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So the other day the trails were closed and i really had an itch to ride, so of course i went to the small shopping centers near my house and jumped stairs and tried to do wall ride…just messing around.
well as i was riding some kids on BMX bikes show up and ask what the heck im riding a MTB like a BMX, i explained the trails being closed and then they turned me onto something that is quite awesome…riding the golf course.
there are two right by my house and since its so cold out there arent any golfers out.
i stay off of the grass for the most part except when theres a nice drop in the course. but the paved path is extremely twisty and constant up and downs where you can get some serious speed going.
i was just wondering if anyone else did anything similar?
i know someone out there is going to get mad at this but i ride by the rules of the trail and leave no trace and also am very aware of my surroundings.
there arent any no biking signs and the few golfers that were on the course thought it was cool to see me buzzing around.
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I’ve always thought that would be fun. I’d love to get a go cart out on those paths!
But you will get in trouble eventually. It’s private property, and you didn’t pay to use the facilities. And eventually some prick will report you. Just be ready.
I BMX’d a lot in college, and we were constantly getting kicked out of spots, by University employees, campus police, and occasionally the real police. A word of advice – when it happens, be cool. DO NOT RUN. Don’t argue, and don’t be a smarta$$. Be polite, say you’re sorry, you didn’t realize you were bothering anyone/causing a problem, then leave.
We never got in any real trouble when we were polite. We were always told the same thing – "You can’t ride here. Sorry, but you’ll have to go somewhere else." No one ever could tell us where else to go.
One time, we were riding some stairs, and saw a university police (UP) sitting at a redlight about 150yards away. We knew he was going to come tell us to leave, so we just went ahead and left. He didn’t have his lights on, he wasn’t even moving. A few minutes later, we’re sitting in a parking lot trying to decide where to go next, and a UP car comes flying into the parking lot, switches on his lights and siren, and yells "STAY RIGHT THERE! DON’T YOU RUN AGAIN!" at us. We just sat there. He gets on the radio, and says "Yeah I got ’em. At the library. We got ’em."
He gets out of his car and asks us why we were running. One of the guys said something he shouldn’t have, even if it was true: "HA! We weren’t running. If we were, you wouldn’t have caught us."
Bad idea. A few minutes later the real police are there, and we’re getting searched. I was a little worried. Worried I might get arrested, or have my bike impounded. They got all our info, and supposedly we were going to get in trouble with the university, but we never heard anything about it.
The lesson: don’t be a douche.
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Yeah, unfortunately riding on golf courses isn’t a great idea. Leave a single rut on a green or fairway and they’ll come after you for vandalism and make you pay for the repairs. Plus, if golfers are on the course you risk getting pegged by a ball. 😮
Growing up there was a golf course in our neighborhood and you weren’t even allowed to ride, jog, or walk the cart paths, even at times when the course was closed to golfers! Owners are touchy about liability stuff and they also assume you’re going to damage their expensive grass.
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well there arent any no trespassing signs and it is a public course so what could they even do?
i know this sounds cocky but if i wanted to run i could get away really easy cuz there are quite a few dirt bike trails that lead right to my neighborhood…
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"FBTrek321" wrote
well there arent any no trespassing signs and it is a public course so what could they even do?
i know this sounds cocky but if i wanted to run i could get away really easy cuz there are quite a few dirt bike trails that lead right to my neighborhood…
well if they want to the county/city could charge you with criminal trespassing as they could see you as vandalizing the course for riding your bike there for example if you were to ride on the grass and leave a rut they could consider that as vandalism and give them the right to charge you with criminal trespassing but thats an extreme, they will probably just tell you to leave unless they feel you caused a good amount of damage to the course.
also dont think that you can get away that easy as the cops in your area probably know those same dirt bike trails as you and could just wait for you to pop out at one of the trail heads if they really wanted to catch you.
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Yep. You can outrun one cop. But not his radio.
Just because there’s not a ‘no trespassing’ sign doesn’t mean you’re allowed to be there.
And, someone correct me if I’m wrong here, a ‘public’ golf course doesn’t mean it’s public land. That just means you don’t have to be a member to play there. It’s still private property.
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well i guess i’ve show that im an 18 year old kid…
i was just posting this wondering if anyone else had ideas on what to do when the trails are closed…
i know theres urban riding but i get kicked out of parking lots and yelled at for jumping stairs…
didnt mean to sound like i know it all, was just looking for advice on another option
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There are some golf courses here that would be perfect, but they are explicitly off limits to bikes.
Fortunately Colorado has a generous helping of paved bike paths all over the metro area, and they plow the snow off them before they plow the roads!
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i usually go to a city park to ride when the trails are muddy but you can possibly get kicked out of them too if its a busy park and somebody complains about you riding. but you should poke around a bit in your area and you can probably find a park around you that has some stairs and ledge drops to ride.
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gravel roads are great places to ride this time of year.
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"FBTrek321" wrote
well i guess i’ve show that im an 18 year old kid…
i was just posting this wondering if anyone else had ideas on what to do when the trails are closed…
i know theres urban riding but i get kicked out of parking lots and yelled at for jumping stairs…
didnt mean to sound like i know it all, was just looking for advice on another option
Sometimes your options are just limited and you have to wait. Its killing me right now; snow, ice and then mud for a while once the weather does break. One of my in town rides takes me right by a large grave yard on the way to some trails and I always think – around the perimeter sure would be a great spot for a trail. Of course, that would never happen and they would probably put me in the graveyard for riding there. If you have some town parks that look like they would support a trail or two, never hurts to suggest that to the people in charge of the parks. I’ve been pleasantly suprised by the response I have gotten on a couple of suggestions. Nothings happened yet, but money is tight right now and if you plant the seed and they are at least thinking about it later….
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