Education in Action - and it works!!

Another great fall weekend with friends mountain biking in Fruita, CO. To many mountain bikers, great single track is the holy grail of riding. And often the narrower the track, the better. Consistent efforts by the local bike shops, the International Mountain Biking Association and guide book publishers have led to an accepted code of conduct or ethics for mountain bikers.

One of the ideas is to keep single track single. When hiking it is easy to step off the trail onto a rock or some other durable surface to let others pass. When cycling you have the bike to deal with. And in the desert of western Colorado, you have very fragile soils. If a rider merely rides to one side, the trail is permanently widened. So dismounting, and moving to one side is strongly encouraged. On several loop trails in Fruita, they have gone a step further and posted direction of travel signs, to eliminate oncoming traffic.

Everyone one of us out there mountain biking this past weekend, enjoyed the fruits of this education. More incredible single track than we could possibly ride in a weekend. Now we just have to plan the next trip....