I came across a couple articles yesterday about new mountain bike trail projects under consideration near Asheville, NC and Roanoke, VA that sound promising. In both cases, though we hear the same old complaints:
- Trails will harm the environment
- We’re concerned about liability
- Mountain bikers can’t share the trail
It seems crazy to me that people still see mountain biking as a new and unknown activity. I mean, people have been raising these concerns for years – and yet mountain bike trails do exist all around the world. Fortunately in Roanoke they’re listening to IMBA and in Asheville they recognize that ATVs and horses shouldn’t be allowed to use the new trails for environmental reasons (remember all the bikers who got sick from horse crap in Canada?).
Anyway, it’s up to all of us to advocate for new local trails by riding responsibly and taking part in the political approval process. You never know what you might get just by asking!
