Welcome - Now Get Out

While the Psycho-lists and Coates groups combined forces Sunday morning for one big pre-Plain Wrap ride, I decided to take the Ibis out on a less than exciting solo ride. A couple weekends ago, sitting in the Village on a Sunday morning, a local CLR Effect reader spotted me and we talked for a bit about the Cross Town Loop and the part dirt / part paved route across the top of Upland. Ever since that talk I have been of a mind to do this out and back that I last rode several years ago. At that time, the ride was of some interest, mostly because it was new territory. Enough time has passed that I made several wrong turns, back tracked a handful of times, found one passage completely closed off now, and another with an ominous "US Property. No Trespassing" sign. Because of all that, I can't say as that I was as impressed by the route this time around. Eventually, though, I made it all the way out to Cucamonga Canyon's underused multi-use trail, and then back again. 

As I looked out over the area below San Antonio Dam I was struck by the lost potential - a large swath of land which, these days, is a useless space. I mean in the past it was important for flood control and water recharge reasons. Today, though, the dam takes care of any flood control problems, while water that does make it past its massive bulwark is channeled away. The many small basins and water control devices (gates, pipes, etc) are clearly disused. The whole area (excluding the active quarries, of course) could be a fantastic recreational area, helping to relieve pressure on the few designated parks in the foothills region (Claremont Hills Wilderness Park, North Etiwanda Preserve, Marshall Canyon County Park, etc). An equestrian area, foot trails, running paths, pump track, bmx track, a permanent cyclocross park, even the fabled inland empire velodrome could all fit within the space. Heck, you wouldn't even need to remove the water recharge function; basins could remain and be allowed to flood during winter and wet times of the year.

By all means fence off the active quarry pits, but it seems to me that closing off the rest of that area is an affront to everyone living in the area, and incredible waste of open space and recreational opportunity.

a misnomer - actually people are not welcome here, even though, as government property, our taxes pay for it

Cucamonga Creek disappears into the twisting reaches of Cucamonga Canyon and the cloud-shrouded mountains.