Trail Courtesy--Keep it Up!

Just a quick note on trail courtesy.

I read an article in a German Mountain Biking magazine yesterday comparing the Pfalzerwald to the Black Forrest for mountain biking. One of the points of comparison was access to trails.

The pfalzerwald won out on this one by a long shot. The reason being that in the Pfalzerwald MTBers have much more access to nice singletrack.

One of the interesting points in the article was the reason for this. Both regions have very similar laws in regards to bike access on forrest trails. The difference is in the enforcement and the reason behind the enforcement. In the Black Forest, MTBers have in the past been very poor at trail sharing, they've scared hikers, ridden unsafely,a nd generally been a nuisance on the trails. The result is that in much of the Black Forrest, MTBers are relegated primarily to fireroads and bike paths,a nd this is strictly enforced by signage, forrest rangers, and police.

In the Pfalzerwald on the other hand, the laws technically forbid bikes on paths that are designated as footpaths... which does include most of the nicer singletrack, including the F-Trail, however, the forrest service here, has a policy of 'tolerance' (is the best translation) toward MTBing on these trails, because most of the MTBers in the Pfalzerwald tend to be courteous etc. So long as MTBers are friendly enough on the trails, don't create a nuisance, and share the trails well, this policy of tolerance will continue, but if they start to experience problems like what folks experience in Black Forrest, then that could change.

So, if you like the access we enjoy on the F-Trail and other technically forbidden trails int he Pfalzerwald, thank you fellow courteous MTBer and maintain the highest level of courtesy on your own part so the Forrest Service will continue to tolerate us!

Jonesy wrote:Just a quick note on trail courtesy.

I read an article in a German Mountain Biking magazine yesterday comparing the Pfalzerwald to the Black Forrest for mountain biking. One of the points of comparison was access to trails.

The pfalzerwald won out on this one by a long shot. The reason being that in the Pfalzerwald MTBers have much more access to nice singletrack.

One of the interesting points in the article was the reason for this. Both regions have very similar laws in regards to bike access on forrest trails. The difference is in the enforcement and the reason behind the enforcement. In the Black Forest, MTBers have in the past been very poor at trail sharing, they've scared hikers, ridden unsafely,a nd generally been a nuisance on the trails. The result is that in much of the Black Forrest, MTBers are relegated primarily to fireroads and bike paths,a nd this is strictly enforced by signage, forrest rangers, and police.

In the Pfalzerwald on the other hand, the laws technically forbid bikes on paths that are designated as footpaths... which does include most of the nicer singletrack, including the F-Trail, however, the forrest service here, has a policy of 'tolerance' (is the best translation) toward MTBing on these trails, because most of the MTBers in the Pfalzerwald tend to be courteous etc. So long as MTBers are friendly enough on the trails, don't create a nuisance, and share the trails well, this policy of tolerance will continue, but if they start to experience problems like what folks experience in Black Forrest, then that could change.

So, if you like the access we enjoy on the F-Trail and other technically forbidden trails int he Pfalzerwald, thank you fellow courteous MTBer and maintain the highest level of courtesy on your own part so the Forrest Service will continue to tolerate us!

Good read, I personally have never had any problems with Hikers and what not on Trail because I make a point to be courteous to the folks I run into out there. Most of the time people are more than willing to get out of your way and watch you ride by...specially the ones who can't believe your riding a Trail that is difficult to hike....THX Jonesy