[Atomic Dog]

I swear some people want a sidewalk made from dirt.

Shh. If you say that three times, an IMBA work party will appear.

 

[Westy]

Shh. If you say that three times, an IMBA work party will appear.

When I used to maintain a small trail system in a county park, it was groups of walkers that were the biggest culprits. You can't enjoy the outdoors unless you are walking five people wide. I would if course always excrete something into the logs and branches Unused to block the trail.

 

[canadmos]

When I used to maintain a small trail system in a county park, it was groups of walkers that were the biggest culprits. You can't enjoy the outdoors unless you are walking five people wide. I would if course always excrete something into the logs and branches Unused to block the trail.

Thank you for your service.

 

[JustMtnB44]

The entirety of our last work party was closing off cheater trails with logs cut from downed trees. I swear some people want a sidewalk made from dirt.

I spent 6 hours doing that by myself last week. A combo of cheater lines and shortcuts. In some cases the trail isn't an easy sidewalk, it's just wide to the point of being an ugly scar on the landscape.

When I used to maintain a small trail system in a county park, it was groups of walkers that were the biggest culprits. You can't enjoy the outdoors unless you are walking five people wide.

I agree walkers are to blame more than mountain bikers. My theory is that a lot of the cheater lines are caused by walkers moving to the side to let a rider go by, but rather than just waiting for two seconds, they keep walking off to the side or around a tree, making these new lines. And they make shortcuts between two points that they can see, where as riders are more focused on following the trail.

 

[canadmos]

Does it count as bad trail building, when a club flags a trail (with those plastic flags on metal spikes), finishes their work and then just leaves the flags scattered along the trail side?

 

[Jm_]

Ive seen builders do that for the jump/ drop launches and landings...but then its never going to stay like that.

 

[canadmos]

Yeah true, on jumps or something it might make sense. I see bike parks do that too.

In this case, with this club, they leave the flags on corners and stuff, not jumps.

Like here they blocked the turn going straight and rerouted it inside, but left the flags (hard to see if you don't zoom in). They leave them all over the place, never understood why. Eventually they get ran over and end up as trailside trash.

 

[JustMtnB44]

Does it count as bad trail building, when a club flags a trail (with those plastic flags on metal spikes), finishes their work and then just leaves the flags scattered along the trail side?

Like here they blocked the turn going straight and rerouted it inside, but left the flags (hard to see if you don't zoom in). They leave them all over the place, never understood why. Eventually they get ran over and end up as trailside trash.

Yes that is bad trail building. We also use those flags for new trails and reroutes but I make sure to collect them all once the trail is roughed in, before it is completed and open to use. Every once in a while I find one months or even a year later off to the side that some volunteer tossed but I'll pick it up then.

 

[boostindoubles]

I despise pin flags with passion.

 

[Jozz]

I despise pin flags with passion.

My backyard trails are littered with them.

 

[boostindoubles]

My backyard trails are littered with them.

When I am setting out to put in a new trail, all the other people want me to pin flag the route in advance so stewardship committee can come out and judge/nit pick their interpretation of the route.

What ends up happening is a bunch of mouth breathers come out and walk from pin flag to pin flag in straight lines and the trail goes in like shit.