23 SDMBA workers from nine years old to 60+ helped prepare the Martha's Grove trail for the coming winter rains. Located on the Sycamore Canyon/Goodan Ranch Open Space Preserves the trail is a favorite with users of the park. Martha's is open to mountain bikers, hikers and equestrians.
Your local chapter of IMBA, the San Diego Mountain Bike Association, has been very successful promoting multi-use trails in SD County because of its dedicated volunteers and members like you.
SDMBA is now in an ideal position with San Diego County land managers to promote new projects like these:
Mountain bike skills progression parks
Request and build new connective single track multi-use trails
Hold more social riding events and skills clinics
Rewrite the county’s trail guidelines- dirt roads are not trails!
What does this mean for you, the avid volunteer, the concerned mountain biker, or the occasional rider who wishes to help out?
With significant rain (more than an inch in 24 hours) please refrain from riding for a few days and allow the ground to firm up. In some parts of the world trails are made IN THE RAIN, thus riding in the rain is just fine there. However, we don't live there.
In most parts of San Diego our fine sand/silt/clay soils turn to MUD when wet, which easily causes ruts when ridden on. When the sun does eventually dry the soil out, it becomes rock hard, often leaving scars and ruts that last for years.
Some basic guidelines about San Diego riding after it rains:
- Give the trails their due time. With the amount of rain we have recently seen, most places will need a week.
Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve has a new policy of staying off the trails for 72 hours after it rains. That’s three days without rain before you can hit the trails again.
- Use your brakes wisely, skidding is always harmful to the trails but even more so when the trails are in the process of drying out. Simply put- don’t be a Skidiot!
- Ride through any puddles you encounter, not around them. If you don’t like getting dirty, this is the wrong sport and the wrong time of year for you. Going around puddles only makes the puddle wider and encroaches into habitat. Please help KEEP SINGLETRACK SINGLE.
- Even a small fast moving stream can be very powerful and dangerous. Please use extreme caution and good judgment before attempting to cross even a small stream.
Important Update on Del Mar Mesa Trails
As of December 12, 2008, all city-owned land is closed to trail users. Most tunnel trails at least in part go through city land. Also, California Dept. of Fish and Game does not allow biking on their lands because of vernal pool sensitivity. The city has authorized for rangers to patrol the Del Mar Mesa area. If anyone is on city lands they are subject to violation consequences.
Severe canopy cutting took place recently at a time when everybody should know this area is sensitive and protected.
Getting a legal trail system that accommodates the needs of all trail users is in severe jeopardy.
