Pinkbike Poll: Who is Responsible After the Digging is Done?
I used to work near one of the larger wooden roller coasters in existence, and I remember that every day, three or four men could be seen crawling among the trusses or walking the rails, tightening bolts or tapping the structure with a hammer to listen for compromised wood. Constructing a coaster is the smallest cost - keeping it safe - maintaining it over time, is the larger commitment. The thought occurred that, outside of bike parks, for as many trails that I have come across in my short stay on Earth, I have only met one man who was out there checking and fixing features he had built years earlier, and that would be Digger. I am sure that there are many more proud builders who regularly walk the zones they have created, but I am equally sure that those diligent ones are the small minority among the throngs of builders, many of whom call Pinkbike home.
![changing some stuff for the better. uploading to save me typing.]()
Ride at your own risk, Look before you leap. Most of us understand the risks of what we do, but there also must be a measure of trust in the builder - that the ladder will hold up, or that the ramps were crafted well enough to get you to the transition when you commit to the feature. Nature is a destructive force. Only the best of the best features hold up for any length of time, yet most of us hit features on familiar trails weekly as if there actually were men who regularly walked the zones like the coaster crews. But there aren't, and after a while, lips become kickers, ruts form in the transitions, ladders get rickety and inevitably someone's luck is going to run out.
![Roll in work in progress ...12 ft tall... Pallets are just temporarily placed.]()
Murphy's law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong - and at the worst possible moment. The rider who takes the hit won't be one of the local hot shots - it will be your little sister, the girl who has been progressing rapidly and following the local's wheels. The once proud feature claims yet another victim, your cute sister's face is meat, but hey, that's OK, because...?
Of course there are countless lines pocked with pathetic humps and hacked-in features, but almost any rider can discriminate between a trail and a scar in the earth. It's the popular lines, or the soon-to-be-popular ones, that pose the greatest threat as they deteriorate. Few builders get it right the first time. Most are willing to tune up their lines to get them to flow better, or to drain correctly, but how many builders have pulled down their creations after they passed out of safe service? How many diggers have filled in a jump line that never really worked? Creating is the most rewarding part of the process, but after the digging and building is done, who is responsible for the drudgery? Who walks the line the day before your sister hits it?
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There are builders - and then, there are builders. If you want to learn how to make a jump line that can last a while - and flows, seek out this guy.
 | Ride at your own risk, Look before you leap. Most of us understand the risks of what we do, but there also must be a measure of trust in the builder... |
Ride at your own risk, Look before you leap. Most of us understand the risks of what we do, but there also must be a measure of trust in the builder - that the ladder will hold up, or that the ramps were crafted well enough to get you to the transition when you commit to the feature. Nature is a destructive force. Only the best of the best features hold up for any length of time, yet most of us hit features on familiar trails weekly as if there actually were men who regularly walked the zones like the coaster crews. But there aren't, and after a while, lips become kickers, ruts form in the transitions, ladders get rickety and inevitably someone's luck is going to run out.
Maybe not. Almost everyone will steer clear of a shabby feature, right? When a once-good feature on a well-known trail gets shabby, however, riders are inclined to keep hitting it as if it were new.
Murphy's law says that if something can go wrong, it will go wrong - and at the worst possible moment. The rider who takes the hit won't be one of the local hot shots - it will be your little sister, the girl who has been progressing rapidly and following the local's wheels. The once proud feature claims yet another victim, your cute sister's face is meat, but hey, that's OK, because...?
| The pirate code of builders and diggers states clearly that, once a feature is created, only its maker has the right to modify it. Does that imply that the creator also shoulders the task of maintaining it? |
Of course there are countless lines pocked with pathetic humps and hacked-in features, but almost any rider can discriminate between a trail and a scar in the earth. It's the popular lines, or the soon-to-be-popular ones, that pose the greatest threat as they deteriorate. Few builders get it right the first time. Most are willing to tune up their lines to get them to flow better, or to drain correctly, but how many builders have pulled down their creations after they passed out of safe service? How many diggers have filled in a jump line that never really worked? Creating is the most rewarding part of the process, but after the digging and building is done, who is responsible for the drudgery? Who walks the line the day before your sister hits it?
Who is responsible after the digging is done?
Say you have just built in a new zone. Who, if anyone, should be responsible for maintaining your trails and features so they remain relatively safe, or at least consistent, after they have been constructed?
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If you expect the builder of an "illegal" structure to be responsible for your safety, you need a slap in the face.
He built it for himself to ride, and if you're lucky you get to ride it too.
Bitching that it needs maintenance when you haven't touched a shovel is just rude.
The builder is one who knowh how should the trail stand an if anything's not in the way it should be, builder should know..
but if riders respect the builder they should (at least )help builder to repair trail they're riding, cause they didn't do enything else for the existence of trail where they now have fun.
That depends also on whether trail is:
-private (on someone's backyard): the builders and probable owners are bosses.. as said before you are lucky thah you can ride there
-somewhere everybody just ride and dont care much about trail: in that case i think riders are only ones that are dealing with trail and it it their ''response'' to keep it ''safe''
Clarkeh, what you said is like saying you shouldnt drive on roads that have cracked pavement nor should you complain about those roads unless you have built/tried to maintain those roads.
Regardless of what people think, there are laws that state the injury or death of someone resulting from another breaking the law (such as a death in a robbery, or illegal trail building) can result in prosecution of the individual who originally broke the law. The legal system does not accept "common sense" as a defense. A broken structure will result in questions regarding the structural integrity of the structure, and will look into the engineering of the structure. Since most of these are not engineered, or built by engineers, there is another liability. This is why the government officials tear down structures. Being aware of them implies acceptance of the safety of the structures. Since they haven't been engineered, are built illegally, and pose liability risks, they are destroyed. The adult world isn't a fair place, and the consequences are high.
I love your comment- Learn to ride something....Thats the most fun about riding!
Jumping and FR trails have come a long way......evolved from that dusty parking lot of jumps that we hacked in as kids.......This is one of those grey areas though......because if you've found some "secret line" and ride it, you're assuming it's built right (look before you leap clause), and YOU are responsible for your own ass. WHEREAS, if you built the line it is YOUR line and the proper tweeking of a lip/landing should be conducted by you as you put in all the time to get it to that point (and know what it needs).
Then there's things like: Wood features need to be CEDAR if possible so they don't rot in one year. Scrape away all the organic material before building a berm or jump so it's not on a shitty foundation, etc.
Build it, ride it.
Also, sorry to be a grammar nazi, but it's "by" not "buy".
RC
Regarding wood work , if its rotten and unstable then yeah it needs fixing , with the original builders knowledge/say so if possible.
The problem I find is people obsess about rough sections of track ( people on DH bikes that is ) .
Depending on the style of track i'm building , whether it's meant to be a smooth bermed flow line or a rough , natural DH line , is whether or not it should buff all the time.
People see breaking bumps and off cambers as a negative thing and take it upon them selves to smooth out those bumps / dig out the roots / remove the off cambers , thats when it's wrong and going to far.
Sure if you knock a lip off a jump , fix it , but it's gotta be back to how it was originaly , same angles , height and such , nothing worse than riding a line of yours to find out that some one has made a lip bigger or smaller to suit thier own needs after you have hit it full speed and been thrown over the bars/ cased the shit out of a landing due to altered jumps.
Had the 1st rain in ages here spent 3 hours reshaping/packing lips yesterday ,been so dry and dusty that shit is just falling apart ! can't wait to ht them on saturday
On our local jumps we made them so you would have to have some skill to get the right pace to clear (hours spent to get the shape right), but we have had people re-shape because they can't jump them.
I would answer with: everyone may tune a trail up, but let the builder have a say in major changes. But, if you don't know what you're doing, stick to minor work or dig with someone that does.
But....
There is nothing more annoying than building that nice 30ft gap jump on your own track, that you care for, maintain, take all the rubbish home from etc. and there is a chicken line, then some person who wants to ride the big line deems the jump dangerous... aka... they cant ride it and they think they are he dogs danglies and nobody can ride anything they cant ride. Then they take the jump down, building a smaller jump, even if the original jump you had on the track in its place.
If the builder(s) of a track, zone, area are still active in that area, dont touch it, it is not yours to touch, modify, simplify, build straight lines on Grrrrr
If something is clearly falling down, and nobody maintains that trail and you dont even feel safe walking on it, then you may make it safe (btw, woodwork is for lazy builders, use dirt and rock, it is natural, utilize fallen trees, but ladders just aint natural and belong in old school bike parks lol).
Most of all, walk before you ride, get your lines sorted in your head then smash it flat out.
Blind riding is fun on certain trails, but on the tech stuff, walking it first or riding with an experienced rider of that trail adds to the fun of going flat out.
However this post, and and more importantly the poll results, are heartening. Everyone needs to take responsibility for their own actions. Furthermore, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thus, the more people pick up shovels and help, the less likely they will be to pick up the phone and call an attorney (and this is coming from an attorney!).
While I can't speak to Canadian law, what I was referring to was the fear of civil rather than criminal liability. At least in the United States, and I would presume in Canada as well, the penalties incurred from lawsuits (large judgments or settlements) far outstrip any possible criminal repercussions from building a trail.
Moreover because building a trail is an intentional, and possibly (minor) criminal, act, even if you have some form of broad insurance coverage they likely will not indemnify you.
I´ve never ridden a trail that is further than 10 km away from where I live and hasn´t been build by my own hands...
i always try to hide them, because features that once have been build in perfect shape and were big and now they are small and shaby because someone thought : ohh thats to big for me... hmm lets try to build it in another way....
they always faild or left it undone...
I also experienced that i was reapiring some structures, jumps or berms and suddenly someone told me to get off his trail (that I was building for months) and he got pretty angry
So in other words I don´t like people to overwork my trails
But of course if a trail isn´t used anymore or destroyed everybody should feel free to rebuild it or to change it
Dont be a bust. Many trails need hidden entry/exit points where u carry ur bike into/out of.
Dont show up with tools during prime hiker hours for certain areas..stash em night before.
It's both no one's and everyone's responsibility to maintain the trails you ride. It's pretty much a given that if a trail exists, someone put effort into building it. If you're going to enjoy the fruits of their effort, you owe it to pay some dues for that privilege. The back side of that is that no one owes you that trail. You ride it at your own risk.
IOW
If you see a trail, ride it. If you see a problem, fix it.
we live in a world of law suits now, its just how it is. It is fortunate that for the most part these types wont go near nature
But sooner of later, it will happen.
I suggest builders maintain, riders assist, use your common sense and don't hit something you don't know and all pretend you never did anything but ride it.
Aliens must have made it.........
Put up a sign or two on your trails too, something that says this is not a place for novices with in in-appropriate ability and equipment.
yoda.densan.ca/kmr/jenny/jennybeast.jpg
Then I handed her the camera and went to ride it again, that time when it did its dance and twist... it pitched me off balance and I used the side of my face to stop my fall against the ONE tree near it that still had bark on it (apparently everyone else who came off it, hit the other tree on the left side) which is on the right side of it, and is seen in the photo above ahead of her as she rides down the teeter.
This is what was the result...
yoda.densan.ca/kmr/mypics/beast1.jpg
yoda.densan.ca/kmr/mypics/beast2.jpg
yoda.densan.ca/kmr/mypics/beast3.jpg
yoda.densan.ca/kmr/mypics/beast4.jpg
Note the duct tape holding my glasses together, and my ripped up face next to my eye, and my ear. My helmet completely MISSED the tree trunk, and my friend's first words of concern were... "Kristan, I can't drive stick..."
I haven't been back since and due to politics between the original builders, the township that provided the land grant/funding, and another rider association the place fell into a state of disuse/disrepair and I haven't heard anything about it in years.
But that's where it ends.
in reality the builder is legally responsible.
He/she created it to ride on, and took no steps to prevent it from being used by all, in fact the sport is considered open and riders are encouraged to try it out right?
So one day someone gets hurt, and the builder is now liable, and open to law suit.
That is a fact, take for instance a club builds a trail, its cool, its open, we love it.
Now some idiot brings their kid into it with their pink my little pony bike and watches as they careen into a tree.
The entire bike club is on the hook now, the term is jointly and liable and in short it means the person with the deepest pockets gets moved to the front of the line.
We here on Vancouver island are now faced with the loss of our mountain bike park, and left only with local build trails to use.
some peeps are talking about getting together and making a big park out on crown land, bad idea, they need some kind of insurance to protect themselves, and the cost of that is what closed Mt Washington to bikes.
The only other way is to create a closed 'no trespassing' location that only those that have signed waivers can ride. Anything else will eventually destroy someone's life financially.
I try to keep my trails rideable, but for the old ones that I don't ride anymore? I guess the best way to keep them safe is to... destroy them. Or re-use the materials to create something new.
Lets face almost all trails are on public land. This means that any one can work on (or f..ck up) a trail. Have courtesy towards the original builder please.
"If you ride the trail, you need to help maintain it. Actually, make sure you don't do anything the builder wouldn't like. Actually, don't do anything if I'm not there to watch you. Actually, just give me the shovel and praise me as I do all the work and bitch about how nobody helps out trail builders." And I know it's not the trail builders doing that, it's their histrionic, self appointed entourage.
If trail work is ever expected to be done by all riders, trail building culture needs to change big time. I won't touch a trail unless it's volunteering with an advocacy group.
I'm happy to build and approve others to build if they run it by me (or the entrusted minions), but I can't be on hand at all times to regulate the use of the land. The onus is on the riders to decide if the track is safe on the day and, if not, close down a section and notify me of the problem. As soon as I know of a problem, it will be fixed. To date, all issues have been dealt with before it even gets to me.
Common sense is, at times, the least common of all senses. Cover your ass if you are a builder or landowner.
as far as building and grooming --- we use the 70/30 rule ---
70% play, 30% pay ---
doesn't mean if you go out on any given you gotta spend 30% of your time grooming or building, riders should just put out an effort once in a while not just ride.
look before you leap is a good general rule too ---
walk up the trail you're about to blast down if you haven't been on it in a while.
I thought a lot of the etiquette was pretty straight forward.
1. You f*ck it, you fix it.
2. Don't modify the trail or it's features unless you built it OR unless it is decrepit and hasn't been maintained. In this scenario it is quite obvious when a track has been abandoned or needs work.
3. No one is going to give you stick for general maintenance on a trail that you didn't build. Like has been mentioned, if there's a rut, or a berm blown out or a squashed kicker - go right ahead and touch her up.
If you DID NOT BUILD the trail you can MAINTAIN IT but NOT CHANGE IT
If you DID BUILD IT, you can do whatever you want.
You may change a trail if;
1. you have spoken to the original builders
2. the original builder have abandoned the trail or no longer use it.
Ultimately every time you ride its like checking the water before you jump, you should check everything is in check before you go smash a trail only to get hurt then try blame someone else.
You cannot assume a trail is kept maintained if its not on private land, even than you cant be certain.
Bottom line, if you are damaging it and contributing to wear and tear you contribute to fixing it back up
I'll put my hand up and say I don't do this enough, I really don't fix up trails or maintain them at all. Legitimately the most iv done is some quick fix up after I'v ridden it but never really put a proper days work in. Seems I have a Hypocritical reply.
On the plus though I don't expect trails to be maintained, nor would I blame someone else if I were to get hurt if something broke. I still walk the trail before hand and check out structures. I'll do minor fixes to make tracks ride-able for the day but no overhauls.
And to angry parents of kids hurting themselves: let the kid play and be prepared to face the consequences. Otherwise lock him up untill he's 18. If you allow your child to get into an activity you can't monitor, bevause for instance: you don't practise it yourself, and you provide your kid with no guidance in that matter, you better find someone responsible, who can do that. So your kid can get an idea what is good and what's bad to ride on. You have the right to be sad and express frustration, when something happens, but leave builders alone. Watch Finding Nemo frequently!
To people's building: it's down to your own conscience to build it as well as you can. If you screwed up: be prepared to take shit for it.
It's the rider's responsibility to take a look first: isn't the track too difficult for me? Are there rocks or sticks on the trail? Are the lips in good shape? All of which are clearly visible so the rider has all the information to make a good decision to ride the track or not. In case he still messes up it's either a case of overestimating his skills or just bad luck - neither of which is the builder's responsibility.
I do think in some specific cases this might be a little different. Let's say you abandon a north shore you know will be ridden by others. To me it would be reasonable to either demolish it or somehow warn the others you stopped maintaining it. This is because I think it can't be expected from riders to perform a complete check up on the structural integrity. Having said that, you could argue that all of this is true but that would mean a reasonable person wouldn't ride it..
Also, props for Pinkbike and RC for including articles like this, MTB really seems to mature in the last few years which can only be a good thing.
Seriously RC that was probably the most brutal statement I've ever read.
If all the bikers can cooperate with the cause it will be much easyer, and also you can learn about trail design and how to shape jumps, it's a win/win situation i think.
i guarantee that you only gonna lose like 10 to 30 minutes and you gonna win experience and a nice and clean ride.
thanks DEEEIGHT for the comment, and keep up the good work!!