Welp just had the biggest ***hole “ban” me from the local trails

[onabike]

so far this week... I'm in San Diego, CA by the way. Came up on a mountain biker (non e) from far behind while in eco. Gave him plenty of time to notice me and waited for a very wide section of trail to pass and say "how's it going" while passing by. I got about 30 feet ahead and he loudly says "no mopeds here," so I look back, say "no problem" made a big production of flipping my Levo down to motor off and proceeded to pedal away from him (I'm way in shape, he's a grumpy chubby guy). I actually continued my traverse of this entire no-ebike designated area with the motor completely off, not really a big deal. Makes me wonder how that works, is that allowed, guessing not.

Then the next morning, riding another bit of trail that's technically not open to bikes, I got screamed at buy a guy with his two large dogs running amok off leash (also, definitely not legal). Go figure.

I will do better about obeying rules and laws, that I can do. Can't fix other people's anger issues though, so oh well.

 

[ggx]

Supose it´s the downsizing off having trails overcrowed this days with all sorts off people. We are going to find the good and the bad . Lets enjoy the good friends we could make .

 

[Mabman]

Hey @Bryan Wells
It is your responsibility at this point to know where you can and can't ride. Unless posted open to E-bikes all trails are closed.

Oops, my bad. But the Smith Creek crossing at the campsite and running out of juice at the bottom of the climb out was more than penance. It was a great day out on the bike.

 

[Rusty]

It is your responsibility at this point to know where you can and can't ride. Unless posted open to E-bikes all trails are closed.

BS like that is why i left California decades ago. Down here trails are open to ebikes unless posted otherwise.

 

[Bruce_in_TO]

Last year - as I was making my way Ontario to British Columbia - the provincial government clarified their policy on e-bikes.

Class 1 e-bikes are allowed anywhere you are allowed to bike.

The clarity and publication of the policy basically eliminated tension on the trails. Quite a few times as I was approaching groups of "organic riders" the conversation would turn to "cool - yea, those are awesome and now allowed everywhere."

Lovely.

As the OP described - bad behaviour can occur with or without a motor assist.

 

[High Rock Ruti]

Out minding my own business having fun riding our local trails like I have been for 6 months riding the levo now and all of a sudden I get passed and cut off almost wrecking on a single track, the old man forced me off the trail and well absolutely loosing his mind on me that I was illegally on an ebike out there. I proceeded to try and work with him and ask if he knows the limitations of a class one bike but Ohhh no, he would cut me off the second I would make any sense and scream and threaten me again and again with the most repetitive a**hat ego quotes, so I began to just ride away while he failed to cut me off at every turn. He wouldn’t give me the time of day let alone make it easy for me to leave??‍♂
Moral of the story, evergreen mountain bike alliance in Washington state are some horrendously shitty people??‍

High Rock Ruti

The tide is turning elsewhere I read this morning that the FED is about to sanction class 1's on federal land subject to local land managers, next time put it in boost, ride just ahead until you wear him out and remember to remind him how much you love your ebike

 

[Ace Freely]

High Rock Ruti

The tide is turning elsewhere I read this morning that the FED is about to sanction class 1's on federal land subject to local land managers, next time put it in boost, ride just ahead until you wear him out and remember to remind him how much you love your ebike

...AWESOME NEWS! Where did you read that? Can you send a link?

Ace

 

[Rusty]

As the OP described - bad behaviour can occur with or without a motor assist.

Funnily enough I was told "You c*nt ebikers are ripping up the tracks just yesterday. I proceeded to show the clown a vid I had just taken of 13-16yr olds on jump bikes playing around on some lovely groomed trails - riding to the top of berms then locking the rear and blowing out the track.
He was like .... 'Ummmm, sorry man we though it was you guys doing that".

 

[wepn]

Can you send a link?

Funnily enough I was told "You c*nt ebikers are ripping up the tracks just yesterday

I can send a link & I think it's a very good one that directly refutes the assertion.

IMBA - the International Mountain Biking Association (never heard of them prior to reading this a few years ago) - completed a very credible study into the impacts of emtb's on trails. Conducted in western Oregon in 2015-6, it detailed soil erosion & trail degradation comparing mtb's, emtb's & dirt bikes.

https://b.3cdn.net/bikes/c3fe8a28f1a0f32317_g3m6bdt7g.pdf

tl;dr - This study found that the impacts from Class 1 eMTBs and traditional mountain bicycles were not significantly different, while motorcycles led to much greater soil displacement and erosion.

 

[Pdoz]

Wepn - it's important to mention those stats are for bike optimised trails.

Whilst I don't dispute emtb and mtb are similar on purpose built trails, there are some local ( illegal) single line trails that are really not coping well with mtb use compared with historical motorbike use. The soil is loamy with loose rocks and the tracks were cut by hand decades ago by motorbike riders. Our narrower mtb tyres seem to be digging erosion channels that the motorbikes didn't

Sorry for the thread diversion, but we need to be careful not to generalise data blindly

 

[wepn]

Wepn - it's important to mention those stats are for bike optimised trails.

Whilst I don't dispute emtb and mtb are similar on purpose built trails, there are some local ( illegal) single line trails that are really not coping well with mtb use compared with historical motorbike use. The soil is loamy with loose rocks and the tracks were cut by hand decades ago by motorbike riders. Our narrower mtb tyres seem to be digging erosion channels that the motorbikes didn't

Sorry for the thread diversion, but we need to be careful not to generalise data blindly

Hi Pdoz it's a subject of great interest to me. Do you have any more detail than that of how mtb's/emtb's can do more damage to trails already highly eroded and corrugated by dirt bikes -or is that anecdotal?

(putting aside the damage combustion bikes with no catalytic converters do to our atmosphere)

 

[B1rdie]

Lets sit on the ground with the legs extended and choose. Would you rather have ya legs run over by a mtb or a mx ?

 

[Rusty]

Whilst I don't dispute emtb and mtb are similar on purpose built trails, there are some local ( illegal) single line trails that are really not coping well with mtb use compared with historical motorbike use. The soil is loamy with loose rocks and the tracks were cut by hand decades ago by motorbike riders. Our narrower mtb tyres seem to be digging erosion channels that the motorbikes didn't

Sorry for the thread diversion, but we need to be careful not to generalise data blindly

Interesting that. On a recent trail ride I found many of the trails we built or opened up back in the 70s are now totally borked. This was not due to MTB of any type but the big, heavy 450s that most everyone is riding these days. They are like tractors and where a 250 MX or trail bike would wheelspin a bit they are just digging trenches.
Found something similar on our club MX track a few weeks back. Over a long weekend we had a Vintage day on Saturday, Minis & quads on Sunday and regular MX on Monday. After the vintage races we pretty much just run a small power harrow over the track to prep it for the next day. After the kids & quads we needed to run the disks over a few corners as the quads ran vastly different lines to the kids and the tend to run the inside, lock the brakes then clutch it and make skinny little trenches. After the main race day it was a full disk of the entire track.

 

[Letford]

Out minding my own business having fun riding our local trails like I have been for 6 months riding the levo now and all of a sudden I get passed and cut off almost wrecking on a single track, the old man forced me off the trail and well absolutely loosing his mind on me that I was illegally on an ebike out there. I proceeded to try and work with him and ask if he knows the limitations of a class one bike but Ohhh no, he would cut me off the second I would make any sense and scream and threaten me again and again with the most repetitive a**hat ego quotes, so I began to just ride away while he failed to cut me off at every turn. He wouldn’t give me the time of day let alone make it easy for me to leave??‍♂
Moral of the story, evergreen mountain bike alliance in Washington state are some horrendously shitty people??‍

Swift throat chop would've sorted it ?

 

[Dax]

My main takeaway from this thread is 'if you ride your ebike on trails that don't allow ebikes, sometimes people will shout at you'.

Doesn't seem like news, pick any activity that is banned in a certain location and do it anyway, someone will probably get mad at you. Drive down a cycle path, ride a horse on a footpath, drink whisky in the office, beat off in the dentists waiting room, people will get mad.

If you're determined to do it anyway, you need to work on your subtly and suck up the occasional rant.

 

[Pdoz]

Hi Pdoz it's a subject of great interest to me. Do you have any more detail than that of how mtb's/emtb's can do more damage to trails already highly eroded and corrugated by dirt bikes -or is that anecdotal?

(putting aside the damage combustion bikes with no catalytic converters do to our atmosphere)

Call it anecdotal - we're talking about trails that have been in regular use by admittedly very skilled enduro motorbike riders for decades WITHOUT significant erosion, then those same riders have switched to emtb and now there are narrow ruts developing on steep sections ( narrower than motorbike tyres) . These are tracks very few people know about, and very much NOT designed for pushbikes - ie any halfway competent trail designer would go pale looking at them. All I'm saying is that purpose built mtb tracks are designed with an understanding of how to minimise erosion from bikes and so that study you linked needs to be read in that context

 

[Doomanic]

beat off in the dentists waiting room, people will get mad.

They will? Bugger! That's my afternoon activity curtailed in that case.

 

[Zimmerframe]

They will? Bugger! That's my afternoon activity curtailed in that case.

beat off in the dentists waiting room,

I've obviously spent my whole life going to the wrong Dentists, I've never experienced pre-dentist arousal !

 

[Bravestarr]

All of this is pretty fascinating to observe. I can't even start to understand this anti-e-bike attitude. C'mon we are all bikers together, we have more issues in common than points to divide us.
Where I live in Scotland there is no resistance to e-bikes. Lot's of people are curious and I've given loads of riders a quick 10 mins on my bike. They have all come back with a really positive view of e-bikes. I see e-bikes introducing lots of new riders to our trails and for sure this will present some maintenance and upkeep issues but I'm equally sure that this will create as many opportunities as problems.

 

[Rusty]

Someone likes ebikes Louisville Mega Cavern

 

[Pukmeister]

I've obviously spent my whole life going to the wrong Dentists, I've never experienced pre-dentist arousal !

My young dentist looks a bit like Ariana Grande with a cut-glass posh girl accent, my wife gets angry at the amount of time and money I spend there but hey, at least my teeth look good.

 

[Doomanic]

My Dentist is an extremely well spoken pretty young lady but she’s brushed aside by her dental nurse who has an arse to die for...

 

[Zimmerframe]

but she’s brushed aside by her dental nurse who has an arse to die for...

And what's he called ??

 

[Dirtnvert]

Was it ronnie pickering? Ronny dont eeb
I recommend dogshit on his car door handles. Post the vid

 

[BOTG]

Out minding my own business having fun riding our local trails like I have been for 6 months riding the levo now and all of a sudden I get passed and cut off almost wrecking on a single track, the old man forced me off the trail and well absolutely loosing his mind on me that I was illegally on an ebike out there. I proceeded to try and work with him and ask if he knows the limitations of a class one bike but Ohhh no, he would cut me off the second I would make any sense and scream and threaten me again and again with the most repetitive a**hat ego quotes, so I began to just ride away while he failed to cut me off at every turn. He wouldn’t give me the time of day let alone make it easy for me to leave??‍
Moral of the story, evergreen mountain bike alliance in Washington state are some horrendously shitty people??‍

Nothing a mtn bike glove to the top lip would'nt solve.. they think they own the place..

++ Better tip is when you have gopro on DONT tell them you are recording. Tell them you are LIVE STREAMING to shitbook. They won't do anything then, as they cannot take the camera off you, as it is already on the internet as proof ...
Also noticed ALOT of EMTB videos on reddit get instantly down voted, my god Reddit is an utter cesspit of power-hungry bedroom declining pot noodle eating mods and admins.

 

[JetSedgwick]

Out minding my own business having fun riding our local trails like I have been for 6 months riding the levo now and all of a sudden I get passed and cut off almost wrecking on a single track, the old man forced me off the trail and well absolutely loosing his mind on me that I was illegally on an ebike out there. I proceeded to try and work with him and ask if he knows the limitations of a class one bike but Ohhh no, he would cut me off the second I would make any sense and scream and threaten me again and again with the most repetitive a**hat ego quotes, so I began to just ride away while he failed to cut me off at every turn. He wouldn’t give me the time of day let alone make it easy for me to leave??‍
Moral of the story, evergreen mountain bike alliance in Washington state are some horrendously shitty people??‍

even before I clicked I knew this had to be a west coast story.

 

[MrBrownstone]

I would have kicked that guys ass. True story.

 

[JetSedgwick]

I grew up in a time and place where no one would be so lame, naggy and finger waggy...lest they catch a whoopin'.