Riding on trails after it has rained ruins them and creates erosion. Riders who don't mind the mud and think it's cool and fun ruin it for all the other riders and the people that own the land. There are trails for riding in the mud and 4 wheeling.

I received this email from Jeff Schmaarschmidt, President of SORBA, I am forwarding it on to everyone. If you have a meet up and the trails are wet cancel the meet up. SORBA negotiates alot with land owners who at times DO NOT want to allow mtn bikers on the property becasuse of this reason. It makes mtn bikers look disrespectful to their land. Here is the email i reveived:

Hello fellow mountain biker:

I am sadden to report that the Raccoon Mountain trails are now
OFFICIALLY closed to prevent FURTHER damage. (For website post which
includes a picture of a small portion of the damage, see:
http://sorbachattanoo...)

Recently, Chattanooga has received a lot of snow and rain and the
trails were suffering from the freeze-thaw cycle. In past years we
have always relied on users to police themselves and not ride in
unacceptable conditions.

Sadly, this has utterly failed this winter. In the past week the
Raccoon Mountain Trails have suffered horribly. After a discussion
between our board of directors and the TVA Raccoon Mountain Watershed
Manager, a decision was made to OFFICIALLY close the trail to all
users. This closure will remain in effect until the freeze-thaw
passes and the traisl have had an opportunity to dry out.

Signs have been posted at several locations on the mountain, including
at the entrance gate, all trailheads, and all kiosks. I personally
contacted all of the local bike shops who have agreed to post notices
at their shops and help spread the word.

I don't know what TVA will do, if anything, to enforce this closure,
however if a trail user is caught on the trail they *could* legally be
arrested for trespassing.

Please respect this trail closure and avoid Raccoon Mountain. We are
suggesting Booker T. Washington State Park as an alternative riding
venue. Due to Booker T's lower elevation and soil compensation it is
not presently suffering from freeze-thaw.

We will be checking the trail every day and are committed to reopening
as quickly as conditions allow.

Once the trail has had an opportunity to dry throughly we will host a
trail work day to address the damage. Of course, SORBA-Chattanooga
will provide lunch to all volunteers who attend. I hope to see
everyone there.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Respectfully,

Jeffrey S. Schaarschmidt
SORBA-Chattanooga Chapter President
president@sorbachattanooga.org