Trail stoppers

[RDL101]

Hi all.

I need expert hubber advice.

It happens frequently that we encounter newbie riders standing in the middle of the trail chatting away or just standing there for no apparant reason. My wife who is quite new to riding has gotten hurt on two occasions not being able to pass said people. Any advice on the above problem would be welcome - I suppose everybody has the same right to use the trail but it has upset me one too many time.

Would a bicycle bell work in your opinion and if so what type/make is recommended.

[V12man]

Perhaps a basic skills course for the wife?

 

I can't imagine how/why she can't get around a stationary rider on the trail without hurting herself unless she is short on skills or is going way too fast for the trail conditions/her stopping skill levels.

 

And yes - I agree that stopping to chat in the middle of the track is not the smartest move and quite inconsiderate but one has to be prepared for such things to arrive unexpectedly and be skilled enough to handle the required avoiding action.

 

Bells do help to let people know where you are behind them and wanting to overtake or around blind corners but.my experience is that they have a tendency to startle stationery pedestrians into moving unpredictably unless you ring it a long way off - and often it generates hostility...

[Daniel J Méssem]

Agree that some skills advancement would be good. Had to stop for a turtle the other day, the four legged kind. Running a loud hub honestly helps too, but only with humans.

[stefmeister]

Just pull your rear brake and make a lot of skidding noise, followed by shouting "make way you tossers"

 

 

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[RDL101]

Agreed regarding skills, but the one incident was someone blocking a narrow bridge with steel wire(luckily not barbed wire) on either side. And more recently on a downhill with bermed corners, right in the middle of the corner. 

[scubes]

its simple really IMHO.

 

you either have consideration for other people in life including on the trail and dont block the trail especially when you see others approaching, or you dont have such consideration and hopefully will gain some at some point in life.

 

i have been hiking and biking with friends who stop in the middle of the trail and block it when others approach and it really comes down to a lack of respect for other people. not much anyone can do about it.

[intern]

A bell is a very good idea, especially if you ride any mixed use trails. Also, a bell won't help with steel wire, that might be a separate issue.

I've always found with newbies, a friendly chat helps a lot. We all started out as clueless idiots, after all...

[usxorf]

Agreed regarding skills, but the one incident was someone blocking a narrow bridge with steel wire(luckily not barbed wire) on either side. And more recently on a downhill with bermed corners, right in the middle of the corner.

These sound like situations where everyone should come to a complete stop, and either wait for the obstacle to clear or push the bike around the obstacle.

[Neil Neil Neil]

Which trail network/networks has this happened at?

[PeterF]

_{What about trying the lost art of verbal communication?  Just have a friendly chat to the folk and explain the problem to them.  There are lots of newbies out there and they are clueless.}

[Pure Savage]

Sell your MTB and ride on the road, plenty of space to pass all the time

[PhilipV]

I would stop, greet them, and tell them that it's not nice of them to chat in the middle of the trail. 

If they get antsy or sarcy about it, then I'll explain the "Don't be a box" rule. 

 

If the person stopping in the trail fell or got hurt then it is a different story. Then the onus is on me to help them. 

 

A bell would help, but the best is to stop rather then to go around. As soon as you make the decision to go around, then the risk of falling or getting hurt is your own. If it is a blind corner and you don't have time to react then it's a different story, and the person standing in the trail is stupid, and I'll probably explain it as such.

[Shebeen]

 

or this

 

[Robbie Stewart]

What get's me to have a "gemoeds-bekakking" is when exiting a building with a narrow door, and people then tend to congregate and chat at the exit, blocking everyone behind them from fluidly exiting.

Sometimes, that dude in me who wants to do all the naughty stuff tends to pop out from his dank hole, yelling at me to start pushing everyone out the way...I have not succumbed to that tactic...yet.

[Jewbacca]

What get's me to have a "gemoeds-bekakking" is when exiting a building with a narrow door, and people then tend to congregate and chat at the exit, blocking everyone behind them from fluidly exiting.

 

Sometimes, that dude in me who wants to do all the naughty stuff tends to pop out from his dank hole, yelling at me to start pushing everyone out the way...I have not succumbed to that tactic...yet.

Only Admirals and A**holes stand in the door way.... tell them this and then ask them if they are an admiral.

 

Most of the time people grumble embarrassingly and move the congregation elsewhere

[Stevief]

Just tune them to GTF outoftheway