Free-riding on public lands poses risks

Parks & Recreation, Oct, 2004

The fast-growing sport of "free-riding," which is trail riding for mountain bikers seeking the thrills of dropping off 10-foot cliffs, flying down flights of stairs or riding across teeter-totters, is growing more rampant throughout the country, albeit with unintended consequences for land managers. Free riders use public property primarily, posing significant liability risks and the potential of damaging environmental resources of local park and recreation agencies. Some officials are closing some trails and removing free-ride structures when they find them. But this is not the only solution. In Auburn, Calif., longtime bicycling advocate Jim Haagen-Smit said free-riders have been meeting with managers of the Auburn State Recreation Area to agree upon rules and processes for building free-ride terrain. "At first, they (the land managers) freaked out, but we've reached a truce," he said. "It takes a lot of work to make it work." In British Columbia, considered the movement's birthplace, free riding trails are a tourist attraction. Towns like Breckinridge, Colo., have allowed groups to construct freeride areas in some parks. The International Mountain Bicycling Association has published extensive literature to teach free riders how to work with public agencies and how to construct safe, environmentally friendly and long-lasting free-ride trails and features.

For more information on free-riding and how to co-exist with public land managing agencies, visit www.imba.com.