I’ll soon post a thorough account of my rides on the west side of the McDowell Mountains in Scottsdale, Ariz.
For now, there’s something I really have to get out there. Too many of my fellow mountain bikers have atrocious trail manners . This mystifies me. My only guess is that they’re fairly new riders who ride alone all the time. Maybe they never had that Obi-Wan Kenobi-like figure to teach them the ways of the fat tire as I did (Props to my former masters, Gil and Jason). All I can say is that I ran into nine riders the other day. Five of them displayed varying degrees of jerkitude, while the remainder were paragons of trail courtesy. That ratio is horrible. One in 20 I can understand. Five of nine? Unacceptable.
Okay, so I’m going to take under my wing every rider who nearly bumped me off the trail, refused to yield or just completely flat-out ignored me as we passed. Pay attention, white belts of the wide tire:
1. When you pass people in either direction, say hello. It’s just good courtesy. Other cyclists will take away a nice sense of solidarity from a fellow rider. The other trail users (hikers, runner, equestrians, whatever) will be like “hey, maybe these mountain bikers are pretty cool after all”. We could use some of that mojo.
2. If you’re going downhill, yield to the person on the way up. I know this is a bummer. I get it: You worked hard to get to the top, and now you don’t want slowing down to harsh your shred (as Cosmic Ray might say). But remember how hard it was to go up the trail? Well, someone else is now huffing and puffing up the hill. They’re working harder than you are. If it’s at all feasible, slow down and give them the better line. Or better yet, stop, let them get through the hard part, then resume your descent.
3. Be nice to horses. Equestrians and mountain bikers have a long history of bad blood. They think we ruin trails by locking our brakes and skidding. Bikers think they’re effette snobs/wanna-be Westerners astride 1,000-pound pooping machines. But they also have serious political and trailbuilding clout. Pull to the side, wave them by, and compliment their horse. That does a lot to change their attitudes.
Just remember this: If I, a long-time mountain biker, think that other riders are behaving like jackasses, just imagine how we must look to other user groups. When the time comes to design a trail or stump up some money to build one, their memories of dealing with our ilk will come home to roost. Make each impression a good one.
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