BLM to investigate ATV race at Glade Run

Steve Lynn

SAN JUAN COUNTY — The Bureau of Land Management will investigate whether all-terrain vehicle riders broke rules when they raced at Glade Run Recreation Area last weekend.

Between 30 and 40 ATV riders held an organized race on trails designated for mountain bikes Sunday, said San Juan County Undersheriff Mark McCloskey.

Mountain bikers and ATV riders clashed, with one biker accusing an ATV rider of driving over his bicycle and ATV riders accusing bikers of blocking their race course with rocks, McCloskey said. No one was ticketed or arrested.

"It appeared it got rather heated between the two groups," McCloskey said.

Conflicts between bicyclists and ATV riders in the Glade are nothing new, but Joel Farrell, assistant field manager for the Farmington BLM field office, could not recall any other unauthorized, organized ATV races taking place there.

"This isn't a sanctioned or authorized event by the BLM," Farrell said.

The race followed a proposal by BLM officials to create a 38-mile ATV trail to reduce the number of four-wheeled vehicles traveling on bike and dirt bike trails. There are numerous Glade trails for hiking, horseback riding and biking; a fraction are set aside for ATVs.

Farrell said the BLM would investigate to see whether any unauthorized activity took place.

ATV riders may have damaged plants and widened the biking trails, but Farrell did not know whether anyone who rode an ATV on the Glade trails would be fined, he said.

"If we determine that inappropriate things were done out there, we will proceed to take appropriate action," he said. "But we can't do that until we get all the facts."

Dave Kinsey, a Farmington mountain biker, was standing with his bike on the side of the Red Apple Trail when an ATV rider ran over his bike Sunday afternoon. His wheel and brake were bent.

"I don't know if they did it intentionally, but they certainly didn't care," Kinsey said. "They just kept right on going."

The ATV riders were "screaming and yelling," telling the bikers to get off the trail, Kinsey said.

"They were just being super aggressive," he said.

McCloskey said the Sheriff's Office has no suspects in the incident. Many of the ATV riders had left the area by the time sheriff's deputies arrived.

Mike Carpenter, a Farmington mountain biker, said he was riding on the Red Apple Trail when three ATV riders passed him.

"Anybody that knows the Glade knows what trails are bike trails and which ones aren't," Carpenter said.

ATV riders widened bike trails substantially, he said.

"You could see dust flying all around the Glade," Carpenter said.

Source: http://www.daily-times.com/ci_11883962

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