The Angry Singlespeeder: Our “Environmental Impact” is a Joke
After seeing the apocalyptic natural destruction that happened in Colorado last week, how can anyone take the argument of human “environmental impact” seriously?
Photo courtesy of XCGuy, an Mtbr Forum User.
Editor’s Note: The Angry Singlespeeder is a collection of mercurial musings from contributing editor Kurt Gensheimer. In no way do his maniacal diatribes about all things bike oriented represent the opinions of Mtbr, RoadBikeReview, or any of their employees, contractors, janitorial staff, family members, household pets, or any other creature, living or dead. You can submit questions or comments to Kurt at singlespeeder@consumerreview.com. And make sure to check out Kurt’s previous columns.
A few months back I ranted about the word “epic” and how people throw the term around more carelessly than a dog with a chew toy. But last week’s deluge of water that raged through the Front Range of the Colorado Rocky Mountains was a flood of proportions entirely deserving of the word epic. In fact, it wasn’t just epic, it was biblical – or so I read in the newspapers.
Which got me to thinking; next time I want to describe a ride that’s even more epic than epic, I’m gonna say it was biblical. “Yo bro, that ride was biiiib-lical”.
What started as a few sporadic Facebook posts last Thursday morning about heavy rain turned into a non-stop barrage of photographs and videos from my Boulder and Colorado Springs friends that I couldn’t believe. Nearly 15 inches of rain in a 24-hour period came down in parts of the Front Range, a precipitation equivalent to nearly 13 feet of snow.
Photo courtesy of XCGuy, an Mtbr Forum User.
20-foot tall walls of water raged down narrow canyons, completely eliminating entire roads, stacking cars on top of each other like mud-caked Jenga blocks, entire trees floating downstream as if they were small twigs, portions of homes rolling down the river like stick-framed rafts crashing into other homes that lay on the precipice of a raging, swollen river bank; my eyes were having a hard time comprehending the destruction.
Then I saw the below video from the Denver Post and had to watch it twice, because the first time I was too busy saying “holy shit” on infinite repeat. I’m not even sure if the world biblical adequately described what I was seeing. I think “apocalyptic” might have been more appropriate.
Video: Flooding washes away town of Salina, Four Mile Canyon – Leslie Martin and Matt Smart were awakened by a friend Thursday morning, September 12, with just enough time to put on shoes and start climbing before a wall of water blew through the town washing away many houses.
So how does talking about a flood of apocalyptic proportions relate to mountain biking? Well, one of the first thoughts that popped into my head as I watched entire homes, roads, and canyon walls wiped from the face of the Earth was the topic of environmental impact.
Photo courtesy of XCGuy, an Mtbr Forum User.
For years mountain bikers have been chastised and vilified for destroying the environment, cutting trails through sensitive habitats and areas where we shouldn’t be. Organizations like the Sierra Club, the American Hiking Society and equestrian groups lobby to government bodies like the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and the U.S. Forest Service, stating how our use of trails will lead to irreparable harm to the environment.
The natural bureaucratic response is to either conduct lengthy and taxpayer-wasting “environmental impact” studies on areas for several years before any mountain bikers are allowed on public land that we have a right to, or take the simple route and just shut an entire area off all-together, calling it “wilderness”.
Photo courtesy of XCGuy, an Mtbr Forum User.
This absolute asinine silliness is all really put into perspective when I see an event like what happened in Colorado last week. What was the “environmental impact” of that 500-year flood? Entire canyon walls are gone, deposited in somebody’s garage, thousands of trees uprooted and sent downstream to sit in someone’s living room, and, oh yeah, at least four people are dead and hundreds still unaccounted for.
It’s bad enough when developers can line the pockets of local governments to rape the land however they wish for their own greedy gain, but when you see how much jaw-slackening destruction can happen at the hands of Mother Nature in the matter of hours, it really makes you realize how insignificant our “environmental impact” is as a species. We aren’t ruining the Earth; we’re only ruining ourselves.
//www.youtube.com/watch?v=eL06PWjOFxo
Video: Boulder Canyon Mudslide – Leslie Martin and Matt Smart were awakened by a friend Thursday morning, September 12, with just enough time to put on shoes and start climbing before a wall of water blew through the town washing away many houses.
Yesterday I went for a ride in the Sierra foothills above Reno, exploring the Hunter Lake Trail region. Hunter Lake Trail is an old carriage route from the 1800s that climbs from Reno to nearly 9,000 feet before descending down into the outskirts of Truckee. Because of its historic significance, Hunter Lake Trail is protected as a right-of-way for 4x4s, ATVs and dirt bikes. However, everything surrounding it is designated as Mount Rose Wilderness, off limits to everything – except hikers and horses of course.
Although I was disappointed to see shotgun shells, blown up targets, empty beer cans and broken glass all over the side of Hunter Lake Trail, at least there were no restrictions on this public piece of land that every recreationalist should have a right to use.
I’d rather have some litter and no restrictions on a piece of public land than a pristine wilderness only a select few recreationalists can touch – especially when you see the absolute destruction that Mother Nature can carry out in a matter of hours. Those beer cans, shotgun shells, deep ruts from dirtbikes and 4x4s can vanish in a matter of seconds if Mother Nature wants them to. It can also decimate your pristine and sacred wilderness.
My friends were once hauled into court and fined $400 each for “destruction of natural resources” after being caught building a singletrack trail that’s now a fully legal and regularly used trail in their neighborhood. If building a singletrack is “destruction of natural resources”, who do we fine for the destruction that happened last week in Colorado?
Somebody is to blame, right? I mean, there has to be someone to blame; it’s the American Way. Forget all the trails and natural beauty that have been completely wiped from existence – leaving nothing but scarred earth – but what do we do about the lives that were lost, roads that disintegrated and homes that are now nothing more than flotsam?
Photo courtesy of XCGuy, an Mtbr Forum User.
I find it hard to comprehend how some people can witness such apocalyptic natural destruction, then have the gall to turn around and stonewall mountain bikers and other motorized recreationalists for fear of destroying the environment. We’re all here for a very short time, shorter than we realize, so why are we fighting over such useless and futile matters?
I know I’m just preaching to the choir here, but for those of you who read this and disagree – get out of my church. The Earth will have its way with us – whether we like it or not – and quibbling about “environmental impact” is a completely moot point when you see what destruction the Earth can inflict upon itself in a matter of a couple hours.
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