Update 6/13/2022
To our international travelers, welcome back to the United States! Two important developments have happened in the past couple months. First, as of April 18th, 2022, masks are no longer required while traveling. And second, as of June 10, 2022, a negative covid test is no longer required to travel into the United States. Source: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/noncitizens-US-air-travel.html
Update 3/20/2022
Your tour operator, Mark Warrick, got the Pfizer booster. As has always been the policy, guests of XEN MTB are not required to be vaccinated nor wear a mask.
Update 3/10/2022
Masks are not required outdoors. Mask are only required indoors in high risk areas. These remaining restrictions have no effect on our rides. Welcome back to freedom.
Update 1/12/2022
California is under a state-wide INDOOR mask mandate through at least February 15, 2022 and most people speculate that will continue for many more months. This mandate doesn’t affect our rides. That’s just an FYI for people traveling to California!
A real problem for travelers is that most of the bike shops in Southern California are no longer renting bikes. Since XEN MTB does not supply bikes, travelers need to bring their bike(s) with them. Check out bikeflights.com, a service that ships your bike for you and see this page of our website for a list of bike shops in Southern California.
The last couple years has been tough on us. Business has suffered considerably. We remain hopeful that travelers will return to California eventually.
Update 9/16/2021
Your tour operator, Mark Warrick, is now fully vaccinated with the FDA Approved Pfizer vaccine after receiving the 2nd dose on September 13, 2021. Guests of XEN MTB are not required to be vaccinated nor wear a mask.
Update August 23, 2021
We now have an FDA Approved vaccine, Pfizer’s Comirnaty. Your tour operator, Mark Warrick, chose to take the first shot the day that this vaccine became FDA approved. He will get the 2nd shoot in three weeks.
We stand behind everyone’s God-given right to make medical decisions on their own, NOT forced by the government. We refuse to shame people who won’t get vaccinated. It’s none of our business! Your private medical decisions are just that: PRIVATE. Mark decided to get the shot because he trusts the FDA – not politicians, not the CDC, and certainly not anyone’s opinion on the matter. So just to be clear, if you’re NOT vaccinated, don’t worry about it. If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you don’t, don’t! It’s entirely your choice. Mark will NOT be wearing a mask on tours.
Update June 15, 2021
After months of ignoring CDC recommendations, the State of California finally dropped its mask mandate. Businesses are NOT REQUIRED to ask customers to wear masks (with few exceptions like hospitals, prisons, etc.). Businesses are also NOT REQUIRED to ask about a person’s vaccination status nor require that they be vaccinated to serve their customers.
The owner of XEN MTB, Mark Warrick, has never required a mask nor proof of vaccination and never will. Mark took the common sense approach and listened to actual doctors and scientists with experience in virology when deciding whether or not to continue operations last year, not politicians. As a result, XEN MTB has been and continues to be in business throughout this pandemic.
Update December 7, 2020
On this historic day, December 7, 2020, I publicly recognize the great sacrifices that our military made to defend the people of our nation by honoring its fallen soldiers and veterans and also acknowledging our current military who protect our country from all invaders, foreign and domestic. I pray to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, to protect our patriots from the evil that is ravaging through our country.
Many areas of California are under constitutionally-illegal “lockdown orders” dolled out by our Dictator-in-Chief, Gavin Newsom. Many executive orders have been written this year throughout the nation which are in direct conflict with the U.S. Constitution. Governors like Newsom have abused their powers and created autocracies under the guise of “protecting public health” while simultaneously destroying the national economy with unrestrained shut downs. These people, whom the owner of XEN MTB refers to as domestic terrorists, can only be stopped by patriots who will stand in support of the U.S. Constitution.
XEN MTB remains open for business. If you wish to comply with the latest covid-19 orders, be sure to educate yourself about them. They are subject to continuous revision at the Dictator’s will, and are recorded at the state’s website: https://covid19.ca.gov/
Mark Warrick, Owner of XENMTB
Update June 10, 2020
The last holdout on public access to parking lots near trails, Crystal Cove State Park, has reopened with limited parking as of June 3rd, 2020. There are some bathroom access limitations at some parks, and no water available at most, but the parks are open for safe use. Until safety restrictions are fully rolled back, we’ll still follow best practice guidelines from local, state and federal authorities. None of the current health guidelines restrict any XEN MTB tours.
UPDATE May 18, 2020
Most Orange County parks have been open during the COVID crisis, but the parking lots were closed, making them less accessible to the public. On May 13, the Orange County Board of Supervisors decided to OPEN MOST PARKING AREAS. All of the rides that XEN MTB offers in county parks are included in this plan. See the official information at the Orange County Parks website here: https://www.ocgov.com/news/displaynews?NewsID=6586
As a result of the parking lots being reopened, the following ride options have been fully reinstated:
Aliso and Wood Canyons
Laguna Coast Wilderness (and adjacent Crystal Cove State Park)
Santiago Oaks (and adjacent Irvine Park)
Whiting Ranch to the Luge (and adjacent options)
PLEASE NOTE THAT STATE PARK PARKING AREAS ARE STILL CLOSED. That closure affects only one ride that XEN MTB offers: Crystal Cove State Park. There are several legal access points to that park, so it doesn’t completely shut down the ride.
ORIGINAL POST
As of Midnight, Friday, March 20, 2020 California residents are under “stay at home” orders issued by the governor. (See: https://www.gov.ca.gov/2020/03/19/governor-gavin-newsom-issues-stay-at-home-order/). You can watch his televised announcement here:
What does this mean for mountain bike tours? Well, technically anyone violating the governor’s order could be charged with a misdemeanor pursuant to section 8665 of the California government code. It would seem counter-productive to the goal of the order to throw people in jail. The court systems are heavily impacted already with thousands of cases being continued.
What’s the reality of the situation? He’s not saying you can’t get out to exercise. Mountain biking is exercise. So long as we’re maintaining distance between each other and using common sense, nothing is going to happen – health-wise or law-wise.
How We’re Dealing With This – The Logistics
There will be no mask wearing requirement while riding but if that concerns you, you are welcome to wear one. There will be no customary hand-shakes. Generally speaking, XEN MTB is going to follow the guidelines outlined by the International Mountain Biking Association.
Your tour-guide, Mark Warrick, is working at home and taking a common sense approach to dealing with the mass hysteria and realities of living in the world right now. He wears a mask inside stores that require it and maintains a reasonable distance from others. He DOES NOT wear a mask while riding a bike.
And Finally…The Opinions
Mark is a firm believer that doctors know better than politicians when it comes to your health and safety. As such, he listens to health experts, not politicians, on those matters. The data regarding Covid-19 virus cases has proven that 99% of otherwise healthy people will recover from the virus even if infected and that there’s a low chance of being infected.
If you are in one of the high risk categories of people identified by the World Health Organization or Centers for Disease Control, you should NOT book a tour with XEN MTB. You are ultimately responsible for your own health and safety.
