North Shore mountain bikers airing their dirty laundry…

It’s basically all about who “owns” all those non-sanctioned/illegal MTB trails that have been proliferating like legendary unfixed rabbits on the North Shore for the past umpteen years. 

It’s about what happens when an over-entitled self-interest group gets far too much undeserved political clout, support and funding than they deserve,  that they feel they have the right to lord it over others, both inside and outside of the MTB community. Rewards like this will not do much to change the inherent scofflaw behaviour of these mountain bikers.

It's litigious! After all, the mountain biking community has decided to air its dirty laundry on a very public mountain biking website forum, making it fair game for anyone. Here are the juicy bits… (just the “tip of the proverbial iceberg”)

North Shore Mountain Biking Forums (http://bb.nsmb.com/index.php)

-   The Shore (http://bb.nsmb.com/forumdisplay.php?f=3)

-   -   Dear Woodro Part 3 (http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=162654)

Update: The above post thread has since been removed from the NSMB.com forum. In its place, you can view the newer thread post on this "topic"...
http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=162719

"Summary: Mark Wood retains a lawyer. Accuses me (Lee Lau) of defamation. Does this during the NSMBA - North Shore Mountain Bike Association August cooling-off period. Just more examples of how much Mark Wood respects his employers wishes..."

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Call it karma, if you wish...

But, the air must be taken out of the tires of these over-entitled mountain bikers, and for this sport to be better regulated, properly contained, and diligently managed.

Our public land managers can’t trust "the mice to guard the cheese". It has become a failed “experiment” that also endangers non-MTB forest users on the North Shore. This past long weekend:
War in the Woods! (http://bb.nsmb.com/showthread.php?t=162697) 

How much more has to happen before our politicians stop being so complacent and adulating about this MTB wreckreation inside our public forests and park land?  Comments, anyone?

Should cyclists be licensed and pay insurance just like other users of our roadways?

I have posted this topic as it seemed there was some call for it based on the aberration of the previous ' Bike Lift' post. Perhaps the previous post had exhausted most of the ideas, opinions, points of views on bike insurance vs. no bike insurance, but something tells me there might be more!

I randomly picked the below YouTube Video on the one road rule of STOPPING. It is in Golden Gate Park, California, but the issue is of course relevant to the streets of North Vancouver and all roads everywhere.

STOP means STOP!

                                       

City Mayor Darrell Mussatto goes to Trondheim, Norway

The City Mayor makes another topic on the blog. This time it is his trek (on his own dime) to the northern Norwegian City of Trondheim to check out their of 'bicycle uphill tow system.'  He will bring his research back to City council for review and potential use on the inclined roads here. The system they have in Trondheim was built about 23 years and was rebuilt in 2013. In 1993 its original cost was about $100,00, but today's cost would be as much as ten times more according to Mayor Mussatto.

Bicycle Lift in Trondheim, Norway

Water restrictions, a million more people. Will we have enough?

For the first time since 2003, Metro Vancouver has enacted the third stage of water-use restrictions, banning all lawn sprinkling and limiting other non-essential uses of drinking water. It has many people wondering about the future of the water supply.

The region is expected to grow by a million more people in the next 20 years; will we have enough water?

Over the past decade, Metro Vancouver has invested nearly $2 billion into improving drinking-water quality, distribution and supply. Every day, Metro Vancouver supplies over a billion litres of high-quality drinking water to the residents and businesses of the region. During summer months, consumption can almost double, largely due to outdoor demands such as lawn sprinkling. The good news is that this past decade, per capita water consumption has been falling. Maintaining this trend will allow us to ensure a sufficient drinking water supply for years to come, without needing to invest even more in expensive new infrastructure.

Our long-range drinking-water management plan takes into account population growth, climate change, ecological health and the continuing prosperity of the region. Over the long term, we plan to invest more than $1.5 billion on projects to accommodate population growth, and our supply strategy involves securing additional capacity from Coquitlam Lake as well as expanding storage capacity in the Seymour watershed. We will continue to review our plans and policies in coming years as the effects of climate change become more apparent.

Seasonal water use restrictions help ensure water is reserved for essential uses in homes and business and for firefighting, and in the last few weeks Metro Vancouver residents and businesses have cut their water consumption down to a level the reservoirs can sustain through the fall even if we don’t receive significant rainfall.

Darrell Mussatto

Chair, Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee