I have ridden L & C for the past five years and it has never happened . . . until this past Saturday. I was blasting down that first downhill chute (sometimes known as "the tube") when I spotted a couple walking in the middle of trail just before the right-hand turn. I yelled "COMIN' DOWN LOOK OUT!" The man instinctively dove out of the way, but the woman had a "deer in the headlights" gaze in her eyes and froze. Regrettably, I plowed right into her knocking her down and crashing in the process.
The man immediately began telling me, with language that was less than kind, that mountain bikers had no right to be on the trails. I didn't argue with him about the matter, but I apologized over and over, making sure the woman was okay, then rode off. I hope that I didn't leave a bad impression on those folks.
I never think about the possibility of hikers walking in the middle of that downhill section, because I haven't experienced it the five years I have been riding out at L & C. And more often than not, when I do experience hikers on the trail--or any trail for that matter, I announce my presence, and they generally move off to the side. I always say "thank you" as I pass. In this instance, I was descending so quickly that the poor woman did not know what to do even though I announced my presence just moments before.
That downhill and the one on the backside of the park is where I love to let 'er rip and throw caution to the wind. But from now and on I guess I will have to remember that L & C, even those cool downhills, is a shared trail. Given the fact that it was a Saturday afternoon, I need to expect more hikers during those hours. Maybe in the future I could let out rebel yells on the way down to let folks know there is a biker approaching. Maybe some signs could be posted giving warnings to hikers. In the meantime, I suppose I will need to proceed with caution on the descents at L & C. I don't know what your thoughts on this matter are, but I don't want to do anything that would remove our riding privileges at this or any of other fine area trails. Any suggestions?
15 comments:
Bear Bells!
Captin Cowbell, had a cowbell (never would of guessed) tied to his saddle and the thing drove people nuts when they rode with him, but ridign solo, the darn thing let people know some else is on the trail.
Since then I will put a couple of bear bells on my saddle. It gets the job done, people know I'm around and if I am riding with a group that does not want to hear the noise, I can put a magnetic sac on them.
Signage would be helpful. THOR will put this on their to do list. I hope all are OK. Thanks for sharing your story. Hopefully that in itselt will help remind people that we are not alone on the trails.
SLOW DOWN.
I too have come across hikers and dog walkers on the chute section at L & C. several times. I'm a chicken on the downhills so I keep my speed in check, but it does get your heart racing when someone appears in front of you.
Are female hikers worth more points than males?
Consider a generous donation to the IMBA legal fund to help lobby against trail closures.
Trail protocol like it or not is as follows:
Bikers yield to Horses and Hikers (everyone)
Hikers yield to Horses
Horses yield to no one
Under the DEATH RACE 2000 rules you earned 40 points. (Unless she was of AARP age)
* Male adult: 30
* Male teenager: 40
* Male infant/toddler: 70
* Female (any age): +10 point bonus
* Senior citizen (regardless of gender): 100
Anyone got a higher score for the summer?
We saw no carnage at L&C on Sunday and in fact it's in awesome riding shape.
I still have a cowbell and can't wait to start annoying people out here in NH.
You should belt out some of your Slam Poetry just prior to rolling down the drop. Also it would be nice to follow up the crash with more poetry, followed up with a, "Don't You Know Who I am"? If that dosent work start yelling like a mad man, telling them to get off your property. If you can manage to foam at the mouth it would help. Good Luck and happy riding.
I have your solution, and it is relatively straightforward.
Were you running v-brakes?
Lt. Dickey has never run into a person going downhill and he uses these:
http://www.hopetechusa.com/voir_MM6F.html
Thankfully, it appears no one was badly hurt in your accident. And thanks for sharing this, Gary. We often learn when things go wrong.
I recently read through a topic on the interbike forum on mtbr about trail right of way (poor trail etiquette). One actually crashed his bike instead of running into a pedestrian. I agree that is a better option, regardless of Deathrace 2000 scoring. (It's amazing the garbage we watch sometimes.)
I've actually went too fast down that same chute for my abilities and climbed out of the chute. Fortunately, I regained control and rode back in instead of down the hillside.
I think we can still "bomb down" the chutes, but we have to be in control of our bike and anticipate obsticles (walkers, downed trees, animals). Laying the bike down or going off course can be the best move.
We should go through "what-if" scenarios and decide on actions beforehand, since we rarely have time to "think up a solution" in real time.
Yelling poetry will let the non hearing impared have warning, but we are still responsible for controlling our bike even if they ignore our warning.
I ran into a biker a week ago because I didn't signal and didn't control my bike.
New Death Race 2000 rule for biker hitting a fellow biker not engaged in a race or bike polo.
50 points
Dale your the new leader
bear bells for the win.
i dunno if it's so much a problem here, but where i just moved from, hikers and bikers fought like.... cats and dogs, man. especially a lot of us dh'ers. i remember lots of instances where hikers would go to such great lengths to keep bikers off "their" trails, sometimes they would sabotage stunts, throw up lines of wire between trees in fast sections, toss large logs on transitions to jumps, just all sorts of terrible things. what do we do to them? nothin.
anyway, where's this L&C place? i just moved here and i've been scopin out a few of the rides here.
REN - GO TO TRAILSHAVEOURRESPECT.ORG FOR TRAIL INFO
WELCOME.
WE ARE ACTUALLY A NICE BUNCH OF FOLKS WHO CARE ABOUT TRAIL USERS. EXCEPT SHIM.
Hey, I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one who hates free riders. Thanks for the ideas Red.
"Free the Trail" T-Shirt Supports IMBA Legal Fund
They're available online and all proceeds go directly to the IMBA Legal Fund.
http://www.myfoxracingshox.com/fox_shirts.htm
Post a Comment