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Bike Parks, Passing slow riders etiquette

DBR X6 RIDER

Turbo Monkey
In a wider and more open area, the yell-and-pass tends to do A-OK. In the tighter and techier sections, I'll sit up if I know it could be a while before I get a spot to pass. Most people that are "railing" on trails usually know what's coming up, so it's really the passing rider's duty to know where and when. As far as how...
I just try to treat the slower rider how I'd hope to be treated when I am the slower rider...which happens every so often.
 

Tootrikky

Monkey
Jul 31, 2003
772
0
Mount Vernon
I make really loud moto noises, but if that doesn't get em to pull over, I start coaching them through their run which generally annoys them enough to pull off. Of course if they are just starting out, and any of the above would sketch them out, I just stop and wait a bit.
 

-C-

Monkey
May 27, 2007
296
10
I've always found "rider" is the international language for a faster guy. Generally I'm quite observant, so if I catch a faster guy coming up behind me, i'll pull in where I can & they can go on. If i'm catching slower riders its not often they carry on without realising, but if all else fials, the rider shout seems to work for me.

Something to bear in mind though is the n00bs won't be as confident, so they may take a while to find a place to slow down & let you pass, I don't want to abuse someone for taking a while, because we were all beginners once!
 

maddogdh

Monkey
Aug 16, 2005
177
0
Highland Lakes, NJ
At a park like a "Diablo Freeride Park" there will be many skill levels, we all know that. I think a strong "Rider Up" should do the trick most of the time because it is something everyone has heard either racing or freeriding. I have found passing a risky move and can foul up both riders, but can be alot of fun if pulled off. Anyway for me this is a campfire discussion and I don't have the time. Everybody out there riding slow is doing exactly the samething we a are riding fast so you gotta respect that at least there riding and helping the sport grow.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
Do what i do.....

I have a 10inch Suspension Bike, so when I'm close to the slow rider, i compress the shocks and literally bunny hop over them..... one time i got stuck on a tree trunk and one of the "slow" riders helped me down.... :clapping: :clapping:

Just F*cking ride man, it's not a race, it's supposed to be for fun, no one is being timed, wtf, man!

There were a couple of times when my leg cramped up on me in the middle of a trail (lower ripper) and i had to slow down... folks just slowed down behind me and ask are you okay... not being a-holes about it!
 

bizutch

Delicate CUSTOM flower
Dec 11, 2001
15,928
24
Over your shoulder whispering
I'm with tootrikky...I always come up going 'Brrrauuuppppp!" and if that they keep riding, I literally do a cheeseball "Ding" "Ding" "Ding" out loud to get attention but still be lighthearted. I had a guy one time last year literally JUMP off his bike off trail downhill for me, flip, crash, etc. I stopped & helped the guy back up. I told him what all of us know:

"If it's not a race run, it's not important enough for me to go by. Ride it out and stop when you're in control. You have the right of way and I'm responsible for making sure I don't hit you!"

Last thing I need is a dude with a broken ankle trail side with a bad taste in his mouth for DH for life.

Now...come race run...all bets are off. And if it's me and Greg doing a practice run together...stuffing in berms is permitted.:thumb:

Oh..and if it's JeremyR or Terry Hinton in front of you in practice...both are technically to be used as berms if so needed.

Edit: ANd if you hear something that sounds like Scooby Doo is giggling his way up behind you...it's JeremyR.
 

Dhracer3

Monkey
Jan 10, 2006
155
0
Fletcher NC
I like to Zoom by them when they don't look..... thats when you find the best lines of all!!... see slower riders are a very important part in the races! haha... only joking... I just yell "RIDER"! and then zoom by them.. only if its in a race though.. then you can afford to be a little nasty to them.. but during practice I will usually just wait awhile at the start.
 

bushrider

Monkey
Jul 4, 2006
146
0
NYC
Its seems that Everyone agrees that slower riders should pull over and let faster riders pass.

The reason I posted was just to see what the General Opinion was about that.

I think from now on I'm going to yell "Rider" as loud as I can, slow down and give the slower rider space to pull over. If that doesn't work I'll tail the slower rider all the way to the bottom and try and explain the situation to them. I'll stop pulling the sketchy overtakes unless its someone I've already tailed to the bottom and talked to.

The reason this is a problem for me is that I like to do runs without stopping, its just my personal preference and I'm getting stuck behind riders towards the bottom of the course where the more advanced trails meet with other trails.
 

OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
The reason this is a problem for me is that I like to do runs without stopping, its just my personal preference and I'm getting stuck behind riders towards the bottom of the course where the more advanced trails meet with other trails.
The first part of your post sounds good, but as for this part - dude, no kidding, we all want to do our runs without stopping. But unless it's your private compound or whatever, the other riders have the same right as you to be there, and you need to share the trails.
 

FlipFantasia

Turbo Monkey
Oct 4, 2001
1,659
492
Sea to Sky BC
"Rider up" if there's room to pass at the time, if not, a "could I get by when it's safe" also works quite well......if the person decides to be a douche about it after a while, inside corner is nice......
 

dhrace507

Monkey
Apr 2, 2004
139
0
Mountains
It does seem like everyone here agrees that the "slow" rider should get out of the way of the faster rider. I agree that it is courteous for a slow rider to pull over and let the faster rider pass, but like it's been said before, someone trying DH for the first time is probably terrified. They are excited and having fun usually, but terrified too, and they are usually oblivious to everything else other than the trail in front of them.

The reality is that in a bike park and while riding for fun (not a race) the rider being overtaken (usually the slower one) has the right of way, always.

We've got to remember that the riding community of ridemonkey is a really, really small part of the bike park riding community. Startling as it may be, families who visit bike parks or newbies may not have heard of ridemonkey or seen this specific thread before.

Giving riders who are starting out, noobies, tourists on rental bikes or whatever the benefit of the doubt and treating them with respect and being super courteous is the most important thing.

I think it can be agreed upon that we all want awesome bike parks to ride at, and to do that, the parks have to earn money to keep up operations. The parks make the most money from the people who are just trying the sport out, because they rent a bike, they rent pads, helmet, maybe a guide, and then buy a lift ticket and are spent after maybe two runs. They then go to the pub and drink some beer and have pizza. They either say "That was awesome, I'm going to come back" or they say "There was some jackass up there who was hell bent on getting around me, I'm not dealing with this crap ever again." I think the best thing for the sport in general is the former. We need the noobies, they are the ones who pay retail for everything and keep the sport of downhilling viable for the rest of us, especially at bike parks. It's worth it to wait two minutes on a trail for someone to get waaay, waaaay waaay out in front, or just take a different way on the trail. I'm no saint, I've passed people and gotten passed, but it's worth it to give someone else the right of way or just some room if you can, especially if they are going super slow (which usually means nervous or scared) or they are new. Often times, I've gotten to the bottom and someone has thanked me for either letting them have a ton of room or if I've just waited.

So, while I feel that if at all possible, it is nice for someone slower to get out of the way if given notice, it's not their responsibility to. We all deserve to be out there just as much as each other and we've got to look out for the sport as a whole. If we all can be welcoming to new riders, the sport will grow and more places will have bike parks, the industry will be better and we'll have more options for fun, which is what it's all about.
 

dexter

Turbo Monkey
Sep 23, 2001
3,053
99
Boise, Idaho
rider, passing, or move. if said more than 2x inside corner them or side jump them- mastered this living in whistler all summer, peoples faces were hilarious to watch same with their reactions
 

downhill mike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 23, 2005
1,286
4
I have had riders at Diablo pass me without even saying anything. I didn't notice they were passing till they were right next to me on a double black diamond trail. Not cool. If you can't pass in a good spot, don't. Just pull over for a minute till you have some more room. Use common sense. The trail may be harder than you think for some. Just because it may be easy for you it may take another rider 100% of his concentration to clean a move they haven't made before or have just been scared.
 

WhoRyder

Turbo Monkey
Nov 28, 2007
1,834
0
NYC
yea sure, let me stop in this Rockgarden and stop my slow momentum so you can leisurely pass by, and after you're done passing by, let e walk my bike the rest of the way because i'm in the middle of a ROCK GARDEN!

I remember i was hitting Alpine and i was hitting it fast too, i hit the first wall ride all the way up top and some "Faster Kid" by passed me without hitting the wallride, and then he hit the seconds wallride, on top of the SRAM berm i told the "Fast Kid" if i would have crashed i would have kicked his ass...... Simple as that....

No need to be A-holes about this type of stuff, STFU and ride!
 

DownhillR3

Monkey
May 31, 2007
630
0
I'v literally kicked people over to get them out of the way, try that (assuming you have yelled at least twice before doing so that is)

Haha.


Everyone has problems with slower riders on the more common trails. Just relax, sit back & when you get on their rear just give a shout "rider up" if they move, thats great, so follow it up with a simple "thanks". If they don't move, I get pissed. So i stop on the trail and wait a while, make sure knowone is coming behind me, then I move on, by then they are to a ski trail or stopped at anopen section where I can get by hassle free, most of the time.
 

Rover Nick

Monkey
Oct 17, 2006
280
0
Just ride them like an old lady until they stuff it into the woods.


But seriously, I understand that there are a bunch of places where you just can't really pull over, but it is quite irritating when a person has plenty of room to pull over but doesn't
 

FOXROX

Turbo Monkey
Jun 23, 2007
2,120
0
hambur,nj
i actuly think it is fun following "slower" riders down the mountain. also at i believe the domination 3 race we were in practice and the was a ladie standing in the middle of the course in a blind spot i almost hit her! and she started to yell at me! i was like wtf!
 

freeridefool

Monkey
Jun 17, 2006
647
0
medford, or
I consider myself relatively fast. At the last hood race of 07, I got passed my Mr. Lars Stenberg himself. It was about 100 feet before the sundeck drop in the narrow rock section. He passed me like he had a jet pack on. There was barely enough room for me. When I got to the bottom I told him I was sorry for getting in his way. He said no problem I wasnt in his line anyway... Im pretty sure there was only one line. Thats the only time Ive been passed, but pretty memorable.