New York Man Caught Booby Trapping Bike Trails Red-Handed
As the seasons change, so do our hobbies. For many of us here at POWDER, spring and summer means a return to recreating on two wheels.
That's why a troubling story about booby-trapped bike trails by Eyewitness News ABC7NY caught our attention this morning, May 7, 2025.
According to the news outlet, 44-year-old Jeffrey Jarvis of Peekskill, New York was arrested on April 29, 2025 after he was caught sabotaging mountain bike trails at Blue Mountain Reservation, a popular area for mountain biking just outside of New York City.
Jarvis was caught by a trail camera laying large branches and logs across a frequently-used bike trail. The camera was set up by local organization Westchester Mountain Biking Association after tree limbs were found strewn across the trail multiple times.
Sam Lee, of the Westchester Mountain Biking Association, told ABC7NY that local riders first started noticing the trail sabotage last year. The tree limbs were 3-5 inches in diameter, and posed serious risks. The org paid for the trail cameras and caught somebody sabotaging trails late last year, but couldn't identify the culprit.
Jarvis returned to sabotage the trail this March. A second trail camera placed at a different angle was able to identify him. Tap or click the video below to watch the full story from ABC7NY.
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Jarvis has been charged with second-degree criminal nuisance and could face up to a month in jail, and/or a fine of up to $500. Seemingly-soft consequences for somebody who attempted to hurt others, but at least justice will be served.
The Westchester Mountain Biking Association is celebrating Jarvis' arrest on social media. They've dubbed him the, 'Blue Mountain Bandit', and posted the following message on May 1, 2025 to their Facebook page:
"Based upon YOUR reports of various limbs and logs strewn across the trail or bottom of giant boulder rollers at Blue Mountain over the past 2 years, several of us deployed trail cams at select trails.
It took 6-8 months to get enough photographic and video evidence of the Blue Mountain Bandit in the act of potentially harming or killing someone from the act of sabotage. Last month, we filed a police report and submitted certain fb posts and our evidence, and on April 29th, the perpetrator was arrested for CRIMINAL NUISANCE- and confessed to these crimes. Let's be good ambassadors of our sport and carry on."
Let this troubling story be a reminder to keep your wits about you on the single track this season. Trail sabotage and booby traps aren't as common these days as folks have begun to accept mountain biking, but the risk remains.
Related: Mammoth Mountain Announces Bike Park Opening Day
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