On the state of the art...
- Thread starter johnbryanpeters
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sounds like he needs to relocate to somewhere more remote...like, umm, maybe New Haven, VT? 
I feel conflicted. I relate to a lot of what he said about solace, clearing your head, etc., but also love to go fast and bomb said remote trails. i also dig a lot locally. most of the goons/newbs stick around here. but i bet there are a lot of people that live in places like brevard that feel the same way as the writer. that’s why i choose not to ride there very often. he comes off in the end as just being kind of whiny that what used to be his “private” trails are now getting a lot of use because he happens to live somewhere that sport has gotten popular.
I feel conflicted. I relate to a lot of what he said about solace, clearing your head, etc., but also love to go fast and bomb said remote trails. i also dig a lot locally. most of the goons/newbs stick around here. but i bet there are a lot of people that live in places like brevard that feel the same way as the writer. that’s why i choose not to ride there very often. he comes off in the end as just being kind of whiny that what used to be his “private” trails are now getting a lot of use because he happens to live somewhere that sport has gotten popular.
Old news is old...
Second best TR / bike pron on the web behind Anthony Sloan (RIP)
http://lacemine29.blogspot.com/
https://mikesee.exposure.co
(Meh)
Compared to JPB's mustache definitely a rookie... but otherwise not so much.Climbing LPR is a rookie mistake.
Second best TR / bike pron on the web behind Anthony Sloan (RIP)
http://lacemine29.blogspot.com/
https://mikesee.exposure.co
(Meh)
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I can definitely relate to "solace and silence" part. I love to ride up a hill in the middle of the week to get away from the reality and mindlessly dig & build for hours.
But I also don't see anything wrong with enjoying the fruit of your labor afterwards, dive-bombing into berms you just built, maybe roost a little bit in the process.
I don't condone reckless behaviors, littering, etc on the trail, but Mike Curiak's opinion pieces always come across to me as a bit too self-righteous "My way, or you're doing it wrong". Maybe he would be able to enjoy his ride more if he minded his own business?
JMHO
But I also don't see anything wrong with enjoying the fruit of your labor afterwards, dive-bombing into berms you just built, maybe roost a little bit in the process.
I don't condone reckless behaviors, littering, etc on the trail, but Mike Curiak's opinion pieces always come across to me as a bit too self-righteous "My way, or you're doing it wrong". Maybe he would be able to enjoy his ride more if he minded his own business?
JMHO
In Vermont we're seeing the jammed parking lots, and, related to that, people who live adjacent to trailheads getting really wound up
Over, say, the past five years, the amount of braiding due to Strava lines has increased immensely, everywhere that I ride...
Trail sanitizing has been around forever...
Want to get away from people, ride in for ten miles or so...
There have always been folks who ride so as to damage trails or who sanitize trails; with increased ridership there are a number of our local trails that just get the shit kicked out of them when wet, freezing, or thawing...
Ain't no simple answers...
Over, say, the past five years, the amount of braiding due to Strava lines has increased immensely, everywhere that I ride...
Trail sanitizing has been around forever...
Want to get away from people, ride in for ten miles or so...
There have always been folks who ride so as to damage trails or who sanitize trails; with increased ridership there are a number of our local trails that just get the shit kicked out of them when wet, freezing, or thawing...
Ain't no simple answers...
That was a whole lot of bitching to not mention the dirt sidewalks that pass for singletrack these days.
It's not just me. Some of us act like an ass from time to time. We realize it. He does not.
"I wish there were more people who rode bikes to get away from it all, out in the woods"
"Why are there so many people out riding bikes in _MY_ woods?"
"Why are there so many people out riding bikes in _MY_ woods?"
Not a lot of "wood" in Grand Junction...
Yeah... not in Junction proper. But all the good summer riding there is way up in the woods.
So of the comments are fucking ridiculous. Blanket assumption that downhill riders should have right of way because the bikes are better now. The whole reason uphill riders had (and have) right of way is because it's harder to get going again. Black and White. A lot of uphill riders will pull off if they are in place that they can, but I'm not sorry, if I'm in a grind at threshold I'm not pulling off.
You have to ride to your environment. If you can't stop within a reasonable time on a multi-use trail, you're going too fast for the trail.
You have to ride to your environment. If you can't stop within a reasonable time on a multi-use trail, you're going too fast for the trail.
Well, it’s also because of the energy a DH rider carries and other trail users not being able to react in time unless the DH rider is in control and able to stop, like an old lady around a corner, horse, kids, etc. Carring the energy to maim or kill, you have the responsibility to be in control and yield. That’s why directional and DH only trails at parks and other spots exist, to allow you to run without these considerations, but on multi-use/bi-directional, DH has the greater responsibility.
the one valid argument i've heard for the opposite (climbers stop vs descending traffic) is that it would take a longer amount of time for the descending traffic to stop vs climbing traffic. ie a rider going faster will take a long time period to come to a halt.
Invalid argument. As @Jm_ noted above, parks with downhill and bike only trails exist for a reason. If you are on a multi-use trail going downhill, it is you, as the individual moving fastest, who can spook horses, plow down a child/old person, or cause the accident, who needs to be responsible for your own actions.
If you are going to fast to stop, you are not in control, end of conversation. That is the legal way drivers are seen as well. Uphill-downhill balance also carries legal prescedence in that the uphill (going down) car has more control that the downhill (going up). Getting onto a bike going down is easier and getting up to speed is easier. Uphill has right of way. If you want to do race runs, go to a race track.
you're confusing laws of physics with trail etiquette. laws of physics dictate that an object with a higher velocity will require a longer duration to decelerate (give the same rate of deceleration). 
given my understanding of the standard model of physics, and the limitations of our current technology, this is, what we designate, "impossibru"
So long as you aren’t one of those goobers who rides up the gut, enchanted forest, or longhorn, it’s all good with me.
Fixed.
On a related note - *any* of you blokes ridden Longhorn South ever/recently? I was trying to remember if I had... but I only remember climbing it before Whippletree existed.
Do it. So. Much. Fun. Top to bottom it’s one of my favorite downhills on the Front Range. The climb up Whippletree makes things not so bad either.Fixed.
On a related note - *any* of you blokes ridden Longhorn South ever/recently? I was trying to remember if I had... but I only remember climbing it before Whippletree existed.
You sure you're talking about Longhorn South and not Longhorn North (the bike-only section)?
I'm talking about the green route here:
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Rationalizing it as reason that the DHer should have right of way is the issue, not the physics.
I have equally as much experience as you but if I'm going tits on fire fast and I need to stop now, it ain't happening. It might still take me a distance to stop, depending on what I'm riding on. While you might be in control compared to most, if you can't stop due to speed, you are not in control. And I say this as somebody who rides up solely to ride down.
I've climbed up the green section of Longhorn and gone up Shorthorn, on different days.
Methinks Tim is talking about upper Longhorn from the top lots.
Coming up on the news at 11: Guy who makes money from cyclists in his area complains that there are too many cyclists in his area. 
He makes some good points and there is definitely an element out there that either doesn't know basic etiquette or (even worse) knows the general rules but chooses not to follow them. Strava is probably at least partly to blame, but really it just seems like a classic case of how we should sometimes be careful what we wish for.
As mountain biking becomes more popular, "mountain bikers" reflect the broader population, and the broader population is full of morons, so there's going to be a proportionate increase in morons out there on mountain bikes. Plus, bikes these days make it easier for people to get out and enjoy the same trails that previously required advanced skills, so a lot of folks out there are relatively new and haven't had the benefit of picking up better etiquette along the way to becoming a better rider.
This guy's head is probably gonna explode once he starts seeing more e-bikes out there.
He makes some good points and there is definitely an element out there that either doesn't know basic etiquette or (even worse) knows the general rules but chooses not to follow them. Strava is probably at least partly to blame, but really it just seems like a classic case of how we should sometimes be careful what we wish for.
As mountain biking becomes more popular, "mountain bikers" reflect the broader population, and the broader population is full of morons, so there's going to be a proportionate increase in morons out there on mountain bikes. Plus, bikes these days make it easier for people to get out and enjoy the same trails that previously required advanced skills, so a lot of folks out there are relatively new and haven't had the benefit of picking up better etiquette along the way to becoming a better rider.
This guy's head is probably gonna explode once he starts seeing more e-bikes out there.
Here in Tucson, the closest MTB park is 4 hours away and pretty piss poor from everything ive heard. San Diego is 8 hours, and Angel fire is 10. The only bike only trail is currently being partly torn up for housing. About 40 acres worth.
Our consolation prize, 100 acre wood park is going to take years to finish, so that argument to ride somewhere else bike only isnt the best. Everything else in Tucson is multi-use. To be fair, most bikers do give right of way to climbers, horses and pedestrians. Most pedestrians typically step out of the way to let bikes go.
Yeah - I wanna know how going DOWN the green section of Longhorn is. I've heard conflicting reports, and it occurs to me it *must* be somewhat less than ideal, since it seems NOBODY goes down it.
I think I may have to do an exploratory trip.
Did you get your definition of control from the Sierra club?
Also, your tits ain't movin' that fast these days stone-man
Have you tried being a dick to people? That will generally fix that whole politeness crap.
