[cableguy46]

If your new to Mountain Biking, there are a couple "rules" that everyone should learn and apply....

1. If your coming down a hill on a single track or for that matter a double track as well...you need to yield the right of way to the uphill rider...

2. If your passing a rider, yell out your intentions as to which side your planning or wishing to pass...ie..."on your right" or "rider on your left"...etc...

3. Always yield the right of way to hikers and Horses.

4. note on horses, they can be very "sketish"...always stop, ask the rider how the horse is, IF the rider says it's okay to ride by, do it slowly...other wise wait for the horse/rider to go by before riding...it can be very dangerous for the horse/rider otherwise.

These couple items being said, I hope that the riders who "bomb" past me yesterday at Patapsco while I was grinding uphill and had to stop for them so that they didn't run me off the trail will be reading this and learn...if they don't read this hopefully friends will and can tell them....as long as we all are riding with SOME common sense out there we will represent our "community" well to others and we won't get closed out of places to ride...be nice to others and we ALL can enjoy the trails....

Ed

 

[Iridethedirt]

just wanted to add a couple things.

to add on to the notion of trail closures, we've been pretty lucky out here in the mid-atlantic region as far as trail closures go. I'm sure we've all heard the stories about riders on the west coast getting tickets for riding singletrack which had been closed off to mountain bikes. its only been in the past ten years that some of these trails have been re-opened to mountain bikes, and plenty still remain closed. The driving force behind this tends to be equestrain clubs who've had a bad run-in or two with a mountain biker riding carelessly, and/or not allowing the correct right of way. bottom line is, equestrian groups have more money than mountain bike groups, and as a result have a louder voice when it comes to trail access. beyond that, I've heard my share of stories about mountain bikers spooking a horse and having the horse kick the mountain biker and/or throw the rider on horse back from the horse, causing injuries all around... it happens.
PLEASE! PLEASE PLEASE!!!! be courteous to EVERYONE using the trail, the guildlines layed out in the previous post are dead on, everybody should follow them... and a smile and a hello goes a lot farther than you might realize.
lets keep the trails open to everyone!

 

[JackFromNC]

Ethic #5. Don't sanitize the trail.

 

[cableguy46]

Thanks guys...I know that there are 2 others out there that know what to do...it is an education process, not just learning "how" to ride a mountain bike but really learning "HOW" to ride...

iridethedirt...I just got back from spending 5 months in NorCal...and your dead on...there is a training hill called Kennedy trail in Los Gatos and it is well known to have the rangers on the trail with radar guns to catch bikers breaking the limit coming back down...it's 15mph, and you better not go over that, there everywhere...I would hate to see that sort of thing happen around here...and yes there are a tremendous amount of Illegal trails out there...everyone I rode with would tell me NO whenever I spotted some sweet single track...they would respond...nope Ed sorry that one's off limits too...and it was every where...got kind of tired in some areas having to ride mostly fire roads...everyone was very good though, no one would even consider cheating...

So yes we are very lucky, and have a tremendous amount of trails to ride...love the single track!!!


Ed

 

[casey441]

When you yield to horses, talk to the riders and step downhill off the trail. The horses seem to like that better than having you standing over them on sidehill stuff. My $0.02.

 

[Guest]

Great thread. We need to constantly stress trail etiquette. A couple of weeks ago some moron had the nerve to yell at us to get out of his way as he bombed down a rocky hill we were climbing. WTF? We didn't budge and he was not happy. We let it go, but umm, there's 2 of us, 1 of you, are you really that stupid? The next rider(s) he meets may not be so, should I say, merciful. Get with the program. We don't need or want guys like you in our sport.

 

[Big Al]

You can't stress the horse thing too much. Talking to the rider and standing off the trail are two great ideas. Even the best horse may bolt if it feels threatened. If Virginia alot of very influential people ride horses. We need to keep the trails we have, be careful. Also the most abused rule has got to be not yielding to the uphill rider. When this situation happens to me and it occurs way too often, I always let the idiots know they are in the wrong.

 

[Trek223]

good thread. I havent had too many problems at patapsco, yet. When I see horses i make sure i get all the way over and all but stop. Next time i'll probably come to a stop until they're some distance away.

 

[Iridethedirt]

Thanks guys...I know that there are 2 others out there that know what to do...it is an education process, not just learning "how" to ride a mountain bike but really learning "HOW" to ride...

iridethedirt...I just got back from spending 5 months in NorCal...and your dead on...there is a training hill called Kennedy trail in Los Gatos and it is well known to have the rangers on the trail with radar guns to catch bikers breaking the limit coming back down...it's 15mph, and you better not go over that, there everywhere...I would hate to see that sort of thing happen around here...and yes there are a tremendous amount of Illegal trails out there...everyone I rode with would tell me NO whenever I spotted some sweet single track...they would respond...nope Ed sorry that one's off limits too...and it was every where...got kind of tired in some areas having to ride mostly fire roads...everyone was very good though, no one would even consider cheating...

So yes we are very lucky, and have a tremendous amount of trails to ride...love the single track!!!

Ed

its funny, the group you rode with was good, and didnt break the rules... but those trails exist because SOMEONE does... i was out there about ten years back. my sister showed us some of the illegal singletrack on mt. Tam which we "poached". we popped out a couple hundred yards behind a park ranger, which in retrospect was pretty much a perfect picture of the kind of risk you take riding illegal trails. she was sure to tell me all the horror stories about getting tickets, etc... she was also sure to tell me that she almost never rides the singletrack because of the risk factor, whenever she came "home" to VA she would talk about all the awesome technical singletrack we had to ride.
the thing is, if the rules are followed, it will be easier to change them. while some riders do break the rules, and honestly, i can't say i wouldnt if trails around here were suddenly off limits to mtn bikes, i still feel like the majority of serious riders will do right.
but again, we're lucky out here, everybody is pretty willing to share the trails.
-kevin

 

[xcmtber]

Look out, comming down!

Good ethics is important for all of us to follow at all times. That said I do have an issue with yielding to the up hill rider. Why?...... I always yield to the down hill rider, that's the best part of the ride!!! The rider going down is traveling at far greater speed, therefore they should have the right of way

 

[Iridethedirt]

I agree that riding the downhill is WAY more fun, and its pretty annoying to have to slow/stop to allow the uphill rider to pass. However... when you're on a climb, every last bit of momentum is important, especially if its loose dirt, or rocks/gravel/scree... its a lot harder to stop in the middle of a climb to allow someone to blast by and then get started from a stop on a steep loose surface. if i see a rider coming from far enough away, and i can stop and let them enjoy thier downhill without wrecking my climb i do it, but i also expect that if i dont see them early enough, then they should let me pass while climbing, and yield to me. its just about being courteous and who it inconvienences the least. also, having a consistant rule everybody knows and hopefully follows makes for a safer ride. there are enough blind corners with 2 way traffic out in singletrack land as it is... we dont need right of way confusion too! haha anyway, another thought... if you're in the lead, and pass someone going the opposite way on singletrack, do you guys tend to say "got 2 more behind me" or something similar to let the rider going the opposite way that he will have more riders to deal with a bit down the trail? around here with the rolling hills, i appreciate when people give that courtesy, lets me know if i am coming up on a downhill, and i have not crossed paths with those other riders, that i can wait for them to pass before bombing the hill and having to yield to them halfway down, ruining my fun.... i always try to remember to give that courtesy to riders going the opposite direction...
-kevin

 

[xcmtber]

:thumbsup:

 

[cableguy46]

Kevin, good point...I do the same in reference to letting riders I pass know how many behind me...I did that one time in a large group ride....as I passed I yelled out..."21 more behind me"..you should have seen the look on his face, he yelled back, "thanks, I'll set up camp here"...it was hilarious, but we were all moving along at a pretty good clip, so he wouldn't have even got his tent pitched by then...hahaha....

I couldn't agree more on the uphill, I have had to stop because the gys coming down didn't yeild and darn near ran me off the trail, well on SS in loose steep climbs good friggin luck...had to now HIKE-A-BIKE the rest which really sucked...thanks DHers for not yeilding and oh sorry to blow your "fun" ride down...I've been there, but I still will yeild to the climber knowing I can still have fun, and hopefully those people I stop for will later let me too enjoy my climb...thanks all.

Ed