By Scott Bartlebaugh
In case you haven’t heard MBOSC, Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz, have changed their name to Santa Cruz Mountains Trail Stewards. REMBA, Redwood Empire Mountain Bike Association is unifying with SCTC, Sonoma County Trails Council.
Santa Barbara Mountain Bike Trail Volunteers has changed their name to SAGE Trail Alliance.
None of these organizations have abandoned mountain bike advocacy. All have been very successful and continue to be very successful. A large part of their successes come from taking a trail community approach to advocacy to improve experiences for all trail users rather than taking and being viewed as a mountain bike special interest group. In some cases this has brought in significant funding that donors would not give to a mountain bike special interest group. So as you think about how we work together to get better trail opportunities consider how changes in access and the addition of trails can benefit all trail users.
As a mountain biker it’s fair to say we don’t have our fair share of access to trails in the east bay. That argument alone has not been largely successful. A broader view and collaborative approach at JMP many years ago is part of the success at the access enjoyed there. As you’re on your ride think about turning other trail users in to allies. Slow, Say Hi. Find out from them what would improve their days on the trail.
