BIKES: Not in Wilderness

Riding a bicycle is fun. Many people learn to do it at an early age and it’s something they usually never forget. Hence the popular phrase, “…like riding a bike.”

Riding a bike is enjoyable for many reasons, including the feeling one experiences whizzing around a bend, weaving through traffic, or just leisurely pedaling through neighborhoods.

Bicyclists may also experience a “high” or “flow” due to the physical exertion and mental calmness that can accompany a long-distance bike ride or race.

Along with that youthful playfulness or happiness, a bicycle allows you to cover longer distances in a shorter amount of time. It is a machine with wheels, gears and a chain that provides us with a mechanical advantage to get from point A to B. It’s great to see society evolve and recognize the many joys and benefits of riding a bike. We need more bicycle commuter lanes, more bicycle racks and more automobile drivers aware of cyclists.

But it appears the Sustainable Trails Coalition is wrongfully misinterpreting the Wilderness Act to finagle its way into federally designated Wilderness. That’s unfortunate because the law clearly states that “mechanized transport” is incompatible with wilderness values. And so are the chainsaws that this coalition wants to see trails maintained with.

Authors of the Wilderness Act thankfully recognized that an “increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization” threatens wild areas and our natural heritage. Bikes and Wilderness have a place in our lives. But bikes have no place in Wilderness.

BRETT HAVERSTICK

Moscow