that's fair and yes i would agree that you're not alone. i ride it for the whole trail as well, i just see those rock faces as the defining moments on the trail. i also agree that ride arounds are not always a bad thing, but considering this one is a braid more or less i wonder if it signals the eventual clawing back of the challenge on dale's. as riders with less experience/skill go down challenging sections of trail, the braids open up, the harder sections get chewed up and bombed out from dragging brakes and then things get fixed to an easier level.
the riding culture of "if you can't ride it, walk it" seems to be shifitng to just find a way to get down the trail no matter what and the solution seems to be just make it easier for people to get down the hill. should that happen for every trail?
Hard for me to argue against any of those points Sycro. I have not riden the go around. If it's truly braid, as I have been assured it is, then it must go until a better solution is found(there is one in the offing I have been told). Your post started a lengthy discussion amongst friends, over pints, about the points you raised. The culture of "if you can't ride it, walk it" was born at a time where there were no limits to any aspect of mountain biking. It was quite literally a matter of" Here's a bike, there's a mountain, lets see what we can do." The shore was the domain of a very limited number. A number that wanted to push those limits. We wanted to show the world what we were doing (Johnny Smoke even declared this in, NWD II I think it was).I shared that sentiment. This brought more people, money and problems to the table. Now the sport has grown. With all of that came a a larger group that had/has far less intrest in that mind set. Unfortunatly, much to the disgruntlement of those that do. I would like to add that the TAP program and the NSMBA have worked extremely hard to refurbish,repair and rejuvinate The Shore. I also believe that part of their plan is to maintain the harder trails when they complete the major work required on so many of the trails. I truly salute their tremendous efforts.
Last night we lamented the blurring?blending?reclassifing of some of the more dificult trails on The Shore. That said, we appreciated the need for the work. What we all hoped was that the that the "if you can't ride it, walk it" mentality would be honored. That mentality is a very large part of the history of The Shore and it's greater contribution to the sport of Mountain Biking. It behooves us to, in some way, honor that history. Not just in achival media but out in the woods. Should we fail to do so, we risk becoming stale. As community we have and continue to rail against stale. Our sport is about progression. From trail building to our equipment to our attitudes and dealings with all parties involed. By this token those trails that celebrate the opportunity to progress in the, "if you can't ride it, walk it" way should always have a place of reverence and permanence on our mountains.
sorry for carrying on.
