She started trail running, until she injured her knee.
“Meanwhile, all of these mountain bikers were just whizzing past me,”
Ms. Rainwater said. “I found the bike community
and it’s been love since then.”
By Lauren Sloss
NY Times, Published May 20, 2023
I am not one to dissuade others from riding bikes in Yosemite National Park. In fact, I often promote the activity and believe cycling serves as the best way to tour Yosemite Valley. No matter what one’s destination might be, some scenic event or photo opportunity awaits the cyclist around every “corner” of the Valley floor. Casually riding along its 12 miles of bike trails prompts the rider to shout to fellow cyclists to “look out ahead,” not because of a danger of colliding with one another, but because of the attention-getting views that cannot be ignored.
When it comes to “mountain biking,” however, I must agree with the National Park Service which prohibits “mountain biking” in all National Parks on unpaved trails. According to the official Yosemite webpage, the actual verbiage states, “Off-trail riding and mountain biking, and use of motorized scooters on bike paths are not permitted in Yosemite National Park.”
Why might this be? First, although numerous styles of mountain biking exist, such as cross-country, long-distance, endurance, and downhill, to name a few, two things characterize all of them: speed and challenging terrain. Even the design of mountain bikes, with their knobby tires and elaborate suspension systems, serve to ease the impact of rocks, roots, and ruts on the rider’s body while traveling at high speed. Some high-end bikes equipped with the latest accessories even go for over $10,000!
That’s simply the nature of mountain biking. Sure, beginners might start off on fairly level trails with few obstacles, but beginners do not stay beginners forever (see mountain bike trail levels of difficulty as defined by REI.com in the chart to the right). They seek greater challenges, which ultimately means faster, steeper, and more demanding trails. Hence, experiencing a mountain biker “whizzing past” you on a mountain trail would be the rule, not the exception. Shouts of “look out ahead” from mountain bikers zooming toward hikers sauntering along a trail would require hikers to quickly and repeatedly step off the trail. Rather than alerting hikers to get a glimpse of a scenic view, the purpose of the shout would be to ensure the hikers did not get run over by the mountain bikers! Consequently, the National Park Service’s (NPS) decision to prohibit mountain biking on unpaved trails to spare the hiker seems to be the reasonable course.
Secondly, the nature of mountain biking requires the full attention of the rider due to speed and the presence of unexpected obstacles on the trail. This alone minimizes opportunities to “sightsee” (one of the primary activities for those who visit Yosemite) while mountain biking.
Even mountain-biking trail names suggest the high level of attention required. In Aliso and Woods Canyon Wilderness Park in Orange County, California, one trail, in particular, points to the intense focus needed in two ways. A single-track trail called “Rock-It” (as in “rocket” and “rocky”) drops 400 feet in a mile producing a fair amount of speed even for those prone to squeezing their brake levers.
The “rocket” section of the trail begins fairly level but its descent quickly steepens, hurdling the rider down a narrow path that twists and turns amidst a brushy hillside. Sightseeing becomes the least of the rider’s concerns as he/she navigates the uneven trail and its various ruts and earthy eruptions.
Soon enough, the “rocky” section of the trail greets the mountain biker giving him/her no space for losing focus. Not even the best suspension system can keep this portion of the trail from rattling one’s skeletal structure. Although some may question the presence of a brain for those who take on this trail, the rider can attest to the rattling of some “grey matter” within their skull cavity as they bounce along this bone-jarring section of the trail. To get an idea of the attention required of this trail, watch the video by a mountain bike rider taking on the “Rock-It” trail by clicking here.
Perhaps viewing that video alone might convince you to take a “pass” on mountain biking in Yosemite National Park. If not, I should note that despite the prohibition of mountain biking in Yosemite, there is one trail in the Park where a person can mountain bike. Formerly a fire road, the Wawona Meadow Loop Trail possesses a sufficient width most of the way allowing it to accommodate mountain bikers and hikers.
Photo Below: Signage at beginning of Wawona Meadow Loop Trail
The entire trail spans 3.5 miles and circles around the Wawona Golf Course and the southeastern portion of the Wawona Meadow. Starting at the western end of the Golf Course, It gently climbs about 200 feet (if traveling counterclockwise) over the first mile and a half. This demands some level of physical exertion from the cyclist. Plus, portions of the trail contain soft, powdery soil from heavy use by hikers, making traction difficult at times. Other sections of the trail contain loose gravel where heavy rains or significant snowmelt that have washed away potions of the old “road.”
Photo Below: The Wawona Loop Trail
Even though the Wawona Meadow Loop Trail would be considered a “beginner’s” level mountain bike trail, it still requires attention and focus as evidenced by this video (click here) depicting a mountain biker taking on this normally quiet and forested trail. Notice how rarely the rider looks to the right to gain a view of the meadow scenery (the mountain biker in the video is traveling clockwise on the Loop Trail and hence descending the 200-foot elevation gain)! His attention is primarily on the Trail as he “looks out ahead” for unexpected obstacles.
Additionally, the Wawona Meadow Loop trail attracts many visitors who lodge at the Wawona Hotel and the rental cabins nearby in North and South Wawona. Early mornings and summer evenings provide ideal times to enjoy the cool shade and the quiet that this Loop Trail presents. So, at times, the Trail can get moderate use by hikers. Consequently, the elated mountain biker who has found a trail in Yosemite that allows for mountain biking, must maintain a level of focus to “look out ahead” for hikers as they “look out ahead” for the bucolic views that line the trail.
So, aside from the Wawona Meadow Loop Trail, every unpaved trail in Yosemite remains off-grounds for mountain bikes due to the NPS prohibition. However, the ban assures the hiker that any calls to “look out ahead” will relate to seeing another awesome Yosemite view rather than a call for safety to dodge a mountain biker “whizzing past.”
Photo Below: Looking out over the Wawona Meadow from the Wawona Loop Trail.
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