Bay Area Ridge Trail

The Bay Area Ridge Trail is a 400+ mile loop around the Bay Area ridges, passing through nine counties, and a rich array of wonders. It's about connections of places and communities and about natural corridors that is passes through. It's partnerships with agencies and landowners.

The Ridge Trail has been good for cycling in important instances. Use of the trail is controlled by the agencies that it passes through. Some places forbid bikes. But the Ridge Trail has convinced others that multi use is the best way. It's the Ridge Trail that provided the primary push for the new single track opening in Marin County and the Crystal Spring reservoir in San Mateo County.

We've got big challenges to complete the Ridge Trail, involving critical hunks of EBMUD land, private holdings, and existing single track trails that are closed to bikes. It's hard to ride long on the Ridge Trail. Many segments have been dedicated here and throughout the 9 counties without multi use. It is the Ridge Trail policy to revisit these areas to get access, or develop an acceptable alternative trail.

But to do that, someone has got to push the effort. It is not automatic. While the Ridge Trail works to beef up this policy, you need to come forward to help.

If we want new trails, or to open trails that are closed to us, we need to be advocates. Unfortunately, few cyclists are involved in the Ridge Trail. Good work is being done, and has been done for years, but by only a few individuals. This needs to change.

What Can You Do?

How can cyclists participate? In our counties, the Ridge Trail County Committee and the East Bay Area Trails Council (EBATC) are one and the same. We are almost the only county in the area with a trail council, which works for all users. To work on the Ridge Trail, you need to be at EBATC.

There are many reasons to support EBATC. EBATC represents all muscle powered user groups. It works in close association with the EBRPD, which provides most of our riding opportunities. They've joined with the Ridge Trail in supporting a multi use trail on EBMUD lands, even criticizing those few members who spoke against bikes. EBATC strongly urged multi use trails at Los Vaqueros. Most recently, EBATC has weighed in on a controversy involving a landowner who wants to construct a home on the Sunrise Trail in Briones, which will close yet another trail to cyclist.

Very significantly, it was EBATC, at the request of BTCEB, that began the effort to consider single track access for bikes in the EBRPD. EBATC is one of the venues where EBRPD bike regulations will be formed, and perhaps the most important one in which you can participate. At present, there are few cyclists involved in EBATC. That needs to change immediately.

I can't stress enough the need for cyclists to step up now, and become involved. Vital issues are being discussed, and you need to be there. The BTCEB Board does not have enough people to handle this. Board members are so overworked, that they are generally unable to attend the EBATC meetings. This is a huge void that needs to be filled. We can't simply show up when a bike issue is being discussed. That destroys our credibility.

Instead, we need to act as full members of the trail community, and work on many of the problems that face us. Keep in mind, that the relationship of the trail community with mountain bikers can be very fragile, and things can change. When we are at meetings, it is no longer fashionable to dis bikes. But this can be very different when cyclists are not at the table. At present the tone of EBATC meetings is pretty good on multi use. But there is absolutely no guarantee that this will continue, if you are not there. There will be many temptations for trail groups to drop bikes in order to get a trail. If that happens, cyclists will only have themselves to blame because of their apathy.

Michael Kelley