Off Limits : Marines Have Had It With Civilian Bike Riders on Camp Pendleton, Threaten to Repel Them

CAMP PENDLETON —  As a world-class triathlete, Scott Tinley puts in hundreds of miles each week on his bicycle along the busy roads of northern San Diego County. But when Tinley gets tired of dodging cars, he invariably spins onto the rolling coastal bike route on the Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.

Like so many other cyclists, Tinley enjoys the panoramic ocean views and dearth of auto traffic on the path, which links the coastal communities of northern San Diego County with southern Orange County. An occasional encounter with a tank or a Harrier jet only adds to the fun.

Now, however, the popular bike route may be in peril.

Angered by the obnoxious behavior of some cyclists and worried about potential liability problems, Marine officials are considering changes that would rein in the packs of civilian bike riders that flood the base. If the situation gets much worse, authorities warn, the base could be shut down entirely to cyclists.

“It would be disastrous,” said Tinley, a two-time winner of the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii and a staunch advocate of safe cycling. “It would either force people to ride on Interstate 5 or, worse yet, not allow them to get from Oceanside to San Clemente. To me, it’s incomprehensible.”

But it could happen. Already the Marine Corps has plans to close the base as of May 1 to large fund-raising bicycle tours, which send upward of 500 cyclists at one time onto the sprawling military installation. In addition, new rules will be instituted, effectively limiting non-sanctioned groups of cyclists to 10.

Lt. Col. Ray Spears, the base community planning and liaison officer, points to problems with bicyclists riding four abreast, clogging traffic lanes, running stoplights and generally creating a headache as proof that changes are in order--or else.

“If it gets to a point where it’s unmanageable, you better believe it, we’d close the base to bikes,” Spears said. “It’s not that big a thing we’re asking. We just want people to follow the rules and not create a nuisance. The reason we’re making big noises now is that the problem just keeps growing and growing.”

The Marines are not the only ones who realize that bicyclists sometimes wear out their welcome on the base.

“I think the word needs to get out to all cyclists, please, behave yourself on that base,” said Ben Hatfield, president of the North County Cycle Club. “It’s entirely possible the base could be closed to us. I also think it’s highly possible that if cyclists change their attitude a little bit, it won’t happen.”

Since the bike route was given official sanction in 1976 during the U.S. Bicentennial, it has gained a reputation as among the most popular stretches for cyclists in Southern California, attracting riders from Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego.

The route stretches south from San Clemente on a 7.5-mile-long bike path leased by the California Department of Transportation on the western side of Interstate 5. At Las Pulgas Road, the route dips through a narrow tunnel under the freeway, and cyclists pick up the trail on base roads the rest of the way.

Bicycling Booming

As the sport of bicycling has boomed in recent years, the number of cyclists on the route has skyrocketed. A survey by the San Diego Assn. of Governments last summer revealed that during a six-hour period one Sunday, 195 cyclists entered the base northbound and 198 southbound.

“It’s extremely important, probably one of the most traveled bikeways in the United States,” said Gordy Shields, bicycle facilities committee chairman for the San Diego Assn. of Governments.

Aside from individual cyclists, the bike route is used by numerous clubs for organized rides. Some of the Camp Pendleton biking expeditions have become weekly institutions, such as the popular Wednesday Ride that sends upward of 150 cyclists from San Diego County streaming onto the base in one massive pack for an invigorating jaunt to San Clemente and back.

Tinley, for one, points to the Wednesday Ride as one of the prime reasons for the Marines’ get-tough attitude with biking on the base.

“The dynamics of a group ride like that are such that it’s extremely hard to control the pack or ride in single file,” explained Tinley, who was one of a handful of professional triathletes who instituted the weekly ride several years ago. “There’s such a blatant disregard for the rules by this group that the Marines are having a hard time controlling it.”

Base officials will not point fingers at any particular group, but they make no bones about their dismay over the attitude of some cyclists.

“We’ve got these jerks out here who refuse to abide by the rules of the road,” Spears said. “They get aboard the base and if one of them gets creamed, I can just see every son of Clarence Darrow bearing down on us with a lawsuit in hand. I don’t need that kind of grief, and I don’t want people killed out here because of some idiot doing something unsafe.”

Spears said the issue has surfaced now in part because of security concerns, in part because a five-year Caltrans lease on the bike path north of Las Pulgas is up for renewal.

When the various sides met in early March, Marine Corps officials came into the meeting with a hard-line attitude, bluntly suggesting that they wanted all cyclists off base.

“That was their original bargaining point--to simply close the base to bikes,” said Hatfield, a participant at the meeting. “Gradually, they got around to a softer stance.”

In particular, Marine officials grew troubled by the prospect that booting the cyclists off the base would mean sending them out onto the dangerous expanses of Interstate 5.

Under state law, bikers can ride on a freeway if all other options are closed to them. More than 1,000 miles of freeway shoulders are open to bicyclists in the state, including an 85-mile segment of Interstate 10 near Blythe.

Base officials and cyclists agree that such a scenario along I-5 across Camp Pendleton could be a disaster. With cars racing along the open stretch of freeway at speeds often approaching 80 m.p.h., it might only be a matter of time before a cyclist is hit and killed.

Freeway Treacherous

“No doubt the Marines are afraid that they’d have a bad public relations problem on their hands if cyclists were forced out onto that freeway because the base closed its roads,” Tinley said. “I-5 is so treacherous, someone would eventually get smashed.”

While hard-core bikers might venture onto the freeway, casual cyclists would probably quit using the base, said Dennis Thompson, a transportation planner for the San Diego Assn. of Governments.

“It’s a very pleasant area,” Thompson said. “You get a lot of families cycling through there. You’d probably not get them to go on a freeway.”

Spears agreed that the Marine Corps does not want to force bikes onto I-5, noting that he does not “even like being out there in my car.”

But base officials want to see changes, and they have extended the Caltrans lease on the bike path until September so the state agency can conduct a study of ways to improve a situation.

Marine officials would like Caltrans to extend the isolated bike path south from Las Pulgas Road so cars and cyclists would not have to compete for space on base roads, Spear said.

Such a plan, however, would carry a hefty price tag. It typically costs about $70,000 a mile for a paved and fenced bike path, Shields said, and the stretch from Las Pulgas Road south to Oceanside is about 7 miles.

Manuel Demetre, Caltrans regional ride-sharing director, said the agency lacks the funds for such a project but is going ahead with its study of the cost of the various alternatives.

The association of governments, however, has a $2-million annual fund for “non-motorized” transportation uses, including bicycling. The money, gleaned from the 1-cent sales tax measure approved by San Diego County voters in 1987, could be used to improve the situation for cyclists on Camp Pendleton if the association membership gives its approval, Thompson said.

“A local funding option has to be looked at,” he said. “The military can’t justify money for that type of thing.”

Short of a full-blown paved pathway, Caltrans might be able to finance lesser improvements, such as widening the road shoulders and laying down striping to clearly designate a bike lane along Stuart Mesa Road and Vandergrift Boulevard, the two thoroughfares bicyclists must navigate along the route.

In the meantime, plans call for installation of additional signs to keep cyclists on the right path. Base security personnel have had to stop cyclists venturing into restricted areas.

The base military police could play a pivotal role in easing the problems. Both biking advocates and Marine officials are pushing for the military police to strictly enforce traffic laws for bicyclists.

“I’ve urged them to get the MPs to start writing more tickets,” Hatfield said. “I firmly believe that tough traffic enforcement and a few citations will cut down on the problems tremendously.”

Shields agreed, saying that all bicyclists should carry identification when entering the base, or face the consequences.

“We feel those (without ID) are the ones causing the problem,” said Shields, a retired college counselor and instructor. “We say ticket ‘em if they run signals, ride three and four abreast. They know they’re not supposed to do that. It’s clear in the Vehicle Code.”

Lt. Col. Spears said the Marines will also begin to strictly enforce the new prohibition of packs of more than 10 riders. For larger groups, written proof of liability insurance coverage, and perhaps even support vehicles will be required before they are allowed onto the base, he said.

“Smaller groups can come aboard base and we won’t bother them,” Spears said. “Maybe we’ll check their identification to make sure they’re not the Islamic Jihad or something, but that’ll be it.”

Hatfield said he did not expect the regulations to affect organized weekend bicycle club rides, noting that such groups typically carry insurance. Moreover, the club riders generally split up into smaller packs of riders by the time they hit Camp Pendleton’s main gate in Oceanside, he said.

Marine officials and bike advocates alike suggest that a marked improvement could be made if cyclists simply obeyed the rules of the road and use common courtesy.

“They have some valid concerns,” said Demetre of Caltrans. “They’re running military equipment. It’s a military base. They’re mixing bikers and military equipment.”