Is anyone else getting sick of all the shuttle runs blowing out the trails in the San Gabriel mountains? It seems like every time I ride, I cross paths with some full face and full armor wearing bozo that comes skidding around a corner while cranking some $#!tty music through their cell phone. There have been some major hacks riding these shuttles lately, who are F'ing things up for the rest of us and giving MTBrs a bad rap. Lots of people I know (both hikers and bikers) have been complaining about the brake rutted and blown out trail conditions lately, and have had run ins with these no trail etiquette having idiots. And no, this isn't directed at DHers... I've seen dudes on all types of rigs pulling this crap lately. Bottom line... just because you have a bunch of body armor and can point a tire down hill doesn't mean you should be riding the trails. Ok... rant over.
I hear you brothah, I am of the opinion that if you don't climb it, it's not worth descending. Unfortunately, your going to get very strong opinions from both sides on this one...... I'll get the popcorn. Lights, Camera, aaaaaannnnnnnd ACTION!
The excuse that they don't have a place to ride downhill is over. Go to snow summit where someone is paid to repair the damage. If the shuttlers fixed the ruts, bumps, watered the trail down and spent money on pavers on the problem spots then keeping riding the Gabs.
I don't have a place to ride... ... but I have my own personal hill to push my bike up and bomb down in a secluded location only accessible to those with access to base although I can't speak for others, I do strive to employ good trail etiquette regardless of where I'm riding. Heck, If I'm diving down the road and see a cyclist I tap my horn just so they know I'm coming. even if they don't like it, I know that they know that I'm coming
I feel exactly the same way. In my experience, any trail I rode that was found to be shuttle-able suffered marked damage from over-braking, trail sanitizing, and P#ssy lines! By taking away the climbing aspect, you are just diluting the essence of the sport. Shuttle on hordes! You will never ride the REALLY good stuff.....
A couple of months ago I did a ride where I started from Chantry and rode to the top of Wilson, down Kenyon Devore, over to Gabrielino and back down to Chantry. At the exact moment I got to the top of Wilson a shuttle van pulls up. I sit down to snack as I had planned to and watched them unload their stuff. Only one of the four even acknowledged me, a fellow mtb'er sitting 15 feet away. Maybe they were just too embarrassed? I didn't say anything about the shuttling; I just sat, snacked, and wallowed in my sense of accomplishment and maybe a little smugness
Everyone should ride rigid single speed bikes, by using gears, and suspension, you take away the essence of climbing, and the pain of descending, haha I don't think damage to the trails is Just caused by dh, but by the number of bikes using the trail. We should post rides here not just to ride, but also to work on trails, I wonder how many of you that complain have picked up a shovel to help?
the only one limiting you to one style of bicycling is yourself. I like light xc, I just don't get the satisfaction from crawling to the top just to pu$$ie my way back to the bottom. Persoanlly I usually don't go out of my way to beat up on a specific demografic, Idividuals with in that demographic sure, but not the entire demographic. That would be like my saying pitbulls are the $hitiest dogs on earth based off what the main stream media says. Granted I'm not a fan of them or other breads that closely resemble them but I have met a few very nice pits but I'm always on guard just incase the kill switch desides to flip to the on position... try not to let the letters on the computer screen hurt your feelings, they are just letters after all
yeah those shuttler's screw up everything they should all have to drive 2 hours and pay 35 bucks to ride. I have never encountered a rude XC rider, or road rider, or rider at the BMX track...wait. There are A holes everywhere, deal with it
I think I figured it out, shuttlers are good at two things 1)riding in vehicles up a mountain 2) I think maybe? Riding a bike down a mountain? Mountain Bikers might be good at two things also? 1) riding up a mountain 2) riding down same mountain. I call myself a mountain biker, it just sounds better don't it? BTW-I don't hate shuttlers, they can only do what they can, there best so to speak. I just feel a little sorry for them sometimes.
I think everyone should be allowed to determine what essence of whatever sport they want to enjoy. I also, as a person who enjoys DH a lot, cringe when I think about mtbers mowing over hikers, horses, and anyone else on the trail. It's gonna get us kicked off...
hate the guys descending fast when climbing, cause they get on he way, hate the guys climbing cause they get on the way when descending.
I was riding one of my trails yesterday and thought something similar. Who is riding on my trail they have no respect. The sport is getting to popular must be the internet and Strava.
Wow...ummm, the nonsense in this post is stellar. As a person who loves mountain biking and has for 20 years, it's absolutely ridiculous to say that people who shuttle are not mountain bikers. Let's compare to skiing. Would you say that only cross-country skiers are skiers? Those lame-ass chairlift-riding gravity hounds on their fixed-heel bindings are not skiers? Most DH MtBers I know are also very good all-around mountain bikers, and if you watch the little video clip above, perhaps you will notice that the young man featured is a pretty good mountain biker that you don't have to pity for his limited skills. I understand and support the point of this thread that shuttling two-way trails puts us into conflict with each other. I agree that the equipment combined with industry media can encourage people to only want to ride DH without developing bike handling skills or respect for the proper interpersonal or trail etiquette. I just had to respond to the post above because it is so utterly incorrect and is based on the few rather than the bulk, and missed the point entirely. The point is shuttling two-way trails might be a bad idea due to trail abuse and interpersonal conflict. I shuttle, but I won't shuttle two-way trails.
leondelmonte, Jokingly, I'm telling you, you are on crack. I have been riding McGill trail for over 20 years (Always both up and down), and for those years it was a smooth as a baby's butt, in fact, everyone that ever rode McGill back in the day used to comment about how smooth it was. As the DH technology scene arrived I began to notice chatter bumps into the corners, and just past the corners blown out and terraced to the point where it affected my ride. That's because idiots (yes, I will use the word idiots) would go into the corners way too hot for their ability, and grab a handful of brakes. And when they thought they were superhero's in their Armour plating, they would blow through the corner without braking and fly off the trail. Of course, STRAVA does not help..... No. There is a distinct difference between DH riders and Mountain Bikers. Give them their ride parks so they can go muck up someone else trails. Oh, and I put in a minimum of 40 hours a year into trail maintenance. Just my two cents brothah....
