Sharing the trail with hikers and horses

[slowrider]

Right of way. I'm in the right and your in my way. :-(

 

[Philpug]

This all ties back into this...

An Open Letter to All Mountain Bikers: "Why Can't We All Just Get Along?"

Nonmotorized access laws were instituted to limit trail access for gas-powered motorcycles, quads/four-wheelers, and other off-road vehicles that are noisy and damage trails. Other levels of access exist for such human-powered activities as...

www.pugski.com

 

[Tom K.]

My least favorite situation on the trails is when I try to pass the hiker/jogger/biker with their ear buds blasting their favorite tunes/podcast. They have no idea that I am ringing a bell and politely asking to pass. When they finally see or hear, they jump like they had been shot. What do they expect will happen in this situation

We call these folks "i-Holes".

When I get the chance, I try to politely plant the seed of "one bud on two-way trails, please".

As a guy who loves to climb, I get the uphill right of way thing, but......it's pretty easy to hear downhillers coming my way and they cannot typically hear me coming up. I've had one unfortunate head-on incident, and don't need another, so if I hear someone coming down on me, I'll yield out of common sense.

 

[Wasatchman]

Use of mountains (hiking and biking) in Utah has just exploded post covid. A lot of people don't understand proper etiquette.

Some may have had a bad experience getting buzzed by a mountain bike and forever take it out on everybody unfortunately. And some people are just inherently angry, whether it is their personality or just having a bad day. Super irritating, but at the end of the day Amy did the right thing here and just kept going. Confronting angry people (especially when alone) almost never yields a good outcome even if you're right.

 

[pchewn]

In Portland, the drivers and cyclists are so willing to stop and let the other go first. Giving each other the "No, you go first" hand motions at every intersection. So much so that there are still people waiting at NW 20th and Glissan from 2004 because nobody will go through the intersection, insisting "No, you go first".

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Let me expand on that: as a woman in a male-dominated sport, I hold my line. Of course if a situation arises where it would make more sense for me to stop, I will. I will swing wide on a trail if I have room to so that the rider going downhill can pass while staying on their bike, absolutely. But honestly, after situations like last week when my friend was run into the bushes while we were climbing, with no apologies from the guys descending, I will hold my space. Most riders out here I know are the same. Maybe our trails are different so it makes more sense here. We ride up, up, up, then descend. There aren't a lot of "across the flats" rides here. So, it's very clear in most cases who is climbing. There is never a situation where as the descending rider, I feel that I have the right-of-way.

I had no idea that gender played a part in trail right of way.

 

[wooglin]

In Portland, the drivers and cyclists are so willing to stop and let the other go first. Giving each other the "No, you go first" hand motions at every intersection. So much so that there are still people waiting at NW 20th and Glissan from 2004 because nobody will go through the intersection, insisting "No, you go first".

That actually happens in my town. Pisses me off. No, I am not going to ride my bike in front of your car when you have right-of-way.

As for sharing the trail, it’s just like sharing the road. Some are better at it than others.

 

[Tom K.]

In Portland, the drivers and cyclists are so willing to stop and let the other go first. Giving each other the "No, you go first" hand motions at every intersection. So much so that there are still people waiting at NW 20th and Glissan from 2004 because nobody will go through the intersection, insisting "No, you go first".

I have also heard this called a "Canadian Nice-Off"!

 

[Erik Timmerman]

I have also heard this called a "Canadian Nice-Off"!

Reminds me of the Kids in the Hall police chase skit.

 

[Tricia]

Use of mountains (hiking and biking) in Utah has just exploded post covid. A lot of people don't understand proper etiquette.

Some may have had a bad experience getting buzzed by a mountain bike and forever take it out on everybody unfortunately. And some people are just inherently angry, whether it is their personality or just having a bad day. Super irritating, but at the end of the day Amy did the right thing here and just kept going. Confronting angry people (especially when alone) almost never yields a good outcome even if you're right.

Increased trail activity is happening pretty much everywhere. But lack of etiquette doesn't have to increase with it.

Because of this discussion I was more aware of my interactions with others on the trail when I went for a quick ride this morning.
The trail was Emigrant near 89, not far from the Prosser Campground. In the beginning we only encountered a handful of riders, but when returning on the loop to the trailhead, we encountered at least a dozen hikers and similar amount of bikers. Of those encounters not one was rude. In fact, every single person greeted with a comment like, "enjoy the ride." (or some such).

Because 90%+ of my encounters seem to be positive, I'm always saddened when I hear stories like the ones that sparked this discussion.

Quick ride on Emigrant - Tricia P's 5.2 mi mountain bike ride

I have not been on this section of Emigrant before but it was fun to explore with Laura this morning. This is going to be a great ride to get int when I only have a short time to get out.

www.strava.com

 

[slowrider]

In Portland, the drivers and cyclists are so willing to stop and let the other go first. Giving each other the "No, you go first" hand motions at every intersection. So much so that there are still people waiting at NW 20th and Glissan from 2004 because nobody will go through the intersection, insisting "No, you go first".

Must be the other Portland.

 

[Wasatchman]

Increased trail activity is happening pretty much everywhere. But lack of etiquette doesn't have to increase with it.

Doesn't have to be and for the most part I'm finding people on the trail generally very pleasant. But occasionally you come across rude people.

Or what happened to me a few weeks ago. My friend and I were traveling uphill and a woman and her kids downhill. I heard her say we have right of way since it's less effort on their part. We let her pass but I said, "not to be argumentative but you are mistaken." She stopped replied ive been using these trails for 20 years and I know the rules. I told her go and ahead and look it up on the Internet. She replied she didn't need to this is "how we do it around here for decades". Maybe she didn't want to be corrected in front of her kids, but she was not entertaining the fact she was mistaken.

Edit: This situation prompted a big discussion between my friend and I on how a lot of people seem to think they know best on a lot of subjects without bothering to even try to educate themselves on it. Oh, and then there is skiing at Snowbird in the winter where I think a healthy percentage actually thinks it is mandatory to be rude and act like it's their world and you're just a bother.

 

[BC.]

Soo....make it simple for everyone...what are the rules?... lol

 

[Wasatchman]

Soo....make it simple for everyone...what are the rules?... lol

https://corbamtb.com/Resources/RulesoftheTrail.shtml

The above seems to be consensus etiquette.

 

[BC.]

https://corbamtb.com/Resources/RulesoftheTrail.shtml

The above seems to be consensus etiquette.

Thx...I hear ya..but just in this thread there is differing “stories”.....of what is “etiquette”....downhillers getting pissed about climbers in their way.....so that’s why I asked?...

 

[AmyPJ]

I had no idea that gender played a part in trail right of way.

Neither did I.

 

[Tricia]

Let me expand on that: as a woman in a male-dominated sport, I hold my line. Of course if a situation arises where it would make more sense for me to stop, I will. I will swing wide on a trail if I have room to so that the rider going downhill can pass while staying on their bike, absolutely. But honestly, after situations like last week when my friend was run into the bushes while we were climbing, with no apologies from the guys descending, I will hold my space. Most riders out here I know are the same. Maybe our trails are different so it makes more sense here. We ride up, up, up, then descend. There aren't a lot of "across the flats" rides here. So, it's very clear in most cases who is climbing. There is never a situation where as the descending rider, I feel that I have the right-of-way.

Stories like this make me think that you live in an area with an abundance of assholes.
Why would someone run another rider into the bushes?

I don't care if I'm a woman or not, courtesy is courtesy.

 

[AmyPJ]

https://corbamtb.com/Resources/RulesoftheTrail.shtml

The above seems to be consensus etiquette.

I 100% live by these rules, absolutely always yield to hikers (and of course horses,) always say hello/good morning/thank you/how are you let/climbing riders keep climbing. This is how I live life daily--the old Golden Rule. I absolutely have lots of positive interactions on the trails, but this year, there have been a lot more negative ones and 90% are with men. Maybe it's the culture here (it's a thing for sure) or maybe when I'm climbing in particular I have a horrible RBF even though I try to smile. The massive increase in trail use this year has caused a lot of frustration for a lot of people who are used to things being tranquil and quiet out there. I've adjusted my expectations a lot, adjusted my rides accordingly, and swallowed an extra dose of patience and kindness. But when you take a situation that can create a lot of chaos (mixed use multi-directional high-traffic trails) and add in a lot who don't know trail etiquette, tensions can run high. The guy who accosted me was WAY out of line. He's why I "hold my line" Erik. Because when you see a middle aged 125 petite woman out there and threaten her, she learns she'd better know how to speak up for herself. (Or in that case, use the faster mode of transportation to get the heck out of there.)

 

[Jim Kenney]

There is a county park (Dimple Dell) in the Salt Lake City area where I'd often encounter horseback riders while walking or biking this spring/summer. The trails there vary in width, but in this photo from June 2020 you can see that there was plenty of room on this particular trail for me on a bike with a camera, a jogger, and two horse riders to do our thing. Everybody slowed down and passed each other with caution and cordiality. The lady was checking something about her saddle while the boy waited for her, the jogger, and me.

 

[AmyPJ]

Stories like this make me think that you live in an area with an abundance of assholes.
Why would someone run another rider into the bushes?

I don't care if I'm a woman or not, courtesy is courtesy.

Not the first time by any means that riders descending have been really aggressive towards me or people I am with. My friend LITERALLY fell over into the bushes after the guys both passed me without giving any space. They also brushed bars with @utskier. They had ample sight line to know we were coming and it wasn't on a fast downhill section for them, either. I was in the lead and let them know there were 3 back. They didn't even acknowledge me.

There is another level of misogyny here that I have not witnessed living any other place, and that's a fact that wage statistics support. I'll leave it at that. I tend to live with a Pollyanna mindset but am sometimes reminded of things.