Granite is nice for a change.
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thereās granite in the valley too. oh wait thatās private land. igneous outflow.
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As I said before I get the IPA thing, its the other stuff, taking the time to troll people on strava, coming into discussions of people they donāt know/follow and shittalking them, calling out people on the trail, trying to block lines, that to me, is not cool at all and I just donāt get it. That right there is not a way to get people more engaged.
I donāt get your second part, fed up with the scene? What scene?
LOL exactly. HRM biking scene? not even grass roots level yet we have some of the fastest people in canada. ano threshold is more important than trails. 10,000 dollar bikes are more important than trails. strava and lazy unimaginative people wreck trails, sad truth.
I donāt really get what you mean about $$ bikes and unimaginative people wrecking trails.
We do have a fairly healthy racing scene locally, especially cyclocross the last couple years, there were 170+ racers at Vic park last month too for the first MTB race, which is awesome. I think ecmtb is doing well to get people involved, and there are some other new groups, MEC does rides, there are some women specific groups as well, which is cool.
But HRM doesnāt have much of an organized trail building group, Mackintosh Run group is about the only one?
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Part of it is where we live too. Every trail in Nova Scotia is going to be ridden both up and down. If people arenāt riding up it, itās only because itās physically impossible. Unless a trail is specifically marked one direction, itās going to be fair game.
Those fast riders donāt get fast by just riding downhill.
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You definitely would. I did. haha
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I got called out on Strava. I noticed the segment on Strava is now called:
āI insist on climbing the downhill becasue āinsert lame excuse hereā and someday someone is going to run into me at high speed and I will get hurtā
This is BS. I can ride it anyway I want and am going to continue to do so. Iāll actually ride it far more often in the direction they donāt like now. I donāt know if the trail builder noticed that the climb trail goes into the berm at the bottom of the jump that takes you out of the woods. Therefor making the signs useless on a āsafetyā perspective. I have eyes and ears, so I can move over when I see/hear somebody flying down the hill having some fun.
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Yeah Bikes!
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The trails I built were I thought one way only but a few athletes among us proved me wrong in regards to what is possible to be ridden. It was an education for me not the other way around. Everyone that rides trails is an adult that can make determinations for themselves on how they want to challenge themselves. Never ridden it but this IPA trail is on public land just like my trail and therefore no one can dictate the use of it.
Your friends should be commended for their initiative for adding to the āsceneā but realize you and the builders donāt/canāt control people.
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I have actually hit people on the āIPAā loop. Thankfully we all saw each other at the same time so no one was seriously hurt but my bike suffered
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I think that given the safety factor, the should be signs indicating it as one-way. When I was introduced to the trail, I was told it was one-way. Makes sense.
It can be touchy on how to approach that with people, and Iām not sure I agree with the way this was done.
It was not much of an issue 2 years ago but now that there are users on that trail every day the risk of collision has dramatically increased. I have chatted with the builders/ maintainers and see the point for direction. 5 years ago when it was just flags I would climb it and bitch about the step ups. On their advice I started to ride down it and have grown to love it! I never had a close call on that trail until this winter, since then there has been several. I donāt understand why so many people have their knickers in a knot over someone elseās trail when the suggestion of safety due to increased traffic has become an issue. I know I have been at least 4ā in the air when I exited the woods and landed in the berm. If someone was there I probably wouldnāt know until it was too late. How do I stop or turn in the air? If my bottom bracket lands on your handle bar it would be messy. Do I hold you accountable for going the wrong way? If serious injury prevents someone from working are they going to shut down the trail. Some common sense and respect would go a long way
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Signs were posted a week or two ago
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You know what? I completely agree that it is unsafe to ride backwards you are completely committing to some of those corners with speed or worse in the air and will not be able to avoid a crash regardless of your reaction time. This was built to be riden fast and without fear of hitting an other rider.
Would there be an option to change the route while climbing so you are not at the mouth/exit of the singletrack as part of the climb in?
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Not that anyone wants to see crashes but if those that know better ride it contrary to the flow and get smacked, then common sense dictates itās on them. Caveat Biker
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I donāt know that being in the moral right helps one much if one rides something the ācorrectā way and gets hurt in a collision with someone riding it the āwrongā wayā¦ but I said to myself I would stay out of this discussion, never having even seen the trails in question.
Yeah, hard not to wade into this discussion. Both sides have valid points. Iām thinking that you would have to be ready for anything speeding through a berm, not just cyclists. Curious hikerās, dogs or kids are all possibly going to venture onto a trail not knowing which direction they should be walking in. JoshM, you are more than welcome on Halifax trails. Well worth the drive. I can tell you Iāve certainly biked Woodville in the wrong direction. I could have used a directional sign or two.
There is no other way to climb here. Itās also the only big jump in this section. The trail from here up is not unique, Itās like all others that donāt have so much useless controversy. Like any other trail, look ahead and be ready to stop if there is a hazard on the trail. Someone could also open up the woods a little bit more to have better visibility. Attacking people on Strava and changing the name of segments to some childish passive aggressive names is not the way to go. Post the signs(like they are now) and build a nice climb trail that does not go up a berm and people are going to go with the flow and we wonāt hear anything of it ever again. And if your 4ā in the air coming out of the woods, then your going beyond the berm and into the bushes anyway.
My two thoughts FWIW
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Riders should always be in control and able to stop, especially approaching a blind turn or drop.
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Builders should build a trail in such a way that high-speed sections have sightlines that will allow riders to be in control and able to stop.
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I wouldnāt count, especially on unsanctioned trails, for riders to only be riding a trail in one direction.
Oops. Thatās three thoughts.
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