passing on the trail

[plio7]

i will use this thread as a outlet to call the douche bag in fernie at MM5 who passed myself, my gf, and my buddy on the whooped out trail from hell at mach chicken, i myself do look behind m,e probably every minute, some newer riders on some trails arent quite so confident to look back as often and dont want to stop to look back. that aside even with me looking back to insure my group was still intact very often i didnt have a chance to even catch a glimpse of this phuck head who passed at probably wide open throttle. Now, what happens when my gf (who was making a valiant effort at running my m8 out at the fastest comfortable speed for her while i ran her indy out due to trail conditions) hit s whoop a little wrong and bounces a little to the center when your passing......cause i promise if you hit her and lived, i would have made sure you would have never made it to the bottom of the trail......just sayin

 

[bdietz]

If you want to race go to the race track
sure I have passed people but not usualy very fast first pull up beside them and let them know your there then go past
I have had the $hit scared out of me a couple times by some hero doing Mach 2 and then pellets you with chunks of snow and ice and then when you catch up in the parking lot all he has to say is well didnt you have googles on

just remember some people are out for a casual ride and not a race

 

[Cyle]

i will use this thread as a outlet to call the douche bag in fernie at MM5 who passed myself, my gf, and my buddy on the whooped out trail from hell at mach chicken, i myself do look behind m,e probably every minute, some newer riders on some trails arent quite so confident to look back as often and dont want to stop to look back. that aside even with me looking back to insure my group was still intact very often i didnt have a chance to even catch a glimpse of this phuck head who passed at probably wide open throttle. Now, what happens when my gf (who was making a valiant effort at running my m8 out at the fastest comfortable speed for her while i ran her indy out due to trail conditions) hit s whoop a little wrong and bounces a little to the center when your passing......cause i promise if you hit her and lived, i would have made sure you would have never made it to the bottom of the trail......just sayin

As long as your looking back and allowing people to pass in reasonable time, going slow is fine. But going say 30km down a trail and never looking behind you or allowing people to pass, you eventually WILL be passed, like it or not because people are going to get impatient and you need to share the trail.

Newer riders should look back some, but the leader is the one to blame here. If they know the group is slow they need to stop every once in a while so people can pass, if they don't want to have people passing them all the time.

I've been stuck behind people on renshaw after a long day going 30-40km because the trail is bad and I loose my patience VERY quickly. The trail is 1000x better if you go faster, and I refuse to go that slow. If it's near the end we just stop for 5-10 mins then we can go a decent speed, otherwise we eventually pass. If I can see it's a newer rider I will give a decent timeframe but if i'm stuck behind someone for 5 minutes whos not looked back once, i'm passing them on a straightaway, and ya it will be at a decent clip to get passed them as quickly as possible because IMO it's safer that way. It's only been once it was really bad, usually people going that slow is no problem to pass because you come up on them going faster already and they keep to the edge of the trail.

On a corner there's a risk of hitting a bump and darting over but going straight it's like zero, I don't even know how any rider could dart over enough to cause a issue going straight if they are paying attention.

 

[polarisdragon800]

Of theirs a bank or a hill alongside the trail. Why not pull of the trail pin it and side hill across the hill over looking the trail? Easy enough way to avoid running into someone..


Sent from my mobile telephone

 

[plio7]

again your an idiot......being the more experienced / impatient douche rider on the hill doesn't mean you own it, if someone is coming out on a whooped out trail at 30km move to the opposite side of the trail and pass in a reasonable fashion. as the leader i was looking back regularly and if i saw headlights that weren't from out group we slowed and allowed them to pass.....this is regarding a guy coming down at WOT blowing past a group at night, on a bad trail. we let many pass, and many would come up, move to the side, let us see them and continue on. no problem, i don't mind being passed and i will be courteous and move over and stop if needed.

no where did i say my group wasn't looking back or allowing others to pass. i also love the passing fast on a whooped out trail is safer.....what if you have a mechanical issue, blow out a shock ect. chit even an experienced guy can bounce wrong on a bump and kick him over a foot or 2......imdoo'n can vouch for that i think, so what if when you race past this newbie, at your "safer pace" and one of you takes a bad bounce on a bump, have fun stopping at WOT on a beat up trail in time not to hit them.

if you want to do 100km's down the trail i have no problem with that, but when you pass someone, slow down, let them see you and pass at a reasonable speed, no one needs to be done a day and waiting at the bottom of a trail for their friends, spouse or kids at the staging area to find out some ass clown wiped them out on the trail out, because you didn't want to take an extra 10 mins getting down, give your head a shake

but then again your cyle and you know better right?

As long as your looking back and allowing people to pass in reasonable time, going slow is fine. But going say 30km down a trail and never looking behind you or allowing people to pass, you eventually WILL be passed, like it or not because people are going to get impatient and you need to share the trail.

Newer riders should look back some, but the leader is the one to blame here. If they know the group is slow they need to stop every once in a while so people can pass, if they don't want to have people passing them all the time.

I've been stuck behind people on renshaw after a long day going 30-40km because the trail is bad and I loose my patience VERY quickly. The trail is 1000x better if you go faster, and I refuse to go that slow. If it's near the end we just stop for 5-10 mins then we can go a decent speed, otherwise we eventually pass. If I can see it's a newer rider I will give a decent timeframe but if i'm stuck behind someone for 5 minutes whos not looked back once, i'm passing them on a straightaway, and ya it will be at a decent clip to get passed them as quickly as possible because IMO it's safer that way. It's only been once it was really bad, usually people going that slow is no problem to pass because you come up on them going faster already and they keep to the edge of the trail.

On a corner there's a risk of hitting a bump and darting over but going straight it's like zero, I don't even know how any rider could dart over enough to cause a issue going straight if they are paying attention.

 

[Circled-Mistake]

It completely depends on the trail, and time. Passing around a corner (even if you can see ahead) is a bad idea IMO. What if they don't take the inside? Hit a bump and dart over? Passing in a straight away is the best. I guess a corner is ok if they KNOW you are passing. If I can see no one is oncoming on a corner, I will not take the inside or care if i'm in the middle and passing is not smart. I look behind me in straight aways only, on a corner i'm only concerned about oncoming.

As far as speed, on long straightaways like renshaw gotten up to 110, but rarely. Usually only if it's extremely early or late and the trail is dead. Don't know about you but don't need to spin up the trail to get to that speed either. Hardly use the brakes on the trail, let the sled slow itself down for corners.

To pass it depends, I always like to be behind them for a few seconds to see how they are riding and if passing is a issue. On a straightaway with plenty of sight of whats ahead I just speed up and pass. No reason for them to be moving over or anything, as long as the trail is plenty wide.

But is it really worth it???? NOT using your brakes your coasting a long ways..... really makeing it not that benificial to go that fast anyway, u just have to slow down sooner to make the corner...... PERSONALLY if your talking the RENSHAW..... IMO its a lack of patience..... 1/2 hour and your down the trail.... Whats the rush.... Your Beer will still be down in the trailer, OR the cabin will still be up top when you get there...

 

[Circled-Mistake]

And to think peeps were complaining about the grooming not too long ago

It all goes Hand in Hand... But lets not beat that dead horse.... This one is just about put out of its misery too...

 

[Circled-Mistake]

I look back every 30 seconds......I guess I get that from riding with kids......If I come up behind someone I never go flying by because my sled would scare the $h!t out of them if they didnt know I was behind them.......I can give my sled a blurp and let the blow of valve pop and it acts like a horn at 100 feet.......I usually don't pass untill I make eye contact......I have no problem doing 20mph or 80.......but if they flag me by I try not to pin it or it is a real mess behind me.......when my 11 year old leads he looks back as much as I do......he has learned proper courtesy.......but some people drive their sled like they drive their truck......slow in the fast lane, cut people off, or pass on blind corners.......


just remember people.....there is newbies and kids on the trails!

WELL SAID!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Wish more took that into account!!!!

 

[Cyle]

again your an idiot......being the more experienced / impatient douche rider on the hill doesn't mean you own it, if someone is coming out on a whooped out trail at 30km move to the opposite side of the trail and pass in a reasonable fashion. as the leader i was looking back regularly and if i saw headlights that weren't from out group we slowed and allowed them to pass.....this is regarding a guy coming down at WOT blowing past a group at night, on a bad trail. we let many pass, and many would come up, move to the side, let us see them and continue on. no problem, i don't mind being passed and i will be courteous and move over and stop if needed.

no where did i say my group wasn't looking back or allowing others to pass. i also love the passing fast on a whooped out trail is safer.....what if you have a mechanical issue, blow out a shock ect. chit even an experienced guy can bounce wrong on a bump and kick him over a foot or 2......imdoo'n can vouch for that i think, so what if when you race past this newbie, at your "safer pace" and one of you takes a bad bounce on a bump, have fun stopping at WOT on a beat up trail in time not to hit them.

if you want to do 100km's down the trail i have no problem with that, but when you pass someone, slow down, let them see you and pass at a reasonable speed, no one needs to be done a day and waiting at the bottom of a trail for their friends, spouse or kids at the staging area to find out some ass clown wiped them out on the trail out, because you didn't want to take an extra 10 mins getting down, give your head a shake

but then again your cyle and you know better right?

Where did I say any of my comments directly pertained to you? I never did. I said IF your doing those things, maybe that's why. I speed up on bad trails to make the ride bearable, going 30-40 is downright unbearable on really bad trails. I don't know about you, but even darting over 2 feet which is a LOT, i'd never hit someone because I don't get near that close when passing. Where did you get the though i'm in a rush, did you miss the part where I said I will actually pull over and stop for 5-10 minutes instead of passing people sometimes?

I guess it's easier to assume stuff though....

 

[plio7]

pretty sure you quoted my post in your comment, that directly points at me i'm pretty sure

Where did I say any of my comments directly pertained to you? I never did. I said IF your doing those things, maybe that's why. I speed up on bad trails to make the ride bearable, going 30-40 is downright unbearable on really bad trails. I don't know about you, but even darting over 2 feet which is a LOT, i'd never hit someone because I don't get near that close when passing. Where did you get the though i'm in a rush, did you miss the part where I said I will actually pull over and stop for 5-10 minutes instead of passing people sometimes?

I guess it's easier to assume stuff though....

 

[Cyle]

But is it really worth it???? NOT using your brakes your coasting a long ways..... really makeing it not that benificial to go that fast anyway, u just have to slow down sooner to make the corner...... PERSONALLY if your talking the RENSHAW..... IMO its a lack of patience..... 1/2 hour and your down the trail.... Whats the rush.... Your Beer will still be down in the trailer, OR the cabin will still be up top when you get there...

Don't coast much, sled slows itself down pretty dang quick. I go on renshaw at higher speeds when it is bad, because going slow is unbearable, and when is the trail good? 1/2 hour is great timing at busy times, and doesn't happen a lot.....

 

[Trax 2 Treadz]

At the risk of doing this under my vendor heading.......I'll say this we ride with our kids ALL THE TIME. No we are not the race rockets on the trails we go as fast as our slowest kid is comfortable with. We want our kids to learn respect and be comfortable in the mountains and with their machines. If some one passed our group on the trail at mach chicken and scared the chit out of one of my kids or worse ran into them because they lost control or roosted them and picked up debris and shot something at them, as their mother I would chase you down or find you in the parking lot and we would have a "chat".

We have picked up at Princess Auto these really inexpensive hand mirrors all of us use them and we can quickly check back. Larry leads our group and I run in the sweeper position when I see someone or a group behind us, we have communicators mounted to our helmets, I radio ahead and our group pulls over and stops. This we have found to be the safest method with our kids.

We have gone over and over the "rules" of the trail with them each and everytime we go out but they are kids and forget easily. Bottom line is this....if you want respect and courtesy on the trails and groups/people to pull over and let you pass then you need to give it too!!!

Sometimes blipping your throttle or whatever doesn't work. My sled has a really loud can already and I have hearing loss it would have to be a really loud can for me to hear you blipping your throttle, which by the way wreaks havoc on the trails. Patience grasshopper!

Jan

 

[pano-dude]

Honestly how much longer does it take to slow down and follow a slower rider..... a typical trail is 30-40km long, you slow down from 80km/hr to 50km. 5-10minutes? worth risking a crash and or chewing up the trail?

Kinda like when I see people passing between Radium and Invermere, 20km distance and I usually pull up right behind them at the lights.

 

[Pistonbroke]

At the risk of doing this under my vendor heading.......I'll say this we ride with our kids ALL THE TIME. No we are not the race rockets on the trails we go as fast as our slowest kid is comfortable with. We want our kids to learn respect and be comfortable in the mountains and with their machines. If some one passed our group on the trail at mach chicken and scared the chit out of one of my kids or worse ran into them because they lost control or roosted them and picked up debris and shot something at them, as their mother I would chase you down or find you in the parking lot and we would have a "chat".

We have picked up at Princess Auto these really inexpensive hand mirrors all of us use them and we can quickly check back. Larry leads our group and I run in the sweeper position when I see someone or a group behind us, we have communicators mounted to our helmets, I radio ahead and our group pulls over and stops. This we have found to be the safest method with our kids.

We have gone over and over the "rules" of the trail with them each and everytime we go out but they are kids and forget easily. Bottom line is this....if you want respect and courtesy on the trails and groups/people to pull over and let you pass then you need to give it too!!!

Sometimes blipping your throttle or whatever doesn't work. My sled has a really loud can already and I have hearing loss it would have to be a really loud can for me to hear you blipping your throttle, which by the way wreaks havoc on the trails. Patience grasshopper!

Jan

I am already anxiously awaiting the time that we can get a 120 ripping up the trail with us Jan! This may seem like overkill, but I am seriously considering mounting an amber strobe on the back of the sweeper sled if we are puttering along at 10 mph or whatever a 120 will do. It's years in the future but already I am thinking of it

 

[Cyle]

Honestly how much longer does it take to slow down and follow a slower rider..... a typical trail is 30-40km long, you slow down from 80km/hr to 50km. 5-10minutes? worth risking a crash and or chewing up the trail? Kinda like when I see people passing between Radium and Invermere, 20km distance and I usually pull up right behind them at the lights.

On a trail like renshaw that is beat up badly, it's the difference from almost unbearable to not that bad. As I said its not a time issue, if I'm going down I'd rather stop for 5-10 then be stuck behind painfully slow riders. But if Your going up its not a option. On a wide trail like that, there is no reason not to be able to pass safely.

 

[Modman]

If people would just look behind them every now and then this wouldn't be an issue. Too many riders that putter around the corners and then lean on the go-stick on every straight away. You might think you are the fastest sled on earth but you ain't, so learn to look behind you. Just shoulder check every few minutes and its not a problem. In our group we check on one another frequently and can always see the rider behind (for the most part - obviously you can't bend light to see around corners.....). If the 2nd to last rider can see the sweeper, then they should be able to see other riders behind him, and signal the sweeper to pull over and let them pass. The riders ahead should be looking for the 2nd to last guy and will see the passing riders and stop to let them pass, and this will continue on.

If someone wants to go high ball on the trail, so be it, not a big issue IMO so long as they are being safe. We are all guilty of juicing it on the trail from time to time between corners. Just let them pass if a faster rider catches you, sure most times you wind up behind them in the parking lot, but similarily that you will only be 2 minutes behind them, pulling over to let them pass will only delay you for a couple seconds as well.

For those that want to highball at mach chicken, please consider other riders and the fact that kids may be present, especially in family oriented riding areas. Injure someone (or worse) and that extra 15 seconds won't be worth it.

 

[Trax 2 Treadz]

I am already anxiously awaiting the time that we can get a 120 ripping up the trail with us Jan! This may seem like overkill, but I am seriously considering mounting an amber strobe on the back of the sweeper sled if we are puttering along at 10 mph or whatever a 120 will do. It's years in the future but already I am thinking of it

Jaymie is riding a 340 Indy Lite with a throttle block. I "think" we go along at between 30-40 kms I only glance at my speedo every once in a while so I really don't know. I hear you about the strobe light Cale...LOL!!! If someone comes up behind us though the first person they are going to run into is me though...thankfully.






Really when you are coming up on a group you should be slowing down anyways. They may not have kids..they maybe going slow because they are towing a dead sled or they maybe going slow because guess what that's what they want to do. There are no speed limits on trails that I know of and maybe there should be. Personally I would rather see a person going slower and be 100% in control of their machine at all times than going mach stupid and having minimal control. A small bump or having to swerve suddenly at mach stupid can have disasterous results.

It doesn't matter how slow someone is going the fact is they are in front of you so suck it up let your suspension do some work and ride the moguls for a few kms until you have their attention and can safely pass them.

Jan