Biking events leaving a mess behind

Recently there have been mountain biking "events' in the state lands known as "Kuhn's' or "The Pig Farm."

It is great to see that many people are enjoying the resources available to us all for biking, hiking, running and equestrian. However, we ask that the organizers of such events take a bit more care in insuring that their events don't spoil the experience for the rest of us.

A couple of weeks after the recent events, there are still paper event signs stapled to trees, rocks painted with bright florescent colors, yellow "caution" tape tied to stakes and trees, painted arrows in the trails, and other trails blocked with logs directing the event participates on which way to go.

Mountain bikers as a group should be concerned with preserving our natural environment, and should not be contributing to defacing it. Here are a few suggestions to organizers of biking events on public lands.

¥ Minimize the signs and directions used to direct participants. Why not provide them with a map and require them to find their own way on the trails as a mountain biking skill-building exercise? If they need signs, maybe they should consider entering road biking events where there are road signs.

¥ Don't paint the rocks. It takes a long time for the paint to wear off. If necessary, only paint the dirt with a water-soluble paint that will disappear after a good rain. Immediately after the event, erase the arrows in the dirt, as the rest of us don't really want to be looking at them in the trail.

¥ Don't put up event signs and plastic tape in the woods — it's tacky. If you must use directional aids, remove them the day of the event.

¥ Use the event to build awareness on what mountain bikers can do to protect and preserve our natural resources. Mountain biking takes a toll on the natural environment. Bikers should be aware of this and do what they can to help protect this resource.

Please go out and clean up your mess from recent events and adopt these suggestions as standard practice in future events.

We have been mountain biking in these woods for nearly 20 years, long before most people where aware of what a great place it is for biking. We're happy to see that many other people are now enjoying it as well. If everyone takes responsibility and uses common sense and courtesy, we will all be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Tom and Sue Courtney live in Whitefish.