Tires Make The Difference

Indeed, sales of Mountain Bike Tires have doubled in the United States every year, when retailers introduced them. About 2.6 million were in use around the country, most of them in the West, according to Bill Wilkinson, executive director of the Washington-based Bicycle Federation of America. He expects that number to reach 5 million by the end of this year.

About 80% of Mountain Bike Tires ride exclusively on the streets, Wilkinson said. "But that still leaves a significant number that want to use the trails," he said. "A system is undergoing realignment. It's a new activity and it needs to find a place and fit in the scheme of things."

After similar debate, motorized recreational vehicles found their niche, even if it's a distant one. The state set aside five mountain parks for motorcycles, as well as for three- and four-wheeled all-terrain vehicles. The closest one to Los Angeles, however, is in Hungry Valley, 20,000 acres near the north Los Angeles County town of Gorman.

"The motorized vehicles are much worse than the bikes when it comes to damage, and they are very fast," said Randy Sederquist, resource ranger for the Santa Monica Mountains District of state parks. "However, we have special funding to accommodate them and we don't have that funding for the bikes. The vehicular recreation areas have the manpower for monitoring and enforcement."

He is not optimistic about the possibility of getting such money for mountain bikes. "We aren't going to get more land and we aren't going to get more staffing, not in these days of budget cuts," he said.

Goeden, a 39-year-old YMCA program director, is one of eight bikers who have banded together to seek a compromise in the Santa Monica Mountains. Calling themselves Concerned Off-Road Cyclists, they have telephoned and written to park officials asking that trails be open to bikes at least part of the time. They suggest speed limits, designated bike-only trails or periodic weekends when bikes would be permitted on trails.

In return, "I think a lot of the mountain bikers would be interested in helping to maintain the trails," Goeden said. Another member of the group, 34-year-old brokerage executive Bonnie Hill, added: "I'm sure riders would be glad to volunteer to patrol too."

The two stood at a curve on the one path in Will Rogers where their bikes are allowed, a wide dirt road leading to Inspiration Point. Below them, the tops of the white, boxy buildings of downtown Santa Monica could be glimpsed above the trees. The sun, low in the western sky, glinted off an ocean dotted with sailboats returning to shore.

Mountain Biking