Bike the Wilderness

By Bend Bulletin editorial staff
September 19, 2006

We think we can have our wilderness and ride it too. Mountain bikers have to make a knotty choice when it comes to the creation of more wilderness areas. The proposals to add 128,000 acres of wilderness to Mount Hood or 492 square miles near Sun Valley in Central Idaho are admirable steps toward preserving wilderness.

But if they become wilderness areas, you can't ride there. The Mount Hood proposal would eliminate some 28 miles of bike trails. Another 85 miles of trails will be lost in Sun Valley.

When Congress passed the law that created wilderness areas - the Wilderness Act of 1964 - it did not specifically ban bicycles. Biking in the wilderness wasn't an issue. There were people who rode bicycles off-road. Mountain biking, though, wasn't really born until the 1970s.

The agencies that manage wilderness ban bicycles because of the law's prohibition of any "form of mechanical transport." That puts bicycles in the same category as snowmobiles, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. They don't belong there. The wilderness law's purpose is to provide "outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation" and a place where the imprint of humans is to be "substantially unnoticeable." Bicycles fit between those guardrails.

Congress should permit mountain biking in wilderness area. There still need to be rules. The agencies responsible for managing the wilderness areas could regulate just how much is permitted and where.

Modern mountain bikes aren't exactly primitive. And we can understand why some people would be concerned that herds of bicyclists zipping along a trail will jolt hikers and wildlife. But riders on horseback can do that, too. And they are permitted in wilderness areas.

We're not talking about turning wilderness areas into theme parks for extreme mountain biking. If it comes to that, we'll ask the government to crack down or ban bikes again. At the very least, we hope lawmakers planning new wilderness areas minimize the impact on bike trails.

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	Bike the Wilderness By Bend Bulletin editorial staff September 19, 2006 We think we can have our wilderness and ride it too. Mountain bikers have to make a knotty choice when it comes to the creation of more wilderness areas. The proposals to add 128,000 acres of wilderness to Mount Hood or 492 square miles near Sun Valley in Central Idaho are admirable steps toward preserving wilderness. But if they become wilderness areas, you can't ride there. The Mount Hood proposal would eliminate some 28 miles of bike trails. Another 85 miles of trails will be lost in Sun Valley. When Congress passed the law that created wilderness areas - the Wilderness Act of 1964 - it did not specifically ban bicycles. Biking in the wilderness wasn't an issue. There were people who rode bicycles off-road. Mountain biking, though, wasn't really born until the 1970s. The agencies that manage wilderness ban bicycles because of the law's prohibition of any "form of mechanical transport." That puts bicycles in the same category as snowmobiles, motorcycles and all-terrain vehicles. They don't belong there. The wilderness law's purpose is to provide "outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation" and a place where the imprint of humans is to be "substantially unnoticeable." Bicycles fit between those guardrails. Congress should permit mountain biking in wilderness area. There still need to be rules. The agencies responsible for managing the wilderness areas could regulate just how much is permitted and where. Modern mountain bikes aren't exactly primitive. And we can understand why some people would be concerned that herds of bicyclists zipping along a trail will jolt hikers and wildlife. But riders on horseback can do that, too. And they are permitted in wilderness areas. We're not talking about turning wilderness areas into theme parks for extreme mountain biking. If it comes to that, we'll ask the government to crack down or ban bikes again. At the very least, we hope lawmakers planning new wilderness areas minimize the impact on bike trails.


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