I think sometimes people don’t understand that trails evolve over time. I rode Severed Dick in 87 when it was pretty much a so called loamer. Things changed. Many of the older trails on the Shore people only knew as janky rough eroded messes. When those trails were maintained a put back closer to what they had been people complained. I get that. It seemed like things were dumbed down but you have to remember that our bikes got a lot better during that time too. So the “dumbing down” seemed unnecessary. I’ve torn out stuff myself on a trail I had established. Builders had constructed an entrance that directed water to flow down the trail. But they wanted a jump rather than a slight uphill turn.
Stealing or hiding signs is just criminal though. We had a spate of that several years ago too if I remember right. Visitors wanting souvenirs? Locals wanting things to be secret? Lately here in Whistler I’ve been blocking braids. A certain trail not on any maps yet gets cut into at the halfway point because the pussies don’t want to climb the hard way. That’s massively disrespectful to the builder in my opinion considering how much work he put into the climbing part of the trail. And this trail is so well built it can be ridden when wet as there are virtually no puddles let alone mud holes.
I many instances I think riders are simply ignorant of the issues involved in building and maintaining trails. They don’t remove obstacles to make things easier out of any malice. Or they braid trails thinking It’s a better line. There’s no shame in walking something over your head. There is shame in creating a braid.
Oct. 15, 2020, 8:38 a.m. - Andy Eunson
I think sometimes people don’t understand that trails evolve over time. I rode Severed Dick in 87 when it was pretty much a so called loamer. Things changed. Many of the older trails on the Shore people only knew as janky rough eroded messes. When those trails were maintained a put back closer to what they had been people complained. I get that. It seemed like things were dumbed down but you have to remember that our bikes got a lot better during that time too. So the “dumbing down” seemed unnecessary. I’ve torn out stuff myself on a trail I had established. Builders had constructed an entrance that directed water to flow down the trail. But they wanted a jump rather than a slight uphill turn. Stealing or hiding signs is just criminal though. We had a spate of that several years ago too if I remember right. Visitors wanting souvenirs? Locals wanting things to be secret? Lately here in Whistler I’ve been blocking braids. A certain trail not on any maps yet gets cut into at the halfway point because the pussies don’t want to climb the hard way. That’s massively disrespectful to the builder in my opinion considering how much work he put into the climbing part of the trail. And this trail is so well built it can be ridden when wet as there are virtually no puddles let alone mud holes. I many instances I think riders are simply ignorant of the issues involved in building and maintaining trails. They don’t remove obstacles to make things easier out of any malice. Or they braid trails thinking It’s a better line. There’s no shame in walking something over your head. There is shame in creating a braid.