Big change is coming to Mt Tam in Marin County and it has not gotten much broad attention so far, outside of the advocacy community. For over two generations, mountain bikers have fought for their rights, after being completely banned from single track on the mountain in 1984 - on the mountain that was (arguably) the birthplace of the sport.
I won't go into all the work over 40 years that brought about this change, but the key turning point was the MMWD board elections in 2022, in which a board historically hostile and intransigent towards riders was overturned by the voters after a fierce GOTV effort by mountain bikers. The mismanagement of the watershed by the board leading up to the 2020-2022 droughts was also an important catalyst for voter anger. With that election, there are now four genuine mountain bikers on a board of five people.
For context - the MMWD water board is the largest land manager in Marin County, and its land area includes 90 miles of fire roads and 60 miles of single track. The number does not include many more miles of social trails that could potentially be converted for sanctioned use. Only the (steep af, rutted, exposed) fire roads are currently legal for bikes.
Along with the election, there was already a Road and Trail Management Study in process, triggered by issues that came to a head during the 2020 pandemic-driven surge in recreation on the mountain. Mountain bikers also invested heavily in well-informed advocacy during that process. With the new board in place, the final study was presented on leap day, February 2024 to a packed room of mountain bikers (and a few horse people in hats).
marinbike.org
You have to dig into the study to find the goods (page 107 is a good place to start):
www.marinwater.org
This may not seem like a lot, but in the context of MMWD and their historic hostility, it's absolutely huge. At the meeting, the board made it clear that they hear us and are going to make changes. The next step is a pilot project for bikes on single track, as well as for Class I ebikes - this is expected to be discussing at the upcoming March 21st meeting, and it is possible that the pilot may be running by this summer. The pilot project seems a bit ridiculous in the context of 40 years of stonewalling, but it's necessary to pass CEQA muster - and you can bet that a CEQA lawsuit is a credible threat to the forward progress of these plans.
Together with what's happening with EBRPB in Briones, the winds of change are really blowing in the SF Bay.
I won't go into all the work over 40 years that brought about this change, but the key turning point was the MMWD board elections in 2022, in which a board historically hostile and intransigent towards riders was overturned by the voters after a fierce GOTV effort by mountain bikers. The mismanagement of the watershed by the board leading up to the 2020-2022 droughts was also an important catalyst for voter anger. With that election, there are now four genuine mountain bikers on a board of five people.
For context - the MMWD water board is the largest land manager in Marin County, and its land area includes 90 miles of fire roads and 60 miles of single track. The number does not include many more miles of social trails that could potentially be converted for sanctioned use. Only the (steep af, rutted, exposed) fire roads are currently legal for bikes.
Along with the election, there was already a Road and Trail Management Study in process, triggered by issues that came to a head during the 2020 pandemic-driven surge in recreation on the mountain. Mountain bikers also invested heavily in well-informed advocacy during that process. With the new board in place, the final study was presented on leap day, February 2024 to a packed room of mountain bikers (and a few horse people in hats).
Reimagine Mt. Tam
We have a once in a lifetime opportunity to advance a more inclusive trail system on Mt. Tam. Help reimagine Mt. Tam. Join the conversation.
marinbike.org
You have to dig into the study to find the goods (page 107 is a good place to start):
Watershed Recreation Management Planning | Marin Water
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www.marinwater.org
This may not seem like a lot, but in the context of MMWD and their historic hostility, it's absolutely huge. At the meeting, the board made it clear that they hear us and are going to make changes. The next step is a pilot project for bikes on single track, as well as for Class I ebikes - this is expected to be discussing at the upcoming March 21st meeting, and it is possible that the pilot may be running by this summer. The pilot project seems a bit ridiculous in the context of 40 years of stonewalling, but it's necessary to pass CEQA muster - and you can bet that a CEQA lawsuit is a credible threat to the forward progress of these plans.
Together with what's happening with EBRPB in Briones, the winds of change are really blowing in the SF Bay.
