Bikes in Wilderness Again

[tipsntails7]

I have fallen behind on this thread and am not sure I have much to add that has not already been offered. But I saw this yesterday and thought it may be of interest to some here. Miller: A win-win solution for Virginia's outdoors is threatened as never before | Opinion | roanoke.com

I'll try to catch back up on this discussion this evening. I would like to understand the issues and viewpoints so that I have an informed response when needed.
I was at a trailhead camp last year between bivy jaunts when a crew pulled in and loaded up to hit the elk woods. They all had backpacks but one of the four also had a fat tire bike. His buddy asked him "You really going to take the bike? The trail to the Wilderness boundary is only about a mile." His reply was "Yeah, but we're planning to go in 5 or 6 miles." His buddy says "Right but you'll have to stash it somewhere for the week. It's not legal in the Wilderness area so you can only ride it for the easiest first mile." He replied, "I don't care what they say about legal or not. I'm riding it the whole way all week. Other people take horses up there...." Then they all shrugged their shoulders and hit the trail.

It might be a bitch move, but I would have called that guy in honestly.


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[Foldem]

Some good background here. https://www.wilderness.net/toolboxes/documents/tools/Mechanization in Wilderness.pdf

Its pretty clear bikes and other human propelled mechanical devices are specifically excluded from Wilderness. The link above is well cited and pulls straight from the Wilderness act and Forest service regulations.

I like to ride my mountain bike too, but there a millions of square miles to do that outside of designated wilderness areas.