Borrow
a bell and attach to your ride. This helps to alert others as you
approach. After enjoying our trails, leave the bell in any Bell
Box. If you keep it, donations for bells may be made with PayPal or credit card. Thank you! 4 Bucks for a Bell
Larger donations to help keep Bells 4 Bikes operational are highly appreciated! Checks accepted at CCCMB Bell Donations P.O. Box 1022 San Luis Obispo, California 93406  | The Bell Program In 2010, Central Coast Concerned Mountain
Bikers (CCCMB) initiated its bell program at Montaña De Oro to help
address the issues surfacing because of greatly increased trail use.
Trails at MdO have always been multi-use trails very popular with
equestrians, hikers as well as cyclists. As these trails became more
popular, CCCMB decided to be pro-active in addressing the nascent but
growing potential for trail conflict in order to protect open trails
from closure and to ensure that land managers would approve the creation
of new mountain biking trails. CCCMB soon expanded its bell program to include SLO City multi-use trails for the same reason. Both State Parks and SLO City are very supportive of the bell program. We believe that if equestrians and hikers can hear approaching mountain bikers, there would be more time for all trail users to meet safely. Subsequently, CCCMB built and installed Bell Boxes at the trailheads of select trails at Montaña de Oro State Park and in two of the San Luis Obispo Open Spaces. These trails were selected with an eye for their high conflict potential, as well as the receptivity of the local land managers.  The boxes were stocked with size #00 cowbells embossed with the CCCMB logo and included a velcro strap. Subsequent donations from community bike shops and trail user groups permitted us to create donor-labelled batches of bells for distribution and passive advertisement for our supporters. Bells can be obtained from these shops: San Luis Obispo Art's Cyclery Cambria Bicycle OutfittersFoothill Cyclery Riding WarehouseSanta Maria Pedal Power The Bell Box placards encourage riders to borrow a bell and attach it to their bike. We ask that the bells be returned to the Bell Box and/or be kept for use on subsequent rides. An option for internet donation to help support this project is referenced on the placard because of the large number of bells needed to keep this project ongoing. Feedback received from local hikers and equestrians has been very positive and supportive of this program. Generally speaking, humans hear the bells a few hundred yards away; horses can hear them from a distance of a ½ mile or more. The Bell Box Program has raised the awareness of all trail users and resulted in improved, courteous interaction between local trail users. CCCMB feels that this has helped maintain trail access in locally notorious areas of traffic. Most importantly, the receptivity of local land managers to the Bell Box Program has indicated that more trails will be open to bicyclists as our trail system expands!  Contact bill@cccmb.org if your group wants to know more about purchasing bells or starting a bell program. |
