[zorg]

http://www.ebparks.org/news/030211a

That adds another ridge that starts from the top of Palomares

 

[nativeson]

there's gotta be a nice dirt route on the diablo range parks + "existing ranch lands"....if and only if.

 

[JoeBMX]

Nice find. Wonder how long it'll take to get a staging area in there.

 

[oparks]

Thanks to the cool mt bikers at BTCEB for sending in a letter of support for the $1 million grant towards the purchase last month. :thumbsup:

State Coastal Conservancy
1330 Broadway, 13th Floor
Oakland, CA 94612

Subject: Support for the East Bay Regional Park District grant for Owen Property Acquisition

We are writing in support of East Bay Regional Park District’s request for grant funding for the Owen Property Acquisition at Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park.

East Bay Regional Park District proposes to acquire the 955-acre Owen property adjacent to Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park to preserve diverse upland habitat and provide recreational opportunities in southern Alameda County. The property will provide a continuous expanse of publicly owned land from Palomares Road to the west, all the way to the eastern border of Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park (very near I-680). This significant acreage contains rolling grasslands, chaparral-covered hills and heavily wooded drainages, which provide important habitat for Alameda whipsnake, California red-legged frog, and California tiger salamander. Due to the size of the property and its abutment to the expanded Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park, acquisition by the Park District will preserve and increase prime habitat for numerous species. The heavily wooded canyons and hilly terrain will also provide expanded recreational activities that promote healthy lifestyles and builds tangible relationships with our environment.

An award of grant funds will aid the Park District in preserving this important habitat and provide additional public access to Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park. We urge the Conservancy to give favorable consideration of this grant request.

Sincerely,
Bicycle Trails Council of the East Bay

 

[zorg]

Nice find. Wonder how long it'll take to get a staging area in there.

I doubt that we'll see a staging area there. The entrance to the property is at the very top of Palomares Road. I guess that one day one could do a totally epic ride from Foothill blvd trough 3 ridges to Palomares Road and back to your car via Niles Canyon.

Oparks: thanks for writing in to support the grant request.

 

[CodePoet]

My training grounds, best part is the black mud and the brown mud. Don't taste the black mud I do love having the access expand over the years. When I started out there over 15 years ago there was no where near as much riding as today and I remember when they were considering shutting the whole park down to mountain biking due to bikers riding off the roads.

Which is why I like riding out there. I know as I am riding on the roads I never have to look out for another biker because everyone else is on the single track (hikers included) ! Though I can't understand why the bike shop / club that rides in the evenings is teaching riders/kids to ride on the illegal trails. Kudos for getting kids to ride but teaching them to knowingly do so on illegal trails is not cool. When you bring 20+ people out and encourage them to break the law I think more harm then good is being done.

 

[Hwy49er]

I know as I am riding on the roads I never have to look out for another biker because everyone else is on the single track (hikers included) !

Gonna have to disagree with you here - the overwhelming majority of hikers I see out at the Ridge are enjoying the fire roads.

 

[Fiskare]

Well, the locals have been riding all of that stuff from before it was part of EBRPD. Hang gliders used it too. Along with growers, and homeless, and nudists. It has really gone down hill since EBRPD took over.

 

[justme]

what!!! nudist use it too. let's go ride Pleasanton Ridge.

 

[jschwart73]

I bet EBRPD plows some sick fire roads for us to ride on there!

 

[zorg]

I bet EBRPD plows some sick fire roads for us to ride on there!

I love to bash the district as much as the next guy, but this is not the best time or park to do so. 1) the main fireroad climb was originally done to serve the housing development that was supposed to take place on the ridge but that got stopped and replaced by the park. 2) the current master plan for the park calls for over 20 miles of multi use narrow trails. 3) Another 1000 acres will be added to the park.

I mean, this has the potential for being the biggest bike friendly park in the east bay (something like 6000+ acres). B!tching and whining about fireroads on the ridge ain't gonna get us anything meaningful. Getting engaged and showing support the master plan would be more productive. My 2 cents.

 

[Berkeley Mike]

I can't understand why the bike shop / club that rides in the evenings is teaching riders/kids to ride on the illegal trails. Kudos for getting kids to ride but teaching them to knowingly do so on illegal trails is not cool. When you bring 20+ people out and encourage them to break the law I think more harm then good is being done.

I spoken to a number of teams in that area and come away with the sense that these mistakes are just that and not flagrant violations.There are a few new teams and coaches and some of the volunteers are not familiar with the trails. It must be acknowledged, though, that the anticipation of a fun piece of singletrack is hard to resist when other riders are seeing using it already.

Part of the problem is making a distinction between what is legal as defined by the EBRPD and what is customarily used by the locals. Further, that designations in signage are uneven. I have encouraged my coach friends to err on the side of caution out of a sense of responsibility for guiding minors. Unfortunately that's going to mean a lot of fire roads. In the interest of fairness I will say that our local youth teams spend more time on fire roads than our local adults.

Having said that I will share that in my 26 years of mountain biking I have enjoyed a very wide variety of trails throughout the Bay Area. However, once I became a teen coach it was incumbent upon me to stay within the boundaries set by land managers. This is part of the cost of leading minors; one must be as Caesar's wife, beyond reproach. While my nose is not quite that clean, for the last 10 years I have tried my best and achieved the desired result.

 

[Fiskare]

I should have premised my remarks with 'back in the day'. Times have changed, and BerkeleyMike has it right.

Still, the ridge was a bunch of fun back in the day.

 

[twindaddy]

B!tching and whining about fireroads on the ridge ain't gonna get us anything meaningful. Getting engaged and showing support the master plan would be more productive. My 2 cents.

Okay - who stole Zorg's computer?

I'm anxious to see how all this new acreage and the new trails turn out. It'd be wonderful to bike and spend my money locally rather than driving to other counties.

 

[JoeBMX]

The way I look at the ridge, if I'm having fun riding it, it's illegal.

 

[monkei]

Oooh. An entrance from Palomares??? The only thing better would be a legit one on Kilkare...

 

[jschwart73]

I love to bash the district as much as the next guy, but this is not the best time or park to do so. 1) the main fireroad climb was originally done to serve the housing development that was supposed to take place on the ridge but that got stopped and replaced by the park. 2) the current master plan for the park calls for over 20 miles of multi use narrow trails. 3) Another 1000 acres will be added to the park.

I mean, this has the potential for being the biggest bike friendly park in the east bay (something like 6000+ acres). B!tching and whining about fireroads on the ridge ain't gonna get us anything meaningful. Getting engaged and showing support the master plan would be more productive. My 2 cents.

Supporting the Master Plan isn't going to work and you're kidding yourself if you think it is. EBRPD is going to placate mountain bikers through the whole process and then put up "No Bikes" signs when they open the trails.

My sarcasm is there because I simply don't believe EBRPD and their "Master Plan". I'm done being "hopeful" about their access strategies and I don't have the time or inclination to "work with them" only to see things end up with MTB'ers get hosed in the end.

In fact, I actually don't mind that some of the nicer trails in their parks are off limits to bikes - If bikes were legally allowed on some of the trails I love, then they'd get THRASHED by those who don't have an idea what brake modulation means. Look at Cinderella in JMP - It is HAMMERED these days. I'm glad to have a legal trail that's as fun as that one, but the amount of damage on that trail is staggering and I can't imagine the day is too far away when the City of Oakland closes that trail to bikes.

Working together doesn't work, if only because MTB'ers as a whole (there are of course, exceptions such as BTCEB and the like) don't have the same level of resources as many of the other trail use groups out there.

 

[zorg]

Well, I might be naive, but this is by far our single best shot at anything tangible whether we like it or not. Hillride is involved in the planning of the trails, and we can't really question their riding credentials. So, while it won't be whistler, it might be good. If the master plan changes to exclude bikers, then we'll have plenty of opportunities to complain and take pot shots at the district. Until then, I'll support the current process.

 

[Dan'ger]

what!!! nudist use it too. let's go ride Pleasanton Ridge.

Just because they're nude doesn't mean you want to see it.

 

[Dan'ger]

Supporting the Master Plan isn't going to work...

Working together doesn't work, if only because MTB'ers as a whole (there are of course, exceptions such as BTCEB and the like) don't have the same level of resources as many of the other trail use groups out there.

The work that is being done on PR is separate from the Master Plan. Both need work.