Mountain bikers beware: Marin rangers to use radar guns

[petronius]

The long arm of the law is going to be holding a radar gun on the majestic mountain bike trails of Marin County, and the other hand is probably going to be holding a book full of citations.

Beginning this month, park rangers will be staking out open space areas where mountain bikers, hikers, dog walkers and horseback riders have been known to speak words to one another that are less than bucolic. Bikers speeding along the dirt paths where modern mountain biking was born will be eligible for tickets as part of a campaign to reduce friction between trail users.

The speed limit for a mountain bike on the Marin County Parks agency’s open space trails is 15 mph. Going uphill, that’s rarely an issue. Going downhill, say mountain bikers, it’s easy to go twice that fast.

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http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Mountain-bikers-beware-Marin-rangers-to-use-7223683.php#photo-9739927

I don't know what the trails (or the users) are like in Marin so I don't have much of an opinion, but this seems like kind of a bummer. I hike a lot of multi-use trails here on the Central Coast, and it generally seems like the MBikers are among the more courteous users, and pretty active in trail maintenance. I wonder if they could figure out a different form of speed rule: different limits for different trails, a requirement not to out-speed your viewable stopping distance, or specify priority users for certain trails...

[MADem]

1. I suspect this "problem" arose because of a few discourteous assholes.

Probably the mocking/deriding "eat my dust" types. "Ha ha--whatcha gonna do about it, suckers?"

Now, because they are discourteous, and don't slow the hell down when they see a family plodding along, but instead scare the shit out of them barreling down on them, EVERYONE is going to be punished.

[Lucky Luciano]

2. Saw a guy like that in Central Park. He was probably close to a personal record...

When an overweight 8 year old kid was walking on the Central Park loop - biker was pissed that he had to slow down to a stop because he didn't see the kind d around the bend - "watch out you FAT FUCK!!!" Wish I was 20 feet closer. I might have been arrested though.

[TeamPooka]

3. I think it's more about finding a new revenue source. nt

[Crash2Parties]

4. I spent some years there, this is not new

The devout mountain bikers had a certain reputation as a group (ie not a few bad apples, but as organized groups) for 'owning' any trails they felt were best suited to their use. Meaning, single-tracks and anything that provided a fast downhill rush. These days I'm far more likely to hike with my children and am glad the rangers are taking it seriously. Even back when I used to ride, they often were not courteous to anyone who got in their way.