Fromme parking lot

wait till e-bikes start going up Bobsled and Expresso... I digress.

Can someone confirm that dirt bikes are not allowed on mtn highway? Saw some kid with a green/white one the other day. I want to bitch him out next time but only if I am right :)

Agree with Sean about the crowding and stupid behaviour the lot is causing. Maybe we need signs "there is no good hiking here, go to Cypress".

Leave Cypress out of it

Posted by: grambo

Can someone confirm that dirt bikes are not allowed on mtn highway? Saw some kid with a green/white one the other day. I want to bitch him out next time but only if I am right :)

Agree with Sean about the crowding and stupid behaviour the lot is causing. Maybe we need signs "there is no good hiking here, go to Cypress".

I assumed dirtbikes were allowed, since cars are allowed.  I too would be interested if there is an official word on that.

Posted by: seanluge

I'm going to sound like a bit of a dick but I really don't like the parking lot on Fromme. It's turned into a zoo on that mountain. I was out riding today and I bumped into 2 groups of hikers/joggers on Ladies. It's pretty sketchy when you're coming up to a roller coaster and there's 4 people in front of you as you're about to commit to a difficult feature. I also saw a group of runners popping out of bobsled, I honestly do not understand this, there are so many places to hike/run, why would you choose a mountain bike trail, especially with the kind of traffic it gets from bikes. And a few weeks ago I was riding lower ladies and almost ate shit when a dog walker with a bunch of off leash dogs was hiking up the trail and snickers decided to run right into my line. Why are the trails up on Fromme are not marked as Mountain bike only, I fell like it's just going to get worse. Can anyone else relate to this or am I slowly turning into a grumpy old man?

As a mountain biker, I understand where you are coming from and I agree that the parking lot is making trails more busy than they used to be. As a tax-paying resident of North Vancouver though, I realize that the forests and trails on the North Shore are a public resource and mountain bikers are no more entitled to them than any other user group (even though many of the trails have been build bike mountain bikers).  The reality is that hikers, dog-walkers, etc. have just as much right to use the 'mountain bike' trails as we do. It is in our best interests to acknowledge this and treat other users with respect.   I am more bothered by the very large, organized groups of beginner/intermediate mountain bikers I frequently meet on the trails than the small groups of hikers and trail runners.

As a North Shore resident, mountain biker, and trail runner, I use these trails a lot. 

I have seen a lot more general use since the Fromme parking lot went in. More riders, as well as more hikers and more runners. It simply attracts more people.

As far as trail runners on Bobsled, Ladies, etc... most experienced runners avoid those trails like the plague. They know there are much better running trails out there (really...running on ladders and rollers are not fun)...besides, we run in the trails to get away from wheeled vehicles of all sorts.

That said, there are a lot of new participants in the trail running community and I don't think they know the etiquette of bike primary trails, nor are they familiar with the vast offering of non-bike trails. I think it's a matter of educating and familiarisation. While running up Mountain Highway, I have seen some folks runnining onto Expresso at prime time (a Saturday afternoon), and had a brief chat with them about trail choice, etiquette, and safety. They really had no clue and were appreciative of the heads-up. That's really all it takes.