View Full Version : Mountain Bikes!
I have come to understand that my participation in this forum is counter productive. In an attempt to ammend this I am deleting my posts and have requested to have my account deleted
Lone Wolf
07-21-2003, 17:53
Don't worry. It ain't gonna happen.
Lonewolf is right. For a sample of the possible backlash against bikes on the AT, wait a few days and then submit a post saying your for such an idea.
B Thrash
07-21-2003, 19:48
I attempt to walk a 10 mile trail near my home three time a week where bikes are permitted. This trail was built using a government grant to build for hikers and bikers. The trail in some places has been cut down 10 to 14 inches where the bike treads has damaged and has been totally destroyed from bike use. No one can complain because the grant money was for "Bikes and Hikes". If this is permitted on the AT no one can get very much hiking done for having to get off the trail and let bikes by, you will take one step forward and turn around to see if you are about to be run down, this will happen, it happen to me a few weeks ago, I was not injured but if the biker was going faster I could have been. I am totally 100% for bikes NOT to be used on this "FOOT PATH".
MadAussieInLondon
07-22-2003, 03:57
i'm a mtber too. there are always.. evangelical people on both sides. i cant see it ever being allowed for mtbs on the at. so i wouldnt get ya back up too quickly, sounds like smoke to me.
here in england there is so little 'wood' that its shared with everyone. bikes on trails... horses do more damange than bikers. when its muddy, then yes, bikes can do damage, with tyres cutting through mud, but when its dry there is little damage. bikers dont bush bash and create trails. they ride single file down track. its easy to tell that horses are on trail, when you have to detour steaming mounds of apples (ive been around horses since i was little too..), and the trail is suddently wide enough to drive a bus down...
its a no win situation for bikers to argue trail access anywhere really. search for a bloke called 'mike vandeman mountain biking' in google.. he is rabid and as evangelical as they come about bikes being removed from the world period. i'm sure he has plenty of info should you need any. (the guy is a nutter).
ive said my bit and wont be drawn into any argument. i'm a hiker, mountain biker and backpacker. i enjoy hiking trails and i enjoy singletracking through the forest on my bike.
rabid is an understatement wrt vandeman - I hope he NEVER finds Whiteblaze
I met a guy in 2002 who was going to bike the entire AT. He took the approch trail, crahed hard twice. The second time he bent the frame of his bike and went back to town trading his bike for a backpack. I know there are sections of the trail that are bikable but lets face it - the trail is not designed for bikes and is far too dangerous to bike in many sections. Although I would love to see someone try to bike some sections of the trail (take mahoosic notch or the entire Whites for example), I don't think its gonna happen legally. Cetainly it is not in the best interest of the ATC, or hikers in general.
gravityman
07-22-2003, 10:15
Bikes are forbidden according to the ATC :
Bicycles
Bicycles are not allowed on the Appalachian Trail, except where the A.T. coincides for about three miles with the C & O Canal Towpath in Maryland, in the vicinity of Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. Bicycles are allowed on the entire 184-mile C & O Canal Towpath.
I do hike the Colorado Trail, which is open to all unmotorized traffic. It is really not as dire as has been stated in other posts. There are really only certain sections that get a serious amount of bike use. Mainly near Breckenridge and Denver. Of course I have only sectioned out to just past Leadville, so there may be more areas out towards Durango.
This works really well for the CT because of the remoteness. Only the people attempting a thru-peddle will make it to the most remote areas. Otherwise the trail is for hikers alone. I don't think that I have ever heard of or seen anyone doing a thru-peddle. There are certainly some REALLY tough sections, especially above tree line!
On the AT it would be a different story since so much of the trail is accessible. However, for a trail to be a decent biking trail it has to be designed for that purpose (mainly gradiant wise). Otherwise it is just no fun on a bike... And the AT is not designed for that purpose.
Gravity Man
Kerosene
07-22-2003, 11:24
There is a 17-mile loop trail in southeast Michigan used for biking and hiking. Bikers go clockwise and hikers counterclockwise, so you can see each other coming. The problem is that the bikes have destroyed many sections of the trail, probably during wet season, despite a variety of efforts to keep the trail in place. It's gotten to the point that the bikers own the trail and the hikers are only using it as a route to other trails that don't allow bikes. That said, horses really chew up a trail.
Not directed toward orignator of thread, but to misdirected bikers who think this is a good idea.
If recollection of originator is true, and to folks who stated intention:
WHAAAAAAAT?
First off, no biker could make it pass two or three steps on bike unless they are in parts of flat areas in Virgina or numerous other areas outside of Georiga/North Carolina. (SOBO vs NOB), still a bad idea)
Second, what dumb F ____K would be so ignorant to think bikes on such a gradiated trail would not have an adverse impact it, and so close to ridge line?
Ignorance is bliss.... unfortunately, for those of us who know the difference.
NO WAY should any hiking organization let bicycles & especially mountain bicycles onto trails!
like a previous writer...i have encountered several mountain bikers on hiking trails & they were there legally (for this stretch of the trail) as the BIG SOUTH FORK (TN) permits bicycles in certain parts of the trails...BUT, on those legs of the trail(s)...the trail is soooooooooo eroded in spots....its almost impassable....
hiking in "Red Rock" country (Sedona, AZ area) the mountain bikers have practically taken over the foot paths, totally dis-regarding any others (including us hikers) right to use the pathways...& are downright dangerous to be around.
they'll run you down...they feel its their right to have the right-of way!
Bikes on hiking trails?
JUST SAY NO!
jaybird
www.trailjournals.com/JAYBIRDandJIGSAW