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I've seen this work where we live.  There is a bicycle shop down the hill 
from us, where cyclists stop in to ask directions etc to the trails where we 
live.

The people in this shop are awesome--they carefully educate these cyclists 
on exactly what to do when they come upon horses (pull over off the side of 
the trail, smile and say hello!)

Because of this (plus lots of yield signs) we haven't had any bad accidents. 
We run into at least several cyclists each time we ride, and (while we've 
had a couple of "blind curve" close calls), we've  had nothing but caring 
courtesy from cyclists.

We actually appreciate the experience it gives our horses, in getting used 
to them!

Dabney Finch

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mary Maynard" <luvmares@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2005 5:07 AM
Subject: [RC] horrible story/sharing the trails - education is the answer


> I grew up in Santa Barbara and rode all the front country and back country 
> trails frequently. I know the ruggedness of the trails first hand. I moved 
> away about 10 years ago and at that time bicycles and horse safety issues 
> were already a hot topic with both groups. I had similar experiences with 
> bikes flying down the trails around blind corners directly towards me. It 
> is by sheer luck that I did not lose my horse's life or my own. At that 
> time I wrote a letter to the S.B. news press and sent copies to all the 
> bike stores. I am a avid cycling enthusiast ( I have worked building racing 
> bikes, toured the U.S. on bikes, was a bicycle courier, and a spinning 
> instructor ). I know and feel myself to be a part of their group too.
> I think education is the answer. We have to share the trails, it can work 
> but it takes education of cyclist on the proper etiquette. There is a 
> large cycling community in Santa Barbara most are extremely polite and 
> most put in many hours making and maintaining trails. However there are 
> always going to be some out there who don't know the rules or behave 
> without regard of the rules. We need to continue to take every oppertunity 
> to educate people. I really believe that it has improved and will continue 
> to improve. Working together is the only way to ensure continued progress. 
> So take some time from your busy lives and write a letter to your local 
> newspaper, send copies to bicycle shops in your area or join a group of 
> cyclist who are building trails and spend the day talking with them about 
> the issues of saftey.
> My heart goes out to the woman who experienced the loss of her beloved 
> horse, but her letter to us is a step in correcting a wrong. Now we as a 
> group can take it upon ourselves to help educate the public that share our 
> trails. Our goal should be to see this loss of life never occurs again.
> Mary Anne Maynard
>
>
>
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