Marin County, California, is often credited as being the birthplace of mountain biking, but even though it's been nearly 50 years since those early pioneers first put tires to dirt, the area is still embroiled in controversy about exactly where mountain bikes are allowed to ride. The recent arrest of two cyclists for riding on Marin open space land continues the saga.According to an article in the Marin Independent Journal, Dr. Paul Cameron and Dr. David Carbonell were spotted riding on a trail that's closed to mountain bikers, and rode away when a deputy tried to stop them. Both were later apprehended and charged with riding their bikes illegally, along with resisting arrest. Dr. Carbonell is the co-founder of the New Trails Paradigm Group, an organization that has publicly expressed its frustration with the exclusion of mountain bikers from trails in the Marin area.The article describing the incident states, "Marin County Park and Open Space Superintendent Ari Golan said the fine for riding illegally on open space land is $45 for a first offense. Golan said additional court costs, however, increase the total cost to $199. The fine for a second offense is $100, which amounts to a total cost of $410. All violations after that carry a fine of $150, which actually adds up to $615, Golan said. The charge of resisting arrest carries a maximum fine of $1,000 and imprisonment in a county jail for up to a year."The turmoil and frustration surrounding mountain biking in Marin is no secret - Vernon Felton's op-ed , which was inspired by the announcement that radar guns were going to be used to enforce bicycle speed limits, did an excellent job of illustrating exactly what the situations is like, but unfortunately, it doesn't seem as if it's going to change any time soon. As Vernon so aptly put it, "Marin County has been an absolutely horrid place to actually ride a mountain bike since, oh, about 1983."