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07-23-2009, 12:31 AM #1
Head on Collision with another Rider
Some dude going mach schnell smashed his face into my shoulder on the shoreline trail earlier this evening.
Random Dude: Downhill rider flowing fast around a banked tree lined hairpin corner.
Me: Slower uphill rider.
I saw him first, hit the brakes hard and pulled off the trail. He saw me a moment later, panicked, and steered directly at me, leading with his face. Since my brakes were on full-lock-death-grip, he was clotheslined with his bike flying down the trail in one direction and him bouncing off the hillside griping his face.
It could have been worse. My shoulder is scraped and bruised plus the collision made an ugly sound but we both rode away from it. [/end blog]
First time for me, anyone else been hit hard by another rider?
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07-23-2009, 12:40 AM #2
in most of the places i have ridden there are "uphill trails" and "downhill trails" is this one of those places? If someone is hauling ass down a trail that is not a mostly downhill trail, with the knowledge that there is a chance someone might be coming up hill, they are being an idiot, generally speaking, in my opinion.
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07-23-2009, 01:07 AM #3
Yeah I've been hit too biking while I was going uphill through a blind section. I saw him and ducked off the trail but he skidded into me and lost it pretty hard down the trail. I was sore for a few days but it happens. I've been hit skiing too it sucks but it's kinda the price you pay for being out there. glad you're okay.
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07-23-2009, 08:25 AM #4
I've had a few narrow misses on the shore line, mostly in dry creek where it's steep, narrow, and twisty. Never actually hit anyone though. I don't go down dry creek anymore since I hate going slow on all the corners. One of my buddies has a bell on his handle bars after having a bad experience there.
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07-23-2009, 08:33 AM #5
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07-23-2009, 08:36 AM #6
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07-23-2009, 09:20 AM #7
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07-23-2009, 09:22 AM #8
went over the handlebars last week or so, going fast through a really flowy section, there was an unleashed dog (i dont have problems with unleashed dogs) prancing uphill, i didnt see it till it was like 2 feet in front of me.
broke hard, flipped off the bike into the bushes. would have felt awful if i hit someones dog. worse than if i hit some human. not sure why that is.
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07-23-2009, 09:29 AM #9click click boom
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07-23-2009, 09:46 AM #10
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07-23-2009, 10:00 AM #11....................
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paging Parvo....
I have close calls all the time on trails in Park City, both as a climber and a descender.
Seems worse this year - probably more riders and less visibility around corners than usual due to the wet early summer and all the foliage.
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07-23-2009, 10:56 AM #12Registered User
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That sucks, I've had a lot of near misses on Dry Creek (where I'm gussing this happened) but never actually got hit, just ran off the trail a few times. Good to hear you are okay, hope the bike came away okay as well. Hopefully the other dude learned a painful lesson.
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07-23-2009, 11:28 AM #13
It happened on a fast section between Dry Gulch and Bobsled (the new entrance is finally dry & much less rutted than it has been.)
The collision was fairly violent, my shoulder is sore, the front wheel is bent, and the fork needs to be realigned but I’ve done a lot worse to myself without anyone’s help.
I’m not really bothered by what happened… more surprised that it hasn’t happened sooner. Actually, I’m glad it wasn’t my fault since I like to rip too and being liable for messing someone else up would ruin everyone's day.
The other surprising thing is that the downhill rider was hurt a lot worse than the uphill rider because on the interwebz it’s the downhiller boyz talking about running things over but YMMV.
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07-23-2009, 12:05 PM #14
Earlier in the season when there were less trails to ride around Bozeman, I see these downhillers gearing up in full armor and ripping top speed on the local trails which are close to town and packed with hikers. You see them ride and it's like they are racing the clock in a downhill race with blind corners all clogged with hikers. They expect people to jump off the trail.
Then you ride down and see a 50 to 100 foot skidmark going into every corner. Sad really, everyone could be getting along, but it's just a matter of time before somebody (or the baby they are carrying) gets killed here by people that think the local family picnic trail is their own personal downhilling test run. I mean, can't you still have fun without totally pinning it all the time? Seriously, some bikers just need to restrain themselves a little on the close to town trails with everybody's grandmother and newborn baby."The skis just popped me up out of the snow and I went screaming down the hill on a high better than any heroin junkie." She Ra
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07-23-2009, 12:52 PM #15
I have this problem EVERY TIME I ride up Bobsled. Stupid downhillers. I always yell at em', it just makes em' mad.
Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident
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07-23-2009, 01:00 PM #16
^^^ Bwah! Bobsled has been awesome lately and I think I’m finally ready to attempt it blindfolded. Don't derail this thread…
Edit: this happened before Bobsled
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07-23-2009, 01:11 PM #17
No Shania, then?
Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident
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07-23-2009, 07:14 PM #18
Lately on the weekends I see lots of guys in DH gear on the Crest headed for Mill D when there's going to be at least 30 people hiking up it. Disaster waiting to happen.
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07-23-2009, 11:10 PM #19
I did that to 30 people just the other day, but I wouldn't call pads, "DH gear", and I slowed way down or stopped for everyone. (I did scare one poor soul with my voice from 20 yards, not my brakes and caused him to jump and fall off the trail, but that wasn't my fault...really ) At this point, the USFS is dumb not to put a warning sign at the bottom of Mill D for hikers to beware. There are a lot of other, better easy hikes nearby and this has been a HEAVILY used trail for fast biking for over 10 years. I'm all for sharing trail, but lets inform users about a hazard even if in an ideal world it wasn't necessary.
As for collisions, yep, been in a few over the years. One memorable one was on a flat section of trail in PC where I even rang my bell rounding the corner before we saw each other, locked brakes and smacked heads to shoulder like football players. He hit the ground pretty hard. He got a bit upset but then realized his music was still on and he couldn't hear me. Music (loud and in both ears) and trail riding is for wankers!!
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07-24-2009, 02:23 AM #20
Man I thought this thread would take a different turn.
No really, one thing I realize is how quiet we are. To your average local hikers, we may as well be mountain lions ready to pounce. They freak out when you shout from behind at 50 feet away.
I always think about bikers going up. We are faster than hikers and not as quick to dodge someone else pinning it down. My only option comes down to riding within sight distance (impaired as it is) on busy trails, and being alert on the way up knowing what could be coming."The skis just popped me up out of the snow and I went screaming down the hill on a high better than any heroin junkie." She Ra
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07-24-2009, 10:27 AM #21
I don't think it's fair to suggest displacing hikers just because a trail has had heavy use by another user group.
Perhaps the FS needs to put a sign up for hikers AND for riders to be aware and not ride/hike like they are the only user group.
I tire of this "my use is the only use" or "my use is how it should be used" mentality that many user groups have adopted. Yes, I'm hypocritical because I used to spout off about the heli, but I'm long since over that.
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07-24-2009, 10:58 AM #22
It sucks, but I feel like as a biker you know what could be coming down the trail and gotta be ready for it. I've had a couple close calls but no full body collisions, yet. What I feel really bad about is the hikers. Usually they over react and freak out when you're 50 feet away, but sometimes it's legit. Yesterday we were rallying Mill D, came into one of the faster sections just above the Dog Lake split and there was a woman sitting on the side of the trail on one of the berms. Both of us in full brake lock and while we didn't hit her it definitely scared the crap out of all parties. All I could muster was a weak "hi"...usually I try to be as cordial as possible to other user groups but was too embarrassed to even utter a sorry. Just one of those things I guess.
I'm so hardcore, I'm gnarcore.
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07-24-2009, 11:08 AM #23Hucked to flat once
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07-24-2009, 11:35 AM #24yelgatgab
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Mill D weekend rides always involved a pretty mellow pace. People walking up the trail are one thing, but people sitting in the trail adds a completely different element, and nothing is out of the realm of possibility on those days. Though, I always found late afternoon to be much less of a clusterfuck than even really early in morning...on weekends that is.
Fall rides on Mill D are some of the best riding I've ever done. No leaves or foliage, so you can see for miles, and almost nobody is on the trail. Riding downhill really fast is fun, but risking other users is never worth it. It's always a compromise, and patience is a virtue. I've had 2 really memorable runs on Mill D with CS and with the AGs where Mill D parking lot was completely empty, and you could see through every turn. We went so fast, my eyes were watering. Those types of rides don't come around that often, but they're that much more enjoyable when they do.
That section of BST between Dry Creek and Bobsled is probably more dangerous than Bobsled itself. There's no clear uphill/downhill rider in a lot of cases, and a lot of riders are just plain stubborn.Remind me. We'll send him a red cap and a Speedo.
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07-24-2009, 11:39 AM #25
www.tetonfreedomriders.org
bitches. Start an SLC chapter!Forum Cross Pollinator, gratuitously strident
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