Editor:
This letter is to the thoughtless individuals who ride their motorcycles on the mountain bike trails in West Sechelt.
First, I must say that these trails are a major asset to the area. I have met numerous cyclists, from as far away as Europe, who have travelled here to ride these world-class trails. These cyclists spend a great deal of money in the area. The growth potential for this lucrative market is vast, but is being threatened by a few uncaring dirt-bikers.
The West Sechelt trails were mainly hand built by volunteer mountain bikers and are maintained by volunteers. The trails were built specifically for the use of mountain bikes and pedestrians, not heavy motorcycles. I have spent over three weeks maintaining the trail system this year. It is very disheartening to witness several days of hard work destroyed in minutes by a thoughtless individual on a motorcycle. This was especially evident this past weekend when we were passed by six incompetent dirt-bikers. This group were very heavy-handed on their throttles, tearing up a lot of dirt, rode newly rehabilitated trails that have not yet settled properly, rode up one-directional downhill trails, and picked an inappropriately wet time to mangle these sensitive trails.
I guess my question to these dirt-bikers is why? Why damage these trails that you didn’t build and don’t help maintain, when there are miles of logging roads that would serve your purpose? If you wish to ride single-track, why not build your own trails? Why destroy something someone else has built for your own gratification? Are you really that shallow?
In closing, I would like to petition the local authorities to get involved in finding a solution to this problem. Motorized and non-motorized use of the same trail system is not compatible. Our national parks are evidence of this. Is this the only area of our province where this is tolerated? Let’s stop this practice before the trails are destroyed for everyone.
Joseph Andrews, Sechelt
