2006 Draft UCSC Bike Plan Released

The 2006 UCSC draft bike plan has been released:

http://www2.ucsc.edu/taps/pages/bike_plan.html

A review of the plan shows that UC has made provisions for LEGAL off road single track trails in their plan.

Section 2 recognizes the recreational opportunities for students and the community by allowing single track trails. Maintaining an off-road network of trails is going to require involvement from the mountain biking community in the design and maintenance of environmentally sustainable trails.

Section 4.3 discusses a bicycle licensing program as the foundation for education, outreach and enforcement. I would love to get clarity on the position of off road bikes and the licensing program.

In section 5, the plan calls for the formation of a Campus Bicycle Committee (CBC) to address the future adaptation of the plan. There are staff, student and community positions available on this committee and I hope that we can have the interests of mountain biking represented.

The bike plan is accepting written comments to UCSCbikeplan@ppc.ucsc.edu I urge you all to write to support the plan to allow mountain biking at UC. They will be accepting comments until the end of June.

Last year representatives from MBOSC had a serries of meetings with UC officials and land managers where we presented a proposal for legitimizing the UC trail network. I'm happy to say that the draft proposal incorporates many of the ideas in the proposal.

This plan is great news for mountain biking in Santa Cruz. I hope that we can count on the mountain biking community to help us out in the design, maintenance and monitoring of a future legal trail system at UCSC.

Carrot Fest 2006 was a success!

18 mountain bikers and about 25 equestrians participated in Carrot Fest on Saturday. It was a casual event and it was a great opportunity to learn about the other user group in a social setting.

We were high up on the Horse Camp marine terrace with great views of the ocean and the back country. The sunshine was breaking up the morning fog and there was no wind.

After a registering and refreshments, Rebeckah from SCCHA and Sebastien from MBOSC discussed the basics of horse-bike interaction on the trails. That discussion gave way to an open forum of experiences with the other user group.

Some new things that I have learned about horses and equestrians:

• Horses can't see directly in front or behind them.
  
• A horse is a prey animal who will run if threatened.
• Carrots are like candy to horses (which is why they love them so much). It's not part of their regular diet and too much carrots will make them sick.
• Equestrians can feel the tension when horses get nervous from bikers. This tension can make the equestrians feel threatened and may cause them to shout at these bikers - which may create an atmosphere of hostility.

As a mountain biker, these are the things I can do on the trail when encountering equestrians and horses:

• Talk and indicate that you are a "human" when approaching horses. Expecially from behind. Bikes are quiet and horses have sensitive hearing. They may think that cyclists are predators.
• Communicate with the equestrian about passing the horse. Some horses are comfortable with bikes and will allow you to ride by. Others may wish that the horse or the bike should come to a complete stop when passing.
• Ride slow when passing a horse and give them plenty of room.
  

I also appreciated that equestrians are not fully in control of their horses. While horses are obedient and have been trained, it still has a mind of it's own and still subjected to physiological constraints like hunger and fear. An equestrians control of where they want to go must be negotiated with the horse. For example, when an equestrian wants to stop, they must communicate this desire to their horse then the horse will stop. There may be a bit of a lag between the desire to stop by the equestrian and when the horse will actually stop. This is different from bikers because there is no other animal brain to negotiate with when controlling the bike. I acknowledge that not all bikers are in control of their bikes and some bikers have primitive brains.

This was a great way to build understanding between equestrians and mountain bikers. Many of the equestrians I talked with have had positive encounters with mountain bikers on the trail. We are blessed in Santa Cruz county to have such a great relationship with the other user group. Both user groups have a lot of common ground and goals and we can work together to accomplish these goals.

We thank all participants for coming to Carrot Fest for showing the initiative to learn about the other user group. I especially like to thank Sebastien Praley from MBOSC and Rebeckah Crill from SCCHA for representing the co-operation between mountain bikers and equestrians in putting this event together. I also like to thank Supervising Ranger Joe Conners from California State Parks for helping with getting the location prepared for the event.

More Carrot Fest details

There isn't a rigid structure to the event. The point is to get two trail user groups together in a social context and build understanding. We will be doing a 1-2 hour clinic to help horses get comfortable with mountain bikes. Afterwards groups of equestrians and bikers will ride in opposite directions of a loop to simulate an encounter with the other group to practice what we learned.

This is a really positive event that helps to maintain the great relationship that exists between equestrians and mountain bikers in Santa Cruz county. So come out and get to know our 4 legged friends!

Coffee, carrot cake and other snacks will be provided.

Meeting time

9 am at Horse Camp, Wilder Ranch State Park, Santa Cruz.

or

8:15 am at the washrooms the Wilder Ranch Parking lot. We will ride to Horse Camp along the Ohlone Bluff trail or along Wilder Ridge loop if we have a strong group.

Directions to Horse Camp

Horse Camp is located at the "star" at the bottom of the map:
http://www.mbosc.org/2006/05/carrot_fest/carrot_fest_map.jpg

If driving, north on Hwy 1 to turn right on Dimeo Lane (towards the SC Dump) and then make an immediate right on the dirt road.

If riding, I will lead an easy ride departing from the Wilder Ranch Parking lot departing at 8:30 along the Ohlone Bluff trail and across Hwy 1 to Horse Camp.

You can ride in the Wilder back country along Wilder Ridge Loop trail, take a left at the fork (lower Wilder Ridge a.k.a. Dairyman Trail) before Zane Gray Trail. Follow this trail until you almost get to the fence line and you'll see a gate on your left. This is the Horseman's
trail and follow it through 2 gates to Horse Camp.

We encourage mountain bikers to ride over to Horse Camp since there is limited space available for parking. The Horse Camp parking is rugged and the gravel road up there is a little steep. Please carpool if you have to park at Horse Camp. Priority is given to equestrians with trailers, families with young children and carpooling.

CA State Park day use fees are in effect at Horse Camp and the Wilder Ranch parking lot.

Thanks and see you at Carrot Fest!

Announcing Carrot Fest 2006! Saturday May 13th 9 am

Carrot Fest is an event co-sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Horseman's Association (SCCHA) and Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) that helps to desensitize horses to mountain bikes and increase communication and understanding between mountain bikers and equestrians. This is a really positive event that helps to maintain the wonderful relationship that exists between equestrians and mountain bikers in Santa Cruz county. If you have been following the events from Woodside, CA then you should appreciate the great relationship we have with the equestrian community here. So come out and get to know our 4 legged friends!

The core organizing group has done a lot of legwork in setting up the permit, getting the lawn mowed, insurance and all the other logistical support but we could really use some help on the day of the event. We would love to have an event photographer and some more leaders who have done Carrot Fest in the past (alas, the previous Carrot Fests were before my time). Please contact me or Sebastien if you want to help out.

We need some mountain bikers to participate! Help make horses feel comfortable by riding around them and giving them carrots. There will be a clinic portion of the event in which the equestrians and bikers will be milling around and interacting at horse camp. After the clinic, groups of equestrians and bikers will ride in opposite directions along Wilder Ridge loop and meet up and practice the rules of interaction.

Coffee and carrot cake will be provided. Perhaps other snacks and schwag may be provided. TBD.

Just the facts

Time and Location : 9 am @ Horse Camp near Dimeo Lane at Wilder Ranch State Park, Santa Cruz, California.

We may have a group ride starting at 8:15 am at the usual Wilder meeting place and riding over to Horse Camp along Wilder Ridge trail.

Location: Dimeo lane is the street that leads to the SC dump. Horse camp is the dirt road which is an immediate right when you get onto Dimeo lane.

We encourage mountain bikers to ride over to Horse Camp but there is limited space available for parking at Horse Camp. The Horse Camp parking is pretty rugged and the gravel road up there is a little steep. Please carpool if you have to park at Horse Camp. Priority is given to equestrians with trailers, families with young children and carpooling. CA State Park day use fees are in effect at Horse Camp.

Resources for Equestrian, Biker interaction

Equestrians And Cyclists: Can We Get Along?

Bikes and Horses: A Case for Sharing

Thanks and see you at Carrot Fest!