Last Chance for Gas (84)

By Karl Rosengarth

You Gotta Fight for Your Right...

I can see the future. I'm not omniscient, but I sometimes see things in my mind, before they actually happen.

This is not a gift I was born withxit's a simple skill, honed by years of practice. Here's how it works. I take a look at the available information, mix in some street smarts and simple statistics, violaxtommorow's news today. Stockbrokers and bookies do this for a livingxI do it to amuse myself.

I can see the future of mountain biking. Can you?

If you've read Philip Keyes' Land Access column on page 60, then you've had a glimpse of mountian biking's future. If you haven't read it, please read it now. Still can't see the future? Perhaps, that's because you believed all the hype. Perhaps you believed that the future of mountain biking was all about revitalizing the racing scene, or comfort bikes, or singlespeeding.

Wrong!

Mountain biking's future has little to do with those things. Do you want to know where the rubber meets the trail, my friend? Washington, D.C. is your answer.

If the BLM decides to classify mountain bikes as OHVsxtogether with quads, dirt bikes and 4x4sxthe future of mountain biking looks very grim to me. A "no bike" policy on the BLM's enormous chunk of OUR public land would be very bad, and the trickle-down effect could be even worse.

THE BLM DECISION would be a convenient excuse for any overworked and underpaid land manager at the national, state or local level to ban mountain bikes from their jurisdiction. We bikers would have our hands full, fighting for our right to ride, in every corner of this great land of ours.

On the other hand, we could get lucky. The BLM could decide to manage bikes differently than 250cc motorcycles. Siddown! Put away the Champagne and party hats. We'd still have to convince each and every one of the individual BLM land managers that mountain bikers deserve a place on their (our?) trails. We'd still have to rally the troops and prepare for a long battle.

So what's the future of mountain biking? C'mon, I've given you plenty of hints. Can't you see the common thread? If mountain biking is to have a tomorrow, we bikers must get involved in land access issues TODAY.

The future of mountain biking depends on bikers getting involved in land access.

We gotta fight for our rights. It may not seem fair, but it's the way it is. Like my mother told me many, many years ago: "Life ain't fair, son. Get used to it."

No problem, mom. I'll keep fighting for what I believe in.