Waldheim's got no time to ride
Cal City man heads state off-road group
This story appeared in the Antelope Valley Press on Monday, March 28,
2005.
By JAMES C. LOUGHRIE
Valley Press Staff Writer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CALIFORNIA CITY - Ed Waldheim moved to California City so he could
pull out of his garage and hit the open trails of the desert.
But Waldheim, president of the California Off-Road Vehicle Association,
spends so much time traveling to meetings regarding off-road vehicles that
he rarely has time to ride his own.
For Waldheim, who has been president of the statewide off-road vehicle association for the last 13 years, an average day puts him in any California city where people ride vehicles on off-highway trails. But he makes no complaint about the work, he said, because with the explosion in housing encroaching on desert riding spaces, education is the key.
"There's a lot of work to do in the desert communities here and near San Bernardino," he said.
California City is the prime example of a growing desert community dealing with off-road vehicle issues. On any given Friday evening, a motorcade of trailers with dirt bikes and four- and three-wheel off-road vehicles makes its way into the town for off-road riding at nearby sites.
Waldheim moved into his house, which he had been renting out, to ride more frequently. The shrinking amount of nearby land due to housing, he said, "has brought its challenges."
Since he began advocating for off-road vehicle users, Waldheim has stressed that riders must be good neighbors.
"We have to continually work on keeping the bikes quiet," he said.
In addition to the statewide off-road association, Waldheim founded Friends of Jawbone, a nonprofit organization to promote better riding at the national park outside California City.
Waldheim is partly responsible for several similar "friends" organizations, where local committees establish nonprofit groups to watch over riding destinations.
But there are only so many people advocating for off-road drivers, and most of them are volunteers. With only so many volunteers to go around, building the various organizations takes volunteers away from the larger statewide off-road groups.
Even though it thins the pool of volunteers and donors to support off-road vehicle land, Waldheim said he'd rather see the involvement at local levels.
"We're better off having these friends groups than building up CORVA," he said.
His journey to become one of off-road vehicles' most ardent supporter began when he had been racing dirt bikes for several years. In 1978, he heard about a bill signed into law by then-President Jimmy Carter, the Wildlife and Wilderness Protection Act, which created prohibitions against riding on certain federal land. California was greatly impacted by the law.
"That was the end of my racing days," Waldheim said.
Now, as president of the California Off-Road Vehicle Association, president of Friends of Jawbone and a member of the state Off-Highway Vehicle Commission - an organization that awards grants to cities and counties for off-highway vehicle use - he spends his days following legislation, attending informational meetings and checking out Jawbone.
Waldheim said advocating for off-road vehicles is no longer just off-road. Political battles have led to the associations hiring two lobbyists, one in Washington and the other in Sacramento.
"In the last five years, all of us collectively have spent $1.5 million in legal fees," he said of the off-road associations in California. The legal battles the groups face over environmental issues have led to the associations sharing the cost of a full-time attorney.
Waldheim also spends a fair amount of time monitoring bills in the Legislature affecting off-road vehicles, including a bill studying the economic impact of off-road vehicles.
Off-road vehicles could be a big benefit for the state and communities like California City, who serve as a have for riders, he said. An bill now in the Legislature would study the economic boost the state and local governments receive from such riders.
"Now, I wouldn't be surprised if it's $10 billion" statewide, Waldheim said.
But to Waldheim, the pursuit to keep off-road areas open is well worth it, especially as a hobby for children.
"I would rather have a kid on a motorcycle than in a gang, out at a pool hall or doing graffiti," he said.
"When a kid goes riding after school, he comes home too tired and dirty to go out and get in any trouble."
Young riders are one of the groups that Waldheim and the Friends of Jawbone target when they visit schools in the California City and Ridgecrest areas.
It's part of his continued platform of education, and he said it's starting
to pay off, with children teaching their parents about off-roading rules
and laws.
jloughrie@avpress.com
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