Trail Damage from Selfish Riders

[MuniMan]

Look at what we got here, 4" ruts cut into the side hill on Redback.

First off, thanks go to all the people who know not to go riding when the trails are soft. Unfortunately some don't get it.

This section of trail was built by 25 volunteers back in March of 2016. The people who built this this piece of trail got fed pizza and were given Schimano swag that day. This is one awesome piece of trail. Those of you who chipped in back in 2016 certainly deserve to wear a big grin every time you ride this trail. You earned it!

It is unfortunate that some don't have respect for your work. Hopefully the heavy rain forcasted for tomorrow will not run down the trail and wash the tread out.

Whats probably going to happen here is that some dedicated people will need to go fix this section when it drys out in late March. That will be instead of building more trail for the same selfish rut-holes to destroy the next time it gets wet. There are 32 more miles of approved trail to build in Sterling, lets not destroy it faster than it can be built.

 

[Soundguy]

Seems like it’s gotten worse all over the place this year. Was at LewMo not long ago and it was rut-tastic. I’m seeing a lot of new riders lately that are too eager to ride every chance they get and just don’t know any better. Would be nice to get some signage up at trailheads to spread awareness. They have them at 6mile but haven’t seen it anywhere else.

 

[jShort]

They have them at 6mile but haven’t seen it anywhere else.

6 mile still gets trashed. It's a losing battle. Nassau Trail was awful with all the frozen ruts last weekend.

 

[ebineezer]

Same situation at most of the trails. We deal with this year after year. Sadly, I don’t think it will ever change.

 

[Dingo]

Same situation at most of the trails. We deal with this year after year. Sadly, I don’t think it will ever change.

Oh it's going to change, and not for the better. Land managers will simply ban bikes. This why we have to get the knuckle heads educated.

 

[MuniMan]

We have this put up in a few places.

 

[Patrick]

Perhaps the state could go on a ticket blitz to educate those who don't bother reading.
I certainly would interpret "damage" liberally.

from the NJSA

N.J.A.C. 7:2STATE PARK SERVICE CODE Statutory Authority: N.J.S.A. 13:1B-1 et seq., 13:1B-15.000 et seq., and 13:1L-1 et seq.
...

7:2-2.10 Damage to property/tampering (a) A person shall not abuse, mutilate, injure, destroy, move or remove any plant or animal or natural resource on lands and water under the jurisdiction or control of the State ParkService without having first obtained the permission of the Superintendent or designee.Authorized fish, game and wildlife activities are excepted.

 

[Fat Trout]

I type this wishing I could ride but knowing its a mudfest out there...so here I sit.

Its an evil cycle. Lots of cool bikes, bike options and bike technologies because the masses have taken to the sport. Unfortunately the masses all buy bikes that they don't have the skill to really use because they are shown how pros can rip with those bikes. Rip they do and the under informed all are trained by watching all those "cool" video's of pro's out there thrashing it showing slow mo's of dirt / mud being torn up and flying everywhere. Even some races are total mud fests. I'm not going to say promotors should cancel but people see this and think its cool to be covered in mud and OK because if it was fine for a race with many people doing it then whats the problem with just me doing it once in a while.

Way back I use to think it was cool coming back covered in mud. Now I know I'm a dick both for the damage and for the crapload of extra time I just cost myself cleaning all of that sh*t off my bike.

In my other sport, I've lost tons of good fishing spots because of bad actors screwing it up for the rest of us as internet and other focus was put on certain areas and brought in the hordes. It has forever changed how and where i fish.

With ever increasing population and focus on the sport its a loosing battle. All you can do is police yourself and when given an opportunity help educate others.

 

[Bleeder]

This has been a very hot topic for me lately. Quite frankly I've been a dick in responding to some riders that just don't get it. I'm going to take some time to cool off, come up with an email blast on this subject, and work again on educating riders. To a certain extent we are preaching to the choir, users of this forum and JORBA members already know this, I've got to figure out how to reach out to the larger groups of riders that may not be aware of the damage they do. Maybe a JORBA Branded flyer on this for the LBS. trail head signs w/ QR codes to idk, rail trails, something. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[Pearl]

4” ruts? Sounds like a fat bike

 

[Fat Trout]

. Maybe a JORBA Branded flyer on this for the LBS. trail head signs w/ QR codes to idk, rail trails, something. Any ideas are appreciated.

Signs at the trail heads is probably the best thing you can do. Short bold statement.....like "Mud on Heels or Wheels Turn Around" (which I saw somewhere online) with basic info and QR codes for additional info and local alternatives could certainly help raise awareness without being too negative.

Some folks probably have good intentions but drive far and might have no clue on what is an alternate.

 

[soundz]

To a certain extent we are preaching to the choir, users of this forum and JORBA members already know this, I've got to figure out how to reach out to the larger groups of riders that may not be aware of the damage they do.

I used to think this, but now I tend to think there will always be numbers of new users who do not know anything. 6 years ago I did not know anything about riding in mud = bad. So my opinion is that posting every so often does not hurt. It will not stop mud riding, but at least you've educated a few people. You just have to learn to ignore the "yah we already know so it's useless posting" trolls. And maybe use some lighter language than "I see tire marks so you guys are assholes" type of communication.

 

[Magic]

Were you also biking at 45 degrees on Sat to document other bikers riding when it was 45 degrees?

 

[The Squirrel]

Being new to this whole riding on trails thing, I've been surfing youtube and saturating myself with interweb knolwedge. What I've seen, time and time again, are people putting up videos riding in the rain and mud. Big sponsored riders with big production videos that glorify this act of destruction. I can see where the uninitiated can feel this is absolutely a fine thing to do.

Maybe there's a way to flood these videos with comments and sponsors with emails and boycotting their products unless they start to promote the mindful use of the limited resources that are out there.

 

[MuniMan]

Were you also biking at 45 degrees on Sat to document other bikers riding when it was 45 degrees?

No I was on foot. I went up to raid the tool cache. When I was there the trail was still frozen. The snow had had a light crust with an almost styrofoam like quality. It looked pretty good. I saw 2 pairs of riders and it looked like a few others had been out also. I was lamenting the fact that I was walking the dog and carrying a pick-Mattock. I’m not sure when that damage was done. It’s probably been going on all winter.

 

[JimN]

Create a strava segment that everyone will ride, like right out of the parking lot or whatever. Call it "Please respect the trails, and don't ride when wet" or something. On wet days when you know the trails were bad, click on that segment at the end of the day and look at the leaderboard for that day, then post comments on people's rides. Just let them know that riding when it is wet causes trail damage and makes us look bad.

 

[mustclime]

4” ruts? Sounds like a fat bike

Fat bikes do not leave ruts, we float over the slime with sub 10 psi.

 

[Bleeder]

Being new to this whole riding on trails thing, I've been surfing youtube and saturating myself with interweb knolwedge. What I've seen, time and time again, are people putting up videos riding in the rain and mud. Big sponsored riders with big production videos that glorify this act of destruction. I can see where the uninitiated can feel this is absolutely a fine thing to do.

A lot of those films were shot on private property w/ professional trailbuilders.

 

[Bleeder]

Fat bikes do not leave ruts, we float over the slime with sub 10 psi.

Can't wait for my hoverbike, no more trailbuilding.

 

[stevie.mtb]

Being new to this whole riding on trails thing, I've been surfing youtube and saturating myself with interweb knolwedge. What I've seen, time and time again, are people putting up videos riding in the rain and mud. Big sponsored riders with big production videos that glorify this act of destruction. I can see where the uninitiated can feel this is absolutely a fine thing to do.

Maybe there's a way to flood these videos with comments and sponsors with emails and boycotting their products unless they start to promote the mindful use of the limited resources that are out there.

Not sure what videos you're referencing but to the best of my knowledge (and experience) , some trail systems can handle wet and rainy rides. Others, on the other hand, are quite negatively impacted. Riding in the wet should not be reprimanded in all cases. Take the trails out in the PNW, they are almost always soaked. Now granted, these trails are built with this in mind and the dirt and structures on the trail can take the abuse. Other areas are not so fortunate and in that case, those riders should very well be criticized and then educated for proper trail use in the future.

Nonetheless, I would hope that a rider who is sponsored and is an advocate for our sport would use proper etiquette. Unfortunately, this is not always the case...