Home on The Range

[Karate Chicken Industries]

It looks like Berthoud is already moving on the bike park at Richardson Park. A friend and I detoured through last week and they seem to be digging in the dirt in earnest. I'll swing by for pics the next time I'm up there. I'm so jazzed that this is happening so soon. Not having to drive South towards the Denver Metro to hit up an asphalt pump track is going to be bonus. It was smoggy down South today and clear up here in The North Country.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Eerie's new Velosolutions pump track is getting close to completion. It's going to be a ripper.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Is that metal framed wood structure a bank/wall ride thing? That seems like fun!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Yes, wooden wall rides. They look more functional for freestyling, as the approaches are too short to hit them high while maintaining high speeds. I'll probably stay off of them unless just goofing around. Riding steep/vertical high banks is something that has not been foreign to me since the late 1970's.

 

[Captain Awesome]

Eerie's new Velosolutions pump track is getting close to completion. It's going to be a ripper.

View attachment 176380

Let's do this!!

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

One of the best things about the many Velosolutions tracks cropping up around here is that it'll thin the herd of the existing ones, making waiting time during off-hours non-existent. Another bonus is that they have the capability of making skilled Riders by rapidly enhancing the handling skills of those who wish to excel in any realm of cycling.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

Warning, RANT

While shaking down my new MTB for a few days, I encountered very few other trail users. Even so, at least 90% of those who I crossed paths with had little to no trail etiquette. Yielding to the uphill rider was accomplished by riding off-trail by the ignorant and/or inconsiderate instead of stopping and leaning out of the tread.

https://lnt.org/are-you-a-considerate-mountain-biker/
One person went so far as to be riding so far beyond their control and skills that they almost clipped me because they could not stop or slow down to avoid an uphill rider. Others were just not paying any attention to what was going on around them and getting them to yield the trail to allow a proper pass took a lot of patience. Another person had their dog with them and it came at me multiple times before I could get past them. The cherry on top of the stupidity was three goofballs who rode off-trail two times to "yield" to me as an uphill rider and added in the bonus of taking a break in the middle of a narrow portion of the trail in-between blind turns on either side. They scrambled to get out of the way, so I track-standed about five feet away from their cluster until they moved their dumb backsides out of the tread. I didn't say anythng to any of the offenders, but in the case of the three stooges it was close, "Y'all need to find another hobby." ran through my mind.

End RANT

The shakedown was a complete success. Most of what I was riding was a-technical, though unfamiliar. Days two and three had me loop back onto sections that I had previously seen and being more comfortable on the bike lent for ridiculous speeds when the trail opened up.

 

[us56456712]

Warning, RANT

While shaking down my new MTB for a few days, I encountered very few other trail users. Even so, at least 90% of those who I crossed paths with had little to no trail etiquette. Yielding to the uphill rider was accomplished by riding off-trail by the ignorant and/or inconsiderate instead of stopping and leaning out of the tread.

https://lnt.org/are-you-a-considerate-mountain-biker/
One person went so far as to be riding so far beyond their control and skills that they almost clipped me because they could not stop or slow down to avoid an uphill rider. Others were just not paying any attention to what was going on around them and getting them to yield the trail to allow a proper pass took a lot of patience. Another person had their dog with them and it came at me multiple times before I could get past them. The cherry on top of the stupidity was three goofballs who rode off-trail two times to "yield" to me as an uphill rider and added in the bonus of taking a break in the middle of a narrow portion of the trail in-between blind turns on either side. They scrambled to get out of the way, so I track-standed about five feet away from their cluster until they moved their dumb backsides out of the tread. I didn't say anythng to any of the offenders, but in the case of the three stooges it was close, "Y'all need to find another hobby." ran through my mind.

End RANT

The shakedown was a complete success. Most of what I was riding was a-technical, though unfamiliar. Days two and three had me loop back onto sections that I had previously seen and being more comfortable on the bike lent for ridiculous speeds when the trail opened up.

People don’t know how to ride, pure and simple. On a track I was cut off many times during a time trial. It was dangerous. No riding here today because it was -18F, warmed up to +6 now at around noon. its supposed to drop again.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

No riding here today because it was -18F, warmed up to +6 now at around noon. its supposed to drop again.

Makes for some really nice mud though. And then frozen mud.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

It's all muddy here and has been for quite some time.

I was previously incorrect about Berthoud breaking ground on Richardson Park, it turned out to be the beginnings of another subdivision after closer inspection a few weeks ago. The Erie pump track is still not open. I'm also left kind of wondering if what I had previously read about Golden getting a Velosolutions pump track was either incorrect, or it's still wallowing in red tape.

My favorite local-ish ride opens back up March 1st and usually has some rideable terrain then because the DG on many of the trails there drains well. After just a taste of how the new singlespeed handles, I want more.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

People don’t know how to ride, pure and simple. On a track I was cut off many times during a time trial. It was dangerous.

Etiquette and Handling Skills are just not cool. It seems to be about "me" as far as etiquette goes and "technology" as far as handling skills go anymore. The biggest bonus to being the person who eschews the outright selfishness, technology as a substitute for skill, and those who embrace those false paradigms would be the slackjawed gawks of disbelief the idiocrats tend to display when I'm flat out ripping in a manner that will always remain incomprehensible to them.

I must mention that the Riders encountered on the shakedown rides gave a knowing look and a nod, which was returned in kind. There are a lot of great responsible Riders out there, even if outnumbered most of the time anymore.

 

[RustyGold]

There are probably a ton of newbs out there... starting up a discussion here and there might be a good thing.

 

[RustyGold]

BTW: I'd be in the newb camp as I've done the Mt. Hood thing a few times (ski lifts up, so everyone is going downhill), but as for trail riding... there usually are only a few people encountered on the ride and hardly ever anyone going in the opposite direction.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

Maybe we should talk about common sense on the trail too.

If you encounter a gigantic angry pile of muscle topped off with big spikes, maybe speeding up behind it and startling it isn't the best plan. Luckily no serious inquiries

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

There are probably a ton of newbs out there... starting up a discussion here and there might be a good thing.

There are always newbs out there, though some of them take the time to learn that mountain biking is not just like a redbull commercial and that there are rules and etiquette to follow. This rare type of person also reads instructions.

Think of it this way, what happens to skiers at resorts who (through either blatant selfishness or ignorance) disregard the rules, endanger themselves and others, all the while damaging the experience for other area users? They get their lift ticket yanked and in some cases get banned. In this day and age the first thing those types usually do when one tries to educate them is attempt to make themselves the victim. I don't try talking with them anymore because I'd really love to oblige an adamant offender and truly make them a victim. I know my limitations, they don't know theirs. Bummer for them, bummer for other trail users around them and most of all, bummer for the trails they wreck.

 

[RustyGold]

I hear you. My wife dreads when I try to educate newb covid era National Park visitors. I've had positive and negative results...and one round of applause when I unleashed my inner Marine (I didn't even know it was still in there) on a group of idiots that were going off boardwalk in a Yellowstone geothermal area.

 

[Tallbikeman]

Maybe we should talk about common sense on the trail too.

If you encounter a gigantic angry pile of muscle topped off with big spikes, maybe speeding up behind it and startling it isn't the best plan. Luckily no serious inquiries

I worked on ranches as a teenager and bulls are something not to be trifled with. The bicyclist found out the hard way, glad to hear he survived.

 

[Tallbikeman]

When hiking in the high Sierra one of the scarier encounters is with the avid MTB'r who believes it is easier for you to hike off the trail out of his way than being trail considerate. It is easy to find the inconsiderate boorish people who either don't know or go out of their way to inconvenience a person. The height of this behavior was in days of old when smokers would blow smoke in your face. Almost the same as spitting on you. KCI I think your one speed mountain bike is the bomb. During my years of racing one speed bikes in MTB races the one speeders were as fast as everyone else and there were always one speed bikes in the top ten finishers. I quit racing a couple of years after Norba came on the scene. The one speed class was called the Ironman class.

 

[MattiThundrrr]

When hiking in the high Sierra one of the scarier encounters is with the avid MTB'r who believes it is easier for you to hike off the trail out of his way than being trail considerate

More etiquette. The Fruita Lean. When a cyclist encounters a hiker, cyclist should place tire as far to the side of the trail as possible, lean off the trail, and drop a foot (gently) off the trail, leaning to make room for hiker to pass. The smile is optional, but recommended.

Minimal damage to trails, perhaps a positive human encounter to boost our reputation. The smile equals more cyclist access to trails.

 

[Karate Chicken Industries]

The Fruita Lean. When a cyclist encounters a hiker, cyclist should place tire as far to the side of the trail as possible, lean off the trail, and drop a foot (gently) off the trail, leaning to make room for hiker to pass.

Keeping Singletrack Single since 1995. I looked for the original Fruita Lean pic that was snapped by Rich Etchberger around 1998 or so, which can still be seen at quite a few trailhead kiosks out here in the Wild West. It's a simple concept that works.

Minimal damage to trails, perhaps a positive human encounter to boost our reputation. The smile equals more cyclist access to trails.

Hence, my reference to cluebies ruining the experience for others. Those who love singletrack want to ride a ribbon of dirt. Those who want to ride ATV/Jeep width roads should probably stick to them instead of widening singletracks. There have been more than a few cases of mountain bikes getting shut out of areas due to the lack of etiquette by those who abuse the trails through selfishness and ignorance.