Marines confiscate mountain bikes and ticket riders in San Diego
Marines ticket riders and confiscate their mountain bikes (click to enlarge).
Update: February 3, 2016
Scores of mountain bikers packed a church auditorium in El Cajon Monday night to discuss the aggressive enforcement and confiscation of up to 50 mountain bikes worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. They also discussed the opening of new legal bike trails in the wake of aggressive actions by the Marines to shut down popular trails that cross onto their base.
The problem is that of access to prime riding real estate and there simply isn’t enough good riding area for the growing sport. Meanwhile, the Marines own a large swath of land that looks relatively unused and many feel it is a wasted precious resource.
The other issue at hand is the confiscation of bikes. This is unprecedented as mountain bikers are usually issued a ticket and set on their way. In the most extreme cases, the bike is held, or the front wheel until the end of the day to assure the mountain biker does not continue on riding the illegal area. Here, the bikes are held indefinitely until the case is closed and the fines are paid. Estimates range from 45-60 days.
The Marines assured the bike owners that the bikes will stored safely and not sold or tampered with. But that is little consolation for many of the bike owners. For many, this is the only mountain bike that they own and this is their lifestyle. They like to ride 3-5 days a week and that is a key part of their lives. This is prime riding season too in San Diego with cool temps, warm sun and a little moisture on the trails. This riding time lost can never be recovered.
What do you think?
January 25, 2016
Around 50 bikes were confiscated in the Sycamore Canyon area of San Diego for riding on federal land. These mountain bikers were ticketed approximately $500 for riding on trails in the Marine base property in Miramar.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHSlKCfPAx0
The bikes will not be returned to their owners until the case is settled and the fines are paid. This can take around 45 days.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjBwPhbPqu8
What do you think? Fair or unfair?
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