RoW

I will always yield to hikers if I’m going down. I gladly promote trail etiquette. BUT, i will tell you it’s infuriating to come across a group of hikers taking up the whole trail. And it’s worse if they’re wearing earbuds. All i ask is that ALL trail users learn to be respectful.

 

How about up?

 

Wow, I stay away from this site for a week and now I gotta binge read all the posts

I yield to hikers a lot. Just the other day we yielded to a whole Boy Scout troop hiking up El Prieto. I hope we left the impression that not all Mt bikers are rude and inconsiderate.
My Strava time suffered but I got over it

 

Are they coming down or going up? I’m not partial to yielding to them while I’m going up. But it does depend on the trail. If I’m going up west ridge in aliso no biggie but if I’m going up new goat in oaks, then they should let me continue. I’m perfectly fine losing my flow going down, but going up hikers should realize its difficult to start back up. I’ll say most of the time it’s very cordial out on the trails regardless of what activity we’re all doing. But again I’ll end with all users need to show respect. Hikers are not special, nor do they have more rights than i do on the trails.

 

On many trails, hikers do have more rights than a rider. Equines same. Cyclists yield to both. In theory, at least...

 

Sure, trail etiquette recommends that we do. But in reality I’d say maybe 20 percent of hikers know how to properly traverse a simple trail in regards to “etiquette”. I’ve been mountain biking for 29 years now and i will tell you that they are the most inconsiderate and uninformed bunch on the trails. Not raging just an observation. I will not let this group dictate to me how i need to behave on the trail because I’ve been yielding to them since day one. I’m just saying a little reciprocity is nice and going uphill for a mountain biker is much more difficult than hiking.

 

Hikers as a species are clueless. Hikers with dogs are clueless-er.

In my experience equestrians are the most alert and most likely to communicate their needs.

 

The only time I asked for right of way was when I was struggling up an upper tough section of Lower Sam Merrill. They were hiking up ahead of me, I was inching along slightly faster. I asked for passage and they blew me off and completely ignored me. I pulled out of my pedals. Admittedly, I was pissed. An easy step aside for them but they were not having it. I know they had the right of way, but it was not an unreasonable request.

I think Right of Way also comes with some common sense and give and take. I know factually I give way more than I take, but I am sure that is based on Trail user perspective.

 

I think mtb'ers and equestrians are more in tune and aware that there is such a concept as trail etiquette. I would put "hikers" in this category as well...but most of the people walking on the trails are not "hikers"...they are just people out for a walk every once in a while and don't do it regularly or in any organized way. They really do have no clue. I think that serious "hikers" or people that identify hiking as their hobby/pastime/passion/identity probably do know the informal rules and follow them.

 

Like i said 20%. Again i will always yield to hikers but when they cannot show simple respect with regards to “etiquette”, why should i show any to them? It’s not our jobs as mountain bikers to educate them. When all of you were just starting did anyone show you, or did you learn them yourselves because you cared about how we were perceived on the trails?

Just so I’m a 100% clear, this is not a rant and I’m not disrespectful to anyone out there. It’s simply my frustration and irritation at people who have no clue when walking on trails. I guarantee I’m saying what a large majority of mountain bikers are thinking. If anyone wants to be out on trails, it’s their job to learn the rules.

 

Maybe it kinda is our and the other responsible trail user's job to educate these folks so they won't continue to be discourteous. Someone has to take the high road...why not us? I think most casual trail users don't even know what they don't know, but yes, in a perfect world, all trail users should learn the "rules"..

 

Yes, I am very hesitant with dogs on trail.....with or without leashes.

This didn't just happen all by itself:

 

Well stated. Amazing that it had to be, though.

 

Most of them can't be educated. We should still be more courteous than they, regardless.

Consider: Any moron carrying a bluetooth speaker blasting away in anything other than an earbud will probably not take kindly to being told the rest of the mountain isn't interested in his/her/its type of noise.

 

Unless it’s the Chili Peppers or Rage Against the Machine.

 

That’s your opinion. Give me a break with your holier than thou attitude. And let me get this straight, you stop every time you see hikers doing something they’re not supposed to be doing and correct them? My bet is that you don’t.

 

I’m guessing you don’t like the fact that I called you out for making your own rules rather than following the ones established by most open space managers. It’s good that you’ve at least thought about it.

29 is all the dirt years you got? I was in the dirt decades before you, son. See how righteous that sounds? Check your attitude, dood.

 

Lmao.Exactly what rules am I making up? I told you I follow all trail etiquette rules but hikers don’t. All I stated was the fact that hikers in general don’t know what they’re doing. So I don’t have show them any type of goodwill if I don’t want to. If THEY don’t want to follow the established rules that land/open space managers set then that’s on them and they won’t get the respect from me. So i can have any attitude i want in regards to their rotten behavior on the trails.