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Beachbike

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As a long time Mtn/Woods rider still shaking off the flu,I took a hike thru Allaire today. As a rider I know I've griped here before about trail etiquette, primarily downhiller not yielding to a climber. I gotta say, we got bigger problems. Allaire was in full use today, full of riders. I must've come across at least 4 groups of riders, one group of six, and 4-6 singles. Not one yielded or shared any part of the trail with me and another hiker.

The group of six were all coming downhill.., fast! Yelling out to each other showing no regard for other trail users. Other situations had bikers fast behind us again shouting, what exactly I'm not sure. Flatter sections we were greeted by slightly slower riders, still reluctant to yield any comfortable footing.

As I mentioned, like most of you here, been riding for a long time. The draw for me as always been speed. The opportunity to rip thru the trees, faster each time. I felt undercover today, covert. I know the frustration of having my favorite section of flow "ruined" by a climbing rider, a runner with a dog, horses, families. We, mountain bikers, do not own the trails. No matter how much we repair, maintain, and advocate for them we will loose them if we continue to treat others he way I was treated today.

Share the trail, ride with grace and respect.
Enjoy!
 
sounds like you had a few too many or someone cut you off on your way to the park... but it is what it is. we all have those days every now and then but we handle them like real men
 
gingertooth said:
sounds like you had a few too many or someone cut you off on your way to the park... but it is what it is. we all have those days every now and then but we handle them like real men
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Either you don't care or you missed the point. How many complaints from hikers do you think the parks will deal with until they ban bikes?
 
On a related note I must have passed 60 + runners on the D&R canal today (especially around Princeton - big groups of students). I smiled and said hello to everyone and at least 50% completely ignored me, which I found odd. When I run trails, I always smile and say hi to bikers.
 
gingertooth said:
sounds like you had a few too many or someone cut you off on your way to the park... but it is what it is. we all have those days every now and then but we handle them like real men
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acting like an a-hole on the trail does NO ONE any good. the OP was a good reminder of how other trail users view us if we dont ride with courtesy.

the only thing that can possibly result from mountain bikers not being courteous is for park systems TO CLOSE TRAILS TO MOUNTAIN BIKING.

so, being an adult, I appreciated the OP.
 
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rick81721 said:
I smiled and said hello to everyone and at least 50% completely ignored me, which I found odd.
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happens to me all the time, but its not gonna stop me from saying hello.

I have a feeling that a lot of trail users that dont say hello have a negative attitude towards mountain bikers due to the riding habits of riders described in the OP and immature jackasses that just dont get it.
 
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Beachbike said:
As a long time Mtn/Woods rider still shaking off the flu,I took a hike thru Allaire today. As a rider I know I've griped here before about trail etiquette, primarily downhiller not yielding to a climber. I gotta say, we got bigger problems. Allaire was in full use today, full of riders. I must've come across at least 4 groups of riders, one group of six, and 4-6 singles. Not one yielded or shared any part of the trail with me and another hiker.

The group of six were all coming downhill.., fast! Yelling out to each other showing no regard for other trail users. Other situations had bikers fast behind us again shouting, what exactly I'm not sure. Flatter sections we were greeted by slightly slower riders, still reluctant to yield any comfortable footing.
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Sadly, I've had this happen to me many, many times. I used to hike alot before I really got into mtb. Now when I occasionally hike, I see this too often. Even when I step off the trail well in advance of an mtb'er coming by, they either don't acknowledge or worse, they give me a mean look like I shouldn't have been there in the first place (can't figure that one). Doesn't matter so much to me personally because I'm not the person that will try to get mtb's banned, but very disheartening because I know they must be doing that to everyone who will then likely get an unfavorable perception of mtb'ers.

I was even thinking of making up a small sign to have placed in kiosks about the importance of showing respect to other trail users, or even better asking some bike shop owners if they would allow a sign like that on their counter.

Other than that, I don't know how to get through to these people, and I'm pretty much preaching to the choir here on this site.
 
Your problem is that your preaching to the wrong people. I have never acted in such a manner and from who i know and met on this forum here no one would ever act in this manner. There may be some here who do so but i doubt there are many so your words are doing no good here. The ones you are looking for probably don't come on here so let it go...
 
gingertooth said:
Your problem is that your preaching to the wrong people. I have never acted in such a manner and from who i know and met on this forum here no one would ever act in this manner. There may be some here who do so but i doubt there are many so your words are doing no good here. The ones you are looking for probably don't come on here so let it go...
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you have no idea if that's true or not.

and, even if youre right (and EVERY SINGLE PERSON that happens to post on this board rides with the utmost courtesy...which I highly doubt)....I just dont get posts like yours. I'll just leave it at that.
 
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Something tells me I might be a bit older than Ginger. I'm also not trying to accuse anybody on this forum of reckless riding or tell anyone how they should ride. Simply by mentioning a legitimate, a potential park closing issue, it might be discussed and adopted by those not on this site.
 
This is truly sad and another shining example of the lack of corteousy in the world today. The only thing we can do is to try and show a positive side to folks outside our user group. Most everyone I met today at Allaire were friendly, so perhaps there is hope.
 
gingertooth said:
Your problem is that your preaching to the wrong people. I have never acted in such a manner and from who i know and met on this forum here no one would ever act in this manner. There may be some here who do so but i doubt there are many so your words are doing no good here. The ones you are looking for probably don't come on here so let it go...
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Think, for a second, about what the expression "preaching to the choir" might mean.:hmmm:
 
Every person you meet/pass on the trail whether they be biker hiker or horse (and rider) deserves a smile and sweet hello.

Take the time to stop and be friendly. You will never know how that positive moment may change a persons attitude.

I am appreciative of the OP as there may be people who are not members here but still visit and read this forum.
 
I try to practice "aggressive friendliness", whereby I smile and say hello to everyone I see and if they don't respond, I stop my bike and hug them tightly and keep repeating "it's not your fault" until they break down crying and let it all out and we have ourselves a Good Will Hunting moment. This makes my rides take a very long time on pleasant weekends when the trails are full of people ...

Seriously, though, I live in an area that's been on the razor's edge of trail access in the past. In the early 00's, there were some terroristic activities going on to stop riders in the parks around Philly (I personally got tangled up in fishing line strung across the trail once.) And if there is one thing I've learned, it's that being a d-bag to anyone, even if they're a d-bag to you, only makes it worse. It's calmed down here the last few years because we have some really talented and organized trail stewards, like the guys from VMB or the PMBA, but I still try to be as nice and friendly as I can to people I come across. The biggest "problem" I generally deal with these days is dogs off leashes, but I don't begrudge the owners that one. Most dogs are crazy happy to be able to run free, and if it means I have to slow down for a minute while they check me out so neither of us get hurt, that's cool. I'm going to get my ride in either way and if those hikers and dog walkers and horseback riders and runners and whatever else slow me down for a few minutes, it's no big deal. It's really just about following one of life's most simple rules: don't be a douche.
 
Agree with 1speed, Wiss was a scary place to ride back in the day, booby traps and all. I stopped riding there for several years. It's more biker friendly now, but I always am extra polite to other trail users. I find that it's usually the other riders at Wiss that aren't friendly.
 
wonderturtle said:
happens to me all the time, but its not gonna stop me from saying hello.

I have a feeling that a lot of trail users that dont say hello have a negative attitude towards mountain bikers due to the riding habits of riders described in the OP and immature jackasses that just dont get it.
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I must say that even mountain bikers have a negative attitude toward mountain bikers. I was at Allaire yesterday also and I find other mountain bikers terribly rude. Not all, of course, but enough to be noticeable. It seems if you think of yourself as a 'better' rider, you believe that you don't have to say high, nod, say thank you when people let you pass or come up a hill, etc...It just seems that the 'better' / 'faster' riders find slower riders, hikers, etc... to just be a nuisance and manners towards them just go out the window.

Just my $.02
 
it really is a huge problem but sadly, gingertooth isn't all wrong.

most of us here understand that we dance a fine line between access and loss of it. we recognize that being courteous is far better than being confrontational.

the operative word, obviously, is "here".

all we can do is hope to educate as many people as possible but the sad fact is, d-bags, even if they represent 1/10 of 1% of mtbers, are the ones that people remember and hold up as examples for the other 99%.

it's a privilege to be able to ride in these parks, NOT a right.
 
This is why I like to ride as early as possible. Nobody else is out and I don't have to yield to anyone.
And if i do have to ride later in the morning, no Fn way am i going to six mile, allaire, hartshorne, or any other park in a populated area. Too many people clogging up the trails.
One of the best parts of riding allamuchy is that its so big, you can do 25 miles and not see another person.
 
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