Watchung News 12/9/2016

kdebello

Well-Known Member
I posted a link to the Bridging the knowledge gap response on the Berkeley Heights FB page. People have their opinions, I feel they're not going to change. I'd like to know where some get their info about costs, impact, etc. They can't say where, only that's what they've been told. They have it in their head "bikes are bad", and that's that. Disheartening

I, as were all of us, was very excited about the Res opening up to bikes. With the updates and progress that was being made over the last couple of years, the scheduled trail maintenance days (even if they were cancelled), the maps and plans, I was motivated more than ever to get back out on the bike and in the woods. The thought of all of this possibly being pulled is a hard one to take.
 

2WHLZ

Member
Has anyone tried to show them a video of people riding in other parks? I feel like they have no idea what mountain biking is... They have a caricature of some yahoo bombing around completely out of control yelling like goofy in "the art of skiing". Instead 99.999% of rides are like this:

Hardly something to be up in arms over.
 

Xler8

Well-Known Member
If you can, please attend the Freeholder meeting tomorrow night 7pm; 10 Elizabeth Town Plaza, 6th Floor, Elizabeth, NJ. There is nothing related to the Watchung Reservation Trail Plan on the Agenda but we will be able to speak at the public comment portion at the end of the meeting. With 100% certainty there will be vocal anti-MTB people there to speak. We should at least have our chance to respond (respectfully, with facts, and calmly). I am preparing a document to debunk all of the objections raised last night and will circulate it to the Freeholders.

Please don't forget this it tonight. Please show your support and join this meeting. Pass the word for those that may not be aware. It's go time!
 

stilluf

Well-Known Member
Has anyone tried to show them a video of people riding in other parks? I feel like they have no idea what mountain biking is... They have a caricature of some yahoo bombing around completely out of control yelling like goofy in "the art of skiing". Instead 99.999% of rides are like this:

Hardly something to be up in arms over.

Sorry but the music is so lame in this I'm afraid if we showed it we would be banned on basic standards.
 

roc

Well-Known Member
Boy, it's unbelievable how many people are actually against other people having fun. Who cares if people ride their bikes in the woods? Wow, people are so selfish. Those people at the podium are so arrogant. People can really get a stick up their ass about certain things. Are mountain bike trails really that destructive? why would any of these people want their county to spend money to see if this would increase erosion, don't we have bigger fish to fry?
I probably hike more than I bike and I have never really seen any mountain bikers being assholes. I don't even give a shit if I see quads or motos. The whole fucking world needs to loosen up a bit!
Just my .02
 
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ktmrider

Well-Known Member
This resistance is sad , it's not even based off of any facts . Thankyou to who ever is dealing with this shit storm . I guess people don't like change .
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
I think the world has seen enough of POV mountain bike videos....they are all boring
With everyone having access to drones these days POV is pretty much dead. It's fun to watch Cat1 or Pro footage if there's a lot of passing and whatnot but normal trail riding always looks boring unless it's at Rampage.
 

littlev21

Active Member
This resistance is sad , it's not even based off of any facts . Thankyou to who ever is dealing with this shit storm . I guess people don't like change .

welcome to the world we live in nowadays. Facts mean little, it's only how many people you can convince. It's been coined "truthful hyperbole"
 

bigtwin100

Active Member
With everyone having access to drones these days POV is pretty much dead. It's fun to watch Cat1 or Pro footage if there's a lot of passing and whatnot but normal trail riding always looks boring unless it's at Rampage.
The drone stuff is pretty cool. Yeah i can watch the pro stuff but the regular joe shmo trail rides....pretty boring :) sorry to deral guys back to watchung..!
 

Shorepoints

Well-Known Member
Freeh
Any accounts from the meeting last night?
Freeholder meeting was very productive. Definitely left feeling much more optimistic than Tuesday night. There were 10-15 MTB opposers there and about 5-10 pro MTB folks including Tom Dunn from Hilltop. The sentiment from the opposition crowd shifted noticeably away from Anti-MTB toward "Watchung Res is in terrible shape and needs much better care". Prior to the meeting, advocate Bob Miller arranged a face-face meeting with myself and the vocal anti-bike Trail Runner who spoke early on Tuesday (and again last night). She is much more sympathetic to our cause now and really just wants to see better stewardship of the Res as a whole. We also spoke with some of the concerned homeowners from Summit/Mountainside who showed up and are dialed in to their concerns and getting them involved in the process. We also spoke to Charles Weltner, the first speaker Tuesday night who was very passionate anti-bike Tuesday and he actually was quite friendly and reasonable last night. He's interested in trying MTB riding and Tom Dunn has offered him a free demo. The freeholders remain focused on providing a solution to try to accommodate as many stakeholders as possible, including MTB riders.
 

Zaskar

Well-Known Member
Freeh

Freeholder meeting was very productive. Definitely left feeling much more optimistic than Tuesday night. There were 10-15 MTB opposers there and about 5-10 pro MTB folks including Tom Dunn from Hilltop. The sentiment from the opposition crowd shifted noticeably away from Anti-MTB toward "Watchung Res is in terrible shape and needs much better care". Prior to the meeting, advocate Bob Miller arranged a face-face meeting with myself and the vocal anti-bike Trail Runner who spoke early on Tuesday (and again last night). She is much more sympathetic to our cause now and really just wants to see better stewardship of the Res as a whole. We also spoke with some of the concerned homeowners from Summit/Mountainside who showed up and are dialed in to their concerns and getting them involved in the process. We also spoke to Charles Weltner, the first speaker Tuesday night who was very passionate anti-bike Tuesday and he actually was quite friendly and reasonable last night. He's interested in trying MTB riding and Tom Dunn has offered him a free demo. The freeholders remain focused on providing a solution to try to accommodate as many stakeholders as possible, including MTB riders.

 
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