About us: Roy likes to take long rides in Coe park and knows the place better than the back of his '64 Plymouth Valiant. He prefers to ride in 100 degree heat which makes our planning for a cool day and night extra torturous for him. You can hear him present an eclectic mix of musical tunes on Monday nights on KFJC. Patrick is known as an avid mountain biker who likes to ride road as well - or is it the other way around? He can ride for hours on end and will attack any hill in Coe as if a mountain lion was chasing him. Dirk started this madness and will most likely be yelled at for this during the undertaking. He runs a mapping website with a partner in crime and likes to come up with outrageous ride ideas.
We are not affiliated with California State Parks or any particular advocacy group; we're occasional volunteers and Coe-enthusiasts who want to do something rather than sit on the sidelines when seeing our favorite place to ride, hike or wander around in, being scheduled for closure. We do have a bit of a history with long outings by mountain bike in Coe park and will admit to be quite enamored by the idea of taking on a challenge like this. You can contact us by email.
About Henry W. Coe State Park: Coe, as we locals tend to call it, is the second largest state park in the state of California, borders one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country, and is now, yet again, about to fall victim to the California budget crisis. It is also a vast place of immense beauty, the closest thing to a true wilderness in or near the San Francisco Bay Area, its many acres living evidence of how most of this land looked like for thousands of years. For many it is a refuge from the pressures of urban life and there exists a passionate crowd of people from all walks of life enjoying and roaming its nearly 300 miles of trails and dirt roads that crisscross the land; the ranchers, native Americans, homesteaders and occasional bandido from times past have been replaced by mountain bikers, hikers, equestrians and backpackers. The abundant wildlife and flora, however, hasn't changed much. More than 50 years ago one woman had the foresight and vision that few of our contemporaries or politicans today seem to possess: in 1953 Sada Coe donated her land to the state and to the people, a selfless act which was the origin of Coe park as we know it.
About the closure: we don't know what 'closure' will actually mean for the park or how it can or will be implemented; we don't know whether this is a case of political grandstanding (as it may have been in past years) or not, and we don't really care - we take the announced plans seriously and believe no good will come from them. We're not going to engage in a political debate here, and argue about whether or not a state park should be funded (partially) by private donations or about the root causes of the California budget crisis - there are many venues to discuss this for people inclined to do so. We do know that the PRA (Pine Ridge Association) consists of people that feel similarly about Coe park as us - and probably with more passion - and will use the donated funds for a great cause: creating a foundation, or endowment, to keep the park open by funding park operations. The PRA does fund this type of work already (it organizes trail work days, provides tools and supplies, removes waste and trash etc), so even if the park will not be closed by the state, we're convinced the donated funds will be used very appropriately.
August 2011