I meant to post a short tidbit last week about a collision between a mountain biker and motorcyclist near Telluride but never got around to it. Ellen Hollinshead mentioned it in her Summit Daily column yesterday so I thought I’d revisit the topic today.
Hearing about this incident reminded me of my experiences riding Captain Jack’s in Colorado Springs where mountain bikers regularly share the singletrack with dirt bikers. I admit I was always a bit nervous riding Captain Jack’s for fear of having a head on collision with a dirt bike and I often cursed the foot-deep scree I was sure was a result of careless moto-riding. Sure, you can usually hear a motorcycle coming from a mile away giving you plenty of time to get out of the way, but still, those suckers can climb fast!
But after reading Ellen’s column I’m not sure I had it right. I mean, motorcyclists have just as much right to enjoy legal trails as mountain bikers do. My own prejudices against motorcycles sounds a bit like what a hiker would say about mountain bikes: too fast, bad for the environment, etc. And just like certain trails don’t allow mountain bikes, there are plenty of trails that don’t allow motorized vehicles of any kind.
It’s tough to draw the line on trail use and sometimes it feels a bit hypocritical for me to argue against other trail users (don’t get me started on equestrians). Let’s all work together to find better ways to share the trail – and perhaps open up new trails to biking in the process.
