FYI

We received this from the Forest Service. I thought I would post it as it is good info to know before planning your Memorial Day activities:

Hey all,

Just wanted to send out a reminder about the wet trail closure currently in effect up AF canyon for all uses except hiking. The gates for the Alpine Loop opened today, but the trails are currently under closure and even if they weren't they are in no condition to be riding. There are still major patches of snow that are 2-6 feet deep on most of the trails and super wet conditions. Just one pass through will cause major damage with the wet conditions.

Please make sure to pass this message on to others so that people avoid tickets, causing damage to your favorite trails and making hours and hours of work to repair the damage. The lower elevation and front country trails, like the Bonneville Shoreline trail, are a better option until the trail closure is lifted.

We walked down to the turnpike on South Fork Little Deer Creek #252 that so many of you helped build last year, it is in great shape, the water is flowing under it just as planned. Thanks for all your hard work to make that project a major success.

Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend!

Cheryl Butler
Volunteer Coordinator
Pleasant Grove Ranger District
801-342-5257 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              801-342-5257      

And I have been meaning to pass this along also from May's Cycling Utah. 

Letter the editor
HB91 - A Bill Whose Time Had Come

The Legislative 2010 Wrap written by Dan Fazzini, Jr (April 2010 issue), described the demise of HB 91 in the Senate on a tie vote. This bill, authored by Rep. Carol Moss had two main components. The first was to allow cyclists to treat stop signs as yield signs without having to come to a full stop before proceeding. The second part described how a cyclist can proceed through a red light when it is clear the light will not change based upon only the presence of a cyclist. Mr. Fazzini’s account of the failure of the bill leaves out one major fact; that he and other “bicycle advocates” presumably representing their constituents were quite vocal in their opposition to this bill while testifying in front of legislators.
I was present at the initial house committee that considered this bill and spoke in favor of its passage. This bill was virtually a carbon copy of one that Idaho has had for years and works well for both cyclists and  motorists. Arguments raised against it by cycling advocates were interesting, ranging from the “I can run a red light or stop sign but you can’t because I know better” to the equally confusing “this will just piss motorists off” which is an extension of the “same roads, same rules” mantra. The fact is, virtually all cyclists whether clad in their Radio Shack finest or cut off blue jeans run stop signs. We all treat them as yield signs, coming to a full-foot-on-the ground-stop only when forced to by an oncoming motorist. Recognizing this as a fact and legalizing a common practice seems to make sense to me, but obviously not to real bike advocates. I fail to see the logic in thinking that a motorist will be less annoyed with me watching me run a stop sign when it is illegal than watching me run a stop sign when it is legal for me to do it.
Representative Moss is willing to bring this bill up again next year (it was only one vote from getting on the Governor’s desk) but not if she is to be blindsided again by the “bicycle advocates” of the state. If you are reading this and think this law change makes sense, then contact Rep. Moss, contact your bicycle advocates, contact me and say so. If there is solid support from the cycling community to pass this law, then it should get introduced in the 2011 session. On the other hand, if you are against such a bill, contact the same people and state your objections and why. “Same roads, same laws” has a reassuring feel to it but as cyclists willingly run stop signs, ride two or three abreast (cars can’t do that), and have to deal with the fact that many stop lights in this state do not even know they exist, then perhaps a tweak or two to the laws are in order. HB91 was, to me, just such a tweak whose time had come.
-John Weis

I have not done it yet, but need to do so. I don't ride on the roads much these days, but when I do I will roll through a stop sign if there are no cars there. And on Ride to Work Day, I took a red light after sitting through an entire cycle where I was not given a green light because there was no car going straight with me. I, of course, made sure it was safe, but there were vehicles there to witness it. And they doubtfully realized my rationalization for doing so but it would be nice if this was technically legal as it is rational.

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