I don’t actually know where this road is; if it’s inside the park then park law enforcement will definitely come down hard on anyone biking on it.
Biking is generally not allowed on unpaved roads or trails within NPs. It’s an annoying rule TBH, given that horses are often allowed on trails and they do much more damage than MTBs (and also sh!t everywhere.) This is obviously a legacy of the fact that the NP system was created when horses were still a big part of the transportation system and bikes weren’t. But because of this NPs are usually quite strict about prohibiting biking, particularly if it’s being posted to lots of followers.
He was riding on a fire access road (legal) but went off the end onto a walking trail. The punishment is severe so the National Park Disservice can scare anyone who actually wants to use the park for anything but their on-rails bus tours or whatever.
The fire road access isn’t the illegal activity, but the prosecutor wasn’t ‘jazzed’ about it.
The illegal activity was him riding his bike on a walking path that - apparently - prohibits bike use. I’ve never been, but this is a walking path that takes you under the redwoods. So I assume it’s a section of the park with a lot of pedestrian traffic (hence why they likely prohibit bikes).
The reason the NPS was able to prosecute was because he posted a video of himself riding a bike on the walking path that doesn’t allow bikes. And then published it to the internet.
I didn’t do any videos on that. When the Hummel chevron thing went down I initially didn’t either… until I was served with 80 pages of legal bs and threatened with 250,000 dollarbucks in fines. Then I went full 'tuber.
Was this a wilderness area? Was there a threat to endangered species?
I doubt he rode his bike for “just 5 seconds.” Maybe it was 5 seconds of video? But even if it was, all he got was a $350 fine, probation and had to take down the video. While jail is the maximum penalty obviously the judge was not going to “throw the book at him.”
He got his clicks… which was the point and what he wanted.
Never met the guy and don’t really care but flying across the country to race bikes during lockdown and making a video about biking on trails your not supposed to bike on is not exactly the highest of moral standards.
Following completely reasonable rules during lockdown was not at all difficult for most people. Flying across the country to race a crit because your local races are cancelled is not what I would consider to be holding oneself to a high moral standard which is why I pointed it out.
I’ve watched a lot of his stuff, and usually find it entertaining. I didn’t realize he did that, and honestly kind of surprises me given how he presents himself.
I remember the video, and the park boundary is clearly marked, and noted as “no entry” with penalties for doing so listed on the sign.
If he hadn’t been so keen to post the content, no would would have known, because I don’t recall any park personnel present in the video.
I hope the YouTube clicks on the video were worth the fine, but let’s be honest people in the US have gotten away with FAR worse things they recorded in the last four years. This particular infringement seems super minor in comparison.
Tyler, if you’re out there - all things considered - I’m glad things worked out as well as they did. I’m sure that even the slightest possibility of jail time would be tough to deal with. Hang in there.
FWIW, I believe he apologized for it and admitted he was being an idiot. And it was 4 years ago, so there’s been some time for personal growth and reflection.
I mean Phil stated that what he was doing was not against the law and the cop was insisting that he was breaking the law. I would not compare Phil’s experience to this. Just my two cents
