IMBA Focuses Advocacy Efforts On New Jersey
IMBA Trail News
Volume 11, Number 3
July-August 1998
By Tim Blumenthal
Northern New Jersey is one of the most densely populated areas of the United States. It is also remarkably beautiful, with green forested parks, major rock outcroppings, countless lakes and rivers, and twisting singletrack trails.
Unfortunately, only a few of these trails remain open to mountain bikers. Among the region's most notable recent closures are Watchung Reservation in Union County and South Mountain Reservation in Essex County. South Mountain in particular, a 2,000-acre expanse less than 25 miles from Manhattan, had been one of the top mountain biking destinations in the New York metropolitan area until it was formally declared off limits three years ago.
It was with this history in mind that IMBA decided to devote significant staff energy to New Jersey advocacy this year. The first weekend in June, IMBA staffers Tim Blumenthal, Jen Lamb and Scott Gwozdz joined Trail Care Crew No. 2 leaders Ric Balfour and Holly Hill in the Garden State for a packed weekend of special events. Long-time IMBA New Jersey rep (and lifetime IMBA member) Wally Tunison participated in most of the events, as did western New Jersey IMBA leaders Lyle Lange and Bob Ryan and northern New Jersey bike shop owners Marty Epstein (Marty's Reliable Cycles) and Stu Strauss (Livingston Bikes).
IMBA sent about 750 postcards announcing our visit and the schedule of events to all IMBA members in New Jersey and Manhattan. We invited everyone to a multi-use trails forum in Morristown, New Jersey, on Friday evening, June 5th.
That Friday morning we walked trails at South Mountain Reservation. The South Mountain bike-ban decision was supported by a shady, biased environmental study performed by a USDA county extension agent who was clearly predisposed against bikes on trails. (Jim Hasenauer wrote a compelling rebuttal to this study on behalf of IMBA, but the decision went forward anyway.)
During our one-hour walk, we encountered maybe three or four hikers -- that was it -- on a mix of woods roads and moderate singletrack. None of the terrain seemed to pose special environmental or safety problems.
One big issue (not often articulated) is the animosity between local residents who live adjacent to the South Mountain and visitors -- not only cyclists -- who come from New York City. This is a 300-year-old issue that IMBA will not be able to resolve. The situation is made worse by the fact that in the past some riders have been aggressive and unruly and the fact that Essex County is hugely in debt and has no money for park maintenance and trail restoration. As it stands, some riders continue to pedal illegally at South Mountain. Enforcement of the bike ban is uneven; few mountain bikers get caught. Meanwhile, at least one portion of the park remains a haven for drug dealers.
IMBA and Northern New Jersey mountain bikers should be able to work together to officially open some South Mountain trails and dirt roads to cyclists. Essential ingredients of this plan may include: 1. the formation of a volunteer patrol connected with the National Mountain Bike Patrol; 2. a commitment to a set number of volunteer trailwork hours by the northern New Jersey mountain biking community; 3. consideration of an alternate day/alternate trails access plan that may encourage mountain biking during the week while limiting it on weekends; 4. the implementation of a fee structure that will be cheap for county residents, but more costly for out-of-county riders and out-of-staters.
After our stroll on South Mountain we rushed south to Allaire State Park, which is located in southern New Jersey just north of the Pine Barrens. Trails there are almost all sugar sand, with no dirt and no rock. Allaire's management is positive-minded about mountain biking and they support an annual race. Their only concern is that their trailbeds are sinking and turning into gulleys because of the lack of soil and rock and the effects of water erosion. This is an unusual environment: Allaire will welcome erosion mitigation advice from IMBA's Trail Care Crews and our Trails Resource Director Kurt Loheit.
Later that afternoon we met with the Morris County Park Commission in Morristown. Morris County is seeing heavier bicycle use on all of its trails following the closure of nearly all trails to bikes in adjacent Essex and Union counties. At this moment, bicycle use is completely unregulated (and therefore legal) on all Morris County Park trails. They're pondering a comprehensive trails inventory and the designation of bike trails in two (of five) parks.
One of the challenges here is to convince the parks commission board that mountain biking has broad demographics, that nearly all mountain bikers ride responsibly and are willing to volunteer for trailwork, and that concerns about liability can be addressed.
Leaders of Morris County's mountain biking community -- notably, race promoters Sarah Frost (who created the fast-growing PayDirt program) and Marty Epstein -- have done a lot to keep mountain biking going here. But now, the riding community as a whole will need to get involved and become an effective political force. Morris County staff seems to be taking a can-do approach; now they need a clear directive from the Parks Commission and consistent support from mountain bikers.
The highlight of our New Jersey visit was the public forum Friday night. More than 100 people attended, including a large contingent of New York and New Jersey hikers, most of them members of the New York-New Jersey Trails Conference. Given the full house, the obvious tension in the room, and the mix of participants, there was reason to think that the meeting wouldn't go well.
Indeed, the first hour was rough, filled with emotional tales from hikers about collisions, and equally passionate stories from mountain bikers about unwarranted treatment. But then the tenor shifted, and the last two hours were generally constructive, focused on the future, and, in my opinon, very useful.
There were many unforgettable moments that we won't share here, but this was an important meeting. IMBA led the discussion, and the dialogue was generally constructive and forward-looking. Chris Frost, a long-time NORBA official and husband of PayDirt founder Sarah Frost, said that the meeting was the first time that New Jersey hikers and mountain bikers had ever met face-to-face to fully discuss key issues.
(Thanks to Mary Epstein of Marty's Reliable Cycles for providing food and drink and for helping coordinate the event.)
Saturday was National Trails Day. We participated in two events: a trail repair session at Round Valley State Park that attracted about 30 people and was led by Ric & Holly; and a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Blue Mountain Lake Mountain Bike Trail at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service.
The Round Valley Crew (which included Holly Ramer, IMBA's liaison at Subaru of America) completed four or five significant trail repair projects under the direction of advocate Bob Ryan.
The Water Gap NRA mountain bike trail is the first off-road riding opportunity at that 80,000-acre, two-state NRA-- the product of at least six years of persistence and vision by advocate and bike shop owner Lyle Lange (Mountain Sports, Clinton, NJ). IMBA stood between three NPS rangers in uniform to cut the ribbon opening the loop... and then the first band of riders pedaled off -- a group of five, four of whom were in their late 50s or 60s.
Two days later, we enjoyed a great ride at Blue Marsh Lake near Reading, Pennsylvania. This is one of the premier circuits in the Mid-Atlantic states, a 30-mile singletrack that is suitable for riders of all abilities. The Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the facility, deserves tremendous credit for consistently promoting mountain biking and for steadily adding to the trail network. A volunteer bike patrol is at work here and is likely to grow and prosper. Ric and Holly provided new insights on getting horses around and across riparian areas safely and without causing environmental damage.
So it was a great weekend for IMBA, made all the better by the fact that our other Trail Care Crew (Jan & Mike Riter) and many of our staff members were involved with National Trails Days projects back in Colorado. I'm sure that a good percentage of IMBA members around the country participated in NTD events, too.
Improving trail access for mountain bikers in New Jersey is a long-term challenge, but both a plan and a coalition to make it happen are fast taking shape.
