I wonder just how many people know how to ride raw and
untrammeled singletracks, or new trails for that matter? Early season high country rides have the same kind of sensitive conditions, being very vulnerable to abuse. Common sense says that one can only ride as fast as trail conditions allow.
There are many great examples of how conditions can dictate speed. If it starts raining on a trail with a shale-based soil in the track, you are either going to slow down, or you are going on a trip down a giant slip-n-slide. Besides the slip-n-slide, you are going to be more apt to damage the trail. If one is riding on a high desert trail in the Spring and nobody has been on it to pack in the "freeze lift", your speed could quite possibly dictate the condition of that trail for months, or even years. The same can be said for putting first tracks in a soil-based high country trail. Again, conditions always dictate speed first and foremost, not what one thinks their skill level is.
What brought all of this on? I was recently saddened by the condition of a trail that had fallen by the wayside for a number of years. It had been reopened, but was in a very sensitive state. Someone had ridden on it, though it was obvious that they either had no regard for this trail, or they were ignorant as to how a trail in this condition should be ridden. The skid ruts in the turns and switchbacks told enough of the story, but there were also some other subtle hints that these people had no idea how to ride a trail like this. They had blown the outside of just about every turn in the trail. After a few turns, I started riding all turns "outside-in", which kept me on the trail and rolling instead of letting their skid ruts pull me outside and off the trail where they had obviously ditched themselves several times. On the sidehill bench cuts, they had stayed way too far to the outside and the duff on the edge of the track had given way, effectively blowing out the bench cut in several places as well. If they
had stayed inside on these sections, it would have given anyone
following the proper line to follow and strengthened the fragile state of the trail instead of damaging it. Whomever had done this has no business on that trail, at least until the trail has been fully restored.
untrammeled singletracks, or new trails for that matter? Early season high country rides have the same kind of sensitive conditions, being very vulnerable to abuse. Common sense says that one can only ride as fast as trail conditions allow.
There are many great examples of how conditions can dictate speed. If it starts raining on a trail with a shale-based soil in the track, you are either going to slow down, or you are going on a trip down a giant slip-n-slide. Besides the slip-n-slide, you are going to be more apt to damage the trail. If one is riding on a high desert trail in the Spring and nobody has been on it to pack in the "freeze lift", your speed could quite possibly dictate the condition of that trail for months, or even years. The same can be said for putting first tracks in a soil-based high country trail. Again, conditions always dictate speed first and foremost, not what one thinks their skill level is.
What brought all of this on? I was recently saddened by the condition of a trail that had fallen by the wayside for a number of years. It had been reopened, but was in a very sensitive state. Someone had ridden on it, though it was obvious that they either had no regard for this trail, or they were ignorant as to how a trail in this condition should be ridden. The skid ruts in the turns and switchbacks told enough of the story, but there were also some other subtle hints that these people had no idea how to ride a trail like this. They had blown the outside of just about every turn in the trail. After a few turns, I started riding all turns "outside-in", which kept me on the trail and rolling instead of letting their skid ruts pull me outside and off the trail where they had obviously ditched themselves several times. On the sidehill bench cuts, they had stayed way too far to the outside and the duff on the edge of the track had given way, effectively blowing out the bench cut in several places as well. If they
had stayed inside on these sections, it would have given anyone
following the proper line to follow and strengthened the fragile state of the trail instead of damaging it. Whomever had done this has no business on that trail, at least until the trail has been fully restored.
