Editorial By: CJ Ramstad
On a ride recently I saw a set of ATV tracks heading off the grade and into some woods. The rider ran into a low spot almost immediately after leaving the grade and his tires made two very deep ruts that zig-zagged about 100 feet before finding dry ground.
The worst part was the rutted section was near a county road where passing traffic could easily see the disturbed, black, muddy earth where the rider had passed.
This is a situation where a near-perfect, all-weather, long-distance rail trail is threatened because a rider left the trail and made a mess.
I know the local riders in the area and I’m told the club went out as soon as they could to mitigate the damage.
The point is these unfortunate events and many others like them have the potential to create opposition to a perfectly sustainable trail by providing a big, ugly and visible example of the negative side of riding ATVs.
One thoughtless loser, leaving the marked trail and making a mess, caused a lot of work for others and generated a threat for responsible riders who have every right to hope they can use this trail for many years to come. Don’t be a loser.
