If we are to be able to ride good trails, we must take care of them. It’s that simple.
Land access is an ongoing and tough struggle. We who ride mountain bikes can help a lot, or we can do great damage. The help part comes from doing our best to ride responsibly, and to take care of the trails we ride. We need to get involved in the process of opening trails, and working to keep them open. That’s tough work. It means going to meetings, writing letters, a lot of finiky detail paper work.
But the active side of land access is taking good care of the trails we ride on. It boils down to a fairly simple set of actions:
Don’t Shred. (Skids and washouts may be fun, but they tear up fragile forest floors.)
Don’t ride when the trails are wet.
Don’t widen trails. (If you aren’t able to ride through an obstacle, dismount and portage over it. Widened trails tend to increase erosion.)
If you bring it in, pack it out.
Avoid disturbing wildlife.
Volunteer for trail maintenance work.
We can boil a lot of this down. Ride responsibly. Treat the land gently. Clean up after yourself and others. I make a habit of looking for debris and litter, and try to pack out more than I brought in. Sadly, I’m usually successful.
Join IMBA. The International Mountain Bicycling Association is the umbrella organization for off road cyclists the world over. This link will take you to the IMBA homepage.
Today’s Term(s):
This series, running every Tuesday, is intended to help those who are new to mountain bike riding. By no means is it an exhaustive treatment, but it is our fond hope that it will help you, the beginner, to begin to enjoy riding your bike off road.
Future Topics:
Bike Types
Your next mountain bike or Mountain Biking 201
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