Bondo;1167567 wrote:
I'm sure some areas of the country may not consider their impact on the
trail as much. (Widening trails, double-tracking, shortcuts, deepening
trails, erosion etc) IMBA has guidelines for how to "tread lightly" and
what to do/not do to make trail wear & tear worse. Off the top of my
head the major ones I can think of a
- Stay on official trails (don't make unauthorized trails)
- Don't cut corners or switchbacks
- Ride it, don't slide it (no skidding)
- Don't widen the trail around puddles. See a puddle? Go through it!

Like Tom said, there is the *actual* trail wear & tear we cyclists
cause, and then there's the exaggerated "damage" we do as reported by
people who want us out of the parks and public lands. This is always
especially humorous when it is pointed out by equestrians, who generally
do a lot more wear & tear due to the vastly heavier weight of their
vehicles. Also, I've yet to see a cyclist take a dump in the middle of
the trail.

I am a member of, and have, participated in trail work with my local
mountain bike group, which is an affiliate of IMBA. It's been a while,
but I have to avoid certain areas because clearing brush, when it may
contain poison oak, is very bad for me.

Certain trails in my area (Sierra Nevada Foothills) are closed during
wet weather due to their tendency to wear fast under tires. People are
supposed to stay off them during certain times of the winter. It's up to
us to be responsible trail users, even if our impact is minimal.


harper wrote:
Road damage is proportional to the 4th power of the axle load ... the
MUni will do 16 times the damage to the trail that the MTB does.

Is that trail, or road? I think that figure is related to hard
pavement, though we definitely put more weight down per square inch of
tire coverage. I would venture to say that our non-braking impact on
the trail is perhaps a little larger than that of a bike, especially
with our fat tires, that displace a lot of mud and leave wide
indentations behind.


--
johnfoss

John Foss
Email: "jfoss" at "unicycling.com" -- www.unicycling.com
-----------------------------------------------

"False facts are frequently formed from figures fabricated from fear
fired fiction." -- Harper
------------------------------------------------------------------------
johnfoss's Profile: http://www.unicyclist.com/profile/832
View this thread: http://www.unicyclist.com/thread/75402


Posted Via Usenet.com Premium Usenet Newsgroup Services
----------------------------------------------------------
http://www.usenet.com