[pct-l] Bikes on the PCT

[Lindsey Sommer]

Here's something I don't understand, trail damage aside (which is obviously a HUGE concern), I'm wondering how safety works in a hike/bike situation. Bob and Stephanie might have some input. I'm less concerned about areas that offer easier viability, but how do blind corners work in a hike/bike situation?? 

I was watching some YouTube videos earlier, and I know from my own experience that they can FLY around turns and trees etc. Does the courteous biker just slow down at every turn? It would really freak me out to have to constantly be listening around corners for speeding bikers. So much so that I'd just as well NOT hike there. The logistics of this just don't seem to add up...

Lindsey

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 10, 2012, at 10:42 PM, Stephanie Best <stephintahoe at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> I have to strongly disagree with you Bob.  I live in a town (in CO) with a huge 
> mountain bike presence (the town is dubbed "Mountain bike capital of the USA"). 
> It has gotten to the point where my friends and I simply do not hike during the 
> weekends because we have the added bike traffic from the Front Rangers who take 
> over the trails.  We have been bumped with handle bars, our dogs have been 
> injured and we have been cussed out for not hearing them behind us.  It is not 
> my job to constantly be looking behind me to see if I'm in a bikers way.  Not 
> once has a biker yielded to me.  
> 
> I hope you will reconsider your position.
> 
> Stephanie
> ________________________________
> From: Bob Bankhead <wandering_bob at comcast.net>
> To: PCT List Forum <pct-l at backcountry.net> 
> Sent: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 9:12 PM
> Subject: [pct-l]  bikes on the PCT
> 
> Mountain bikers and hikers can co-exist on the same trail. Look at the Colorado 
> Trail. With the exception of a few wilderness areas, non-motorized bikes are 
> allowed anywhere along its length. Parts of the trail are included in the 
> routings of the Leadville and Breckenridge 100 mile races, and there is even an 
> annual bike race from Denver to Durango on the CT. There are designated biker CT 
> road routes around those sensitive wilderness areas.
> 
> How do they do it? Respect for each other. Bikers put in hundreds of manhours 
> each year maintaining the CT. I've never met a disrespectful biker on the CT. 
> Quite the contrary, they are a great resource for hikers, often sharing water, 
> trail condition, and providing rides to/from remote trailheads. Yes, the bikes 
> do cut ruts into the trail tread, but fixing that is where a lot of their 
> maintenance hours go.
> 
> The rules of the road are everyone yields to stock, and bikes yield to hikers. 
> Courtesy modifies that a bit such that descending hikers routinely step off the 
> trail for bikes pedaling uphill. It's a lot easier to get going again for the 
> hiker. Bikers are well aware of the presence of hikers and make a concerted 
> effort to avoid collisions on blind corners and sweeping curves, even during the 
> races.
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