Stravafication (or Wimpification?) of 909

[sick4surf]

I just wanted everyone to consider this, we have many more people using our trails on Long Island than you could imagine. We have a higher percentage of injuries and law suits as well. We design ride-arounds into all our trails because of these reasons:

1. Land managers do not like hearing about people getting hurt on their trails or damage done to the resources due to fire truck stump jumpers plowing through the woods knocking down trees to get to an injured person. They don't like to get sued even if the person loses the case they lose money defending the case.

2. We don't like getting sued by people who get hurt on our trails. I was personally served papers and named in a lawsuit due to someone getting hurt on trails I helped build. Our club was also sued and this caused IMBA to lose their nationwide policy.

3. You may lose your insurance due to someone getting hurt on your trails, we did then you can't maintain or build trails anymore and when you do get insurance again it will cost 3 or 4 times as much.

4. A good risk management plan, which every club should develop would recommend ride arounds because if a clear ride around is available and the rider chooses the more difficult section and hurts themselves it is their fault for choosing the more difficult route. Forced risks such as forcing riders into difficult situations are not part of a successful risk management plan.

5. If you build sustainable ride arounds the less skilled will use them, if you don't build ride arounds they will build their own ride arounds and they won't be designed to be sustainable. Do you want to build it right the first time or waste your time closing off ride arounds day after day year after year?

That's all I have to say about that.
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Michael Vitti
CLIMB President
http://www.climbonline.org
Trips for Kids Affiliate
NY State Trails Council Member

[chiefmatesam]

Mike, you have a very interesting perspective on this issue. The trails up by us in the Hudson Valley are not nearly as heavily trafficed as those on Long Island.

You make some very good points in your post, however, not all the ride arounds that have been created are due to a difficult obstacle. A number of them have been created because people are just too lazy to slow down a little and go through them. Trail gets wider and wider. If this kind of ride around continues, people will start to get the impression that it's ok and create more. Then the trails become flow trails that have been sanitized of technical riding. I read about Long Island's trails getting the same thing - sanitized of technical features because the mavericks think it's ok to do it. I've noticed that people chuck the logs and rocks we put up to stop the ride arounds are getting more aggressive and more bold. We can't build lazy ride arounds for each and every possible obstacle.

I think the balance we will have to strike for areas such as 909 as they get more and more popular is to keep the ride arounds for the more difficult obstacles, but keep up on the ones that aren't necessary.
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Studies have shown that riding a bicycle everyday makes you more awesome than the general population.

[Kevin]

DEC encouraged me to construct defined ride arounds at difficult obstacles on the newest trail at Jockey.

And generally speaking, some ride arounds really keep the flow goin' nice and good and stuff.

[Mr. Crowley]

Can we all agree that there is a difference between alternate lines to difficult sections, which give broader trail access and lines that are clearly being cut by riders chasing KOM's?