Dear Mountain Bikers
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