I need to vent or put up hypotheticals about 6MR and mud riders.

[hls811]

If I’m not mistaken, Nox closes for the winter and its closure is generally understood and observed. Perhaps we can learn from their experience and apply to 6MR?

Looks like PA puts out a clear message saying the trails are closed to mountain bikers at Nox. I don’t know if they have cops patrolling the grounds, but if they do it clearly states they are closed and that’s easily enforceable.

NJ on the other hand puts up a generic message saying they are “limiting access to a number of mountain bikers”.. which, to me, says we’re open, but don’t be an assclown and ruin it. Unfortunately, vague enough to not be enforceable.

Nassau doesn’t seem to have this problem, I know it’s not as popular as Six Mile, but they post “we are closed for the winter” signs too and either people oblige or no one knows they ride it anyway. I also don’t know if Nassau is a state park or there’s just a dude with a shotgun sitting in the lot deterring people.

 

[stb222]

so what i'm reading here is that the problem is a bunch of men?

View attachment 153941

ETA: sarcasm... just in case i needed to make that clear

Don’t make us break out that picture of the girl that posed all muddy

 

[GHM73]

Don’t make us break out that picture of the girl that posed all muddy

#RachelForLife.

I can't find the original Rachel pic. If anyone has it, LMK.

 

[jdog]

Closed is closed. If we all start deciding on our own that "today" it's ok then we are really no different than the assclowns.

I felt bad because I talked a buddy out of riding there in January when it was frozen solid. The next day he let me know that several team mtbNJ members in full mtbNJ kit were seen on bikes there the day before. I'm not going to go into detail any further than that. Look, I get it, no harm was done when it was frozen but how can "we" get all offended when people disregard the closure when "we" do it too? Seems a bit hypocritical to me to say the least. Worst case is it diminishes the credibility of the information on this site.

I haven't ridden at 6 Mile since October 24th and I agree with closing the trails. I think the whole "closure" was poorly conducted, poorly communicated, and obviously not enforced. This gives serious question as to whether or not it's even a legitimate closure. We can all make our own conclusion on that based on the lack of a clear, official response. I've been biting my tongue on this for a while because I didn't want to put it in writing on this site but I feel it needs to be said.

-----------------

Food for though. I rode in GA with my brother a couple weeks ago. The trails there evaluated daily when needed. It's not a one time deal that goes on for months. There is official signage and locked gates to convey the message and the simple fact that people are regularly evaluating the trails gives legitimacy to the closures.

In contrast, this was put up by someone months ago at 6MR and there have been no official updates since...
View attachment 153933

I don't mean to offend anyone here but this is a joke.

This is all spot on. The park literally has two people working there.

I'm hopeful that we can organize a volunteer effort to create more official signage and a gate for each entrance for next winter.

No one takes this closure seriously, but it is a real closure that has been poorly executed.


Many people have asked me when it will be open again. Likely when the freeze-thaw cycle has ended.

I am sure many people on this thread have ridden out there this week... Is it time to open it up??

 

[jdog]

The OOS jersey is an easy mistake when you just see orange and blue at a glance.

This reminds me why I have boycotted 6mile for almost three years. The nonstop social media arguments ruin the whole thing for me.

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I watched this and basically stopped using FB right away. I am super happy with this outcome.

 

[Tim]

I'm hopeful that we can organize a volunteer effort to create more official signage and a gate for each entrance for next winter.

As long as it doesn’t conflict with my work schedule count me in.

Also, how about a couple cameras in each lot? I know resources are super limited so they could even be dummies but the notion that people‘s behavior and probably license plates are being recorded can be a big deterrent. Also, signage should list the NJAC citation and maximum fine for violations.

Basically, show the closure is legit and that there are financial consequences. Make people think they are on camera i.e. there is a record of their violation.

 

[stb222]

As long as it doesn’t conflict with my work schedule count me in.

Also, how about a couple cameras in each lot? I know resources are super limited so they could even be dummies but the notion that people‘s behavior and probably license plates are being recorded can be a big deterrent. Also, signage should list the NJAC citation and maximum fine for violations.

Basically, show the closure is legit and that there are financial consequences. Make people think they are on camera i.e. there is a record of their violation.

There are a lot of cameras at one place I ride, I just go a different way...

 

[clarkenstein]

I am sure many people on this thread have ridden out there this week... Is it time to open it up??

I haven’t ridden (still nursing a bone bruise I managed to get on my femur) but think that we are at a point of wet corners but mostly dry. Of course it’s gonna rain...

 

[Ian F]

Looks like PA puts out a clear message saying the trails are closed to mountain bikers at Nox. I don’t know if they have cops patrolling the grounds, but if they do it clearly states they are closed and that’s easily enforceable.

Nearly every time I ride at Nox I'll see park rangers come into the lot. One difference there is the bike trails are only part of the park. And they are only in maybe 1/3 of the park. The lake is the big thing there.

 

[MadisonDan]

Facebook လော့ဂ်အင်ဝင်ရန်

သင်၏ သူငယ်ချင်း၊ မိသားစု၊ သင်သိသောသူများနှင့် စတင်၍ ချိတ်ဆက်ပြီး မျှဝေရန် Facebook သို့ လော့ဂ်အင်ဝင်ပါ။

www.facebook.com

 

[hls811]

As long as it doesn’t conflict with my work schedule count me in.

Also, how about a couple cameras in each lot? I know resources are super limited so they could even be dummies but the notion that people‘s behavior and probably license plates are being recorded can be a big deterrent. Also, signage should list the NJAC citation and maximum fine for violations.

Basically, show the closure is legit and that there are financial consequences. Make people think they are on camera i.e. there is a record of their violation.

What citation and fine? What is the violation?
Basically, its coming down to that it simply is not legally closed. Not for nothing, but the closure in the winter months is no different than if an unauthorized person went there and put up a closed sign on July 1st and said it was closed for the summer.

I think most of us, at least in this discussion understand why and choose not to go. Its not about threatening people with fines and punishments that aren't going to be legally enforced. Either someone needs to go to the state officials and ask them to properly close it for a few months each year (and hope they don't in turn close ALL state parks to mountain bikers for the same reason) or it has to come down to educating people on why they shouldn't be riding there.

If there are people that want to volunteer their time and do trail maintenance than thats fantastic, but they are doing it knowing that the trails are probably going to be in $*&!@ condition because people ride there when the ground is soft. Maybe the signs and FB postings should be saying WHY its "closed" or suggested not to ride and offer a link to sign up and volunteer for maintenance and/or donations to help fund the maintenance. (I have no idea if its even appropriate to accept donations to fix up state property).

I do think the majority have been avoiding it, I've followed the posts on FB and do see people saying its closed, so its just trying to limit or educate the few that still choose to go, and if any of them change their mind about going, or offer up help, you're already ahead of where you are now.

 

[GHM73]

Education is the key, but...

The signs already say why it's closed. You have to hit people over the head with a brick (metaphorically) apparently. It needs to be obvious that it's closed, without a shadow of a doubt. Cuz peepel ar dum. and also don't care and think it's their right.

When people ask me, or when I post SixMilers updates, I always try to share WHY it's closed. But see above. It's semi-futile.

 

[Paul H]

Ppl have to lose something to understand
Open it up and let it go to shit and only then they will know

 

[Matt_]

Ppl have to lose something to understand
Open it up and let it go to shit and only then they will know

...but some want it like that?

My favorite was the dude arguing on FB that they like the "challenge" of the ruts and that they should be left as is. Think he was trying to poke fun at other riders "needing smooth trails", but, ironically, you have to be a pretty crappy rider if you consider ruts at 6 mile a "challenge" lol.

The more i think about it, that actually makes sense. Not only do most of us stay off the trails out of concern for the damage caused by riding in such conditions, but also because riding in wet and muddy conditions at anything faster than a walking pace really sucks. So if someones normal pace is unaffected by mud......

 

[Paul H]

...but some want it like that?

My favorite was the dude arguing on FB that they like the "challenge" of the ruts and that they should be left as is. Think he was trying to poke fun at other riders "needing smooth trails", but, ironically, you have to be a pretty crappy rider if you consider ruts at 6 mile a "challenge" lol.

The more i think about it, that actually makes sense. Not only do most of us stay off the trails out of concern for the damage caused by riding in such conditions, but also because riding in wet and muddy conditions at anything faster than a walking pace really sucks. So if someones normal pace is unaffected by mud......

Well... there is a reason why they are still riding at 6MR instead of CR

 

[shrpshtr325]

Well... there is a reason why they are still riding at 6MR instead of CR

i mean cr is the definition of gnar

(not that this is relevant to the conversation)

 

[Patrick]

Safe space for you to write about anything that isn't helpful about 6MR.

 

[JimN]

I like turtles.

 

[Patrick]

I like turtles.

they are terrapins at 6MR.

 

[Dusty the Whale]

Not that there was anything wrong with it, but didn’t @jdog sell a few MTBNJ kits to the public at halters?

I remember seeing someone wearing full kit on a Thursday ride at CR and I was like hey new guy, are you coming? He was with his own group and he no idea who we were

I had one back in '09. The jersey just disappeared one day. Once that was gone I stopled kicking dogs and running old ppl off the trails.