^LOL he was already gone. I doubt he heard me.... His riding buddy behind him was friendly and we were friendly back.
FWIW if I'd have been walking down the trail on my own, as someone who's mountain biked since 1987 and an active trail builder I'd have just rolled my eyes at the lecture, but my Ex (who's not a mountain biker) gave a different perspective on the interaction.
Yelling "This is not a good trail to be walking your dog on" is very appropriate advice, since that happens all the time on Fromme and Seymour these days. People hiking up Empress bypass with their toddlers, etc.
Continuing to play Devils Advocate, there are absolutely going to be people walking on these trails because MTBers have taken over the lower accessible slopes of all the suburban mountains. IIRC the only hiking trails on Fromme are St Georges, Per Gynt and the Cedar Tree Trail. Seymour is even worse. If a mountain biker who rode on Fromme on a regular basis for over 10 years can't figure out what trails are safe to walk on any more, there's no hope for anyone else. I see even St Mary's is practically a high speed 'flow' trail now with all the dumbing down (oops....) going on.
Perfect rationale why there should be some hiking only trails and that trail orgs should invest some effort into creating them or advocating for them. Plus it's much easi6ro put in a hiking line than an mtbing line.
Posted by: syncro
Perfect rationale why there should be some hiking only trails and that trail orgs should invest some effort into creating them or advocating for them. Plus it's much easi6ro put in a hiking line than an mtbing line.
FWIW I totally agree. For shits and giggles I looked on Trailforks to see what 'hiking' trails are left in the Braemar Tennis Courts area. They are all pretty well now MTB trails and all smoothed over. Walkers are left with nothing, and then MTBers moan that people walk on 'their' trails. Christ I'm turning into Monica Craver (RIP).
^didn't know monica passed (recently, too). as much as she was a thorn in our sides, she did stimulate valuable discussion / heightened awareness of our impact on the shore. only 65, too. RIP
Yep...even the Baden Powell has sections that are looking more and more like Bike Primary....case in point is the section where the climb trail joins the BP before the St George's bench....at it's also one of the downhill sections of the climb trail (irony), and there is very little warning when you'll see someone ahead or behind.
I was walking my dog on that section of the BP and a rider came over the small knoll and yelled at me to get "outta of the way!!". I didn't. Before he said anything else, I explained that he was now on a shared trail. He clued in and apologised. It was clear he had no idea that the climb trail was now sharing a trail that was built in '67 for hikers and walkers.
Locals probably know, but not everyone is a local. Better signage (where riders can see it) would be an appropriate solution.
This kind of crap is precisely why I ride down the grouse grind.
Posted by: BC_Nuggets
This kind of crap is precisely why I ride down the grouse grind.
Lol
Last night on Bridal Path a rider crashed and she hurt her wrist pretty bad (looked fractured/broken) and was sitting in the middle of the trail in pain. A couple of DH riders came along in the opposite direction, at a good clip, and shouted something to the effect "blowing by you on the right" and did just that. Didn't even check if she was alright.
So her friend, just ahead of her, went back and moved her bike of the trail and began to help. A couple minutes later a couple coming the other way stopped and just started to help too. Fortunately the woman who stopped had medical training and put a splint on the wrist as well as a sling for the arm. The injured woman was able to walk out. I hope she's doing OK.
But those first two riders left everyone feeling pretty disgusted. Ass-hats.
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