Mind your manners, trail etiquette

Colorado's "Stay the Trail" campaign has good information that is universal for most every riding area

No this is not trail riding for the rich and famous.  It may seem obvious but most people (even seasoned riders) do not really know some of the basics of trail etiquette.  Etiquette means “The practices and forms prescribed by social convention or by authority”-OK that was helpful.  Basically, play nice and respect the trail and other users.  I leaned most of my manners as well as got most of my information from Stay the Trail.  Even though this is a Colorado based organization most (if not all) the information can be applied to every riding area in the country.  What follows are a few basic guidelines/rules to follow on the trail.

Preparation: Of course the first thing is wearing the proper safety gear, most importantly a helmet as most areas will require it.  Know where your going and a little about the area or trail your attempting.  Its the responsibility of the rider(s) to know the local regulations, restrictions and boundaries of the trail or area.  The whole “I didn’t know” excuse does not work and you may get fined if caught in restricted trails or areas.  If your new to the area or are vacationing, do your homework and find out where you can get maps or information on trail closures and restrictions.

Obey signage:  Some trails have signs that mark trails or routes.  There are also other signs that denote closed or limited use trails-know what to look for in the area.  Some of these signs are small, but they all should be in obvious places, like forks in the trail or intersections.  This is another place where “I didn’t see the sign” excuse rarely works if caught dis-obeying a posted sign.

Blind corners and hills:  Take caution on blind corners and hills, ride as if someone will be right around the corner or cresting the hill.  If your in a group it is even better if the lead rider stops at the top of the hill off to the side of the trail and “flags” riders coming up from the other side.  This is especially important in the dunes, ALWAYS have a rider at the top of the dune that you are jumping or riding on to warn riders coming up from the back side.

Know what vehicle types are allowed in the area or on the trails.

Hold your line: When you hear or sense a faster rider coming up behind you, do not panic and immediately try to get out of his way.  Hold your line on the trail as the faster rider will find a way to make it around you, likewise if you are overtaking a slower rider wait until it is safe to pass and avoid “dusting” the rider by just roosting past them.  When overtaking small children, be mindful that their skills and knowledge may not be as mature as yours so be sure not to startle them and follow them until the trail widens significantly before passing to give them plenty of room.  You don’t want to scare them into crashing and potentially being hurt.

Stopping:  Some vehicles have tail/brake lights but most do not.  When slowing or stopping with a rider behind you make your intentions deliberate use hand signals if it is safe enough to do so.  Also do not stop just at the bottom of hills.  If you must do so be sure to be well off the side of the trail as to not cause a crash or impede someones progress up or down the hill.

Use hand signals: Some pretty universal hand signals have been developed that are pretty self explanatory.  See diagram below.  Use these signals anytime you meet a rider to indicate how many riders are behind you, it will prompt the oncoming riders to be cautious and know how many riders to expect to pass.

Indicates two people behind the leader, use the appropriate number of fingers for your group.

Indicates one more rider behind the leaderZero riders behind the leaderIndicates that you are alone and zero riders are behind you.

Watch your speed:  Every one likes going fast, heck we would not be riding if we didn’t, but it is important to use the right speed for the situation or area.  Do not fly through parking lots in 5th gear, do donuts spraying rocks at you and others vehicles, use general courtesy.  If the trail gets tight and winding slow down and use caution for other riders.  This is an area where policing ourselves can go a long way to keep areas open.

Less sound more ground:  This peaks a lot of controversy, but in general keep the db’s down.  Loud exhausts do not always mean more power, well designed exhausts do.  With more and more states and areas imposing sound limits and random testing (in racing sound testing is mandatory and you can be bared from racing if your machine emits over 96db’s)  Be responsible and keep the noise down as much as possible.  Spark arrestors are another area of concern, nearly every public land area requires them.  Contrary to popularly belief spark arrestors do not affect the flow or power output of the machine.  Their main job is to keep a flame (from a backfire or random “rich” condition) or hot spark of carbon from exiting the exhaust and starting a fire in dry brush.  Those with stock exhausts, the baffle is often the spark arrestor as well so leave it in.  In most cases removing the baffle will reduce low end torque slightly even after a re-jet.

Pack out your Trash:  It may seem obvious but this is one thing that seems to be the biggest problem.  Leave the area in better than condition than you found it.  If you see others violating this basic courteous ask them nicely to pick up their trash.  If they fail to listen, politely pick it up yourself.  We have to police ourselves in this regard.  This is that best time to be an ambassador to the non-riding public, if they see us picking up after ourselves it may help reverse the negative stereotype of the 1%-ers of the bad ATV population.

I could go on and on and fill a book with other etiquette behaviors, for more information visit Stay the Trail

All photos courtesy of Stay the Trail.org

Last 5 posts by Jon Rhodig

• Take control, adjust your controls that is - August 20th, 2010
• Product spotlight, Tie Down Strap Sack - July 20th, 2010
• Ride with the Junkman, Webster Pass - July 10th, 2010
• Ride with TheJunkMan, Slaughter House Gulch - June 22nd, 2010
• Responsibility of the trail leader - June 16th, 2010