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The Flip Side of Land Access
Dec 1997
‘To catch a fish you have to think like a fish’. In order to be effective in the land access debate you have to understand your opponents. You have to be able to think like a dedicated walker or environmentalist. You need to work out why they sometimes oppose mountain biking and work out how to diffuse the situation, preferably before track bans become a reality. Here’s a selection of anti-biker views expressed in public feedback to management plans in the Wellington area.
"On the whole most bikers are considerate and polite, but others who are not responsible are a danger to the elderly and young children."
"The thrill of mountain biking is to go fast on downhill sections which is not considerate to walkers."
"Many people no longer walk on walkways because of cycles."
"Bikers race each other down hill oblivious to other users of the park, at times causing minor collisions between bikers and horses."
"It is a miracle that, to date, no one has been seriously injured. I believe physical damage to narrow bush tracks caused by mountain bikers is considerable….The mountain bikers Code of Conduct is of no practical use – they don’t follow it."
"Bikers and walkers can not be mixed – they are incompatible. No matter how sensible riders can be, their speed in loose dirt and gravel and the unpredictable reactions of startled pedestrians are not controllable factors."
"Mountain bikers keep scaring my stock. I had two cows abort their calves last year after being chased down the road by bikers." "Mountain bikers spooked one of my horses. It ran into a fence, injured its leg and had to be put down."
"Mountain Bikes were designed to go up and down impossible slopes tearing up the country side"
"I have, for some time, noticed the deterioration of a number of walkways due to the impacts of bicycles."
"Since the mountain bikers have been allowed in the park it has become dangerous. I feel they should be banned from the park…. I feel that there is going to be a bad accident soon."
"Enough already!" I hear you say. Well, it’s pretty clear what really pisses people off. They hate being spooked when they’re out there for peace and quiet. They hate feeling threatened by bikers (who are generally bigger, younger, stronger, and faster than they are). They hate seeing their favourite track damaged, usually by skidding.
It’s important to remember that mountain bike opponents are usually decent folk with reasonable concerns – they are not ‘the enemy’ – they just have a different perspective. As Shakespear might have written, ‘Hath a walker not eyes? Hath not a walker hands, organs, senses, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt by the same stinging nettle, subject to the same field of gravity, inspired by the same scenery, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a mountain biker?’
Each time a biker scares a walker, or shreds their favourite track you can expect them to call or write to the council or DOC. And the council or DOC (being public servants) will act accordingly.
Despite a fair bit of opposition, we have a very good track access situation in Wellington. Partly because there is tonnes of reserve land here, partly because the local beaurocrats are open-minded and largely because there were plenty of bikers sending the council well-reasoned submissions in support of shared access to tracks.
On the way to work the other day I saw a beat up courier bike leaning passively against a doorway. Painted crudely on the down tube were the words ‘The Scary Beast’. I had to chuckle. Of course it’s the bike's rider that is perceived as scary or friendly. More than anyone else we are in control of our image and our access.
Here are the three most effective ways of keeping a track open or defeating an unreasonable track ban: