Did I mention that nonstop stress greatly lowers my tolerance for baloney? Well, here is another rant, inspired by the mountain bikers who nearly ran me and Lilly over on a hike recently.
The large open space park near our home features an “alternate use” schedule on weekends. It’s designed to minimize conflicts between hikers and mountain bikers.
Monday through Friday are mixed-use days, meaning anyone can be out on the trails. On weekends, however, even numbered days are BIKE only, and odd numbered days are HIKE only.
Because most of the mountain bikers do NOT follow park rules for speed, yielding, and other behaviors, mixed-use days are becoming more and more dangerous for me and Lilly to be out on the trails. We’ve pretty much given up.
While the alternate use makes sense, the reality is that hikers get just ONE SAFE day in the open space park — the hike ONLY days.
The last time we tried, the Friday before the Independence Day weekend, we nearly got run over by 4 of the 6 mountain bikers we encountered. It caught us off guard because the parking lot we use had no other cars in it. (The park has two other lots … it’s that big.)
The first two mountain bikers were teenage boys about 5 minutes apart. Both yelled, “On your left,” but did NOT slow down … even when I said, “Hold on!” so that I could find a cactus-free and rattlesnake-free spot to get Lilly off the single-track trail. It’s cut into the side of a steep hill, so it’s not like we can just jump off anywhere.
After the second guy scared the heck out of us, I asked as he passed if there were any more in his group so that we could watch for them. He seemed really mad that he had to slow down enough to answer me, but he did say there were two more coming.
Turns out, the last two in their group were the parents, who were riding MUCH more slowly. Since we knew they’d be coming, I kept an eye out, and I had the time to react and get Lilly safely off the trail.
Then, as Lilly and I made our way up the first real climb in our hike, two more bikers, coming the other way, blasted through a switchback and came bombing straight at us.
The first guy locked up his brakes and slid sideways down the trail toward us.
I had no chance really to respond, and it scared Lilly so much that she went flat in the middle of the trail. The squealing brakes, the rumble of the bike across the gravel, and the looming/speeding presence of the biker was just TOO much.
I literally had to drag her off the trail onto a little flat spot I found, and I covered her cowering body with my own as the two riders went on past us without even an apology.
The actual park rules say that bikers should yield to pedestrians, but in my experience that NEVER happens.
It’s our habit/practice to yield the trail to everyone we encounter. It’s just better for Lilly, but I do need more than 2 seconds to cue the behavior and find a safe spot for us to stand while people pass.
Since I’m pretty cranky this week, I present … another rant (with all due respect and homage to KB, one of our fav bikers).
Dear Mountain Bikers:
Slow the @#$@# down. Believe it or not, you’re not the only person (or animal) on the trail.
I’m more than happy to get my well-trained dog out of your way, but I need more than 2 seconds to do that safely. Have you seen the cliffs around here? How about all the cactus and rattlesnakes?
She has beautiful trail manners. It’s a shame you do not.
Sincerely,
A cranky hiker who’d like a little peace and fewer scares in her recreation
Fortunately, the few trails we go on around here that bikers also use create few problems – the bikers are as considerate as KB.
But I am amazed at all of the other things I see on the trail. Litter, of course, smoldering cigarette butts (uh – please don’t burn down where I live), off-leash and untrained dogs (a trained off-leash dogs responds to their owners commands every time – THEY are not a problem, but, sadly, rare), and amazingly ill-prepared hikers (proper shoes and clothing, water, compass, etc. – people get lost on these trails all of the time).
Ok – sigh.
Kenzo (and me) were also almost run over once or twice when he was a younger dog. They scared him that much, that he perceives them as threat now. Now Kenzo has become a big dog (90 lb Hovawart) and is quite self-assured and knows how to “stop” someone after we attended a basic class in “Schutzhund” training, things have changed.
When we are suprised by a mountain biker, he will try to stop them by body block. And he usely succeeds. At least the will end of the track. Of course this makes the situation even more tensed. He will stop on my recall or “off” command. But in just those couple of seconds where everything unfolds, accidents can happen.
And of course the mountain biker(s) give us the look and sometimes scold me and Kenzo. Some even turn agressive.
Happy you wrote this “rant”. And hopefully some mountain bikers read this and start to understand that you harvest what you sow.
I think KB hit on a big difference in our mountain bikers. I don’t think we have the same cycling culture as you have seeping out of Boulder. It’s VERY rare for me to run into a mountain biker who’s under thirty. Seems like the folks out here are “lifer” mountain bikers with a better sense of self-preservation.
Maybe there should be an over 25 rule. Or an “only if you have a child, spouse, partner, dog or other significant other who you will ride safely to come home to” rule. =)
KB, there are signs with the rules posted at the trailhead we use, but I don’t think anyone reads them.
After that one very bad day, I went online to look them up just to be sure that I was expecting something that wasn’t in the rules.
Honestly, I don’t mind yielding the trail, as long as they warn me they are coming, slow down and give me a blessed minute to get Lilly to a safe spot.
It’s KB, here. Don’t worry, I’ve screamed at bikers too. If I’m riding uphill and they almost bowl me over as they speed downhill, it scares the crap out of me, especially given my spine. So, I actually never take my dogs to places where I might encounter bikers… Isn’t that terrible? We should all ride as if a person is around the next curve, and we should always get off the trail to let hikers go by. I do it, and people almost fall over dead from surprise. I literally have to coax them past me because they seem convinced that I’m going to leap back on my bike and run them over.
The problem is that mountain biking is, for the most part, a sport that is done for a few years by young males. They are clueless. They don’t realize that we will have NO PLACE left to ride if they don’t behave. I’ve seen too many places closed due to the bad behavior of some fraction of the mountain bikers.
Now, I should mention that I’ve noticed a dearth of signs explaining the “bikes always yield to hikers” rule. To calm me, my husband has speculated that the young bikers don’t know the rules. Maybe… but it just seems like simple manners to me.
I feel your frustration and anger … we have the same problem here. Sometimes I feel like putting my walking stick through the tire spokes and giving them a spill. Since I have Daisy I haven’t been on the trails, of which we have many. She is too fearful for the inconsiderate clods. Besides, a bear might eat her … the bear I keep wishing would eat all the mountain bikes, trail bikes, atv’s, and other noisy, disruptive, and annoying vehicles.
Sorry about the bad encounters. I feel like I should count my blessings. Our cyclists seem like angels after reading your post. I think it may help a lot that the trails around us are REALLY steep, which slows (sane) mountain bikers down. Most of our trails opened to bikes are single track (with canyon drop-offs), so there’s no possible way for a cyclist to squeeze by next to a hiker. I’ve gotten really good at picking up the sound of a bike with enough time to hop off the trail, but 90% of the time the cyclist will see me, dismount and tell me to pass…even when I’m off the trail.
Maybe I can send some of our SoCal cyclists your way.
I wish more trail users (doggie folks, too) would be aware of access issues. It only takes a few sour apples to close access to a user group.
Definitely count your blessings. The only biker I know who dismounts to pass hikers around here is that boy I married.
Proper bike and running etiquette is to let walkers know you are coming up on them. I was a runner for year. It’s as much to protect the biker or runner as it is to protect the people. Much has been written about the lack of manners in our world … you’re not ranting, just observing.
We often walk our dogs on our town path (a rails to trails program). It’s mostly filled with walkers, a couple joggers or rollerbladers and then bike riders who love to whiz past us with little warning. Some of them are senior citizens who have little bells they ring. Some shout out “on your left” while others just seem intent on running us and our dogs down, so I totally understand what you’re going through!
So, will there be more in this “Dear Rude World” series? I can think of a few that push my buttons over here in.. ahem.. Firework Land. It is unfortunate that we have to deal with idiots in our world. 🙁
So sorry you guys couldn’t relax while out on the trails. It is kind of nice that no bikes are allowed in our trail system here (honestly, the trails wouldn’t be good for riding, anyway).
Well, after yesterday, I could write a doozy for one of my mom’s doctors, but I probably won’t. After a year of non-stop stuff, I’m just crabby and frustrated with the world at large. Don’t mind me.