Rubber Side Down

I always hesitate to get on a soapbox about anything. It’s generally annoying and loses you more friends than it gains.

However, in the realm of mountain biking, I care too much about the sport to just sit here and not address this stuff. So please don’t think of this as a big ol’ slab of Irish Spring. It’s just me wanting all to be well in the world of fat tire riding.

So… I’ll make it quick. Just consider these ideas a way to gain Mountain Bike Total Consciousness (which is nice).

1. Please be nice to the trail. If we didn’t have them, we’d end up riding Hwy 36 with Hummers blasting by four inches from our handlebars. Try not to ride the trails when they’re wet, and stay on the actual tread. Rad singletrack turns into janky doubletrack pretty quickly.

2. Please be nice to the hikers and horses. Horses are prey animals, and this means they can be extremely nervous about anything that moves fast. They think we’re going to pounce on them and rip out their jugulars. So come to a complete stop when horses approach. It also helps to speak to the horse’s rider; that way the horse knows you’re actually human. Every positive encounter you create on the trail helps prevent the kind of angst that gets trails closed.

3. If you want to train for racing or want a trail experience that doesn’t require stopping for others, please choose an appropriate time or location. Walker Ranch on a midday summer weekend is a cluster! Plan ahead and ride it very early or late, or save your training session for an early morning weekday. It will be so peaceful it won’t even seem like the same trail.

4. If you can, please do trail work days. It’s actually really fun and doesn’t require that much time. If you just can’t spare a couple of hours to build sweet singletrack, send some money to IMBA and the Boulder Mountainbike Alliance so they can get it done themselves.

5. Let’s all be nice to each other — we’re all we have! Other trail users would just love it if we disappeared, I suspect. And when we divide into high-school-style cliques over hardtails vs. full suspensions, cross-country vs. freeride, racers vs. recreational riders, blah blah blah, it just makes it easier for the haters to win out. Let’s try to be a community of riders that not only care about each other, but also have a united front that We Belong on The Trails.

That’s it! You are now completely enlightened. Rock on!

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