Reducing impact

trailhead

trailhead

JORBA: Wildcat/Splitrock
JORBA.ORG
Trail assessment Friday 8/30/13 at 9am

We are meeting with a representative of the MCPC to go over the areas that need to be corrected. If anyone would like to work with JORBA and the MCPC in this park on a continual basis, this would be a good introduction. The focus of this meeting will be on identifying the areas that need mitigation. After the meeting with the MCPC, if anyone is available we can start some of the work.

Friday 8/30/13
9am
Tourne Ball Fields
 
extremedave

extremedave

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Well I feel like a big poopy head missing this but I was 5000 miles away...anyway. I looked around at the trails in question, there are a LOT of lines up there. I've seen guys on everything from serious AM bikes to full face helmets with DH sleds over there.

I'm worried the problem will be the current user base who (probably) are not mtbnj/jorba/Imba sorts. Honestly I don't get the attraction, it's a bitch of a climb for a minute of DH maybe. Just go to Ringwood already...
But, how would you combat users opening up lines that the park/jorba modify or block?
 
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notcho

notcho

Well-Known Member
For now, the MTB community and regular users of this park need to self police this activity by monitoring the area and promptly close any new lines that might emerge. Keep an eye out for new lines being made on the existing trails as well. If there are any members of this site that either helped build or ride these trails, please stop immediately. Hopefully with our persistence, these riders will be discouraged and move on to trails that are more conducive to their riding style. The Tourne is not the place for these types of downhill runs and further escalation could seriously jeopardize access to all MTB activity.
 
A Potted Plant

A Potted Plant

Honorary Sod
Is there a number you can call like park police to snitch on the people doing that? I feel like a ticket would help stop some of these activities.
 
MST.ESQ

MST.ESQ

New Member
trail access

I have spoken to a number of people on-site at the Tourne over the years and nobody seems to have a friggin clue as to what is open/closed to bikes. I even spoke to a county worker on duty and he thought everything but Wildflower was open. I have never seen a map on-site that says otherwise and the trail markings are not clear in this regard either.

This one is not our fault. Mark it and educate your own employees or people will continue to bike here. Expecting people to consult the interwebs is not enough.

This continuing debate over what is off-limits is just plain stupid due to ineffective management by the county government.
 
extremedave

extremedave

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
MST.ESQ said:
I have spoken to a number of people on-site at the Tourne over the years and nobody seems to have a friggin clue as to what is open/closed to bikes. I even spoke to a county worker on duty and he thought everything but Wildflower was open. I have never seen a map on-site that says otherwise and the trail markings are not clear in this regard either.

This one is not our fault. Mark it and educate your own employees or people will continue to bike here. Expecting people to consult the interwebs is not enough.

This continuing debate over what is off-limits is just plain stupid due to ineffective management by the county government.
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Seems like one of those government things; if you ask for an official, on the books answer, that answer will be "no". Which would then have to be enforced. Personally I'm ok with access permitted with the stipulation I'm not an ass about it.

Not to be argumentative, but you'd have to be pretty myopic to think building lines, jumps, and berms (which is what's been done) in a county park is a grey area of access permitted or not.
 
MST.ESQ

MST.ESQ

New Member
extremedave said:
Not to be argumentative, but you'd have to be pretty myopic to think building lines, jumps, and berms (which is what's been done) in a county park is a grey area of access permitted or not.
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I said nothing about "building" trails or features.
 
extremedave

extremedave

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
MST.ESQ said:
I said nothing about "building" trails or features.
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I agree the system is pretty goofy there. I talked to a guy who asked the same question; what's allowed? He even wanted to discuss holding a race there with the commission. But the current problem and negative attention is completely and totally being caused by the downhill lines that have been built.

And to clarify, I was not calling you personally myopic. I was referring to those who built the current lines. It's one thing to not be sure where you are or are not supposed to ride. That I can say wouldn't be the riders' fault there. But even the most ignorant person should have a clue you can't just build crap on county land, within 100 feet of the main destination spot on the park.

Sorry if you took that to mean you, not what I meant.
 
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notcho

notcho

Well-Known Member
Rouge trails

Just to keep this thread on topic...

The issue at hand is the closure of the rouge downhill trails that have recently caught the attention of park officials. While there is some ambiguity on what trails are legal for MTB use, this is not what threatens our access to the park. The park has made it clear that any unauthorized building will not be tolerated by any user group. Unfortunately for 98% of the MTB community that utilize the trail system, a select few feel it is their right to create new lines where they see fit. Further proliferation of these types of trails will have serious negative implications for future access.

Eventually if we build enough equity with park officials we could have a more constructive dialogue regarding maintaining the legal trails within the park. For now, use this thread as a means to communicate any new lines that might begin to reopen. The quicker we can shut them down the better.
 
graveyardman67

graveyardman67

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
And nacho speaks.....


Thanks Norm and "nacho" for the work out there. Though it appears some of the trail closed signs have already been removed. Myself and others have put the word out that this issue needs attention or we may risk continued access.
 
notcho

notcho

Well-Known Member
I think we need a nice TM session here in the spring to reinforce the switchbacks on both sides of the red trail. Much widening and new lines going down the middle are opening up lately and it seems to be getting worse. For example, there was a nice fresh fat track coming straight down the old switchback this past week. I realize that the snow sometimes forces us off the trail, however this was blatantly someone's attempt to create a line down the middle. Downfall that was placed there weeks before was purposely moved out of the way to create an unobstructed line to the bottom. Someone also put a branch across the legit trail that lead directly to this short cut. Could have been a hiker that moved the branches, but not ok for bikes to perpetuate the trail destruction. Beer time.

Before:
IMG_2995.JPG

IMG_2997.JPG

After:

IMG_2996.JPG
 
thisterrence

thisterrence

Member
Frustrating. I have met at least one hiker who complained that those new switchbacks makes it much less convenient for getting down the hill. I pointed out that the biggest issue pre-switchbacks was the erosion. He didn't care and declared that he would keep going straight down the middle. It only takes a few knuckleheads to mess up a trail system.
 
N

NickBnj

New Member
My wife and I recently moved across the street from the Tourne and use it a lot. Would love to help out with anything there. Are there some kind of organized TM sessions scheduled?
 
notcho

notcho

Well-Known Member
NickBnj said:
My wife and I recently moved across the street from the Tourne and use it a lot. Would love to help out with anything there. Are there some kind of organized TM sessions scheduled?
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Courious if there's been any trail maintenance here since this post?
 
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