Back Bay Bicyclists Bad Bikers? PART 4

The Upper Newport Back Bay is a beautiful place and, because of that, a lot of people find reasons of all sorts to hang out there.

So many people that issues of safely sharing the trails of this resource recently came to my attention ( Begin at Part 1. ).

Standing above the junction where the Back Bay Trail meets the entrance to the San Diego Creek Trail, any time of day, any day of the week ( This photo was taken as part of my, soon to be presented, trip on the Mountains to the Sea Trail. ) shows off the glory  that is this bit of nature in suburbia.

After checking out the signs at this intersection, as described in the last chapter, I then headed over to the north side of the Bay, by far the busiest stretch of the areas Trail System.

There are several reasons for this, from easy access to parking, to the hiking, and equestrian trails, to the Nature Center and its programs.

The nearly 2 miles of paved trail on the north side is narrow, and has several access points, some with safety issues.

As I headed west I checked out each, talked with people I encountered, and observed some troubling behavior.

North of the 1st section of trail is a short stretch of street, called Bayview Way, heading west from Jamboree, on which people can park, and enter the Bay Trail thru 2 short access trails.

The 1st entrance has a blind spot, as you can see, for anyone heading east on the main trail, and the access.

I watched these cyclists, and wondered what would happen here if a group on the main trail encountered a fast cyclist, teen skateboarder, or walker with what I call a Baby Utility Vehicle ( BUV ) coming down the access.

The same issue, from the opposite direction, occurs at the 2nd access point, as you can see from this view looking east.

Yes, the dirt is the Equestrian Trail, and bike tracks can be found on it, and the various hiking trails, in the area as well causing their own problems.

It was here that I saw the cyclist on the right go past

at a speed faster than the recommended ( More on that in a bit. )  with no warning to the person on the left.

I talked to a few people on foot who expressed concern about individual cyclists riding the narrow trail at high rates of speed, and about Club Rides doing the same.

Again I heard from people who were verbally abused, but also from those who had positive experiences with cyclists.

I also heard from a couple of cyclists who had views similar to those of cyclists on the south side.

While I know that the trail is for all I have to wonder at the reasoning for a club to use this short trail, regardless of its connection to the San Diego Creek Trail, knowing what they could encounter, especially on weekends.

Moving along I came to the Cyclist/Equestrian/Pedestrain Access to/from Mesa Rd.

Here is a nice stretch that, at its neighborhood entrance, is next to Bayview Park, and is a favorite access point for all the Equestrians who live in the adjoining residential area.

There is plenty of room here yet I learned that some cyclists, coming down the access, get a tad carried away, speedwise, thus spooking horses, and causing annoyance to other users as well.

It was here that I stopped to talk to the folks seen on horseback in this picture.

Sheila Ferguson, and friends, use the trail all the time for their excursions, and are part of a community organization called the Back Bay Equestrians.

While her trusty steed was a beautiful, and friendly sort, the dear thing was not willing to talk, so I engaged Sheila instead. ;-D

She added to the stories told me by others, positive, and negative, and added that cyclists riding too close to the horses can sometimes spook them.

Equestrians try to keep their steeds poop confined to the dirt trails but, horses being horses... ;-D

Anyway, I understand some riders do clean up after their steeds "pavement pauses".

Sheila expressed the belief that co-operation among all users was important for the future of the trails, and told me about a countywide organization, called Trails4All, that is instrumental in such efforts:

The organization is a working confederation of approximately 30 groups, agencies and retail stores. Trails4All includes equestrians, hikers, mountain-bicyclists and trail runners. Ultimately, we are a group of people who simply care about the natural resources of Orange County and the preservation of every community member's access to the enjoyment of these lands...

We estimate that there are over 700 miles of natural surface, shared-use recreational trails in Orange County. Every year, the number of people using and enjoying this land increases while the budget for the Orange County Park System decreases.

To learn more visit the website of this award-winning organization.

The important thing to understand about the north side is that, because of the narrowness of the trail, the intersections, and the number, and variety, of users at any given time, the speed limit is not the same as on the south side.

What that speed is is not readily apparent, however, since the speed limit is not posted at the main access points, on the east, and west, entrances to the trail.

See that white sign on the left?

It tells cyclists that the speed limit on the long Trestle is 10mph.

There is another white sign at the other end of the long Trestle.

They are old, and small, and definitely need to be replaced with new, larger, signs, and supplemented with more signs at all the access points to the trail.

As you can tell the long Trestle is used by cyclists, joggers/walkers, and Equestrians, and has a little bend in the road at one point.

Between the Trestles is an access trail for Equestrians, that is also popular with people on Mountain Bikes from what I've seen by the tracks in the dirt.

The small trestle is for cyclists, and joggers/walkers, and can make for a difficult spot to navigate on a busy day.

Why there are no posted speed signs here is beyond me.

Just after passing here I watched a woman on a jury-rigged bike head east, toward this, at 20mph.

Her bike had a 2nd seat, and a wheel, both lower than the back of her bike, and in this seat, doing her small share of the pedalling, was the womans little daughter.

At least they both had helmets.

Beyond this point are entrances to the Nature Center, and a large parking lot, that are accessed from a street called University, that brings people from Irvine Ave., and beyond that is a stretch of trail that heads south, parallel to Irvine Ave. to its end near Santiago St.

In my next post I talk about the entrance area, the last section of the trail, and a chance meeting with local officials.

The north side is a busy place, especially on weekends and, as you can tell, is a place where care should be taken, by all who use it, to do so safely.

Read Part 5 here.