Mountain bikers to gain park access

Mountain bikers may soon put knobby rubber on unpaved park roads under an agreement announced Monday between the National Park Service and the International Mountain Biking Assn.

The deal would let mountain bikers pedal on maintenance routes, fire roads and horse paths. Currently, bikes can only be used on asphalt and parking lots in parks. "We're going to allow park superintendents to look around at those roads and see if some would be good for mountain biking," says National Park Service spokesman David Barna.

The agreement "will enable local park officials to open dirt roads to biking quickly," says Pete Webber of the mountain biking association.

The arrangement only applies to dirt roads, not hiking trails. Any roads proposed for mountain bikes must go through an environmental review.

-- Joe Robinson