And the beaten down brush to the side of the trail. Keeping singletrack single is a big part of this, too.
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Not sure how that will ever be mitigated, I mean just look at strava heat maps, lots of tracks through literally everything. Maybe some educational signage at the trail heads?
or some Red “Make Single Track Single Again Hats”?
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Start of rant.
Sooooooo, yesterday I decided to take a walk. Figured I’d go check out the new Expert loop at Mac Run. See how it was doing after all that rain and thaw. So I get to the new trail start ( where the drop in is ) with my little guy and I see a fellow with his ( teal or blue on black Rocky Mountain).
I’m like: you’re not thinking of riding the new trail are you?
To which I get a reply: I’ve already been thru, come back and I’m going in again.
I’m like: your gonna ruin the trail.
To which he replies: no I’m not it’s fine to ride.
Then he takes off.
My little guy and I start to walk the trail, right away guys already got it rutted out so instead of water shedding it’s now sitting in his ruts. Continue on down the single track and buddy is already bring the double track to the single track. Already taking cheater lines or go arounds.
Honestly the frost came out of the ground due to all the rain and warmer temps and this douche nugget thinks it’s perfect to ride.
Am I missing something???
Or is this the kind of riders we have within our community?
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Sorry to break it to you but there’s various kinds of people in all aspects of the world. Sucks, I know.
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It’s no surprise to me that the local people are becoming less and less aware of proper trail behavior than ever before. It is likely to get worse as our population grows larger and more divided. The question remains on what is a proper solution (communication tool). Maybe now is a good time for you to reach out to municipal government to help in these communications, or to other community leaders. There are likely better ideas, but I’m not as well versed in HRM community leadership.
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Perhaps barricades need to be placed along with the signs to make it impassable for bikers to go over it. Just my 2 cents
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Considering people bike around trail closed, no biking please signs, there isn’t much you can do but keep on keeping on.
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I just don’t get it. It will be frozen in a few days. Then go blow your brains out. It will be perfect to ride. But now all those ruts are going to freeze with water and make the riding shitty for everyone just because of one ignorant asshole. 
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Even when it refreezes…it will still say closed. I see people riding it every time I am there. Do I want to…100%. Have I…nope.
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I was litterly thinking that yesterday would probably be the worst day of the season to be riding new trails due to all the thaw, and fresh dirt.
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It is a frustrating position to be in…
In my opinion, the only solution is periodic (friendly) PSAs and good signage.
Consider the groups:
A - Don’t know Better: we need friendly recurring reminders.
B - Know Better but Ignore It: you will never fix these people.
C - Know Better and stay off the trails: 99% of the people here.
Group A is the only group worth reaching but they are new to it and so deserve friendly guidance.
Anything else is just cursing and venting to people who are probably already doing the right thing.
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What I don’t understand is where the fun in riding is in terrain that slows you down by sinking a couple cms or more and creates a huge mess of your bike to clean off.
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If we had a good clear set of trail etiquette rules in a topic, we could pin it to the top of the Trails category and point to it periodically.
A similar post:
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Might I suggest spike strips as to deter any misuse of closed trails?
I am joking, but… it would certainly get the point across.
I know this will never happen… nor would I ever intentionally sabotage a trail… I am the farthest thing from an advocate of traps on trails. Who knows what kind of vendetta that would set off on some mentally unstable individuals.
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Trying to keep people off of closed trails is pretty much a lost cause. We had folks passing multiple signs and then passing under the chain barricades we had at each trail head. At one point the local running club held a group run in early March to celebrate the thaw. They were even calling it a “mud run” on social media lol. The ski hill management had to send out a press release and start a social media campaign to educate/inform because the trail runners were entering active ski runs or getting in the way of the groomers. Don’t get me wrong I think it’s bullshit, but I try not to stress over it anymore.
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I’ve been on builds/repairs where we’ve closed a section of trail, and people still try to ride through. To me, that seems like the best opportunity to educate people against ignoring the signs. Instead, we smile and wave them through, building an understanding that the Closed sign is optional. 
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The trail is just waiting on the city to do the walk thru. Later this week once it’s frozen would be the best time to ride it and check it out. But bear in mind that it is an expert loop, not the whole thing but a lot of the features. So rider beware. Enjoy. @Margareefisher
Like @Enduro_Performance said. Yesterday would have been the worst day to ride it.
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I’ve wondered about this too - also at a place like MacRun where you can often see from a distance what’s going on, I have wondered if we accidentally give perceived permission because build/repair teams of staff or volunteers are wearing nothing that identifies their role.
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