cxagent

I like this idea. When doing the emergency location markers for signs we ran into this exact problem. People thought they could use the GPS locations (lat / long) to give an exact location. After all, they could read it off their phone and relay that to 911 or whoever. Yeah right. In a stressful situation you are going to read two 15 digit numbers off your phone to someone who is going to write those down perfectly so they can transfer those to the person who will actually go help the injured rider. Not going to happen. one lost digit or transposed digit and the location could be off by miles. And don't forget that many GPS "systems" use different methods of those locations. Some use negative numbers. Others use positive numbers ONLY. Some use degrees minutes seconds then start decimals. Some go straight to decimals. This quickly turned into a big a mess as saying 'I'm by the drop with the big tree and the rock...'. Mile markers were almost as bad. Ask a person "what mile marker are you closest to" and they will give you the reading on their GPS/Strava. Assuming you know where they started, know the exact path they took, and they never doubled back or sessioned anything, that might get the first responders close. Miss any one of those details and chances of finding them quickly are slim to none. ARR started using a 3 digit location identifier. The first digit tells the first responder which "entrance" to use (almost all trails have multiple entrances like BCGB) or zone (break the trails into different areas). The other two digits give an exact location. Most land owners / land manager liked this system. This is what is used on most trails with signage. Some land owners / land manager hated it. They thought it was too illogical. It could wind up with numbers physically close together on the trail but vastly different numbers. For those areas we use a grid system. (Like most maps with letters across the top and numbers down the sides.) That identifies to the first responders to a "square" but then it is up to them which part of the trail thru that square they need to find. Both methods have good points and bad points. The 3 words system helps some. If it catches on and most people (land managers and first responders) know what this is and how to use it - we will change to use it. That way there is no "special map" needed to decode the locations. For some reason, some land managers chose to keep that map to themselves.

Welcome to the club. Every time I get to ride the SATN there is more and more and more. I'm hearing rumors of ~90 miles of trail (including some roads to connect them). Not much technical but fun trail none the less.

It DUMPED on Slaughter Creek Trail. Less than I mile away where I was barely got a sprinkle.

When they do that I yell "RAMMING SPEEEEEDDDDD!!!" Most of the time they all swap sides of the trail - again. But they take an extra step or two farther from the trail. Now I have room to pass. If anybody makes a comment like "how rude" or "hikers have right of way" I stop and talk to them. I point out that they do have right of way and I did politely ask them to pass when there was a chance. But instead they did this side swap 'dance' and blocked the trail again. I say - "So it no longer looks like sharing the trail with other users but like a pre-rehearsed comedy routine. I was contributing to their comedy routine. So where is the camera?" Most of the time they start laughing at how ridiculous this sounds. And they recognize how accurate it is.

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I hear stuff like this all the time. The person with the off-leash dog always has a "reason". Allowed off the concrete. Allowed on Tuesdays. Allowed when its raining. Allowed when followed by a lady wearing a red sweater... I call BS on all such excuses. Of course calling BS does not change what they are doing but it does piss them off. And me causing a stink does not help either. I think we are better off to just say nice things and move along.

As many have said - you need to start experimenting to see what works for you. My experience - Thick sock bad. Thin socks much better but get soaked in sweat. Pick your poison. The tighter I clamp my Sidi's the more trouble I have. When I am riding "hard", I need them tight. But I am moving so much on those rides I rarely have a problem. When on an "easy" ride I have to loosen the clamps or my feet kill me. Now days I try to pick how tight a need them and probably make adjustments during the ride. I have tried many different brands / types of shoes. As long as they have 'straps' (not laces), they seem about the same. It does not make much difference if those straps are velcro or rachet or ???. Just not lace up. YMMV. Orthodics help but are not an 'automatic solution'. Skot (at BSS) recommended some orthodics that were a great improvement then. Over time they weren't so much help. I replaced them with new and it got better but the same as when I first tried them. I think my body had changed so they didn't work as well the second time. I pulled the SureFoot custom orthodics out of my ski boots and tried them with mixed results. Some things got better. Somethings got worse. I think you should experiment on your own. At some point you may need to seek professional help. I would start with the quick/easy first and step up from there. My experience with doctors on these type of things is you have to tell them what is wrong so they can repeat it back to you. Some how the same information that was free becomes valuable when a doctor repeats it back to you.

Welcome Gigantor!!! I missed seeing you here and on the trail!

Let me add that these are *NOT* thankless tasks. You may not get thanks directly but many / most people know that your work is helping them. But then there a few people...

Go get 'em Seth. I wish you all the luck in the world. And I will help you if you need it.

First I thought - Ronan and Brooke are my heroes! Then I thought - oh sh**! They have raised the bar so I can NEVER keep up. So back to what I say on many rides - You guys go on. I can get back on my own. You guys are friggin' awesome!!!!

I understand your comment but don't think it is valid. From what I read about the gymnastics issue a while back - the problem with Larry Nasser was reported to the "NGO" (National Governing Organization) repeatedly. And time after time he was allowed to continue his examinations of young girls. At some point, I think an adult with any common sense at all would have decided that something was wrong enough to be investigated. Either that investigation never happened or it was buried. Again from what I read way back when, it was not until those young women were old enough to file lawsuits that a 'real investigation' was done. And the story got uglier and uglier from there. ETA - I think this comment actually addresses Anita Handle's post. The law suit is what finally got a real investigation. The real investigation generated criminal charges and conviction. The news stories got the politicians to 'pile on' so it appeared they were doing something. Anyway - I have said all I am going to say on this subject. It is not my problem anymore.

So just to throw out some hypothetical situations - Say there is a Kid's Trip ride with one adult lead and one adult sweep and several kids. Say one kid has a flat or gets hurt. Now the entire group has to stay or go with the one kid. We can't split the adults and especially not have one adult with the one kid. So what if we have three adults with each group? Nope - that would end up with one adult with the one kid. So we have to have an even number of adults with each group. That way there can always be two adults with any way the kids are split up. But we are already having trouble getting enough adults for even two groups of kids with two adults with each group (total of 4 adults). This is quickly getting to the point where Kid's Trip / minor (under 18) riders just don't work anymore. Pretty quickly it becomes the only way to make it work is if the minor is accompanied by their parent or guardian. That is where RLAG was until recently when the rules were ignored. I personally (not as part of a group like ARR) have taken kids and even young women on rides. Just me as an adult and the "new" rider. I thought I was safe by keeping the GPS and a helmet camera running the whole time. If there was ever any question of what went on. I had some documentation. So the kid says I sexually abused them on the ride. But the GPS track shows I never stopped moving. So the adult (me) must have done an amazing act while on a separate bicycle and never stopped moving. If I ever stopped, the helmet camera was ALWAYS on. The video is even better because it captures audio and video. I can prove even what I said. Apparently, neither GPS nor video are enough any more. Thanks Larry Nasser. Thanks Federal government. At least the government was trying to do good things. But those unintended consequences happened again.

Only RLAG has changed at the moment. The Sunday and monthly rides have not changed at this time, but may have to also. ARR is having to work thru some new (ARR just found out about it) legal requirements. RLAG being the most visible and most active group was the first to make changes. I never thought I would see the Federal Government would get involved with local volunteer organizations like ARR. But the women's gymnastics problems (Google Larry Nasser) create such a problem that it happened.

I agree that people should try different things. But after they have ridden a trail, I think they should make their own decision if the want to ride it again. I find that a trail I may not like today is epic another day. A lot of that depends on what condition I am in. Right now I think Walnut may be too challenging for me.

It will be a few weeks before I can finish clearing the trail. The majority is cleared but the "ends" of Juniper Ridge have not been checked. Your understanding is appreciated.

No. It is time to have a discussion about banning assholes. It does not matter what they are 'on'. An asshole causes trouble no matter what they are 'on'. Even 'on' foot. The trouble is it can be hard to identify assholes to ban them. It is much easier to identify / ban somebody by what they are 'on'. Some of the biggest trouble makers at Walnut Creek are 'on' foot. They start most conversations with "FU" so they are easy to spot. But they could go into hiding by keeping their mouth shut.

I can confirm the FB post is gone. I have also deactivated my FB account and had to reactivate it. In the near future I hope to delete it completely. I hate to sound like a grumpy old man. I would rather just fade into obscurity while I ride my bike.

I posted about a similar problem a while back. I was looking at the Spyglass entrance of the BCGB and saw that someone had averaged >50 miles per hour up that trail. Wait a minute!!!! I don't believe somebody did that in a race car, much less on a bike. Then you look at the track and find that they DROVE by the trail on Spyglass with their GPS on. Strava gave them credit for that speed on the trail even though their track was perpendicular to the trail. Repeat after me - ALL HAIL STRAVA!!! STRAVA! STRAVA!

Work thru the Trail Steward to get approval. If the land manager is OK with it - put a rope there. When talking to the land manager, don't bring up liability. Let them decide what issue are important to them.

The wood features are about the same. The difference is that a rope is expected to be a limited life item. Wood will rot but it takes a long time (years). I expect nylon or other 'plastic' rope would be brittle in about a year (ultraviolet damage). A natural fiber rope (hemp) is about the same but due to rot instead. The liability issue is why ARR insurance limits wood features to 24" above the ground. But we can pile dirt higher than 24". On FB I suggested using the rope to have a hangman's noose next to the sign.

He put it down - he should get the glue back up. That might need to be explained to him by someone of proper authority. The sign and game camera bluff are good. I'm not so sure about the rope. In liability cases I understand (I'm not a lawyer) that if it is a "natural feature" then all liability is on the user. They can chose to crawl up/down that rock but they can't sue anyone over their decision. If there is a "man made feature" (e.g. ladder, rope, handholds etc) then there is someone to sue if something bad happened. The rope and attachment would have to be regularly inspected and documented to be "safe".

If you see anybody doing unauthorized trail modifications - get a picture first. Then ask them what they are doing and if it was approved by the land owner. Note I said to get a picture first. They usually disappear when the questions start.

Some people think the units should be millimeter per decade for bikes.

IMHO - You are not overreacting. Most of my bikes are metal. But I have, and ride, a plastic bike also. I have cracked / broken both metal and plastic frames.