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Bikers to celebrate progress

Event also looks at future of mountain biking
Jodi Deller, right, a volunteer with Trails 2000, steps aside to allow a mountain biker through on the Colorado Trail near the Wall’s Gulch Bridge. A symposium will be held next week to discuss trail issues, past, present and future.

Twenty-five years ago, a coalition of local organizers met with state and federal land-use agencies to deal with what was considered at the time a “new creature” appearing in greater numbers on the area’s trail system.

The issue in question was not some beast in the woods but instead the growing popularity of mountain biking, which has of course become one of the most mainstream of mountain sports.

But in 1990, government land-use agencies didn’t have cohesive regulations in place that set the groundwork for the sport.

As bikers rode on trails and passed through Forest Service land into Bureau of Land Management areas, the rules changed. And that made for difficult riding.

Ed Zink, who founded the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic almost 45 years ago, said the problem of trail use really stems back to the 1950s, when backpacking became a recreational activity.

The vast majority of trails used in the area were formed by cattle herders or miners headed to work, so the paths were rough and not conducive to outdoor sports.

In the 1980s, when mountain biking came along, that problem was exacerbated, Zink said. Still, outdoor enthusiasts were able to redesign some of the trails for both hiking and bike use.

“The biggest challenge was the land-use agencies who were just trying to get their arms around mountain biking; all had different sets of rules,” Zink said. “If you went for a ride and changed jurisdictions, which is easy to do mountain biking, there was a different set of rules. That was really difficult.”

Zink and other local organizers resolved to bring together all the invested agencies under one roof and draft a blanket set of regulations that would take into account a variety of issues in regard to mountain biking.

The meeting, called Durango Land Symposium, coincided with the first-ever World Mountain Bike Championships held in Durango in 1990. Zink marked that time as a period of cooperation that led to a unified set of rules.

Now, 25 years later, the bicycling-advocacy group Trails 2000 will hold another symposium to celebrate progress over the past quarter century, and also to look ahead.

“By and large, everyone is trying to use the same piece of ground, so there’s some sharing the trail issues that come up from time to time,” said Gaige Sippy, director of the Iron Horse Bicycle Classic.

Sippy expects conversation to focus on trail damage, accessibility and the growing popularity of electric bikes. But the event will also provide a chance to reflect.

“We feel like we are a microcosm of trail systems, and it’s also a great way to show off how lots of different groups got together and made trails possible,” Sippy said.

Zink, who organized the original event but was unable to attend, said it’s important to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to issues on the trail.

“You can’t talk about the future of mountain biking without first talking about mountain trails and riding,” he said. “It’s good to have that discussion once in a while.”

jromeo@durangoherald.com

If you go

The Durango Land Symposium will be held at 8:30 a.m. Sept. 11 at the Ballroom in the Fort Lewis College Student Union. To register, visit www.trails2000.org. Limited seats are available.



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