Riding marked trails the ‘wrong way’

I hate the “Obey the Signs” crowd.

Generally the trails existed long before your poxy little arrows got put up, so back off city-boys and let the locals do the real riding!

What a twatty comment – do you own the trails?

Just because you were ‘there first’ doesn’t automatically make you right…..

The Timberland trail in Bristol is a small trail but is sign and map posted for directions and people do cheekily ride the other way.

The trails in Ashton Court existed long before anyone put arrows up. Even then though there was a ‘right’ way round to get the best out of them. Going the other way was fine for a bit of a change though.

what if you made the trail as a bit of cheek and it got signposted by ‘the man’ ?

Just because you were ‘there first’ doesn’t automatically make you right…..
indeed. And just because someone has arbitrarily decided that one way round is ‘correct’ doesn’t make it right either.

ndeed. And just because someone has arbitrarily decided that one way round is ‘correct’ doesn’t make it right either.

Except that that’s the way round almost everyone else will be going and could cause accidents like the guy’s girlfriend’s a few posts ago.

Except that that’s the way round almost everyone else will be going and could cause accidents like the guy’s girlfriend’s a few posts ago.
This is the problem with ‘this way is right’. People assume that it’s safe to blat along without wondering what’s around the next corner.

So how do you suggest signposting places to allow lots of people who don’t know the area to use them? Oh of course, only locals who ‘know them like the back of their hand’ should be able to use them.

So how do you suggest signposting places to allow lots of people who don’t know the area to use them? Oh of course, only locals who ‘know them like the back of their hand’ should be able to use them.

sorry, that one at me? I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned anything along the lines of ‘only locals should be able to use them’.
I’ll answer it just in case it is aimed at me. By all means have trail markers to show that this track is part of the black loop, or whatever. Just don’t make them one way only. Fairly simple really.

indeed. And just because someone has arbitrarily decided that one way round is ‘correct’ doesn’t make it right either.

Exactly, so why moan about it?

Exactly, so why moan about it?
Precisely. Only it’s the people who have a problem with someone going ‘the wrong way’ who seem to be doing the moaning.

So how do you suggest signposting places to allow lots of people who don’t know the area to use them?

“Two way traffic”

I can think of hundreds of miles of 2 way bridleways, byways and unclassified tracks. Single direction is the oddity.

At a weekend I’d only ride on the marked trails up there the way that it’s signed, it just gets too damn busy now to to ride it the older way round on lots of it. Ride it during the week, or early/late in the day at weekends & it’s still quiet. Don’t find much of it rides better the opposite way round to be fair & most of what’s signed it fairly new (within the last 5 years anyway)

Generally the trails existed long before your poxy little arrows got put up

Not so for the Welsh trail centres I’m afraid. They were mostly constructed specifically with a single direction of travel in mind.

By all means have trail markers to show that this track is part of the black loop, or whatever. Just don’t make them one way only. Fairly simple really.

Er, if I chuck myself down Whyte’s black I’d be really quite pissed off if I ran into someone trying to ride up it. That would be a very stupid trail to have one way. Simple really.

I have ridden parts of Cwmcarn the wrong way to get back to the car – but only late in the evening or at night. It’s interesting, because the lines are all really weird the wrong way and not worn in like you expect at all.

Er, if I chuck myself down Whyte’s black I’d be really quite pissed off if I ran into someone trying to ride up it. That would be a very stupid trail to have one way. Simple really

Ignoring your mistake there (I agree it would be a stupid trail to have one way – that’s my point), maybe you just need to slow down a bit.

Are you seriously telling me you want to have people riding down that steep bit of Whyte’s black when you are trying to ride up it? Would you stop on the steep chutes and pull over with a cheery hello when you’re hurtling down it?

maybe you just need to slow down a bit.

I always ride such that I am able to stop. However that wouldn’t be very easy on a trail like that. Why would you want to make them two-way when there’s hundreds of miles of natural trails that you can ride any way you like? The point about a trail centre is that it’s a dedicated trail that is meant to ride well and allow you to blat along without any distractions or interruptions. If it was two way you’d be passing people loads more often, and that’d break the flow.

Trail centres are a specific kind of riding, and that should be preserved. They are not general riding.

Would you like two-way traffic on say the Nurburgring? If it got dangerous you could just tell people to slow down and stop being so reckless….

Are you seriously telling me you want to have people riding down that steep bit of Whyte’s black when you are trying to ride up it? Would you stop on the steep chutes and pull over with a cheery hello when you’re hurtling down it?
Sure, why not?

I’ve never ridden the Nurburgring. Is it totally gnarly?

Are people confusing themselves deliberately here? To me it’s simple…

Most trails (call it ‘natural’ if you like…): Two way (even where some of them ride better one way than the other)

Built trails in trail centres: One way (or if you ride it the wrong way, know you’re doing so at risk)

‘Adopted’ Trails (stuff that was always two way until someone stuck some signs up e.g. Ashton Court and Sherwood Pines): Two-way (but be aware people will innocently treat them as one way)

Sure, why not?

Daft.

I’ve never ridden the Nurburgring. Is it totally gnarly?

Are you.. mocking me?

BTW there are some natural trails that I wouldn’t ride up – ones that are clearly used by local DHers, and they would be crap up anyway.

@ Murdoch

“This is a local trail for local people – are you local?”

Your comment about city boys – it was meant as a joke right?