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Jackson Berg
Professor Reed
English 101
8 August 2014
The first form of the bicycle is thought to have been invented as early as 1817 by Baron
Karl von Drais, a German inventor. Originally designed solely as a method of transportation, the
bike was a revolutionary invention because it gave people the ability to travel easily and
inexpensively. Fast forward to the 21
st
century and biking is no longer simply an inexpensive
method of transportation. In the last decade, mountain biking, in particular, has become both an
incredibly popular type of recreational biking and a competitive sport. The only thing missing in
2014 for those who love mountain biking is an adequate supply of properly maintained trails on
which to ride. The majority of trails throughout the United States remain restricted to hikers
because of the belief that opening the trails to bikers would endanger hikers as well as harm the
environment. Research and my own experience, however, shows that bikers and hikers can
safely share trails, and that bikers cause no more damage to the environment than hikers.
Increasing the number of maintained trails that are accessible to mountain bikers would permit
more people to enjoy the sport without impacting hiker safety or causing harm to the
environment.
If you hike on trails regularly, you may have noticed that many trails do not allow
mountain bikers. Trails are often closed to bikers because of the perception that it isnt safe for
the hikers to be on trails at the same time as bikers, and that joint-use trails result in conflict
between the two groups. However, a 2006 study conducted by Carla Jellum, a student at Central
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Washington University, shows that such a belief is flawed. Jellum interviewed 233 hikers on the
Middlefork Trail in Washington about their attitudes toward bikers and found that 90 percent of
the hikers had a positive experience sharing the trail with mountain bikers and did not fear for
their safety. My experience riding on joint-use trails reflects Jellums findings. I find that hikers
do not appear fearful when sharing the trail with me and give me room to pass by. I make sure
not to ride too closely to hikers or to give them any reason to worry about their safety.
To gain additional insight into hikers opinions about sharing trails with mountain bikers,
I surveyed 10 hikers on a joint-use trail in Gonzales Canyon in San Diego. Questions I asked the
hikers included, Are you concerned you might become injured when you see a mountain
bicyclist approaching? and Do you think trails in Gonzales Canyon should be closed to
mountain bikers? In answer to the first question, 9 out of the 10 respondents answered that they
are not concerned, as the bikers they encounter are typically courteous and slow down when they
encounter hikers on the trail. The sole respondent who answered yes to the question indicated
he is always slightly fearful when bikers approach him, but it is a result of being hit by a biker on
a city street, not on a trail. None of the respondents think the Gonzales Canyon trail should be
closed to mountain biking. All 10 indicated they are confident the trail can be safely enjoyed by
those participating in both types of activities.
Another common misconception about mountain biking is that it causes significantly
more damage to trails than hiking. This conclusion is disproven by a study comparing the
environmental impact of mountain biking and hiking. (Thurston and Reader 397) The
researchers recorded data after a specific number of passes were made by either a bike or hiker
on a trail. The intervals ranged from zero to five hundred passes to simulate the effects of
average trail use. Even details like the weight of the bikes, riders, and hikers were selectively
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chosen to ensure that accurate data was compared and recorded. The study concluded that while
the wear patterns of biking and hiking differ, their overall environmental impact on trails are
very similar.
Catherine M. Pickering et al. analyzed the impact trail-users have on the ecosystem in
detail. The researchers focused on very specific factors related to trail damage that other studies
commonly overlook, such as the harm caused to vegetation by trail users. For example,
Pickering found that approximately 40% of children hiking on a particular trail in coastal
California had traces of Phytophthora Ramorum, a plant pathogen that causes a disease called
Sudden Oak Death, on the soles of their shoes. In contrast, one advantage of biking over hiking
is that bikers rarely make contact with the ground with their feet, greatly reducing the chance of
spreading harmful diseases to the surrounding vegetation. When hiking, there is a tendency to
go off designated trails and explore, whereas bikers tend to stay on the trails.
Even when trails are used for mountain bike racing, the adverse effects is minimal. After
870 mountain bikers and 80,000 spectators attended the 1998 World Championship mountain
bike race, trail erosion was analyzed. (Wohrstein) The researchers discovered significant erosion
only on the most highly used and steepest trails where there was a large amount of water runoff.
While the soil on the mountain bike trails was highly compacted, it was compacted to a
shallower depth than the areas where spectators had stood and walked.
The Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation Departments findings in 1986 had a very
positive effect on the use of trails for mountain biking. (Crockett) The Department examined
erosion caused by mountain bikers on the Edwards Field Trail. The study measured trail width
both before and after 45 bicyclists rode a total of 495 times over 12 different areas. The results
demonstrated that the amount of erosion caused by mountain bikers is very similar to that caused
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by hikers. The trail width increased at some spots and decreased at other spots. The amount of
soil in spots also varied. Overall, both hikers and bikers created minimal change in the visual
characteristics of the trail. Because of this study, the Santa Clara County Parks and Recreation
Department opened hiking trails to mountain biking.
As an avid mountain biker, I am always looking for new trails to ride because many of
the existing trails are very limited in both length and difficulty. Many other bikers experience
the same frustrations and sometimes go so far as to build their own trails. These undesignated
trails can have severe environmental impact. Most of the makeshift trails are built on county or
private land. Without the approval of the local government or landowner, the trails end up being
closed off. The people building these trails do not always consider how much damage they are
causing to the surrounding ecosystem. In contrast, when trails are professionally built the
builders consider how to properly manage water runoff, minimize erosion, and ensure that
maintenance is routinely completed. (Fiske)
If you ask most mountain bikers why they choose to bike, they will likely tell you it is
because mountain biking is an exciting way to enjoy being outdoors. The popularity of the sport
has steadily risen over the past decade. If the popularity of mountain biking has increased, why
shouldnt the number of trails increase as well? Even if governments do not have space or
money to dedicate trails to mountain biking only, the most straightforward solution is to allow
bikers to jointly use trails with hikers. With research demonstrating that biking and hiking have
very similar effects on trails, and that joint-use trails do not pose a safety hazard to hikers, it only
makes sense to allow more joint-use trails. Both hikers and bikers deserve access to trails and to
increased opportunities to participate in the activities they enjoy.

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Works Cited

Crockett, Christopher S. Survey of Ecological Impact Considerations Related to Mountain
Bicycle Use on the Edwards Field Trail at Joseph D. Grant County Park, Santa Clara
County (CA) Parks Department, 1986. Web. 18 July 2014.
Fiske, Brian. "Trail Etiquette: Cut, Reroute, or Leave Alone." Bicycling.com, n.d.: n. pag. Web.
19 July 2014.
Jellum, Carla M. Managing Mountain Bike Recreation and User Conflicts: A Case Study on
Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington State. Thesis. Central Washington
University, 2007. Web. 19 July 2014.
Pickering, Catherine M., Wendy Hill, David Newsome, and Yu-Fai Leung. "Comparing Hiking,
Mountain Biking and Horse Riding Impacts on Vegetation and Soils in Australia and the
United States of America." Journal of Environmental Management (2009): 551-62.
University of Vermont. Elsevier, 27 Oct. 2009. Web. 19 July 2014.
Thurston, Eden, and Richard J. Reader. "Impacts of Experimentally Applied Mountain Biking
and Hiking on Vegetation and Soil of a Deciduous Forest." Environmental Management
27.3 (2001): 397-409. Web. 18 July 2014.
Whrstein, T. Mountainbike und Umwelt - kologische Auswirkungen und
Nutzungskonflikte (Trans. Mountainbike and Environment - Ecological Impacts and Use
Conflict). Saarbrcken-Dudweiler, Pirrot Verlag & Druck, 1998. Web. 6 Aug. 2014.