HIKERS!

[The_Germ]

Ill go ahead and get this part aout of the way, in the story below I am not bragging or saying im the most BA on a mountain bike. I just thought id add alittle excitement / enthusiasm to it.

Also the question will be at the very bottom so youll have an idea of what im asking.

After posting the other topic about the mentality of a mountain biker, I thought id try and apply some pointers. Have a blast and haul @$$. Right?

So there I was at Hurkey Creek Ca. i just finished my first 9.25 mile loop, had a clif bar and was ready to do another. Im out there rippin up this trail, just beating all the sidewalls and getting it in the Huckabuck, this trail is about to tap out! So I get to the top of the last DH section, I throw on the music and get pumped, thinking “SPEED!” boom there I go, hookin and jabbin boom boom boom hittin the side walls, boom huck, rippin this trail a new one… then all of a sudden HIKERS! I slam on the breaks and a freaking buzz kill. They was walking right in the middle of the trail just smokin and jokin not paying attn. (or maybe I was just going that fast) so I finish the ride un satisfied.

So my question is: does anyone say anything before they start down hill? I never thought about saying anything. But now I just might have to.

[soezgg]

This is exactly why I like one-way, bike-only trails. On multi-use, bi-directional trails you run the risk of colliding with other bikers, hikers, equestrians and the occasional "land-mine." I usually scream "coming through" when I know I’m about to bomb down a narrow section or tight curve where I won’t be able to see any obstacles.

Also, don’t make fun of me, but I have a bell on my bike that I ring! Hahaha, it might sound ridiculous, but the commuter bell ACTUALLY works on the trails. Sometimes I ride so quietly that hikers don’t hear me coming, and I don’t want to sound like a grizzly and scream at them.

[trailrider247]

"soezgg" wrote

Also, don’t make fun of me, but I have a bell on my bike that I ring! Hahaha, it might sound ridiculous, but the commuter bell ACTUALLY works on the trails. Sometimes I ride so quietly that hikers don’t hear me coming, and I don’t want to sound like a grizzly and scream at them.

i have a buddy that rides with a bell too, and it bugs the crap out of me on the trails, it seems like everytime he hits any rough spots on the trail the bell will ring from the vibration which i guess comes in handy, cause he never really has to ring the bell when we hit the downhills and come up on hikers, it does the ringing all by itself, but ive noticed that the hikers are usually confused by the sound of the bell and dont really know how to react when they hear it.

[bonkedagain]

Oh man, somebody cry "Nazi!" so that we can put this topic to bed right away… 😉

You know, this will always be debated. Some trails are just so damn fun to ride fast! To me, it isn’t just hikers, it’s also bikers going uphill on a trail when another trail nearby could just as easily be taken to get to the top of the primo downhill run. Bums the crap out of me to yield to the uphill rider when I was having so much fun blasting thru the berms. But it seems like every time I whine about it somebody says that the uphill rider should get the right-of-way since it’s harder to go uphill (yeah, so?).

But anyway, unless an area is designated as a biking area, you just have to slow down enough to be able to do a controlled stop to yield to foot traffic. Otherwise you get into the huge pissing matches like they have in Marin County, CA, or Jefferson County, CO, that have been going on for years. The hikers want bikes banned; bikers want downhill only trails; land managers wish they would all just shut up.

Hikers and crowds of speeding downhillers are incompatible. End of story. Those trail users have to be separated. But who is going to pay for the separate trails? What about areas where there really isn’t enough room to put another gash up the hill? Sigh… 😕

[The_Germ]

"trailrider247" wrote

i have a buddy that rides with a bell too, and it bugs the crap out of me on the trails, it seems like everytime he hits any rough spots on the trail the bell will ring from the vibration which i guess comes in handy, cause he never really has to ring the bell when we hit the downhills and come up on hikers, it does the ringing all by itself, but ive noticed that the hikers are usually confused by the sound of the bell and dont really know how to react when they hear it.

😆 😆 😆 Thats Funny, I think i saw that on a movie once, I think Id be Laughing to hard to be able to ride..

But the way it looks I guess, Im gunna be the Big Grizzly man hootin and hollerin on the top before I make my way down. Im sure I can have some garbage come out of my filthy sewer that will get the attn of anyone on the trail.

[Dustin Gaddis]

I have a bell. It doesn’t ring from vibration though, and I’ve got a rigid bike.

It’s handy as crap! I got it originally for a race series I was doing, decided to keep it. It’s nice to be able to announce your presence when you’re breathing too hard to talk, or you don’t want to spook someone.

Since I ride a rigid single speed, I am basically silent on the trail. I can ride right on someone’s wheel for a ways without them knowing it.

I’ll usually ring the bell a few times, then say ‘On your left/right’ and it doesn’t scare anyone.

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