RNR = Ridable, Not Ridable
I got a late-night, post ride, post beers e-rant from a Michaux veteran yesterday. This person is also an experienced rock climber (I am not), and referenced the climbers etiquette, which I think means something like, don't f something up for other people. I know we have some climbers here who know what this means, but I think we all get the point anyways.
The gist of the e-mail is below, with some obvious edits:
[start rant]
Larry, I hate to hit you up like this but I am pretty f*****g p***ed that the main feature on [some new trail] has a major rock pile, and someone is filling in voids and building a ramp into a twelve inch high embedded rock.....,12 inches????? Its arguably the best 20 feet on the trail! The only people that have ridden that trail is MBM and cupcakes....., and you know the cupcakes wouldn't stoop to that level! There is still raking and rock work to be done on the trail but to take the main feature and f with it?????? This is after they basically needed a road sign to get them not to ride directly through the spring?????......[lots of stuff removed here] ..... Like I said , I am sorry to vent on you, but holy shit???? That's ridiculous! Maybe post trail etiquette on the blog to get riders to see the light like climbers?? .....I'm sorry,...its like people wanting to ride [a hard new trail in the Shed] and then creating cheater lines around it,.....which I have seen on [a hard new trail in SouChaux] going around the hardest parts...,....... Once again I'm sorry, I'll bring some extra beers at the next ride! or maybe we can get a photo shoot on this trail for your rideable/unrideable series!
[/end rant]
Everyone else: Feel free to vent and rant at any time to your Prezident Ego. See payment details above.
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29 comments:
There sure seems to be a lot of overzealous trail "builders and maintainers" in Michaux these days (reference mtbr.com for some interesting perspectives).
There's a number of features in Michaux I can't ride, but there's not a damn one I can't walk...
If you can't ride it, get better. Or walk it. Don't ruin it for everyone else.
This has been a very HOT topic lately. I for one am enjoying the insertion of some sweet technical riding in the South End. Hopefully nothing is messed up beyond repair.
Don't look at them as unrideable obstacles. Look at them as great oppertunities to see someone like me crash.
Please don't try to change the rides in the amusement park, just stay off of the ones you don't like.
We continually have these problems, on all the MD trails. 10" trees get ramped and stuff gets dumbed down all the time, even in places like the shed (where people should know better). We remove the stuff and the trail fairies rebuild just as fast. Hopefully, one day, they will learn to leave the trail as they found it.
I'm all for another installment of R/NR. And, yes, climber's etiquette--don't f it up for someone else, and if you didn't establish the line, typical etiquette says not to change it.
Further, if you get off the established line while climbing, you are not recognized as having successfully completed the route.
Just a general question.......If a tree falls in the woods.....who decides to cut it or bridge it?
"The only people that have ridden that trail is MBM and cupcakes....., and you know the cupcakes wouldn't stoop to that level!" So MBM would stoop to that level?
I guess on the new MBM trail T shirt, we also need to include the MBM Code of Mountain Biking Conduct.
I'm on it.
"Ride the line your dealt"
(B.Weiser..2009)
Who wants one?
I'll take one. But this time you are gonna take some form of payment - whether it be hard currency or fermented hops and barley.
I didn't think much about it after reading it but Bucsexy has a point.
Is there a camera on this trail? How is it that we know ONLY MBM and Cupcakes have ridden this?
What's a cupcake? If it's a club, they need to find a cooler name.
Something like . . . "The Muffins" would maybe be better.
Seriously though. I never see people doing this crap. The only one I've even heard of was Mr Ladder-Bridge-thing-maker on that other thread, but I didn't think he was messing with established trails, so . . .
We're the only ones with a trail map, nobody else could find it.
And yes Bucsexy would stoop to any level given the right motivation.
Lets not get to worked up here folks. Nothing's going to change, it's a STATE forest, any bozo with a bike can ride there. And lets not forget the hillbillys with motos and atv's. That forest gets used by many more people than
Cupcakes and MBMers.
Ride with the Cupcakes sometime, you'll quickly figure out the irony of the name.
Clowny's right - you don't realize how poor your skills are until you try and keep up with the 'cakes.
you dont have these problems on the road
Anyone out there care to do normal trail work? Such as reclaiming trail destroyed by logging, fixing washouts/erosion damage, or general maintenance? I would rather improve the many trails we have, to make them more enjoyable. Work goes much faster with help.
durtygrrlmagneto--you can email clownbike and me.
That's true. I ride Michaux all the time and I'm not MBM. I ride mostly north of Caledonia and I rarely see any trails change ever. It's fun reading about all the drama you guys have though.
I really like the point about the line and completing the course. You are absolutely right about that brett. -Muffin
I must confess that it was my rant! I'm very sorry that the message seemed to point the finger at MBM. It definitely wasn't my intention. As stated by the Prez, I had one too many beers (3,..I'm a light weight!), and just had the living crap beat out of me from 4.5 hours of riding in Southy. Hence the reason for sending it to the Prez first just in case I said something stupid,....which I did. That being said, trees on stooges that have been there for years were cut out, and the main feature on the new trail was bridged. As far as who decides when to cut out a tree, if the tree is blocking the trail to the point where you can't skip over it on or off your bike, cut it out. I guess the important thing to realize is there will ALWAYS be someone who is better than you that CAN do it. If it makes anyone feel any better, even though I have ridden, hiked, and maintained Mackey more than anyone, and I have cleaned all but the one obvious spot, I still cannot link it together successfully. And that is why I keep returning and trying again and thats how I wanted the trail to be. It didn't have to make a perfect loop. I wanted something that could shut me down and humiliate me just when I thought I had it beat. Please don't tolerate trail alterations. Maintain the reputation of Michaux being the hardest riding and having some of the most capable riders around. Southy is just hard! I'll shut-up now.
lamb gap is back open so i here?mabe cupcakes will go home.
Speaking of which, Travis, I'd like to hook up with you to attempt that trail again. Don't worry--there are kindred spirits in the woods and we all get pissed at the same things. Usually the ghosts that do this stuff may read blogs and forums but are not the ones who post up anywhere or are in any "group" that may lead them to change their ways. Last thing we need is the core of the Michaux riders pointing fingers at each other!
BTW--take the Lamb's Gap thing with a grain of salt. It is not a free-for-all. Certain routes have been signed open but the entire trail network as it used to exist has not been signed open. I don't have all the details, either.
Largest thread in history? possible....
So many thoughts on this topic, I'm not really sure if or how to express them. I like to ride difficult trails. I like to be able to keep at it until I can clean the entire trail at once. 4 years ago it was Turtle for me, now it's Mackey.
On the other hand, I enjoy a group ride where everyone can enjoy all of the trails. I am not opposed to 'go arounds' as long as they aren't a free for all.
-Paul
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