State park night rides

KStwenty1

KStwenty1

Active Member
It woud be nice if trails were open to hikers and bikers at night. Days are short this time of year and trail riding seems relegated to the weekend. Those of us without road/cx bikes need more winter hours to ride and mountain biking on the road isn't ideal. What say you?
 
KStwenty1 said:
It woud be nice if trails were open to hikers and bikers at night. Days are short this time of year and trail riding seems relegated to the weekend. Those of us without road/cx bikes need more winter hours to ride and mountain biking on the road isn't ideal. What say you?
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I am all for it...

But, consider that from the park's perspective, they would have to have staff on during the night hours to cover some liability.

It is also pretty much proven that more trouble comes after dark.

Clearly people are riding in the woods after dark. Shops are selling tons of lighting systems.


I can get you in touch w/ the park folks at 6 mr, but consider that you may in fact just raising more red flags that this is going on already.

J
 
A while back there were a few sponsored legal rides at Lewis Morris, but I don't think the turnout was that great. There's also a Jorba one at Warton every year I think. But yea not many official legal.
 
I understand the parks side of this with the liabilities etc., but this time of year is rough to find time to ride. It's already dark by the time most people that work can even get to the trails. Not to mention keeping the trails smooth. The trails are a lot more frozen at night which avoids more mud and helps to keep the trails maintained. There's a solid argument either way.
 
soundz said:
A while back there were a few sponsored legal rides at Lewis Morris, but I don't think the turnout was that great. There's also a Jorba one at Warton every year I think. But yea not many official legal.
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JORBA Thanksgiving ride once a year, but there are once a month rides there fall thru early spring with the exception of December. Still not much though, and the park police will snag you any other time.
 
I just got done riding on a towpath in the dark for two hours...with five other people. There are opportunities to ride if you MAKE them.

Saying there is an argument is like saying that ALL retail stores should be open 24 hours. It just isn't feasible.
 
There are definitely 2 sides to the night riding thing. I personally love to ride at night. But havent done so in quite some time 🙁

As for state parks, I understand the liability thing, but when are we as adults going to start taking responsibility for our own actions? The fault there is with lawyers and judges that allow those types of cases where the person blames everyone else for their own actions. :popcorn:

And mentioning state parks, did you know that technically the DandR canal (tow path) is closed at night as well? :popcorn:

Sure, there can be more trouble at night, wild animals, humans preying on other humans, which is why if you do ride at night, it should never ever ever be solo.
 
KStwenty1 said:
It woud be nice if trails were open to hikers and bikers at night. Days are short this time of year and trail riding seems relegated to the weekend. Those of us without road/cx bikes need more winter hours to ride and mountain biking on the road isn't ideal. What say you?
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The amount of daylight is what it is. I say we need less jobs. 😀
 
Liability is a joke in the state precisely because no one steps up to own their actions. Instead they blame anyone else whenever possible and sue along the way. On top if that the state is struggling to operate as it is, there's no way they'll throw additional resources at anything like this.
 
jdog said:
But, consider that from the park's perspective, they would have to have staff on during the night hours to cover some liability.

but consider that you may in fact just raising more red flags that this is going on already.
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J brings up some good points, here is another point to consider. The parks are concerned with extraction, if you get hurt and call for help they will need to mobilize an effort to find you....more difficult at night. I think all of us who rep parks have posed this question at one time or another. If they open for cyclists, they need to open for everyone, not going to happen with all of these budget cuts.

People ride, they just don't talk about it openly because they don't want to shine a light on the situation. Just ride with a group, be stealthy, and drag your own ass out if you eat it.
 
Possible solution:

I surf fish at Sandy Hook And LBI (not this year thanx to Sandy) and purchase a yearly permit that allows me on the the beach year round. I also purchase a night permit to fish after hours. Yeah it sux spending money, but nothing better than having most of the beach to yourself at night.
 
It's not just liability, but also the "cost of extraction".
There is no such thing as "your on your own", someone will eventually call 911 and then the authorities are mandated to respond. They have to rally all the EMS, and now since it is the middle of the woods it becomes a SAR mission. That becomes expensive, and it is the town, not the park that provides emergency services. Given the budget constraints the towns and parks are under, you can expect such a request to be easily dismissed.

As mentioned, some chapter/park leads negotiate scheduled rides, and so they have time to plan ahead, ensure they have sweeps, take headcount and make sure they have a time buffer to get everyone out.
 
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