Sunday... Despite being sore from my run-in with Joel and kinda' hung over from JP and Frankie's excellent wedding, I worked 'til dark at Wilderness Park, trimming back branches to improve the line of sight in corners. I don't like head-ons in the park and I'm not going to stop riding out there...It's been a long time since I've run head-on into anyone in Wilderness Park, so when Joel Smith and I came face-to-face this past Saturday it was almost surreal how quickly everything happened. I just happened to be the first person in the group I was riding with. I don't think either Joel or I was going too fast. I actually went out yesterday (Sunday) and spent the entire afternoon and evening pruning back branches in corners, and I paid particularly close attention to the area where Joel and I hit. It needed to be trimmed back.
So you might be wondering -- did we get hurt? Well, believe it or not (if you know us both), Joel got hurt worse than I did. He and my bike got tangled up pretty bad, and it resulted in a broken left wrist and some stitches for him, and a broken shifter, fork guard and wrecked rear rim on my bike. I just have some bad bruises and a swollen left knee and forearm, but am otherwise OK. I got really lucky. When I saw Joel, I got my weight started going right, so when we hit, I kind of glanced off of him and flew into a cedar tree on the right side of the trail. When I landed, I was on my back and I looked up and was at the base of the tree... like a big cradle. Joel was untangling himself from the bikes yelling that he'd re-broken his arm (at the front of plates he had installed in his left forearm from a prior injury). Sadly, because I too have plates in my arm, I knew exactly what he was talking about. All I could say was "I'm sorry Joel," because I knew it sucked and there was nothing I could do to make it better.
You know, I sat in a meeting with Lincoln Parks and Recreation managers four years ago, and then again last year and asked them to make Wilderness Park a one-way marked trail, so that we could avoid conflicts like this, but they refused. I wonder what it's going to take to get them to consider that option?
Parents reading this -- would you want to take your kid out to Wilderness Park for a mountain bike ride, knowing Joel Smith - a former professional-level racer - just got his arm broken in a head-on collision at non-racing level speeds?
Over the next few days, I'd like to show how a one-way trail saved mountain bike access at the Betasso Preserve in Boulder, Colorado and how one-way mountain bike trails may be the key to making mountain biking at Wilderness Park safer, more appealing for residents and people coming into town from the outside and ultimately, more fun for everybody. Watch for that to-come in upcoming posts in the next couple of days.
We need to do something...
Here are some pictures from JP and Frankie's Wedding...
Congratulations to two of my very best friends on their marriage and thanks for letting Laura and I celebrate with you Saturday night. We had a blast!! The ride from the wedding to the reception was something I'll never forget. Talk about a Bike Fest!! We had it goin' on!!!
Finally, here are a couple shots of my El Mariachi, post accident... Notice the missing fork guard, and the sheared-off left side shift lever. What you can't see is the potato chip rear wheel, which will roll on for a little bit in a very band-aid fashion, but will need to be replaced soon.
Have a great week!
MG
So you might be wondering -- did we get hurt? Well, believe it or not (if you know us both), Joel got hurt worse than I did. He and my bike got tangled up pretty bad, and it resulted in a broken left wrist and some stitches for him, and a broken shifter, fork guard and wrecked rear rim on my bike. I just have some bad bruises and a swollen left knee and forearm, but am otherwise OK. I got really lucky. When I saw Joel, I got my weight started going right, so when we hit, I kind of glanced off of him and flew into a cedar tree on the right side of the trail. When I landed, I was on my back and I looked up and was at the base of the tree... like a big cradle. Joel was untangling himself from the bikes yelling that he'd re-broken his arm (at the front of plates he had installed in his left forearm from a prior injury). Sadly, because I too have plates in my arm, I knew exactly what he was talking about. All I could say was "I'm sorry Joel," because I knew it sucked and there was nothing I could do to make it better.
You know, I sat in a meeting with Lincoln Parks and Recreation managers four years ago, and then again last year and asked them to make Wilderness Park a one-way marked trail, so that we could avoid conflicts like this, but they refused. I wonder what it's going to take to get them to consider that option?
Parents reading this -- would you want to take your kid out to Wilderness Park for a mountain bike ride, knowing Joel Smith - a former professional-level racer - just got his arm broken in a head-on collision at non-racing level speeds?
Over the next few days, I'd like to show how a one-way trail saved mountain bike access at the Betasso Preserve in Boulder, Colorado and how one-way mountain bike trails may be the key to making mountain biking at Wilderness Park safer, more appealing for residents and people coming into town from the outside and ultimately, more fun for everybody. Watch for that to-come in upcoming posts in the next couple of days.
We need to do something...
Here are some pictures from JP and Frankie's Wedding...
Congratulations to two of my very best friends on their marriage and thanks for letting Laura and I celebrate with you Saturday night. We had a blast!! The ride from the wedding to the reception was something I'll never forget. Talk about a Bike Fest!! We had it goin' on!!!Finally, here are a couple shots of my El Mariachi, post accident... Notice the missing fork guard, and the sheared-off left side shift lever. What you can't see is the potato chip rear wheel, which will roll on for a little bit in a very band-aid fashion, but will need to be replaced soon.
Have a great week!MG
25 comments:
Sorry to hear about your wreck.
Can we get another audience with the powers that be? I've got a nephew in grade school who is just dying to get into mountain biking. Wilderness COULD be the best place for him to learn, but I've been avoiding it for this very reason. It just isn't as safe as it could be.
What do we do about it?
Robb
Hey Robb -- I think a good discussion about the possibilities is a good first step, along with cutting the stuff out of the corners so that we can see.
The next step, as I see it, is to clearly establish a one-way flow of bicycle traffic on the trail. This would require new, enhanced signeage and rider education. It would also require a revised trail management philosophy that would allow use of a trail (such as the hiking trail) to allow us to have a loop.
The way things have been done at the Betasso Preserve in Boulder, bicycles are required to go one-way, with foot traffic recommended (but not required) to go the opposite direction from bikes, so that bicycles would come facing hikers, as opposed to at their backs. The bicycle direction was changed up at regular intervals (if memory serves, I believe it was monthly, but we could determine an appropriate interval for Wilderness... it may be once per season, or it may be once a week... I don't know yet.)
Anyway, I totally agree with you Robb, Wilderness Park is literally where I learned how to ride a mountain bike and I'd love for it to be where I teach lots of young folks how to ride. But I'm not going to risk the lives of those young folks just to have them experience the fun of a high-speed run through the park... It just isn't worth it.
It's funny, because I keep wanting to say that Lincoln Parks and Rec has a big problem on their hands, but in reality, we've all got a big problem on our hands... because if you care about Wilderness (and I do, and if you've read this far into my ranting, you likely do too), you've got a problem on your hands too...
This is all of our problem to solve.
But the short answer is, yes, we definitely can get another meeting with Parks and Rec. We just need to get our shit together before we call one... Figure out what we're going to say and propose. We can't waste their time when we pull the trigger...
Fountain Head Park in Fairfax County, Virginia is another one way trail and that is extremely popular!
Sorry to hear about the head on collision. Hope you and Joel heal quickly.
I agree, one direction makes the most sense. Let me know what I can do to help.
glad to hear your ok, sorry to hear about Joel, that's a huge bummer.
I wish you all the luck with one way at wilderness
some day, they'll see the light.
Hey Matt,
I agree with you. There is lot of traffic out there and with the right trimming it might help but I still think we should have some signs put up to show the right way for now and then sit down with the Parks crew again.I would be happy to go with you.
Wagon Train was a blast tonight before the lightning.
After I destroyed my bike in a Wilderness head on two weeks ago, I considered starting my own campaign to make the park one way. After this incident, I will post signs that say "Biker OUT/Hiker BACK" to emphasize which way the loop should go. A broken wrist? That is BULLSHIT! I feel terrible for that guy.
Hikers and bikers need to share the entire park. Considering that it is the bikers who are out there when it is 100 degrees or 25 degrees, I think that is more than gracious.
Or how about a NEW BIKE ONLY LOOP?
Anyway, if you all see giant arrows spray painted on the trail this summer......
Well, thank you very much for the thoughts and the ideas on what we can do at Wilderness Park. The one thing we do need to remember is that it's still a public park. We need to work with Parks and Rec in all of our major plans as far as signeage. Otherwise we run the risk of creating a worse situation for ourselves, and that's not the goal... We have to do it legit.
The great news is that I talked to Joel last night and after more x-rays, it turns out his wrist isn't broken, so he'll be riding again soon. Sweet! That was really good news. The best news I'd heard all day...
Hope it's a good day for you.
Cheers,
MG
Here is a quick idea....how about rounding up all the aftermath pictures before any presentation is made to the Parks and Rec board. I am sure that many other people could put the pictures together into a program such as Power Point, but I would be happy to volunteer my services.
Bummer. Sorry to hear about Joel. Glad your relatively unscathed Matt. The city has to realize they have a problem with this trail. A hardcore rider would be loath to file a law suite, but an insurance company paying the medical costs or a parent with an injured child - more likely. The response we're all worried about of course would be no mountain biking, but that would leave the city with a park with little use most of the year except for a bunch of outlaw cyclists!
There's plenty of documentation of the problem out there in the blogs - Dave & Syd with a Karate Monkey and a Kona ripped in half, Jacqueline on a TNMWR last fall, Jon's El Mariachi - probably more. I don't want to read about anymore collisions in the park.
I searched through the FFL blog history for a while and could only find pics from JT's recent wreck. If people want to send me pics and a brief story to go along with the pic please do and I will put it all into a power point presentation that could easily be shared with those who plan to have a meeting with the parks and rec board of directors.
Syd & Dave
&
Jacqueline
Dave's Bike
As an out of towner I'm always nervous when I ride there, especially since Sydney's wreck as my wife & son were riding with her that Thanksgiving day. I'd love to see the trails expanded to include a loop & by the looks of it there's plenty of space to do it, I'm not sure why they're hesitating as I think the cost wouldn't be outragous if most of it would probably be volunteers doing it.
Sorry to hear of the injury & damaged bikes, that's ALWAYS a bummer!
Thanks fob!!
Wow that sucks about your crash...guess that makes our tumble look not too bad. Let me know when there is a concensus to take to the parks & rec - I'd be more than happy add my voice to the group.
I was wondering why hardly any of the Lincoln crew was out at Lewis & Clark last weekend, completely forgot about JP getting married. I guess that would explain it!
Matt,
Nice humid run tonight.Did I say run on a biking blog? My thoughts with Wilderness are that we have some signs made at the entrances and at some on the blind spots to warn people. It may help for a while and show the Parks our concern. They have been good to work with on my 2 trail races.I am afraid if we go storming and demand things without a few having a sit down meeting or 2 they may say you have the Jamaica and Homestead Trail and because of budgets shut it down completely.
It is a good thing Rosina and her crew have kept it cleaned up because with out them it would be a mess. The Commission is hurting also so that is why a few of us are taking care of area lakes. I think all groups will work with us when we show we have a vested interest.I think everyone has had a close call in there. I would be happy to sit in on some meetings.
Not sure how Lincoln parks does it, but it may help to have you each (MG and JS) call in seperate incident reports to Lincoln Parks. That way, instead of hearsay in a public meeting, it becomes something of public record, and a fact that Parks and Rec can draw upon in the future.
I think a directional loop would work great. Living in Boulder County, and having to deal on a regular basis with all the background crap surrounding the bullshit Betasso closures on Wed and Sat makes me extremely hesitant to recommend a Betasso type of solution, though. First foot in the door is bikes one direction mandatory and peds "recommended" the other direction. Next thing you know, you'll have user specific days and you won't have Tues or Sat. Or something. It's a careful line to tread. I wouldn't give up any ground. I'd lobby for 2 way bike traffic on the bike trail and one way only traffic on the hiker side. Let peer pressure figure out the direction on the bike side.
Sorry to hear about your incident Matt. I've found here that advocacy can go along way. The more folks on parks/rec committees, talking to candidates and officials, the better. It takes a long time to turn around but it happens.
Thanks guys, especially for the links Fob. You know, Paxtoncoyote said it really well... when he's afraid to bring his family to the park for their safety, Lincoln Parks and Recreation clearly has a problem they need to deal with, and quickly.
Jim, as we just discussed on the telephone, I'm not advocating we go into a meeting and demand anything. We don't need to demand anything... We're the ones getting hurt. We need to ask for the park's help in increasing safety for all users, and in managing the park in a way that's consistent with how the park is actually used.
Hikers are now using the "bike" trail in Wilderness Park. Everyone knows that, and the City of Lincoln does not have the resources to police it effectively to stop it from happening. Bikes similarly, use the "hike" side of the park, and similarly, the city has no adequate resources to effectively police/enforce this on any widespread basis. They can't even maintain the mowing and keep motorized ATVs out of the park... but that's a whole 'nother problem. But that said, what their lack of enforcement ability says to me is that, when at a practical level, hikers are using bike trails and bikers are using hike trails and the city has no power to enforce the "segregation" they're attempting to perpetuate, perhaps a better solution would be to MORE EFFECTIVELY MANAGE the PRACTICAL SITUATION they DO HAVE TODAY.
That's what I'm saying.
And yes, I am very thankful for Karl and Rose too... That said, and I'm not trying to brag, but if you add up the total hours spent in the park volunteering time cutting weeds and branches back, I'll put the time guys like Cornbread, Schmitty and myself spend out there right up with anyone else.
If more people volunteered a little time doing trail maintenance, the situation at Wilderness wouldn't be as much of a situation... I'm not calling you out Jim (you of all people do a HUGE amount of work), or anyone specifically. It's just that everyone has a role to play. We all need to pitch in... even if it's just a little bit here and there.
BTW... Thanks for your perspective on Betasso, Dave. It's true that having our rights to ride the park get stripped away, even a little bit, isn't a good thing. I'm checking out that Fountain Head Park a little more, and may be writing a little more about that soon.
Jim and I also have some other plans to take this up the ladder with Parks & Rec, so it's not dead... We just need to approach it the right way.
Let's keep the discussion, and the ideas, flowing.
Thanks again!!
MG
bitchin post matt. all over the freaking map, and you end it so upbeat!
back on subject...i'm worried about some back fire from the parks just due to the "reckless nature" and the speeds were achieving. i think that is a education issue on their part tho, because it's not inherantly reckless. head-ons are accidents, and not something that just happens because were riding thru the park.
I agree with you 100 percent, MW. I don't think we were being reckless at all. Neither Joel nor I were "out of control" at all, in ourselves. It's just that, at the exact moment we were at, because that corner was blind and due to the unique combination of circumstances present that day, it happened. And it happens. Joel and I were very fortunate. It could have been much, much worse and we have talked about that repeatedly. For how close we came, it's amazing...
But that's the point. We need to change the situation. Because Joel and I are two of the best riders out there and if we're having trouble managing it... well, you can put together the rest.
OK, I've got some errands to run. I'm spending the day showing some of eastern Nebraska's best trails to Guitar Ted. We'll be in the Wild Turkey lot of Platte River State Park for anyone who wants to join us at 4pm.
Thanks for your kind words, Matt. I really appreciate them. Love you buddy.
Happy Friday!
MG
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