I have been thinking on this long and hard.
The three freeholders who voted to keep their word and move forward with mountain biking deserve credit for their integrity, but for the others and as a whole, the Union County government had indeed proven itself no more trustworthy than in 1995.
What went wrong? It is simplistic to say people got angry at the idea of mountain biking there because they thought mountain bikers would damage the park or ruin its tranquility. That was indeed the sort of objection they raised – often taken to absurd levels, like one woman who thought we killed turtles, and another who was terrified we would track in an invasive seed – but the explanation goes deeper than that because this wasn’t really about mountain biking – it was about the ban.
The ban on mountain biking was imposed in a backroom by the unelected, with no documentation of a problem at Watchung, despite whatever anecdotes people subjectively remember, the point is they never documented A SINGLE INSTANCE of injury, conflict or damage. And the ban was done by misappropriating an old ordinance about "roads, sidewalks, paths, not blocking cars" that had nothing to do with mountain biking, and predated the ban by over a decade at the time, was never enforced against mt biking before 95, with no public input.
Those who opposed mountain biking access were not just opposing mountain biking at Watchung, they were supporting the ban. This by definition includes everything about it, including its suspicious history and the disgraceful methodology involved in its creation. In short, the opponents were not just against mountain biking – by opposing even a small challenge to the ban, like granting an exception to a handful of trails in one park, they were in favor of the misgovernment the ban entailed – and still does as long as it exists.
Unfortunately, so few seem to think in terms of basic principles that many probably never even thought about the issue except in terms of whether or not they liked the idea of mountain biking.
It didn’t help than many in government did not (and still will not) even acknowledge the history of what happened despite the fact that said history has been pieced together and ferreted out from their own statements and records in OPRA responses. Such a stance does not make for better understanding, to put it mildly – but it helps explain why so many people are against mountain biking, despite their own fallacious arguments, and why the government dragged its feet and then ultimately killed the mountain bike plan. The official line and false narrative it entails is conducive only to one view of mountain biking, and it is not positive.
Thanks to all who participated in the effort and may stay involved going forward. If nothing else we have made it easier for the next generation of riders to finish the fight. Thanks especially to Mr. Seebeck of Jorba and and our two resident gurus at the Union County jorba branch.
I was told early on in the effort by some local riders that we would never win. However I believed it important to try. Even now I do not see it as wasted effort. Maybe especially now. There are times when speaking the truth is all you can do -- and therefore all the more important that you do so.
Rock on, ride safe.
"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one." -- Malcolm Reynolds, "Firefly" (yeh I was a scifi geek growing up)
