shame this riders on muddy trails?

[mack_turtle]

I was just out on a road/ gravel trail ride around Circle C. I avoided the actual trails (32mm tires are not much fun on the rocks anyways) and crossed paths with a guy who was emerging from the south end of the VTC behind Walgreens on Slaughter. he looked like a "rider" with a nice FS bike (Specialized?). his bike was caked in mud, so much mud that he was carrying his bike out of the woods. I decided to address him directly and the exchange went something like.

me- kinda muddy back there, eh?

mud dude- [nothing, can't hear me because of the headphones]

me- [louder] kinda muddy back there eh!?

mud dude- [pulls out one ear bud] yeah, it's muddy back there!

me- it just rained, of course it was muddy back there. you should know better than to damage the trails when they are muddy

mud dude- I don't need a fucking lecture from you! [plugs ear buds back in and proceeds to scrape thick mud off his bike.]

Edited October 16, 2018 by mack_turtle

[Charlie193]

No harm in posting- there are plenty of people in town who are wanting to ride their bikes just as much as this wanker, but aren’t because they’re reasonable people who don’t want to screw things up for everyone else.

Of course, if he already doesn’t care, or is too stupid to have figured out what he’s doing is out of line, he probably won’t be changing anytime soon, no matter what.

[Yosmithy]

post it....everywhere

[Bamwa]

Apparently he DOES need a lecture from you. Go go turtle power! Reddit austin would be a good walk of shame too.

[TheX]

There are riders that have no idea the damage they can do. They need information, not to be shamed. People that know better need to have their asses kicked..in public...by grrrrls...

[ATXZJ]

Initially i would've said don't share but after his response, i'd say fair game.  The whole earbud/comment thing from him probably would have set me off and escalated it further. I commend you for being reasonable.

I really don't get the whole riding in the wet thing here. The mud in ctx is full of clay and is just absolute misery to ride in and clean off your bike afterwards. It also has lots of little rocks/pebbles that like to get into the bridge area of your fork and scratch the sh*it out of your stanchions. I'll pass.

 

[mack_turtle]

The person I confronted today contacted me. He said he rode into the trail to check it out to see how muddy things were, didn't get very far, then turned around. I saw him on his way out. chances are, he didn't do any real damage. no big deal in this case.

however,

a) duh, of course the trails are muddy. it rained yesterday just like it rained every other day for the past week. no need to check if the trail is muddy- it is obvious. just stay out.

b) don't respond defensively when someone confronts you for doing (or even appearing to do) something stupid. I did my civic duty for the mtb community by confronting someone for riding muddy trails. you're welcome. "I don't need a fucking lecture from you" smacks of defensiveness.

[Jessica]

Yeah, someone said something shitty to me on Strava about riding wet trails. I suppose that individual was more interested in being shitty than actually showing concern. On Strava we clearly started riding a hard packed trail, but when we saw the trail was soft (with 4.9 tires) got off and turned our bikes back to the path and finished a meandering ride to Opal Divine.

WTH is wrong with ear buds? It seems super neurotic to have opinions on how others choose to ride that has an occasional minimal impact on your experience.




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[ATXZJ]

20 minutes ago, Jessica said:

Yeah, someone said something shitty to me on Strava about riding wet trails. I suppose that individual was more interested in being shitty than actually showing concern. On Strava we clearly started riding a hard packed trail, but when we saw the trail was soft (with 4.9 tires) got off and turned our bikes back to the path and finished a meandering ride to Opal Divine.

WTH is wrong with ear buds? It seems super neurotic to have opinions on how others choose to ride that has an occasional minimal impact on your experience.




Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk
 

No offense on the earbud comment and i should probably clarify. The persons actions of saying FU and then quickly stuffing their ears and going back to something else seems like a convenient way of hiding from confrontation and having to own what they did. To me, it seems immature and cowardly. 

Disclaimer:  ive never once used strava or ridden with headphones/music. 

[Charlie193]

4 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

The person I confronted today contacted me. He said he rode into the trail to check it out to see how muddy things were, didn't get very far, then turned around. I saw him on his way out. chances are, he didn't do any real damage. no big deal in this case.

however,

a) duh, of course the trails are muddy. it rained yesterday just like it rained every other day for the past week. no need to check if the trail is muddy- it is obvious. just stay out.

b) don't respond defensively when someone confronts you for doing (or even appearing to do) something stupid. I did my civic duty for the mtb community by confronting someone for riding muddy trails. you're welcome. "I don't need a fucking lecture from you" smacks of defensiveness.

Maybe I was a bit hasty with my wanker comment then- apologies. Think you’re right about the reply though. Most of us probably don’t like being told what to do by random people, but if he was aware that people don’t generally ride in the wet here, and that you were trying to keep the trails in good shape, it would have been as quick to say that he just confirmed the trail was unrideable and turned around, as it was to tell you where to go, and ride off in a sulk. To each their own, I suppose.

[Cafeend]

So curious....
How did this random guy know to contact you?

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[AntonioGG]

3 hours ago, Jessica said:

WTH is wrong with ear buds? It seems super neurotic to have opinions on how others choose to ride that has an occasional minimal impact on your experience.



 

It depends.  Some people obviously have the type that allow you to hear outside noise and probably have it at a low enough volume to hear what's going on around them.  But I've run into folks that had no idea I was trying to pass them, bell, politely asking, then flat out yelling didn't work.  On top of that, not riding or running predictably is a problem.   If you're going to blast your music, stay to the right so people can at least safely pass you when the opportunity arises.  

Most people with headphones and earbuds are great.  They're very aware of what's going on.  I'd rather people wear earbuds than those loudspeakers TBH.

[TheX]

I hate the people with earbuds in that yell at me because they're startled when I go around them on narrow trails. I guess my loud ass bell, and "on your left" loudly a few times should have been enough...if they could hear over their music.

 

WTF is wrong with enjoying being outdoors and co-existing?

[mack_turtle]

1 hour ago, Cafeend said:

So curious....
How did this random guy know to contact you?
 

we had the discussion in an email group and he identified himself to me. it's someone who knows what they are doing and did not, in fact, need a lecture from me. I didn't recognize him in that context and I started the whole thing a bit confrontational, which I think was justified given the soggy condition of the trails and the damage we've seen when idiots plow through it. I'm kind of a confrontation guy when the situation calls for it. we discussed it like civilized adults instead of belligerent MAMILs in the woods and it's fine now as far as I am concerned.

moral of story- don't ride muddy trails and if you find yourself on a muddy trail, think about how bad it looks when someone sees you dragging your muddy bike out of the woods. don't be surprised when they are pissed off at you for riding mud because, no matter what you think you were doing right, you look exactly like one of those jackasses who rides muddy trails.

[TAF]

It strikes me that sort of person who might ride muddy trails, might also get pretty lippy when confronted. There are plenty of assholes out there.

[crazyt]

if I was riding a muddy trail to inspect it and someone confronted me about it I would tell them they are 100% right and good on them for working to protect the trail.

[AustinBike]

15 hours ago, Jessica said:

WTH is wrong with ear buds? It seems super neurotic to have opinions on how others choose to ride that has an occasional minimal impact on your experience.
 

Just got back from a trip where 8 people rode for 4 days straight. 7 without earbuds and one with.

What is wrong with earbuds? Good god I do not have enough time to outline all of it, including not being able to communicate with that person and also having that person get lost (and blowing ~45mins of our time on the ride looking for/waiting for him) because he was licking around with his phone.

If wearing earbuds has minimal impact it would be fine, but as someone else pointed out, when you can't hear those around you, the problem moves from "your problem" to "our problem" and that is where it all breaks down. It's like saying what's wrong with swinging my arms indiscriminately? It's fine if you are by yourself in your living and nobody else is around, but it becomes problematic when you are in an elevator or coffee shop with other people around. Earbuds are great for immersing into your own world, I love them for buses, airplanes and other situations. But if you are in an environment where you will need to interact and communicate with others - often quickly - then they are best left behind. There are few consequences of earbuds on a bus (other than probably missing your stop) but the penalty of earbuds on a trail can be high - not only for you, but for the rest of us.

Biking on public trails is a group activity, even if you are riding alone. None of us has our own private trails, we need to be cognizant of others.

[throet]

12 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

I'd rather people wear earbuds than those loudspeakers TBH.

I'll second that, especially on trails like Deception where so many sections of trail run closely together. I've been riding out there before and couldn't even tell where the music is coming from. I dropped out of a group ride once because somebody in the group assumed that everybody wanted to hear their head-banger mash-up. I have no problem with people using earbuds if they can do so without impacting others, although personally I'd much rather immerse myself in whatever sounds the trail and surroundings have to offer.

Regarding muddy trails, I do think sometimes we have a tendency to be too judgmental. There are times when I come off the trail splattered in mud even though the trail overall was fine to ride. All it takes is one mud puddle or riding along a section of wet pavement to cover your bike and clothes with splatters. There is a big difference between looking muddy and having mud caked on your tires / drive train, but some casual observers will just see a little mud and cry foul. I'm not making excuses for people who are out there damaging trails - just saying sometimes you do need to give the benefit of doubt. 

[Jessica]

Thank you for your opinion on my rhetorical question. I disagree with your opinion in whole. In my opinion, being annoyed by another's action while turning a blind eye to one's own selfish preference is petty. For example:. While riding I hear horrific music blaring off someone's bike, or wondering why Walnut Creek isn't called Dogshit Creek because that's what it smells like, I smile and remember to look behind me to see if I am being 'that guy'.

 

 

 

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[csmceuen]

PSA for all of those who wear earbuds. Do yourself and every other trail user a favor and get some of the bone conduction headphones. They are amazing. You can hear your music very well and they minimally impact your other auditory functions. I got a pair about a month ago and they are amazing. I only use them when riding alone, but I can still hear everything that is going on around me perfectly.

[notyal]

18 hours ago, ATXZJ said:

I really don't get the whole riding in the wet thing here. The mud in ctx is full of clay and is just absolute misery to ride in and clean off your bike afterwards. It also has lots of little rocks/pebbles that like to get into the bridge area of your fork and scratch the sh*it out of your stanchions. I'll pass.

 

Mucky Nutz. Best $12 bike accessory you'll ever buy. Now you can shred muddy trails like a pro. 

(Joking about shredding muddy trails. Serious about the fender.)

[csmceuen]

Just now, notyal said:

Mucky Nutz. Best $12 bike accessory you'll ever buy. Now you can shred muddy trails like a pro. 

(Joking about shredding muddy trails. Serious about the fender.)

Maybe not for muddy trails, but it will help with the little rocks that get everywhere even when dry.

[mack_turtle]

sorry, but the plain and simple objective fact is that riding trails with headphones makes you a doofus. I have come to that conclusion based on my own experience as a doofus and a rigorously scientific sample pool of dozens of encounters with beheadphoned doofi.

 

however, that was not why I brought up the topic. interesting tangent though.

 

and yes to Mucky Nutz. keep most of the crap off the stanchions of your fork to avoid premature fork death!

Edited October 15, 2018 by mack_turtle

[mack_turtle]

16 hours ago, Jessica said:

Yeah, someone said something shitty to me on Strava about riding wet trails

perhaps they were unnecessarily rude about it, but good for that person for saying something. You should thank them. most people are too chickenshit to to possibility of confrontation with the doofi that blatantly ride muddy trails. If no one says anything at all, the ignorant public just destroys singletrack without concern for how it affects others.

[csmceuen]

28 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

sorry, but the plain and simple objective fact is that riding trails with headphones makes you a doofus. I have come to that conclusion based on my own experience as a doofus and a rigorously scientific sample pool of dozens of encounters with beheadphoned doofi.

Not arguing that fact, but if I am going to be a doofus I might as well do it safely and respectfully.