Turnbull Canyon

Discussion in 'Trail Advocacy' started by Earn Your View, Apr 20, 2017.


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  1. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

    Name:
    Bryan
    Current Bike:
    2013 Charge Cooker
    Those who regularly ride Turnbull Canyon may already know what's going on there, but for those that don't, it seems like there's an all out assault on mountain biking happening as we speak.

    First, a couple of months ago, there were large rocks placed on the several of the switchbacks commonly known as 7th Street. Going down, this isn't a huge deal, but it's now very difficult to go around them while climbing the other side.

    Now, according to the Facebook page for the Puente Hills Habitat Authority, bikes will no longer be allowed to ride on the trails referred to as the Hellman Trails, which means A-Line is no longer accessible to bikes. (Note: the "Hellman Trails" have been closed since January for repairs after all of the storms destroyed the trails)

    I have rode these trails for over seven years and this is really disappointing and disturbing to me. The Habitat Authority owns all of these trails, so to me, this is first step towards the end of mountain biking on these trails. Maybe I'm just being paranoid.

    Now that I've vented, here's what has been on my mind:

    - I don't know the first thing about trail advocacy or how to proceed at this point
    - I can make phone calls or send emails, but do I say?
    - There seems to be a much larger, organized, MTB advocacy in Orange County. Is there a MTB group out in this area?

    I'm looking for ideas at this point. Thoughts?

    20170311_100751.jpg
     
    Faust29, Luis, Cisco Roots and 7 others like this.
  2. DangerDirtyD

    DangerDirtyD iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    CA
    Name:
    Chicken Nugget
    Current Bike:
    2018 Guerrilla Gravity SMASH
    Dang! Sorry about this EYV. Trunbull is a great place for a weekday or night ride; I hope it will not become forbidden to MTB. I think [the local legend] Hans and Tinker Juarez, et al. ride there. I don't know how to reach them other than at an endurance race, but keep up the good fight.

    Search the website of the Puente Hills Habitat Authority and find a contact to whom to reach out.

    www.habitatauthority.org/ways-to-help/

    Their physical address is 7702 Washington Avenue, Suite C, Whittier, CA 90602.

    Good luck!
     
  3. blixet

    blixet Well-Known Member

    Location:
    San Gabriel Valley
    Name:
    Tom
    Current Bike:
    Transition Scout, TJ Ti
    This sucks. Habitat Authority has control and maintains the Sycamore Cyn and Hellman Park Trails for hikers only on that portion of the hills. Over on the north side, it's the Puma and Coyote Trails. And then there's the trails off of Colima. It was L.A. County Parks and Rec that installed all of the boulders, to slow down the bikers. I met the fellow who is supervising the work for the county and he admitted to me that no one had contacted or otherwise asked for input from mountain bikers before installing the rocks. He seemed genuinely interested in my opinion so I let him know how it was done all wrong and walked him through a couple of sections to show him how totally wrong for us it is. But I seriously doubt that they will pull them out and redo it. I made the same points that it really does no good and accomplishes nothing really when the fast guys are going down. It just screws us up going up the hill when it is already steep with sharp turns and with everything else it just makes our lives a little more miserable. I don't know but I imagine it will only get worse. They closed the entrances off Los Robles and Orange Grove to force everyone onto that stupid wingnut trail in and out and now that the inevitable conflicts are occurring it is the bikers that have to suffer. Not the people with 3 dogs off leash or pushing up kids in strollers on trails that are so screwed up now that you barely have room for single file in sections. Have you checked out the master plan for the mega-park where the dump is? They are raping the hills that haven't already been stripped with giant earth movers for the dump daily in prep for the "nature" experience. Wait til they add a several hundred more people traipsing around bumping elbows with the bikers on the weekends. Maybe we'll be able to ride the gondola up to the top and not have to climb it. :thumbsdown:

    http://www.puentehillslandfillpark.org/#trail-connections
    http://www.habitatauthority.org/newsite/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/map-Sycamore_Hellman-2012.pdf
     
  4. Sasquatch9billion

    Sasquatch9billion iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    trinidad j. mendez
    The last time I rode there there was a guy handing out flyers warning bikers about meetings and how they wanted to make the trails hikers only, that was maybe two years ago.
     
  5. Poofighter

    Poofighter Member

    Location:
    Cypress Hill
    Name:
    Noel
    Current Bike:
    Santa Cruz Shortboy
    Thanks for the heads up regarding A-Line. I knew they were doing work, but didnt know bikes are not allowed.
    I have the same concerns as you and have already voiced my issues with the Habitat Authority like @blixet, but they referred me to the County. I spoke to the supervisor, who referred me to her staff named Gabe. He stated that nobody asked input from any bikers, nor did they notice which direction they were traveling. I told him that with the boulders so close to the switchback people are going to start going around them, thus making the trail wider which I know they don't want. I explained to him that the majority of bikers do that loop counter clockwise, so they didnt need to put the boulders to slow down bikers that are going 5mph uphill. Like blixet stated he seemed interested but didnt have funds to remove the boulders, but did agree with most of what was stated.
    If you wish to call the county to voice your concerns, PM me and I cant get that number to you.
     
  6. Cisco Roots

    Cisco Roots Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Maple Valley WA
    Name:
    Cisco
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB140 LR
    I heard about the boulders at Turnbull. I used to ride there every other week but havent been back. I would never ride there on weekends, just seemed silly to me with all the traffic. I think the main problem that has caused this push back against MTBers is the large number of inexperienced riders who have not been schooled on trail etiquette and who regularly cut trails and ride the trail portions that are off limits to bikes. If there is anyone who I think provide a voice for the MTB community it would be Steve Messer. I would reach out to him and see if he can get involved.
     
  7. MrGreedom

    MrGreedom Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    Name:
    Ryan
    Current Bike:
    BH Lynx6
    If turnbull is closed to bikers, it would force a lot of people to Floop :gag:
     
  8. Torrent77

    Torrent77 Well-Known Member

    Name:
    Dave
  9. Squidler4

    Squidler4 Newbie with Hope!

    Location:
    Orange county
    Name:
    Dan
    I rode Turnbull today. There were a lot of thistles growing along the trails. Has anyone ever heard if the cut those back at all along the trails there?
     
  10. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

    Name:
    Bryan
    Current Bike:
    2013 Charge Cooker
    That would be great. I didn't even notice that this thread got any responses. Thank you for expressing your concerns as well. I figured that riders go around the rocks as well, making the trail wider.
     
    Sasquatch9billion likes this.
  11. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

    Name:
    Bryan
    Current Bike:
    2013 Charge Cooker
    Thanks for your input. I've actually seen more hikers hiking up closed sections of trail there than mountain bikers. However, I have seen my fair share of poor etiquette from riders and hikers. I've encountered more hikers who can't hear me because their headphones are too loud. But I digress... Haha
     
  12. Earn Your View

    Earn Your View Member

    Name:
    Bryan
    Current Bike:
    2013 Charge Cooker
    I'll take a look at that. I new that there was talk of adding trails, but I didn't have any specific information.
     
  13. Sasquatch9billion

    Sasquatch9billion iMTB Rockstah

    Name:
    trinidad j. mendez
    Well, we ( mtn bikers,) do most of the trail work in OC/LA so I'm guessing it might get a bit more unruly in the near future. Good luck getting the weekend hikers and e-bike dorks to take-up the stewardship.
     
    Cisco Roots and Torrent77 like this.
  14. Cisco Roots

    Cisco Roots Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Maple Valley WA
    Name:
    Cisco
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB140 LR
    Rode Turnbull yesterday. A couple of things happened yesterday which solidified why I really don't like riding here.

    Number 1 was I witnessed a father and his kid riding as I entered the park. Nothing wrong with that except the father was on an E Bike and BOTH were not wearing helmets! This ticked me off bad but doesn't surprise me.

    Second incident is partially my fault. As I dropped into 7th street DH, I picked up some serious speed and as I turned a corner I almost hit a hiker dead on! Luckily she managed to dodge me and avoid a serious crash. I felt bad and thankful that nothing serious happened. But this is why I tend to avoid this place because there are WAY too many hikers for my liking.

    The boulders on 7th ST loop were not an issue for me. For those that don't know, there are boulders on the DH and on the uphill as well. As suspected there are already lines around the boulders and the flow was not interrupted as much. On the climb out of 7th St there are boulders at the switchbacks which make it a little bit of a challenge to navigate. I actually enjoyed that and I think riders should embrace it b/c it will only make them better riders from a technical standpoint navigating the boulders exiting the switchback. Piece of cake compared to the switchbacks of the climb of Mt Zion at Chantry, for instance.

    Lastly, the Workman side is overgrown and those weeds with thorns were a menace. Did two laps though and the dirt is in prime condition. PR'd on the DH segment.

    https://www.strava.com/activities/991088725
     
  15. herzalot

    herzalot iMTB Hooligan

    Location:
    Laguna Beach
    Name:
    Chris
    Current Bike:
    2020 Revel Rail,Yeti SB 130 LR
    Did you apologize?
     
    Sasquatch9billion likes this.
  16. Cisco Roots

    Cisco Roots Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Maple Valley WA
    Name:
    Cisco
    Current Bike:
    Yeti SB140 LR
    Yes, and I felt terrible afterwards. It frightens me to think how things could go wrong on these multi use trails.
     
  17. mtnbikej

    mtnbikej J-Zilla

    Location:
    Orange
    Name:
    J
    Current Bike:
    SC Chameleon SS, SC Hightower
    And you are an experienced rider on a somewhat light bike. Think how bad it goes when some newbie does the same thing on a 50lb. ebike. Probably won't turn out so well for someone.
     
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As a former Amazon Associate I continue to get screwed trying to stay qualified as an Amazon Affiliate. So I quit!


Want to donate to imtbtrails?