Mountain biking is a part of Squamish. If this fact has escaped you it is time to look around and realize how important the sport is to our community and not just for the new folks moving to town, but for the people who have lived here their whole lives.
It brings people and money to Squamish, it provides a living for some and its social aspect in the community is huge. Darwin's Bridge, crossing Ring Creek and providing access to the Plunge trails from Diamondhead Road, had a run-in with a chainsaw earlier this week. The bridge is a part of the upcoming GearJammer race and is used by people training for Test of Metal not to mention anyone else who wants to access the Plunge while avoiding Nine Mile Hill.
I believe, and my belief is shared, that whoever destroyed the bridge was sending a message to mountain bikers along the lines of "go away" and "we take issue with your sport and so we are wrecking the bridge you use to access one of your favourite trails." Maybe I am speculating and I am sure the language used was probably more aggressive, but really this is the essence of the statement.
I am struggling to see how this would make sense to someone. Just because the bridge is gone doesn't mean people go away it just means they get annoyed, take a different route and eventually build another bridge. In Squamish, it will probably also mean some sort of "fix the bridge" party. In the end it will seem the people the chainsaw-wielding vandals were trying to hurt will actually be celebrating as they fundraise and volunteer their time building a better bridge than before.
I also believe there are lot bigger problems in the world then Darwin's Bridge being damaged but at the end of the day is destroying it the best use of our time? Can I suggest to the people responsible, if you have some free time and a chainsaw full of gas why not put it to good use? You could get ready for Loggers Sports and practice making those little chairs out of logs.
But that is just one suggestion and Squamish now has a provincially-appointed recreation officer whose role includes mitigating trail disputes, and he will no doubt have a few more. I am sure at some point this officer will scratch his head and think, with hundreds of trails covering thousands of kilometres, can't these people get along?
When this event unfolds and the guilty parties become known, we will find out. Until then I guess it's up the Nine Mile Hill for anyone who wants to ride the Plunge, which isn't so bad considering we're entering bathing suit season.
