Support San Diego Trails & Chance To Win A Specialized Turbo Levo

 Love how NONE of the recent projects have anything to do with actual trail maintenance or building of trails but rather just adding bridges to existing trails. San Diego had a 400% rider increase since Covid yet no new trails, no changes to the city/county charter on recreational activities. Weve actually lost trails and are on the verge of losing more. But guess that what happens when you only try to appeal to the ebikers and beginners. Literally no progression here unless you go to the local indian reservation or ride the unsanctioned stuff. Hell they cant even update their website ha!

 Everytime SDMBA gets brought up, they get comments like this. The article is a shame, you have mtb organization that is posting building sidewalks and not actual trails. I've been to their meeting and have been out on trail scouts with them and they just don't understand mountain biking. (I even took pictures of them sanitizing illegal trails cause they thought they were too dangerous) If you want to give $5 to try and win a bike that's cool but your money is not helping build trails.

 I don't have any skin in the game as I don't live in San Diego, nor do I visit the area. But I can't help but notice that every single image is someone packing a trail into concrete and like 69 bridges. Is this what the organization regularly does? Yikes - feel bad for you guys. Starting to understand the rest of the comments here.

California does have red tape, but there are plenty of areas in the state that work around the tape and build amazing trails. If any of you folks ever find your way up north near Bass Lake, hit me up and I'll take you on some primo trails. Our trail organization works with Southern California Edison and Sierra National Forest to create some amazing trail networks. We're building in the national forest and on private property that SCE has opened to the public. Just go to youtube and look at Thunderstruck in Shaver Lake. This is what needs to be happening all across the state.

 After many many years riding in San Diego you learn that SDMBA isn’t for the MTB community but for the Lycra riding, horse loving, San Diego elitist. Again annd again we voice our opinions on trails and they keep building 10ft bridges for 20k$. Seems to be getting plenty of donations and nothing ever gets done.

If you want to donate in San Diego the only way to do it is with your own shovel, sweat, and friends. Don’t count on SDMBA for anything other than another XC trail.

 So... As someone that has been involved on all sides of these issues in SD for essentially the last decade, I could write for hours about all the things being discussed here. I'm a gravity rider who does his own thing now within SDMBA's volunteer crew as I found the challenges of dealing with certain ego's and "most" Land Managers to be too much. Yes, the bulk of the rangers here in SD are essentially "Anti fun trail" and that tends to center around the fact that most of the trails are located in "preserve" areas.

So per the Rangers / Land Mangers "trails are designed to help you enjoy the the preserve, NOT be a fun roller coaster ride that is a sole destination inside of the preserve". The parks are not "zoned" for that type of use. I could bore you to death but just google MSCP rules and guidelines (Multiple Species Conservation Program). Also, if you're ever going to try to go the legal route and communicate to ANYONE of authority regarding trail use here in SD, you must know the in's and outs of the MSCP guidelines.

Now that the boring shit is out of the way, how to make the legal, Sanctioned SD trails better... The fun envelope NEEDS to be pushed by the SDMBA Liaisons BUT... just because someone is a Liaison to a certain area doesn't make them qualified to build fun trails (remember the ego thing I mentioned above???). Figuratively speaking, there are only a handful of exceptionally good mtn bike trail builders in SD and I know for a fact that none of them are SDMBA liaisons to the public trail areas. The SDMBA liaisons understand the rules, regulations and environmental features that need to be on trails to keep them in line with what the rangers want to see. Example, if anyone has ever witnessed Ben Stone defend and legally explain away a mountain bike feature as an important environmental protection necessity, I'm sure they were left speechless and in awe as I have been... the man is pure poetry in action when it comes to that skill! Now if I went to Ben and said "build me a bad ass jump line", he'd probably laugh and just point me in the direction of some of the good jump builders he knows. So until the SDMBA board makes it a point to find and get those good builders matched up with the Liaisons who have the land manager relationships and environmental understandings to start getting the fun envelop pushed, we're going to keep winding up with the same bland / boring Sanctioned trails. The good builders are never going to want to be a trail Liaison (trust me, it's annoying, I've done it before), but that's okay, they don't have to be! The liaison's just need to let go of their ego's and realize that the guy(s) that does nothing but build wild fun illegal stuff has the expertise they need to make things fun. Think about it, would you let engineers design a race care WITHOUT extensive input from professional racers?!?!? NO, it needs to be a team effort! the same way in which you can't expect the fun trail builders to care about anything MSCP related!

 San Diego is a total joke, unless you like meandering long boring rides. Any trail system worth riding is unsanctioned. And with that, its always a battle to keep the best one up and going, with no new trails allowed being built as it would just blow up! Its just to bad, it always feels like its one step forward, two steps back here in SD. Have to see what happens with the new Luiseno Bike park. Hopefully over the next couple of years some really cool, aggressive trails get build that cater to the crowd that aren't just out for a Sunday cruise. Which unfortunately, SDMBA seems to only support.

 they closed down a bunch of trails to build unaffordable houses

 I'm just here to read the SDMBA hate comments. Was not disappointed.

 Hahaha, San Diego "trails." San Diego is a joke (I live here) rather than manage open spaces they just put up huge fences and Habitat Restoration signs. SD county is over 5 times the physical size of Orange County and have 1/10 the trail network.

 I will agree with some of the sediment here... but, there is far too much 'red tape' in California, especially in populated areas, to get anything built or even worked. I encourage fellow Californian's to sit in of some of the local organization meetings and listen to what they have to deal with, prior to making emotional mommy baggage statements. Like I said, the 'red tape' is thicker than the duct tape the mob would tape your ass with, in a blanket, and throw you over board.

 As someone who lives in PQ and Black mountain area, I agree with a lot of comments here. SDMBA is overly focused on bridges and mount Laguna as I assume are the easiest to work on in the county. If we want growth of progressive trails that aren't all green, we will need change in organizations leadership or a whole new organization.

 Looking at SDMBA's finances from the 2021 (couldn't find 2022). They brought in $287k in revenue and spent $160k on their staff that consists of 3 people. 55% of their revenue was spent on salaries...and this is what they have to show for it?

In comparison, 400 miles North of San Diego, and still in California, there's a mountain bike organization that has revenues of less than $20k/year. They spend all of that money on insurance, tools, gas for the mini excavator, and beer/tacos for dig days. They've built 2 new badass DH trails in the last 2 years and maintain a couple hundred miles of existing trails. 100% volunteer and no one is paid for their efforts.

Something needs to change at the top level of SDMBA.

 Since my name was dropped a couple times I thought I'd reply. Probably the first thing worth mentioning is all the projects highlighted were done outside of the rainy season this summer or after the rain stopped falling. Can't do much trail work without moisture. Although the progressive community is a vocal one highlighted here in nearly all our member and public surveys they represent a small minority of riders (all our survey results are public). To be clear this does not mean we don't advocate for progressive trails but it is challenging. We live in an area with the most federally endangered species, the most state endangered species and the most federally recognized tribes. The challenges are vast and we probably have some of the most well funded conservation groups in the Country working against us at every turn. We have learned to get pretty quiet about efforts since Orosco Ridge. Things are in the works across the County and the process is admittedly slow. The most successful efforts are generally spearheaded by volunteers and assisted by our staff.

I get messaged or approached often about how to take over maintenance of a trail or build a new trail. I explain in detail the process and I'd say most people never reply back to me. The truth of the matter is nothing comes easy here. I've heard people complain about sdmba before I was an employee, before I was a board member and before we had employees when I just volunteered occasionally. Sdmba is only as good as the people who step up and volunteer their time.

I won't come back here to reply to any comments but perhaps everyone who complained here could also email or call their elected officials? We generally have a real hard time convincing them of the importance of mountain biking because they never hear it from their constituents. Elected official means City Counicl, County Supervisor, State Assemby, State Senate and even your federally elected reps.

 “OMG IS THAT JUMP?”
-“No, it’s for drainage”
“OMG ITS A JUMP WE MUST FLATTEN”

“OMG IS THAT A JUMP?”
-“no its a berm”
“OMG THAT JUMP IS ENDAGERING THE ENDANGERED GRASSHOPPER POPULATION! WE MUST FLATTEN”

 What so they can take the money and put it towards a bridge in Los P Canyon? Yeah I'm good.

 @maiomtblt I personally know at least half the people in these comments. We all dig way more than the advocacy group.

 San Diego has no MTB trails. Sdmba hasn’t Built 100 feet of trail in 30 years. Non profits run by big ankle riders are a fund raising scam. Self build poach and evade before the tract home bulldozers beat you to it

 Having worked for the govt. common sense doesn’t apply. Keep the cool trails unsanctioned and don’t post it on youtube and the interwebs. Keep the camera off, have a good time. So cal has real crime, if you don’t ruffle karen, she can call the cops on other people. This post is about a bike raffle, we all know the money won’t do any trail work. ‍♂️

 ya'll are a buncha whiny cry babies up in here blaming SDMBA for development at Del Mar Mesa, or the city/county state environmental rules that don't allow trail building.

TAKE IT ALL BACK OR I'M GOING OUT TO TED'S WITH MY SHOVEL AND WILL DESTROY EVERY JUMP! If that doesn't work then I'll go back and do some crappy trail work on Circus Circus and make it a green trail!

 I like turtles

 San Diego has tons of open space especially east of the 15 freeway but over the last 30 years trail access has been very limited. We usually drive up to Orange County to ride because it's so much better.

 Change the current regime, new board members. Y’all should apply and change things!

 I just came to say you guys fucking suck! That is all.

 Turing in to the San Diego Bridge Association

 Sweetwater is cool.

 If I win can I trade the moped in for a real bike?

 The prize and the trails are both embarrassing, and they want your money too!

 An ebike..hahjaaaha what a joke..

 Donated!