Rant & Rave
Rant & Rave
Because of our beautiful environment, local people enjoy outdoor activities. Some people fish because it's fun and relaxing. Other people go to the beach to body board or surf. One of my favorite hobbies is dirt biking, and one of the only places to dirt bike around where I live is at Alan Davis. Closed site better used
for recreationAlan Davis is on the east side of Oahu near the Makapu'u Lighthouse, and is a fun, good place to learn the hobby and relax with your friends. But we no longer can do this because the city put up beams to keep people out and they fine trespassers.
I don't think they should be doing this because the property is not being used, so why can't we enjoy it?
There have been a few complaints over the years from the city and residents that live in the area. They say we are ruining the precious plant life and we brought in a machine that makes tracks for us to race along.
What people don't know is there is hardly any plant life growing at Alan Davis. The only things that are there are kiawe trees, some dead grass and a bunch of old abandoned cars that have been stripped down.
Yes, it's true, we did hold some races at Alan Davis, but cones were used to mark the tracks, not a machine.
Residents also complained the noise was so loud. This could be true if you were watching the races from inside Alan Davis, but the nearest houses are about a quarter mile away. All that can be heard from that distance are the echoes from the mountains.
Now that Alan Davis is closed, motocross lovers are forced to drive all the way to the other side of the island to the Kahuku race track. At Kahuku, there are lots of places to dirt bike around. They have big jumps and challenging tracks. This is an advanced riders' place to go. If you are a beginner to motocross, then you have a small area to ride around. You also have to pay $5 per person and I don't think it's worth paying money to ride in a small area.
Kahuku tracks go all the way back into the mountains and from my experience, it's very easy to get lost back there. This doesn't happen at Alan Davis because it's a smaller track and it's in the open next to the beach. If you do get lost, you just have to go along the shoreline and you will find your way out. Not only is Alan Davis great for dirt biking, but it also has some very beautiful beaches with some excellent breaks that surfers love.
There are some good fishing or diving spots that haven't been fished out yet. Alan Davis is a great place to get away for a picnic with the family or friends and it's usually not that crowded. With the beach for the kids to swim in, basically it's a great place to have fun.
The city's action is limiting not only dirt bikers, but also families, fishermen and others who want to enjoy Alan Davis.
These are the reasons why I think the city should reopen Alan Davis. There is no precious plant life to save, many people love the motocross sport and fishermen and picnickers also enjoy the spot.
For me, Alan Davis was a place where my friends and I used to go to dirt bike, camp, fish; basically a place where we could cruise. It would be great if we could still do these things. I think Alan Davis would be an excellent place to take my kids to have fun in the near future.
While there have been a few who have abused Alan Davis, there are more of us who appreciate and enjoy what it has to offer. The area should be more accessible to us.
Clifford Ching is a 1999 graduate of Kaiser High School. Rant & Rave is a Tuesday Star-Bulletin feature
allowing those 12 to 22 to serve up fresh perspectives.
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