Equestrians and cyclists join forces to build essential Santa Cruz singletrack

IMBA Trail News
Volume 12, Number 4
September 1999

By Judd de Vall

Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) and the Santa Cruz County Horseman's Association (SCCHA) came together recently to build a short multi-use singletrack joining the University of California, Santa Cruz and a nearby state park. The trail, named the U-Con, will provide a valuable connector between the two high use areas.

Doug Landauer, MBOSC secretary, commented, "It's only about a mile long, but it's a mile of beautiful singletrack in the mixed redwood, oak and manzanita forest along the edge of the UC Santa Cruz campus."

Much of the camaraderie between the MBOSC and the SCCHA can be attributed to the late Chuck Beebe, the former president of the SCCHA and an ardent advocate of cooperation between the equestrian and mountain bike communities. The U-Con trail is a great example of Chuck's philosophy that cooperation with mountain bikers, "not only can work, but is the only thing that will work."

Prior to Chuck's presidency of the SCCHA, he was an influential member of the Los Altos Hills Horseman's Association of Santa Barbara. Bebe was instrumental in curtailing years of growing tension between local equestrian groups and mountain bikers. As a result, central coast mountain bikers are able to enjoy dozens of miles of legal singletrack that remains open to cyclists in Santa Barbara County.