MARIN COUNTY (KRON) — Two mountain bikers apparently found a spike strip sitting on a trail near the town of Fairfax in Marin County.
The discovery of the device has prompted authorities to increase patrols and ask the public to keep an eye out for similar devices.
According to Marin County Parks, last Tuesday, two mountain bikers found the spike strip. The strip is actually a 27-inch long rubber tube with 34 screws sticking through it.
The spikes were apparently found on a section of trail that crosses private property near the White Hill Open Space Preserve. The device is also very worn, meaning it had probably been sitting on the ground for a long time.
The mountain bikers who found the strip turned it over to Marin County Parks. The parks department, along with the sheriff’s department, conducted an investigation but found no other devices in the area.
At this point, they also don’t know who put it there.
“It’s an awful image and it’s potentially really dangerous,” said Jim Elias, who is with the Marin County Bicycle Coalition.
He said the discovery of a spike strip on the trail is alarming.
“We have Boy Scout camps around here, Girl Scouts camp,” Elias said. “The Bay Trail starts up there. There’s no excuse for that. That was a stupid act.”
For years, there has been tension on Marin trails between bikers, hikers, and some landowners, but Elias said there is an ongoing conversation between all parties to try to resolve disputes.
He said he believes the discovery of something as dangerous as a spike strip is not part of that conversation.
“This was a violent gesture and a violent act potentially,” Elias said.