Home

Trails

Pictures

Cool Links

Guestbook

Who We Are

A while back, I had a conversation with a friend about how excellent and exciting mountain biking really is. There are so many great areas to ride, for just about all skill levels, in the East Bay and the nearby surrounding areas. Whenever we had the chance, my friends and I would take little short excursions to explore and discover new trails and rides. There really is something for everybody, here in the Bay Area.

As much as we mountain bikers love the trails, some other groups oppose our presence and want to reduce or, even worse, restrict our access to trails. Why is this?

Some groups often view of us mountain bikers as disrespectful hedonists. The trails are there only for our enjoyment, to pound and to rip up the trails, never spending any time to help repair or maintain them. Pedestrians and horses- they're simply nuisances that obstruct our perfect line, when we're bombing down the fireroad and mach speeds. Why should we shout out or give warning that we're about to run them off the trail? "Bell? What bell?" People who aren't on mountain bikes shouldn't be on the trails- it's too dangerous- they might get in our way and we might get hurt. And why should we slow down? If they're going to insist on using the same trail, they should listen for us bikers or just stay far to one side of the trail, so no one gets hurt.

Okay, we're not that bad, but we haven't yet proven it to them. I admit, I love going fast getting the payoff for the hard hill that I just climbed. It's wonderful to be in the groove, when everything is just flowing and so simple. Once you're in rhythm with the ride, you don't want anything to break it up.

But there is a time and place for everything. Some areas are meant to be ridden fast and hard by bikers and some areas are meant to be shared by all.

I do try to follow speed limits. I always warn hikers and people with horses that I'm coming up behind them with respect and caution. I never knowingly ride trails that are marked off limits to bicycles. And I preach this philosophy to all that I ride with. How can we win the respect of others, if we don't show that we can respect the rules of the park? If all our favorite trails get closed down, it's going to be darned hard to find a good place to ride.

While mountain biking is still one of the fastest growing outdoor recreational sports out there, with the population of riders getting larger everyday, we need to educate everyone, so we can continue to share the trails with other trail users.

Hence, the Fat Tire Bicycle Society was born. We are a small group of mountain bikers who just love it- every aspect of it. I was fortunate enough to learn how to ride by people who loved the sport, just like me. So in a way, this club is a legacy of my old mountain biking friends. We welcome all levels of riders, females and males alike. We plan an assortment of rides, so that everyone can learn and enjoy the sport, while challenging themselves.

The main goal of the organization is to promote the wonderful sport of off-road bicycling, with the emphasis on educating riders on how to better share the recreational spaces with other groups.

Next ->