Trail access problems?

General
#1

Does anyone have anti-trail/access problems with a MUni? I know we’re strictly not Mountainb*kers, and some might choose to ignore ‘no-biking’ signs, but will it only be a matter of time before those ‘no-biking’ signs become ‘no-cycling’ signs?

I had an old guy the other day lose all his marbles when I rode past on my b*ke, in a perfectly wide, shared trail. I even gave him a polite ‘hi’ as I rode past. Saw the same guy again about a fortnight later when I was riding my MUni and he was a perfectly amused reasonable human being (he didn’t recognise me). I was probably going just as fast on my MUni as on my bike. Will that novelty factor wear off eventually?

We don’t usually have too many problems between b*kers and walkers here but as anywhere there are still people who want the trails all to themselves.

what next

Ken

#2

Sounds like your trail access problem was with a bike.

BTW, bike is not a swear word. Why all the bleeping out? Don’t you guys have bikes too?

But in your case it sounds like one grumpy old man, who is not necessarily in charge of who or what uses the trail.

I highly recommend people stick to trails that are legal for BICYCLE use. If you do, you’ll never be wrong when confronted. I for one am happy to have unicycles, for the most part not in the lawbooks. As long as we behave ourselves, we shouldn’t need to be.

#3

Lordy John, I live in the Blue Ridge mountains and there are so many trails on the Parkway, all off limits. It is sooo tempting…
BTW, a lot if good trails get made by bikers, They will even tell you how to find them and not get caught tresspassing or nothin’.
Bikers are our friends. Bikers are our friends. Bikers are our friends. carjug

#4

Yeah, that’s good to know. I’ve only been bleeping out bikes since everyone else here seems to be (I have no mind of my own, I just do what others do). For the record, I used to spend almost all my time on two wheels. Now, it’s more like 60:40.

Ken

#5

Your link is to a nice little bit of propoganda. Thanks. I dig extremist alarm every so often. Mostly it’s just the sound of mosquitos.

#6

Re: Trail access problems?

>Don’t you
>> guys have bikes too?

No. Used to though, before I started unicycling. But I broke the forks off on a
drop.

Dylan

#7

I ride a bike every day… I just use it to comute to class and back, but its nice to have. I prefer one wheel for offroad and trials stuff but when you want to be lazy and just get to class thats what bikes are for.

Bikes are deffenatlly good things.

Unicycles are just more fun.
.
chex

#8

Unfortunately, for any sample of the population, a percentage will behave recklessly, and a larger percentage will behave without great thought for the effect of their actions on those around them. Thus, if there are more bicyclists, unicyclists, 4X4 drivers, off road pogostickers or whatever, there will be more people doing those activities in a reckless or thoughtless way.

The result could be the introduction of regulation which would tend to affect the more conscientious participants in the sport but would probably be ignored or subverted by the reckless or thoughtless ones who had provoked it.

I’m not sure the link earlier on this thread was to ‘alarmist propaganda’. However, it may have exaggerated the risks to some extent. Sometimes this is ‘necessary’ to bring an issue to the public’s attention in time. Too much too soon may be better than too little too late.

As an occasional off road 4x4 driver, my thought is that the ‘on road’ drivers have ‘caused’ more destruction of the hills they love. They drive into those hills along tarmac roads, sometimes over bridges or through cuttings, and park in big tarmac or gravel carparks which spoil the view for everybody. They then get out of those cars and walk, and you only have to see the deep churned up mud around most farm gates and stiles to see how much damage that causes.

But for us, I suggest that unicycling is unlikely to become popular enough to be specifically mentioned in legislation, and it is ‘oddball’ enough that most people will smile indulgently rather than complain.

But there is an onus on all of us to be careful when and how we ride. If you cause a nuisance you may provoke a complaint. Spend all day trashing a scree slope in a popular beauty spot, or disrupting the foliage in the municipal raised flower beds and you have only yourself to blame when you are criticized.

Ride considerately, stop and wait for large groups of pedestrians and for any horse riders, and you will get away with a lot.

In a crowded planet all our freedoms are privileges, not rights. As the Judge said in a slightly different context, ‘Your freedom to put your fist wherever you like must be limited by another person’s freedom to put his chin wherever he wants.’

#9

I’m going to write SafeTrails@cox.net and let 'em know how appreciative I am that they introduced me to the sport of Mechanised Off-Road Skateboarding.

:slight_smile:

-C

#10

In New Jersey we have some trails that say “Foot Traffic Only”. Then again Bob Dylan said something like “In Jersey, everything is legal as long as you don’t get caught.”

#11

I never knew Dylan even went to the Channel Islands.

#12

Even better would be to tell them that their site motivated you to join the IMBA Join the IMBA and a local MTB club affilated with the IMBA. It’s those groups that can counter BS like safetrails.net. Just because we’re on unicycles doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t join a MTB club that does trail advocacy to help keep your local trails open.

For some entertainment search groups.google.com for “safetrails”. None other than MV, the resident MTB newsgroup and discussion group troll claims credit for the site. Don’t bother responding to MV, he’s a troll, it does no good. Don’t email safetrails either it will just give them more jollies to see you complain.

Get even with them by joining a local MTB club that does trail maintenance on your local trails.

#13

i like this part at the bottom of that link:

"Though motorized vehicles are illegal on our trails, many of these vehicles can be converted to a motorized vehicle in seconds with a mini detachable gasoline engine that fits easily in a small backpack. They can be detached to avoid detection by law enforcement in a motor-prohibited setting. "

give me a brake!i can just see it now,“look,there’s a forest ranger!QUICK put that hot smoking engine back in your pocket…”

#14

So a man goes into a gas station and asks for 3 gallons of detachable gasoline? Whassatallabout then? :thinking:

#15

Correct. Sure, you can “get away with it.” But if you are one yahoo who becomes locally known for riding on illegal trails, the next 10 unicyclists to come along will all be treated with the same disrespect, perhaps even on the legal trails. It’s up to Mr. Yahoo to decide if he cares about those 10, and the ones that follow them.

When it comes to giving out public advice, the only right answer I can think of is to recommend “legal” riding, which means to ride where the bikes go. Or, get politically active in creating a legal niche for unicycles, and good luck to you.

Depending where you live, there may be lots of trails around that are not in “politically sensitive” areas. In Michigan where I grew up, I used to ride in little trail areas that weren’t part of state parks or areas otherwise monitired for their use. I’m not really talking about those types of trials.

What I and others here are talking about are the ones that are specifically built and maintained for recreational use, usually on public lands, or on large pieces of private land. My favorite local riding area, home of the first three MUni Weekends, is part of the Auburn State Recreation Area. Public land, maintained by our tax dollars.

Where do you think good trails come from? They don’t make themselves, and if they aren’t maintained, they wash away or become mud bogs. Here in CA, trails that follow along the rivers are always subject to winter erosion (from water wasing down the ravines). They are maintained, repaired, and upgraded by local trail advocacy groups. As John Childs suggested, find your local mountain bike or trail group, and join IMBA. Then you’re putting your money where your mouth is. Get involved, and maybe help build some of your local trails, as I have.

Mikefule put it better than I could have. Everybody who rides trails should print the following quote, and post it on their wall:

Stay on top,

#16

Well said, John.