At the Intersection of Trail Etiquette and Common Sense
Do you strictly follow the rules, or do you mix in common courtesy?
Foreward by Daniel Sapp: To me, trail etiquette seems to be something that one should just practice at all times, with no exceptions. Be nice, and say hi! However, it’s a polarizing topic in our sport and others where we’re sharing the trail with many different people doing more than just riding bikes. There can be a lot of nuance to it all, and etiquette goes far beyond sharing and yielding to oncoming traffic. There’s how to ride in a manner that is appropriate for the terrain and tread, whether or not it’s alright to ride in wet conditions, differing standards for professionally maintained bike parks vs volunteer maintained trails in a national forest, and plenty more.
Today, we’ll dive into yielding, common courtesy, and some common sense with Travis Reill, based on his experiences on the trail with his young son. Travis is a former elementary school teacher turned mountain bike storyteller based in Bend, Oregon. His writing has been published by Singletracks.com, The Loam Wolf, The Manual, Mountain Bike Action, Freehub Magazine, and others. You can often find him out on the trail with his son.
It wasn’t until mid-March that we finally had our first real taste of spring here in Oregon. Pants and jackets were traded for shorts and t-shirts as temperatures were in the low 70s. I had already gotten in a bigger ride that morning, so I took the opportunity to get my son—age 6—out on the trails.
We headed to a trailhead with several relatively easy green XC loops. Everyone else in town also had the same idea as we squeezed into the last open parking spot. We unloaded, grabbed our gear, and set out on a five-mile loop. This trail system does an excellent job of remaining approachable while incorporating some manageable rock and tech, allowing new riders to progress easily.
While a great spot to take a new rider, like your 6-year-old kid, it also must be a good place for more advanced riders to try and beat their most recent Strava time—because there’s a lot of that.
With my son leading the way, we came around a corner into a long straight on an ever-so-slight descent and encountered another rider charging hard at us. There was plenty of time for the other rider to pull over, which I thought he would. But he didn’t, and by the time I told my son to slow down and pull off the trail, my kiddo looked up, saw the oncoming traffic, panicked, and rode off the trail, crashing into a tree.
Besides a good scrape on his arm and being so startled that he wanted to throw up, my son was okay. So was the other rider—his Strava time, at least—as he continued, asserting his right as the uphill traveler.
Trail etiquette and common sense
Before we get too bent out of shape, let me clarify that I completely understand that my son and I should have stopped for that man. Although that entire trail system is relatively flat, we were technically descending, albeit gradually. Yes, we should have pulled off the trail.
I’m not advocating for not following or teaching my kids appropriate trail etiquette. We talk about trail etiquette and what to do when we encounter another trail user and, after learning from this incident, practice safely pulling over a bit more. But there is also no reason a bit of common sense, and maybe even some common courtesy, can’t occasionally trump etiquette.
You'll understand if you’ve ever tried to teach your kid how to mountain bike. Everything we do to descend successfully is quite a bit for a 6-year-old to juggle. Knees bent, pedals level. Butt out of your saddle. Elbows bent, cover your brakes. Weight forward but not too far forward. Let the bike come up to you in the bumps; use your legs and arms to absorb. Don’t be stiff…
It can be a lot. Then, they have to find an appropriate spot to pull over, and the result can be a crash into a tree. Or, we can recognize that this kid also learning to do the same thing we love is more important than our Strava time.
Often, common courtesy and common sense go hand in hand. Where common courtesy might tell you that it would be kind to pull over and let a father and young son pass, common sense might tell you that it would be easier for you to pull over than them.
Last summer, I rode one of my favorite trails in the area when I encountered a fairly large group descending. Most of the trails in my area are built for both climbing and descending, and I was on the “climbing side” of those two. I saw the group as they crested the hill, pulled over, and waved them on.
The last in line stopped with me just a moment to say thanks. “Thank you so much. It is hard to get this many kids off the trail,” the instructor told me. It turns out that they were middle and high school-aged kids from the local mountain bike academy heading back to their vans.
In that situation, it made much more sense for me, a solo rider, to pull over for this group of nine or ten riders despite having the “right of way.” Yes, technically, they should stop for the uphill rider, but ten people staggered down the trail trying to find a place to pull off is much more complicated than one. Plus, as much as I’m sure they would’ve loved watching me huffing and puffing up the hill, it was absolutely quicker for me to get off the trail, allow them to continue descending, and continue on my climb.
Another time I’ll always pull over for someone descending is when climbing a section of trail, which I know is particularly fun when heading down. Let’s be honest; we’re here for the downs. Don’t be “that guy” who ruins someone’s stoke on principle. Yes, you’re climbing, but I bet you’ll appreciate it when the roles are reversed and another rider gets off the trail while you descend that section.
Kindness as a Priority
While I am definitely teaching my kids proper trail etiquette and how to use common sense in situations, I hope that, above all else, their top priority is to be kind to other users. This can be especially hard when they are “wrong” and you are “right.”
I was riding with a few of my buddies when we encountered a group of elderly hikers sitting on boulders lining the trail, eating lunch. The boulders, combined with the hiker’s knees and feet sticking out into the trail, created a gauntlet nearly too narrow for our bikes to fit through.
Having taken a pedal or two to my shin, I hesitated to ride on through despite them telling us to go ahead. Their legs stuck out into the trail, and I took exception, clearly letting them know of my annoyance. One of the hikers chirped back, and a quick verbal altercation ensued. Nearly two miles down the trail, I was still pretty heated.
The hikers were wrong. We all know you get off the trail to allow traffic to pass if you stop. To me, my frustration is also understandable. It represents years of the ongoing trail user conflict between hikers and mountain bikers, the latter group often getting a bad rap.
This incident represented poor etiquette on the hiker's part for around 35 feet of a nearly 12-mile ride. However, not only did I let it ruin several of those miles, but I was also an ass to a large group of hikers in their 60s and 70s when I didn’t need to be. I want people to be stoked and accommodate my son while he rides, but I can’t even celebrate a group of hikers relaxing for lunch. Why? Because I had to get off and walk 35 feet? We can all, myself included, do better.
What’s the takeaway? Stop for hikers, stop for uphill traffic, and, for god’s sake, stop for equestrians. Communicate well, use common sense, and do all the things you can right. But, most importantly, let’s be kind to one another.
Most of us go to the forest to escape negative energy…don’t bring it. It only takes a moment of being a jerk or self-important to ruin everyone’s day. I can’t recall ever feeling good after being rude, and I have to imagine that the uphill rider who seemed to care less about my son trying to ride the trail didn’t feel great after blowing past him. At least, I would hope not. Slowing down to show kindness and spread a little bit of stoke can only make everyone’s day better. Besides, we all started somewhere.
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You said it great here. I know people want to set their PR but sometimes you just need to slow down for passing hikers or bikers. Then you have the hikers who want to make a point that they don’t want mountain bikes on their trail and refuse to move for you… Just be kind everyone, please.
I am not religious but there I a chapter in the Bible that I live by. It is chapter 6 in the book, Micah. The prophet Micah is asked what God requires of us. Micah responds. Walk humbly with your God. Do what is just. And to love chesed. Most Bibles translate the Hebrew word chesed as mercy but the correct translation is kindness. The Jewish religion teaches that out of the three things God requires of all of us, kindness is the most important.
If everyone acted humbly. Always did what is right and just. And most importantly, always seek to do acts of kindness, this world would be like heaven.