Biker Seriously Hurt on Romero Canyon Trail

I hope he's OK. If he set out (as some mtn. bikers do) from the top of Romero Cyn at E. Camino Cielo he was in pretty steep DOWNHILL with some gnarly drops... way too intimidating for me. If you start at the bottom of Romero Cyn Tr. the uphill ascent right at the beginning is quite challenging, also beyond my physical level. If you study the lower trail, frequent bike use has damaged the trail severely, or, at least made it much more treacherous walking for horses as well as regular hikers.

What ever happened to walking along and enjoying Mother Nature. Mechanical Contraptions scare the hell out of the local Wildlife with their noise and speed.

I hope he is alright but I really question the Environmental damage these bicycles do.

I came across this gentleman on the fire-road. Hope he is doing ok.

Once again, this was on the fire-road and not the technical trails DrDan refers to.

Howgreenwasmyvalley, for reference, the search and rescue vehicles were able to drive up to within a few hundred feet of the victim.

thank you for the correction, Matsfro, I read in the release "Romero Canyon Trail"...since I was on that fire road today [3/12] I can report that in some long sections it's hardly a "road" at all, and much of it walks like a "trail". Plenty of obstacles and places to fall off the precipice as your eye wanders out to the Pacific Ocean and silhouetted Channel Islands...
While on the R. Cyn. Trail (on the way up, took the road on the way down), two sets of mtn. bicyclists came down, none of them had bells, although they were polite. I agree with HGWMV (for once!), and the downhill mountain bikers on R. Cyn. TRAIL have wrought major damage. You can see this by hiking along Rattlesnake Cyn Trail where bikes are outlawed and comparing the trail surfaces.
As others have proposed, let's work out a rotation system, with signs at the bottom, saying, oh, Even numbered monthly days bikes OK, but ODD numbered day are for hikers and horses only, the elderly and the young. ?

Here is a link to studies that indicate mountain biking, per trip, does about the same damage as a hiking trip, and about 4 times less than a horse trip...

http://www.americantrails.org/resourc...

Many other factors like drainage, shade, and soil composition can also influence trail wear.

I usually hike and find it annoying when I hear bikers bells and have to step aside. And more irritating when I just have to carefully listen. But the worst is horseapples on the trail, swarming with flies.

I don't want to make false accusations about trail wear, however.

This rider was in his 50's and suffered injuries to his head and spine, I hope he recovers quickly:

http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?...

Vehicles can go up no further than that spot where the power towers and big rock are located @first vista to the west. The fireroad narrows into single track after that. If he fell a few 100-ft from there, then he was on a flat and easy section. I wonder what happened?

About 1,500 ft up from that point, there is the first semi-technical section, a dip followed by a sharp rise - some riders will have problems there but most in OK shape and familiar with the trail will make it OK. I've fallen there once in my 15+ years of riding Romero.

Romero is a great workout, especially if you ride up to Camino Cielo (I've never "shuttled" from the top). Then you have a choice of coming back down Romero, or heading a few miles west to San Ysidro. When the upper section was bulldozed after the fire, some of the technical sections were flattened so the ride is easier than before the fire.

In my opinion, over the last 15+ years, bikers have had relatively insignificant impact on the fireroad route. You will see some scarring on the rocks at the bottom from chainrings, but it's been like that for ages because of the way the rocks are embedded and the steepness of the grade. Some years, the bottom looks better than others depending on whether winter rains transferred any dirt. However, I have seen huge and significant changes all along the route from storms, mudlsides, and bulldozing.

I always ride with a bell on Romero, and years ago, we tried to place bells at the trailhead to be returned after use, but they all got stolen. Too many riders from LA :(

good discussion, and thank you snugspout... My editorial comment on trail surfaces is based on staring at Rattlesnake Cyn Trail and then our Romero Cyn Trail hundreds of times: they are not the same. Go check out Rattlesnake again. I agree that other factors certainly include drainage, shade, and soil composition. The two trails have a similar geology, and some of the shade factors are similar as well.
Snugspout, your comment about not preferring to hear the bells from oncoming (heading downtrail at speed) mtn. bikers on the trail (not road) section is not thoughtful. On Mar. 12th I was with 15 students (mostly age 13) straggling up the trail itself and the lack of bells was not particularly safe for my students or the two sets of mtn. bikers. Think about it? And if horses are coming up? BTW I've always agreed about the horses and they are far worse for the trail than bikers or hikers.
EB, thanks for this info. You do specify that "bikers have had relatively insignificant impact on the fireroad route" -- but what about your observations of the TRAIL portion (not the ancient fire road)?? I assume many bike up this trail, then go back down on the longer Romero Canyon Road? Wouldn't going up the trail be less wear than skidding and slamming down the trail pell mell, as I know occurs from earlier experiences there.

DD, yes I didn't mention the hiking trail because I haven't ridden it in many years now. Most riders who use it will go up the fireroad, then fork left down the trail (too difficult to go up the trail). I'd wager that with the popularity of dual-suspension bikes, more riders have opted for using the fireroad going both up & down. The trail would have been more popular in the "old days" when only front suspension was available because it's a less rocky/bumpy surface.

The trail is too busy on the weekends with hikers and more susceptible to erosion so my ridding buddies and I avoid it. Still, some riders will use it and if use issues ever came up, restricting riders to the fireroad might be an OK compromise as far as I'm concerned. The last time I hiked the trail was 2 years ago ... the trail looked about the same as it's been in many years, but I would defer to folks who maintain the trail.