your garde n , co u ld be app lied to the wealt h of wild life o ut in th e Mojave! Another letter to Cy cle N e w s, also l\larch I I , co ncedes " n o o ne wa nts th e en viron me nt ruined, and mo to rcycles do cause a lot of damage:' Aha ! But I do n' t wan t to take the q uo te o ut of co n tex t : the gu y's main p itch is th at bike rs sho uld rall y t o defen d t hei r rights o r th ey 'll no lon ger hav e access to th e pub lic lan ds. He a ppe als for letters t o the appropriate governme nt agenc ies. T his impresses me. While I do n 't agre e wit h th e wri ter, I d o cre d it h im with th e initiative to jo t down his c omplain t. Ap athy is the d ese rt cy cl ist's worst ene m y. Th e Sierra Clubber 's to o, excep t tha t mo st of us ca re enough to wr ite letters, ap pear at p ublic heari ngs. We get o n the ba ll and spe ak o ut , and tha t's why " th e Sierra Club h as alread y w on many battl es. " as yo ur writer puts it. Su re, money helps, but with ou t wo rk no th ing can be accom plished. lI ard wo rk, to o, an d a lot of time - n o t j ust in "official" club offices b ut peo p le's homes an d in t he fie ld. T h a t's w h a I has led to t he preservatio n of much of Am erica 's back co un try. Wh at cy cling fam ily has no t enjo yed the beauty and o pen ness of a p lace like Yosem ite or Yellowstone ? You h ave so me o f th e Sierr a Clu b 's pio ne ers to thank fo r mu ch of t ha t. Abou t 15 m inu tcs befo re the flag we nt d own o n a desert scrambles race a co upl e of gu ys walked by as I was ph otographing so m e wildflowers along the co urse. One volun tee red. " h o w neat they lo o k " and th at sp ring was a littl e ear ly th is year. Now, he may have been a gu ng-ho racer and a d yed-in-the wool anti-Sierra Clubber, b ut at least he saw som et hing. I fo un d his awareness reassuri ng and eve n as those 3 0 0-od d bikes sp lit off in to th e sand and bush a little lat er I th ou ght, th ank God someon e cares. One of the friendliest people I m et out there was a fellow who not many years ago herded sh eep acro ss southern Euro pe. When he came to Cali fornia he resumed his Career in th e San Joaquin Valley where he sa ys, co me winter and spring, th e gras s is far richer th an " back h ome ," The American st uff ap pare n tly has more pro tei n per b ite and the sheep are livelier, healthier. He appre ciates his new co un try and understands the worth o f th e land. T rue, he was ta lki ng about the Centra l Val ley , no t the desert, and it 's also true that sh eepherders are about as p opular as di rt bi kers in some envir o n mental circles. Bu t at least this gu y fo un d some th ing of value and is th ankful fo r it. As fo r t he desert, I'm afraid most.' cyclists see noth ing but san d . Sure , it has va lue, but only for recreation. Oth erwise, it's de ad. Yes, dirt b ikers are people too. But wh ich "desert pe ople are th e gre atest? " Fro m m y viewpoin t those wit hout the b lin ders . Loving th e desert is no t en o ugh . It needs understanding and respect, too. Donald Murchie Editor 's no te: There art! as many differen t kinds of environmen talists as t here are bik ers. Som e want us destroy ed at any cost and refuse to talk rationally. Others, lik e Don Murchie, believe the re 's still h op e in a two-way dia l ogu e . Th ough y ou 'll disagree vigorously wi th man y th ings he says (w e do , too), it's ben eficial, we th ink, to get inside a Sierra Club ber 's head and see wh at he thinks about us withou t a lot of malice attach ed. 37