Single Track Etiquette

[kicknrocks]

Last weekend I went riding with a group of over half a dozen people on mountainous singletrack. It was my first time riding with a group this size, and I'm fairly new to ST riding. Most of the group were varying degrees of veterans, so I felt inclined to fall in line and keep my mouth shut. As the day wore on, I noticed the following problems:

There was no protocol for spacing. The one time I tried to wait more than a few seconds after the guy in front of me took off, someone else waived me on as though I was holding them up. This resulted in several incidents of thrashing off through the woods trying to get around a guy stuck on a hill, then becoming another guy stuck on the hill.

Stopping. There were several cases of the first two riders making it through a tough section then stopping on the first flat piece of ground. This resulted in everyone else stopping in various mid-hill predicaments, faced with shitty mid-hill restarts.

I'll openly admit that in addition to thinking this was bad form, I'm personally pissed because after one particular such stop, I lost my footing on the restart, falling without control elbow and hip first onto jagged rocks. That ended my day.

Also, as a general rule, what do people recommend doing to keep an eye on and pace for lesser skilled riders?

The simple answer, I understand, is ride with fewer people. The second answer is don't ride with dbags. Any other bits of wisdom?

[Indawoods]

In my experience... people normally start off at the same time and do a controlled staggering. When you reach a platue... normally you make sure there is room for the next bike.... if there is no room you keep moving to the next. When encountering a rough spot you give the person in front of you the space and time to negotiate the problem area and not put yourself in a position of getting in a bad situation.


Most of this stuff really is common sense but newbies don't immediately realize this until they have more experience under their belt. Veterans should know better.

[Varmint]

I know when I am leading and just completed a tough section requiring a stop, I pull ahead enough to let all bikes get to the "flat"area. Kinda dumb not to. If you don't, your setting up everyone behind you for failure.

Also, the order you ride is important. The fast guys need to be up front and the slow guys in the back. It should happen naturally. Courteous riders will know their place and stay there. I always share the lead because I know it's the best (and funnest) position to be in, plus I get to take a break bringing up the rear (that's what she said).

[fuzzy]

I would be bitch slapping and verbally abusing your friends over a few beers after that day.

[ihatefalling]

True....MOST experienced riders know the rules. SOmetimes you just gotta call a guy out tho.

Even though we all ride with each other all the time, we have this wierd habit of the "pre-ride rule session"....where someone will just chime up and take the trail boss role:

1) YOU are responsible for the guy behind you. If a guy misses a turn because you didn't wait on him YOU slow the entire group down. If he misses a turn, YOU will be the onw going to look for him......That's a ride of shame you only make once.

3) Respect the guy behind you when twisting the gas. Nobody likes rocks in thier face.

3) Let faster guys go ahead of you, it only slows them down and makes you feel rushed because they are on you tail. Unsafe for both of you.

4) Hill climbs - Give the guy in front of you time to make it up before you go. Traffic jams on hills slows eveyone down.

[Julien D]

Exactly ^

Normally when I ride, it's just two or three of us, and it's not a problem. When we do ride in a big group, one of us always makes a little speech similar to the one above. The hill climb bit is particularly important, an that goes for any other really tricky obstacles as well. Deep water crossings, big logs, etc. We try to slow up and get through to the other side one at a time.

We were in a group of 5 last summer at Brown Mountain OHV, NC, and my buddy on his KTM200 bringing up the rear with me ahead of him. He swamped his bike badly, and the 3 in front of us just kept on. We were at the bottom of a deep ravine type area, swampy at the bottom, with rocky rooty climbs out going either direction. We couldnt get his bike cranked, as it was full of water and mud. We ended up having to double out on my KDX. The old girl carried my 150lbs and my buddies 220lbs all the way up and out that single track mess and back to the truck (what a bike!!). When we got back to the lot, the other three were already loaded up and gone. Needless to say, I was pissed. One of the guys was on a quad too, and could have easily helped us pull his bike out of the woods instead of leaving it overnight. We took my arctic cat back the next day to drag it out of the woods.

Moral of the story; Some people are always gonna be complete tools.

[WNC]

We, I mean the group I ride with, create a 'safe zone'. The lead is guy is the most experienced with the knowledge of the trails. The lesser experienced riders ride in mid-pack. The guys bringing up the rear sorta keep an eye on the guys riding mid-pack. We kinda take turns switching it up during the ride. Rotating back and forth, it gives us a bit of a cool down as well as some play time back there in the back. And if a guy takes a fall or spills out, someone is always right there to pick up his lead-sled off of him. And, the lead guy just kinda hangs out till we get squared away.
Personally, I dont mind to ride in the back, I can take my time and enjoy the scenery, looking for new hill climbs, short cuts, or just all around general playing, and then play catch-up.

Mind you only three of us are avid or dedicated riders, the rest kinda tag along every-now-and-again.

[kicknrocks]

I would be bitch slapping and verbally abusing your friends over a few beers after that day.

If they were my friends I would have cursed their mothers while I drank their warm keystone light. As it were, it was my first time riding with a mixed group of people I met on one of them dad-garned forums. It was clear by the end of the day who I meshed with and who I didn't. Fortunately, the guy I meshed with best is local, and most of the other were from out of town.

Like it says above, pretty much common sense . . . like the glasses all of us wear every time we crank up a power tool, right? See my point?

I see only a few sticking points:

The hillclimbs were so long and out of sight that there was no way to see if the guy ahead was clear, and some of the guys lacked the courtesy of jumping off their bike and dragging it out of the way if they cased it (that's what I do, trying to open the line for the next guy.

The spacing and waiting intervals can be an issue. I ended up feeling pretty abandoned on a mere 2 mile hill climb, on the way back down no less, becase I'd fallen about fifteen times, was completely worked, and there was significant death and dismemberment hazard. The other two did wait . . . at the bottom, but if I"d fallen I'da been done son.

I like what someone mentioned above also about having a vet sweep also. This is good practice no matter what adventure sport you're doing. The "fastest in front" formation makes sense, as long as you have someone solid in the rear. tapering back into slower and weaker riders is just begging for an unnoticed accident, and in some places a crashed rider could be hard to locate, even once we notice that they're not with us.

[sr5bidder]

I have a good friend who I ride with all the time, his son and his brother will ride too they are all good riders, I however have a cut off piont when it comes to speed and bring up the rear and sometimes ride in front of the son of my friend...

the thing that kills me is I have to make sure the 10 yr old is ok and wait on him and circle back sometimes and pick him up, sometime while I'm going back for the son he will fly by me and not stop and say I'm ok or thanks also why don't his dad or uncle have any sense of responsablity??

makes me look like I'm twice as slow as everyone else when really I'd be 15 or 20 seconds behind.

so they come to a stop and rest and when they see me coming they take off...

Do I deserve a rest break?? I continue on just steaming under my helmet pissed off but by the time we get back to the truck I normally decide to suck it up and not say anything.

It's gotten to the piont I have begun cutting my mechanical services to the above friend and ride with a new friend more and more.

Don't like screwing with KTM's anyhow.

[buzztail]

We sometimes ride with large groups. As many as 15-20 riders. The faster guys ride up front, the mid level guys right behind them, and the newbs behind them. Myself and usually one other guy team up to ride sweep to help any of the mid pack guys out. We have a "no man left behind" rule. You do not proceed through the turn without making sure the guy right behind you sees the turn- PERIOD. It usually turns large groups into a big accordion. When rest breaks happen everyone is ready to leave before anyone leaves. Ride your own ride is the norm. No body is asked to ride above their ability- ever.
I ride sweep because I like to be able to ride at a tourist pace, and not have anyone worry about me. It also gives me a chance to do some wheelies and stuff without slowing anyone down. We bicker about who gets to be in the back. Normally one of us will call it and someone else will say "o.k. you go last, and I'll follow ya."
D-bags can ruin the day for new guys, and don't usually make it for more than one or two trips out with us.

[KDX4ID]

My rules for single track riding.

1. Choose wisely, no spodes or newbies.

2. No riding with "death wish" people. You know who you are.

3. Limit the group to 4 people MAX (2 is best). Any more than four and the day gets real long.

A funny side note; a buddy of mine took a self proclaimed expert rider on one of our trails last winter. Half way through the ride and 30 miles from the truck (and civilization) he wanted to leave his brand new CRF450 on the trail and walk out! Watch out for THAT guy.

[Indawoods]

That guy would be walking out...

When I got back to the truck... I would have called Search and Resue and tell them where he was at while I was packing up....

[BobbyZ]

That guy would be walking out...

When I got back to the truck... I would have called Search and Resue and tell them where he was at while I was packing up....

is it me or are those the guys that have a brand new 450 with a auto clutch and are constantly bashing the 2 smokers while praising the mighty new 4 t's

when ever we ride in big groups we always just paired up with someone of equal skill and got in line from fastest to slowest.It just came naturally and in the tail end where the joy riders who ran cleanup and made sure no one was left behind.

[Green Hornet]

I'm fortunate to ride with others who look out for each other & have common sense. I prefer to ride sweeper, because it takes me a bit to warm up. Plus I don't like the pressure at the beginning of my ride. Let others know your concern. If they have a problem with it, Then they are the type you don't want to ride with.