"Bicycle Steeplechase" aka cyclocross races have indeed been held in county parks here for decades.
Whether this is a good idea for the "wild" section of Warner Park is really dependent on the slope of the trail and the precipitation on it (and to some extent on the management of the event), rather than the kind of user, or according to some, even the number of users. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Yu-Fai Leung Ph.D, an assistant professor at North Carolina State University, who has examined trail erosion for the National Park service and others, says the type and amount of use has far less to do with erosion than factors like amount of rainfall and trail steepness and design. "Environmental factors" - including trail slope and precipitation - "have more to do with (causing) erosion." From: http://www.imba.com/resources/science/trail_shock.html, one of a series of articles found here: http://www.imba.com/resources/science/ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the article above, the discussion is about bikes vs hikers; with no comparison of either group to equestrians, which have been shown in some studies I don't immediately recall to do far more damage than either of the other two groups. I've never been in the "wild" section of Warner Park, so I couldn't comment on the suitability of the trail that's proposed as a race course. But I have seen a similar event elsewhere "leave no trace". I participated (I won't say "raced" since I came in dead last even in my advanced age group) in a an event at Camrock county park last October on a beautiful fall day that was dry and cool. When I got on the course in the middle of the day, after half the races were already over, there was virtualy no evidence at all that there had been hundreds of riders riding dozens of laps on the course already that day, save for one off-camber corner that was basically a dry mudhole before the races started. Indeed, I didn't even bother to clean my bike after that race, the conditions were so good.. You can see lots of pictures of racers and other racecourses here: http://madcross.smugmug.com/Cyclocross And more about cyclocross racing in the region here: http://www.madcross.org/ And the 2010 schedule of Wisconsin Cycling Association cyclocross races here: www.wicycling.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=301&Itemid=10 chuck -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of India Rose Viola Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 9:34 AM To: Michael Rewey Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [Bikies] Bicycle "steeple chase" proposed for Warner Park Michael et al, I'm going to play the devil's advocate here for a moment...I'm not necessarily against the steeplechase event in Warner Park, but I think that the Wild Warner Park group's concerns about path/soil erosion/degradation are valid (even though I have a fundamental disagreement with them about the use of the word "wild"). I think it's ok to support bicycling in all of its forms and to NOT be ok with a particular bicycle event occurring in a particular place. We want bikes to be respected on the roadways and mixed use paths, but this doesn't mean that they necessarily belong on urban or rural footpaths. A steeplechase in Warner Park sounds FUN to me. But so does flying across Lake Mendota in a huge motorboat, or drag-racing in a sports car down E. Washington Avenue. Just because I want to do something and may enjoy the activity a lot does not mean I should necessarily do it. Wild spaces in urban areas are a mixed bag. I don't think that they are really wild- they are totally impacted, managed and micro-managed by humans. It is precisely because of this that we need to make very conscious decisions about how to treat and use these spaces. If the steeplechase can be held in Warner Park without chewing up the paths and damaging what little "wildlife" is present there, then the race is not a bad idea. If not, then a different venue ought to be picked. A lot of steeplechase races (for runners or horses) are held in completely manufactured arenas these days. Perhaps there is a less "wild" space in Madison... say the proposed "Central Park" area, that would be better suited to this type of event? It would be an easier space to set up for spectators as well. Just some thoughts. -India On 07/14/10, Michael Rewey <[email protected]> wrote: > The parks commission will vote on a proposal today (July 14) to allow a bicycle "steeple > chase" in Warner Park on Nov. 7. > > > > > > > > > > You can find the proposal, the race route and Wild Warner's thoughts on this Web site blog: > > > > > > > > > > http://wildwarnerpark.org/blog/?p=599 > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > I'm in a conflict on this one. I enjoy the wild area that is being considered, but I support all > forms of biking. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Mike Rewey > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org -- India Viola Stretton Lab 115 Zoology Research 1117 W. Johnson St. Madison, WI 53706 608.262.3336 "How can we learn from our mistakes if we don't first acknowledge them?" -Anonymous _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
