Persuasive Letter (Final Polish)

To whom it may concern within the United States Forest Service.

I would appreciate your consideration of my opinion regarding  off-road cycling. I am one of many that believe riding bicycles is the best way to get exercise and develop a  healthy relationship with other people, as well as the environment. I understand there is an ongoing conflict occurring in several states in the North-Western region between the United State's Forrest Service, and the vast community of cyclists. I support the federal efforts to preserve nature, so my goal is to prove to you that off-road bicycle riding is not a threat to the great outdoors. In fact, it has only made humanity's relationship with nature more intimate, and in turn more respectful and caring towards Nature. The health of this planet and it's people depends on how well we communicate on these matters that effect us all. Throughout this letter I will address various aspects of how bicycling  is a sustainable activity and an ideal way for us to solve serious problems in America today. On our National Forests the battle is joined, between the protectors of the land and for those whom it is protected.

In 1905, President T. Roosevelt, an avid outdoors-man, formed the United States' Forest Service simply because he could not stand by and watch America’s forest being ravaged by the timber empire of an industry. He understood our need for natural places and insisted that we enjoy it, but don't destroy it, and we protect it without being banned from it. It has been a steady struggle to strike that balance ever since.  I am among a new breed of outdoors-man who have evolved onto two wheels. A United States Forest Service Ranger’s job is to serve the public’s interests, while also preserving the land. In Spokane, Washington, a U.S.F.S. enforcement officer is expected to cover approximately 1.3 million acres which is impossible in a SUV vehicle, realistically. Thirty-Five percent of all the land in the United States now belongs to the government. Other not so distant Countries such as Canada chose to designate specific areas for mountain bike trails so that there will be no need for people to dig trails illegally. The sport grew rapidly so they began using ski resorts like Whistler for mountain biking in the summer time, chair-lifts and all! The mountain biking industry has continued to expand as a healthy, family activity. The Ski/Mountain Bike Resort called Whistler in British Columbia received over 150,000 visitors last year! This land belongs to us all and this society’s government and media needs to be more aware of the fact that it is possible to protect the landscape while allowing bicyclists to ride.

            You are severely mistaken if you think Off-Road Cyclists do not cherish this land. We are the ones intimately interacting with the land, not the businessman who spend all their time indoors. Our (mountain bikers) intentions are definitely not to destroy the Forest, but to get out it in it and endure an experience that would otherwise never happen without bikes. The U.S.F.S. should be able to cooperate with cyclists instead of just ticketing them and being inconsiderate of the bikers’ harmless actions. There are much more productive ways for us to spend our tax dollars than to pay people to chase citizens through the woods and if caught, destroying their equipment. I have personally seen a Park Ranger cut the chain off of someone’s bike in Nisene Marks in Aptos, CA so that he was unable to ride home. This occurrence created a love/hate relationship between the community of mountain bikers I grew up with and the U.S.F.S. I hope one day we will be able to compromise with the governing forces and create circumstances where mountain bikers aren’t seen as criminals for getting out of their house and riding their bike.  

            Jon Kennedy, with the Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance expresses his experiences like so “These trail builders are craftsmen, this is an art form, an artist never wants to see their work destroyed, they want to see it appreciated, and used, and cherished”. I believe there are many different forms of art, weather you’re building an automobile, house, or a bike jump, your unique style and technique will show. Not a lot of people realize it may take hundreds of hours for a few  men to build a half-dozen dirt jumps and wooden ramps. So when these men return to the trail and find all their hard-work has been destroyed it is a indescribably frustrating and helpless feeling. 

There have been numerous bike clubs formed as a way for bikers to unite and show their numbers and speak out to the public about their side of the story. One  in particular is (T.R.A.I.L.) the Trail Rights Association in Leavenworth Washington, the first to sit down and talk to U.S.F.S. representatives and begin to compromise and organize a trail system in the small town’s local mountains. In a Movie called Pedal Driven  mountain bike advocate Ryan Schutz once explained how “Communities build great trails, Great trails build Communities.” For example, in Bend, Oregon there is also a legal trail system on nearly 1,200 miles of public land, opened to anybody, approved by the U.S.F.S. One of the most well-known organizations is the I.M.B.A. (International Mountain Bicycling Association) which supports all sorts of bicycling events. Since these organizations have been fighting for their rights the mountain bike industry has grown immensely and now there’s about forty-million mountain bikers in the U.S. who annually contribute $136 billion to our economy. Towns like Oak Ridge, Oregon that were once collapsed after the logging industry was shut down have completely revived as a result of legal mountain biking!

             

            My fondest memories take me back to riding trails tucked within the Santa Cruz mountains, developing a strong bond with the environment, and with friends and family. The cycling community is an incredibly inviting and encouraging subculture where everyone can relate to one another’s emotions combined with sharing this amazing experience together as they ride the same exciting trail. Riding bikes teaches you things about yourself and gives you courage for everything else in life! The sport of cycling has been proven to  relieve stress because it lets us live entirely in the moment. Riding a bike allows us to be free from irrelevant problems that happened in the past, therefore we focus on what’s happening right now! Mountain biking encourages us to push our physical and mental capabilities which leads to endless progression. Cycling in general is an extremely simple solution to many of the world’s problems like Obesity, Clean Air, and drug use.

            Having a Mechanic as a father, I grew up around tons of tools which has intrigued me to wonder about and figure out how things work; what makes the wheels turn. As I became older I look back on those moments riding and working on bikes and various other vehicles with my dad and I see them as priceless. These times brought us together, on a whole new level and made it possible to develop a close connection with one another. Consequently, I met an abundance of friends to grow and ride with. Ultimately, It kept us away from gang involvement and all other sorts of trouble because all we wanted to do was ride bikes! I am honored to say that as a teen, I’ve ridden with friends that have made a living of doing exactly what they love to do: Ride Bikes. To this day, they are  much more healthy than the average and they are so incredibly committed that at this point, there is no alternative for them. Their desire to ride is simply unstoppable because they are in love with constantly progressing and exploring. Our government needs to quit ignoring  these persistent mountain bikers. They only way to make this situation more comfortable for both sides is to confront, and compromise upon reasonable places for this socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable activity to occur.  I believe it is human-nature to want to explore and experience what our surroundings have to offer. If  our government refuses to acknowledge the need for outdoor activities, then future generations are gong to have no choice but to be tuned into electronics their whole lives. Ultimately, they will never get the chance to see what they’re missing out on outdoors in the wild!

 Thank you for your time. Sincerely and Respectfully,

     Jake Peoples 

    

Works Cited

Pedal Driven. Dir. Jamie Howell. Perf. Rex Flake, James Munly. 2011.

"About IMBA U.S." International Mountain Bicycling Association. N.p., n.d. Web. 04 June 2013.