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dustyyoungblood
Guest
If a local shuttle service provided breakfast burritos I would not be picky about the trail choice. Just saying
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dustyyoungblood
Guest
To state that DH oriented riders with 45lb bikes wearing pads are less responsible than riders climbing a trail (resumably sans pads, and on less capable lighter bikes) is inaccurate and kind of rude. All for one and one for all, no?
Some of the most dangerous, most rude, most out of control riders I have ever ridden around were full Lycra, no pads, 21lb hardtail, pretentious wanna be Olympic XC hero’s yelling at hikers while they did suicide laps on cholla on a busy weekend. Up/down/up/down watch out get outta my way assholes. Not DH guys.
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Cyclotourist
iMTB Hooligan
I've had riders (well, a rider) yell out "Strava, Strava" as he blazed past me before. I would categorize him as being in the Olympic XC hero category over the DH stormtrooper one.
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dustyyoungblood
Guest
Holy Sh!t. Lots of crazy foockers out there.
Cyclotourist
iMTB Hooligan
It was pretty surreal. It wasn't so much a "Get out of my way, losers" but more a "Sorry, can't stop and chat, I have to wiiiiinnnnn" sort of a thing.
Really weird...
CarlS
Member
yea sorry not saying all DH guys. It's just my experience. They are generally the ones who don't yield when I'm climbing and almost take me out. When it's all about the downhill sometimes it's easy to forget that there are people coming up as well. Not always their fault. We all do it, It is fun to go fast. Didn't mean to be rude.
BonsaiNut
iMTB Rockstah
As long as you hit the trail at 6 AM you will never see them. You'll be home and showering before they finish their second breakfast burrito
I have met all types on the trail, good and bad. I don't think you can categorize anyone simply based on the type of riding they prefer.
My recent favorite amusing experience was when I got passed by a dude while we were both climbing Harding TT. Never saw him before... never seen him since. The guy was kitted up in full lycra and was very fast - he blazed past me on the climb. He was doing the whole "I'm too cool to wear a helmet on a climb" thing, and was wearing a floppy hat instead, with his helmet buckled on to his pack. He got to about mile 6.5 and dropped three water bottles - apparently in order to lighten his load so he could better get some crazy PR (it was a hot day). I saw him again as I was approaching 4 Corners and he was on his way back down - full sprint mode.
...and then on the way down I got to stop and pick up his hat, which apparently came loose, and one of his water bottles, which also didn't make the descent. Kinda funny to think of the guy bouncing down the trail losing equipment
Maybe he knew the stuff fell off, but he was just too fast to want to stop and pick it up I'm just not a racer, so I don't have that mindset I guess. I try to improve my times and like to set personal goals, but I'm primarily interested in the fun of the experience. If I have a good experience but add a few minutes... all the better for me. I've seen guys completely lose it because they didn't hit a time they wanted to get.
Cyclotourist
iMTB Hooligan
evdog
iMTB Rockstah
So is this new shuttle service going to contribute any trail maintenance, or is it just send a ton of riders down the trail who will tear it up even more than it is now?
Yeah, yeah people self shuttle trails like this but it also brings out a whole 'nother contingent who would be too lazy to ride it at all or as often, if they had to run the shuttle themselves.
Palm canyon has gotten more and more blown out the last couple years as shuttle traffic has increased.
Yeah, yeah people self shuttle trails like this but it also brings out a whole 'nother contingent who would be too lazy to ride it at all or as often, if they had to run the shuttle themselves.
Palm canyon has gotten more and more blown out the last couple years as shuttle traffic has increased.
mtnbikej
J-Zilla
Sidewalk
iMTB Rockstah
I think it is more the ******* makes the bike, the bike doesn't make the ******* type of deal. The first couple of times I rode Exploration was shuttling with some endurobros, one on a DH bike. While we hit it at a time with no hikers, the way they were riding very much felt very chill and just enjoy the trail. Put a different group on the same bikes, and it could be a different story.
At least, I'm hoping that's how it is.
I think the interwebs are just making these places easier to find more than anything. The same groups would only hit the same trails over and over. Now we can hop online and find new stuff that might have been a secret before.
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dustyyoungblood
Guest
I totally understand your imperical evidence and the generalizations. Thanks so much for shareing your thoughts here. Cheers mate
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dustyyoungblood
Guest
One thing I really enjoyed about Santa Cruz, no hikers and mostly “one way” trails. Of course hiking and multi direction is allowed, it’s just not common practice.
herzalot
iMTB Hooligan
(As I know you know), Palm Canyon is not a shuttle in the sense of take-you-to-the-top-so-you-can-bomb-down, and repeat. It's a necessary part of a point-to-point ride, much like a one-day Kokopelli. I know the shuttle companies make it easier than setting your own shuttle, but I don't really put it in the same category, because it does not pit climbers against descenders, and, until you get close to Palm Springs, there are few other trail users out there.
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evdog
iMTB Rockstah
Dunno, there are a lot of enduro-bro's shredding PC now. Shuttling is not just for the downhillers! Yeah I know this isn't an issue of climber vs descender but its still a case where a shuttle service makes a ride much more accessible, draws lots of extra traffic and the trail conditions suffer as a result. Personally I would not be upset at all if all these shuttle companies went away....
mtnbikej
J-Zilla
Agreed.....I know when I ride out there, my group doesn’t exceed 5 riders. That way only 1 vehicle goes to the top. Plus our impact is less on trail. Compare that to a shuttle service that can take 15 bikes/riders. I imagine that many people don’t deserve byhat ride regularly because the self shuttle is time consuming. Not so much a problem when you don’t have to worry about the shuttle.
BigTex
Member
I agree that shuttle companies ought to contribute to trail maintenance. In my limited experience, though, I don't see that much extra traffic generated. That may be different in a case like Cannell Plunge or Downieville, but on the occasions I've used a shuttle service (same company both times, in Tahoe - here's one shuttle ride – https://www.strava.com/activities/185296420) I think the impact is minimal compared the number of people using the trail in general. And even if there were 15 people being shuttled to the top, in short order those 15 had broken up into smaller groups anyway, so there weren't large groups bombing down the trail.