Video: Why Beginner and Advanced Riders Love Blue Trails (and Intermediate Riders Don't)

 The skill required to hit doubles on a hand built flow trail is very high. There is a lot of progression required to get to that point where the trail can be pretty boring (and you likely rode it 25 times as a beginner).

 @schili: Progression is the real thing here I think. I find myself in between trails often, but if a trail system has progression built into it well, than whatever the color trail we zoom in on will have it's spectrum of ability learning on it or pushing their limits on it. Personally, I like me some blue zoomers, but the holistic perspective on trail networks is where it's at. Maybe we can get @christinachappetta to do a sequel????

 @schili: depends on the trail. At my local xc loop we try to provide challenges for every skill level, including gappable obstacles that don’t require nico vink levels of pop. A novice would roll a jump, whereas an intermediate rider could consider doubling it and an advanced rider could land at the next roller/berm/bank etc.

 I've found that how fun a trail is oftentimes has no correlation with the difficulty. IMO trails of all difficulty can be super fun, and I'm not ashamed to thoroughly enjoy a green trail, despite being more on the "very dark blue" side of the skill spectrum.

My local trail system has a green trail that is honestly one of my hands down favorite trails I've ever ridden. Its not difficult, has no mandatory jumps/gaps, and no big features. But the layout and gradient is just about perfect, and while its nice and flowy, it has enough roots/rocks to keep things interesting. Every time I ride it my brain thinks I'm on a speeder bike on Endor (and there is my daily SW reference ).

On the flip side, I am less likely to like trails that feel "forced" into a difficulty level, with features that seem out of place.

 @schili: how are you defining intermediate? I love a good blue trail and I consider myself intermediate. My skill level is not quite to steep double blacks, I love a good black that’s like 50-60% grade and I love a good blue jump trail that has up to 30 foot jumps. Doubles and tables are good, if it’s a big gap jump them I’m out.

To me this is intermediate and blue is right up my alley. Especially bike park blue. Public park double black in my area is bike park blue so maybe that helps. I still would consider myself intermediate tho.

 agreed that's my thinking exactly

 @ridingbiking: “ 50-60% grade” That is incredibly steep for a trail, maybe you mean for a section like a long rock roll section? I am not aware of a continuous trail that is 50-60% grade that wouldn’t be considered a proline. But then again, I am only an intermediate so what do I know. But when I have ridden that pitch on my snowboard it has always been in no-fall experts only sections.

 @NERyder: 50% grade not 50degrees although 50% grade is still 26 degrees according to google which most people would be surprised how steep a 30 degree ski run actually is but not no fall zone on a snowboard type steep

 @NERyder: all I know is what garmin tells me. I’ve ridden or tried to ride 70% grade and it’s pretty fing scary for me but I have friends who do it often.

 @ocnlogan: Truth! Trail building is best looked at from the perspective of "what is the most fun trail we could build on this terrain?" not "how could we make this terrain into a blue/black/double black trail?"

 @schili: hitting doubles on a paver trail isn’t hard lol sorry

 @NERyder: 30-40% continuous is far into double black territory everywhere I can think of.

 @CobyCobie: yeah for sure. I’m talking max grade of a trail. Like windrock bike park in TN has some short sections of a very high grade like 60-70%. It’s extremely steep.

40% grade is a lot more maneable for a black and easier for me. 50% or so is like my max comfort zone even for like a 75 foot section of trail. Beyond that my fear of heights starts to kick in lol. Idk how downhill racers do it.

 Also the reality is I could be wrong what I’m getting grade wise. In short, I’m comfy up to single black steepness. Double blacks are a bit scary to me.

Blues are still great to ride.

 @ocnlogan: I am 100 percent in agreement with you. I'm past that part of my riding life where I'm trying to improve and go bigger, faster, stronger. I just want to enjoy it and the trail rating is only a small part of the equation.

 @ridingbiking: 30ft jumps are way beyond blue level.

 @ridingbiking: I don't know where you get your grade % but a sustained 40% trail would be incredibly steep - In fact, I don't even know if that exists.
For reference, the Val Di Sole WC DH track is about 25% grade and is known as a steep track on the DH circuit.
www.trailforks.com/trails/black-snake-33899

 @jlb1: yeah I’m definitely confused lol. Grade is not the same as slope percent as far as I know? But clearly I don’t know. Thanks for clarifying!

 well now that you say it I love the enthusiasm though

 So very true. How many people google 'the best xxxx' and stress over whether the XTR or XT is the better brake for example or if this helmet is better than that helmet. Whereas the experienced riders just buy whatever is on sale. lol

 @Longrider: Some of the best riders I know have never serviced their fork, and run the baldest minions. The skilled riders can ride anything on a 2013 hardtail, or A-line on a gravel bike.

Intermediate riders gain the most from good equipment IMO. The difference between and intermediate riding a trail and going OTB could be the geometry modernization between 2017 and 2021.

 I don’t disagree, but it’s also true that at the highest level a lot of people absolutely obsess over setup, components, etc. See Greg Minnaar, for example.

 @Rich-Izinia: For sure, top paid pros need to but non-paid riders, the fastest dudes I know ride whatever they can get their hands on and simply don't care.

 @schili: I see where you are coming from but at the same time many intermediate riders think it's the bike when it's really their skill....they'd be better off buying more lift tickets, going on a cycling holiday, getting training and just riding more on their older bike vs constantly upgrading....

I do 100% agree with your first point though....any trip to Whistler is a perfect example of that!

 If you're a fussy or particular person, you're a fussy or particular person. I am and have everything mm perfect, although I've seen a lot of examples of what @schili is talking about.
When I was a kid and penniless I had the cheapest thrown together bikes though, and I broke a lot of them.

 @Longrider: You damn straight! I need all the help I can get Also all my gear gots to match (purple …… damn you Hope).

 @schili: I think you are right. I'm admittedly a very mediocre rider, and for me, things like tire choice make a really big difference if I can actually enjoy a more technical descent or just get down there by the skin of my teeth. For me that's ok though - I don't have as much time as I would like to be actually out and ride (job, kids and all that), so I enjoy the process of nerding out on gear.

 My bike park bike is a 2015 Demo with a half-ass spray paint job (looks okay from a distance). Guess I'm a way better rider than I thought.

 @swellhunter: Old Demo with spray pain - A-line is calling

 Ahhh gives me scary memories of riding in Europe haha some of those hiking trails downright left a mark on me...

 "Hikers hate this one weird trick!"

 Can we be friends!!?!??

 @christinachappetta: brilliant, aren’t they?

 Yes totally agree, obviously not really 'natural' but we know what you mean as in non-bike park , real world stuff. Mountains.

 @YukonMog: the ones in the alps are the old herder’s trails for getting the cows up and down to the higher pastures in summer.

 I couldn't agree more. It really seems like modern mountain bikers only want to ride perfectly sculpted, machine built flow trails. Not many people want to ride anything challenging anymore.

 Feels like a lot of great sketchy local trails falling this fate every year, look how they massacred my boy

 yup. this. when options for building trails are limited (due to land ownership/management issues), and an organization takes all your favourite trails and sanitizes them by dumping dirt over roots and rocks, and putting berms in every corner, riding becomes boring, the challenge is gone. Riding for me is almost like solving a puzzle. Those days that I manage to solve the puzzle are rare, and the sense of accomplishment is high when I put it all together. And then someone comes in a fills in all the difficulties to make it easier to solve the puzzle?! that's cheating! kinda like e-bikes.... ;-P

 @slyfink: most of the trails in my area are visible bermed corners. I thought I was an ok intermediate rider, I travelled to a new system with a long trail that had several blind-ish flat corners. I wiped/slid out twice and i put my foot down and did unintentional 270° drifts the other 2 times. Berms make trails fun/flowy/faster, but they make you think you are better at cornering/braking then you really are.

 My favorite trail is a tech Blue, you can go fast, but it kicks your butt for doing so. I love it

Sadly they are becoming pretty rare

 I hear you breathing bud. But there is room for all types of trails. Here in Whistler there are newly constructed trails with more underway off the Cheakamus Lake road (aka East Side Main FSR) that are intermediate level and super fun at speed. These trails don’t intimidate my new to riding friends. These trails are great for new riders to progress on. Many of the black or double black trails in that zone are way over a beginners head.

I took my friends to Squamish to ride Pseudo Tseuga and they loved it. I told them that if they could ride Flashback in Cheakamus that they would have fun in Squamish.

 @slyfink: Something tells me you're referring to the Missing Link / Skyridge / Happy Valey trails in Gatineau Park. Used to be tech to the point of jankiness in sections. Now it is so easy I have a hard time getting motivated to ride there.

 The best trails that are in the most interesting places and longest are generally going to be blacks unless you're riding in a place with huge resources to build blues way out back, because they're labour intensive. Half the fun in riding a good black is that they often come with a long climb, a great view and a feeling of getting away from it all and into the hills. And there is a longer decent and true sense of success at the end. The kind of trail that feels like it's been going on forever, you stop and feel the quiet of being in the woods and you still have 5minutes more decent and half an hours ride home. I don't see why an intermediate rider whos just getting good enough to pick their way down a trail like that shouldn't be trying to do that as often as possible. You could build more blues like this, but it will cost you 4 times as much to do so and it's much more destructive to the natural environment that you're trying to get out into. Being able to go ride trails like that and enjoy them is part of the journey and the achievement of mountain biking, if you're not good enough to do so then you need to get better, not have the trails dumbed down for you.

 @Geriatric-J: That's one of them. Monique's is another. I hear a great way to spice them up is to get a gravel bike... I've also seen a bunch of e-hybrids out on the trail...

 Totes

 Yes, apparently notorious for it at a local bike park.

 Absolutely agree and I have told trail system folks this before. Roots are not dangerous! They keep speeds down.

 My local town is the perfect example. Caters to beginner riders, builds lots and lots of flow trails, the joey's wreck themselves in astounding numbers. Its amazing how skilled some are at taking a trail with no risk whatsoever and breaking themselves off on it.

 True. I always get hurt on easy trails when I stop paying attention.

 Are you Henry , are you Henry, are you Henry in disguise?

 @gmoss: I totally agree with you that roots and technical trails conduce to lower speed and are thus generally safer. But then, from many bikepark perspectives, roots are not what sells ticket to the average rider, on the contrary. Smooth trails, berms and jump on the other hand... It is quite hard to explain to an beginner/intermediate rider that he would be much safer on tech trail than going 40km/h on a smooth straigthline.

 @jlb1: I get it, but this isn't even on bike park trails. Trail systems being "maintained" by bike park mentallity, and trying to turn downs into bike park sections. I get so mad when I head downa fun section, ready for a set of roots that require some thought to handle at speed, only to have them dug up and dirt put in place. These aren't big steep descents, but longer gradual descents that allow you to carry some speed, but more than some should due to smoothness/easiness. Can't change it though, it is the prevailing thought here.

 @jlb1: YouTube videos of whistler are what sell trails to the average rider

 With bigger and more capable bikes on the trails these days, able to ride over tech more efficient, it's strange that there is this trend to remove tech from the trial.

 @imbiker: Because lots of riders ride big bikes to go faster, incorrectly equating speed to flow, and suspension/geo to skill. Less skillful people can ride faster on sanitized trails with big bikes.

 It's true that I begin to see a trend where I live that blue trails = flow trail. It's like impossible now to have a blue trail that has moderatly any obstacles (some roots, small rock garden etc ...). I'd even say that where I live you have to ''risk it" in the single diamonds if you want an initation to technical terrain. It's kind of sad

 @imbiker: Nah, that's not strange. Bigger bikes (for most, not all) is just another way to remove bumps from the trail.

 @imbiker: I think over all, the average level of skill in mountain biking has dropped significantly. This is a good thing, because it means that there is a huge influx of new riders.

Source: My ass

 Yes! I don't understand dumbing down writhing into flow trails. People get these long travel enduro bikes, and only want to ride trails they are as smooth as the sidewalk. Mountain bikers are becoming soft.

 Ironically I think the blue flow trails around here (Squamish) are pretty well the same as many trails in the likes of the UK, and probably loads of other places too. Just loads of berms and 'whoopy bumpy things'. I can't remember any trails like that when I first rode here in 2007, but as that style of riding became more popular elsewhere, the same happened here.

 @wake-n-rake: building bmx tracks in the woods on the hillside is the goal these days many places.

 @wake-n-rake: yeah the blues here in Canberra are like that too. At my local (Majura) the greens are much tougher with roots, rocks and tight turns and shit everywhere.

 @tiffe: so fun tho!

 Would LOVE to ride at Snowshoe some day! It looks so tech there.

 @christinachappetta: when it's dry, it's awesome...when muddy...ughhhh

 fact! heck, try a gravel bike hahaha nothing puts the fear into my body on a smooth trail like riding a gravel bike in the drop bars

 Agreed, and then once you're used to it, nothing unlocks the fun of black trails like a hardtail. It becomes much less about charging and more of a puzzle to ride it smooth.

 name checks out

 Username does not check out

 @vtracer: hahaha

 Any trail can be overdone, you're right! Here's to hoping you get some more trails in your area!

 "Know who hates pro lines? pros."

 @christinachappetta: the most dificult trails to overdo are the most difficult. Always a challance to improve onto them

 Everyone loves blue trails when they're really well built. But most blue trails aren't really well built.

 (You're lying to yourself)

 @honda50r: about which part? I hope you're not just trying to stir up shit. I know what I like riding. I'm almost 45, I have no desire to impress anyone.

 trailforkstrailforkstrailforkstrailforkstrailforkstrailforks

 Spot on.

 As seen by Tom Btadshaw on a HARDTAIL hahaha with bikepacking bags...

 Thanks for saying that, it's so true. Everyone should have a hardtail to taste that.

 @christinachappetta: Great to see Tom back for a cameo !

 If it’s a two way trail, then you should yield to the uphill rider. The more you know…

 @BermJunky: yielding to uphill riders is a stupid rule. Even if the uphill rider has a bell, the dh rider is not going to hear them until they are on top of them. When climbing you can easily hear someone coming down even if they don’t have a bell. Also why ruin someone’s flow, just be a nice person and let other people have fun. The uphill yield rule seems like some 80’s XC rider thing that has stuck around for some reason, maybe getting started again on climbs was hard with toe clips but with flats or clipless it’s not bad.

 @xciscool: stupid rule, eh? Sounds like you practice solid trail etiquette. Nobody is ruining anyone’s fun. It’s your job to be aware of other riders (and other users) presence.
The same could be said about your comment…just be a nice person and let other people have fun.

 @BermJunky: @xciscool:

you're both not wrong...I'd add that two-way trails just suck!

I think yield to climber is a holdover from model T's going up some steep old roads, no? Grapevine or whatever?

 @BermJunky: @xciscool:

also could you guys switch names? thx

 @xciscool: it's more about safety than anything else. For actual bidirectional trails (not fun DH trails that just aren't marked DH only) you do not want the downhill rider to be empowered to blow through blind corners and hit people. The point of yielding to the uphill traffic is to encourage you to ride at a speed where you can stop when needed. Obviously with good sight lines and friendly people, it's nice for the climbers to pull over and let the dh rider flow through. And for trails that are mostly ridden downhill, it would be nice for anyone going up to recognize that riders might not be expecting them, and proceed with a bit extra caution.

 @BermJunky: I usually yield in both directions. Yield to the DH rider because why ruin their flow, and yield to the climber because why ruin their flow?

Also, I am a very advanced rider, so getting going again in either direction isn't a big deal. But I agree that the "yield the uphill" is a stupid rule.

I also hate encountering eBikes riding up trails at speed, worse when they are directional.

 @JSTootell: Yeah it is contextual, not always a strict rule. Group vs individual, degree of incline, difficulty of re-starting, all that factor in. Except for e-bikes which will get buzzed in either direction.

 @owl-X: hahaha.
For the record, I often will let the DH rider have the right of way. I’m not a fascist, was merely stating accepted practice.

 @xciscool: well, maybe some weirdos (not my case) have fun going uphill, so why ruin someone's fun?
I've been in sea to sky area and in my case, and having ridden both directions trails just as a mean to get to the top and bomnb down something gnarlier, I can say it sucks when some idiot doesn't yield to the uphill rider. Stopping uphill takes away a much harder to gain momentum and flow. And all for some dick going down the easiest trail down...

 @xciscool: Absolutely agreed. Back in the old days, we just weren't shredding downhill like we do today. But now, I feel like the rule should be reversed. It's often hard or impossible to stop safely (or without skidding) to let an uphill rider through if you're going at a pace that's fun. And for the uphill rider, stopping is so much easier and safer. It's a question of which one has the most kinetic energy to suddenly reel in. I mean don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely not shredding 2-way trails like I would on dedicated DH trails, but I don't want to have to creep down anything for fear I would have to stop suddenly around every bend. And also, I pick my spots. If I'm coming down something and a climber is about to tackle a tough techy bit, and it's easy enough for me to stop, I stop. I don't want to harsh anyone's buzz. I just wish the rule was made more sensibly given the way we ride now.

 @xciscool: Riders going down the trail can avoid riders climbing up a lot easier.

 @BermJunky: I have no problem yielding to anyone, and most two way trails in my area have hikers so I’m not going full send around blind corners anyway, but if I’m climbing some singletrack and I hear people coming down I find a safe section and get off the downhill line, or if it’s wide enough for 2 riders to pass I pick a side and don’t just sit in the middle of the trail completely oblivious.

 @BermJunky: another reason Bropeds suck. Trail etiquette is for non motorized users at non motorized speeds. Riders going up trails at braap speed negate the reason for yielding to uphill traffic.

 @wyorider: I was wondering when you would show up with a comment.

 I should try to do a chainless lap down Half Nelson, that would be a fun/funny challenge

 Same here. There are only a few black trails that I feel totally confident on, others Im still a little sketchy on. All the blues though, I can just let loose and have a good time on.

 That's because they're the best! haha keep enjoying

 @Takaya94: the best feeling... "letting LOOSE!!"

 @AltaSki: Yeah, I'd expect this kind of comment from an Alta skier ha. If you're able to jump around, hit any feature, and just dick around confidently on a blue trail then you're at least an intermediate.

 @Takaya94: Wrong, you're not an intermediate rider until your ego is too big for blue trails and you have to ride blacks to prove you're an apex two wheel predator.

 @bikes-arent-real: I get that, and I do ride black tech lines regularly. I tend to avoid the bigger jumps however, not because I'm not confident in my ability, but because I'm the main provider for my family and I care more about staying healthy for them than I do about going huge on a bike. I know everyone has a different rationale on that, but I really don't want to make them have to go hungry or have to pick up extra work because the blue trail wasn't gnarly enough. Not throwing shade on people who do ride black jump trails, but it's not for me.

 @danielfloyd: Yeah I know dude, I'm just being sarcastic because the video implys that intermediate riders all have some sort of personality disorder.

 SAME! Love when I find a new double or finally give the 2 big rollers a send. Skills...amiright?!

 @christinachappetta: ha ha, yeah. Makes me feel far more competent than I deserve to.

 All great insight! I remember learning to dh at Trestle and there wasn't much green going on then haha I progressed very quickly for fear of crashing

 100% agree that you can go fast and have fun on all of them. Even a green trail, like Roly Poly at Trestle is fun if you ride it fast enough.

I would agree that Trestle has good blue trails, but I wouldn't say they are the best even in CO. I rate the blues at Snowmass and Vail higher personally. Vail especially because the dirt is sooooooooo much better there. Even Steamboat has better blues in my opinion, but their problem is they just need more variety. Trestle's blues can be a bit too flat in places. I mean, even Trestle DH has weirdly flat parts too, but the blues could stand to be a bit steeper overall. I suppose that makes them a little more accessible or uninitimidating.

 Trestle is mediocre at best, most of the blues (and many other trails) are mindless dull affairs.
Lower Radio Flyer at Vail is a great example of how a blue flow trail should be built.

 @catweasel: you are looking at it as an intermediate rider. If you can’t look at it as a beginner or and expert then you can never teach others to enjoy it. Like the best in terms of scenic blues is hands down Top of the World at mammoth. But it’s flat. Like flat enough where I would consider it Green. Heck, I would consider Kamikaze a blue because you just hill Bomb the mountain.

Snow valley has the worst blue trail. It’s flat and nothing scenic. Now if we talk about pure ride experience something that would make you stfu. It’s Talladega at Windrock. It’s a blue trail, that I wouldn’t consider blue if you compare it to most bike park. But would I willing take “fresh meat” down that trail. No, because it’s not intermediate in the slightest.

This is how people need to look at this topic. A blue trail needs to be the trail bridges the gap. It ropes the rider to want to come back for more. As it provides very safe versions of the trails flag ship, YouTube making, black diamond trails. If you can’t have fun with a blue trail no matter what it is, then you’ve lost sight on how to have fun riding a bike.

 @kroozctrl: don't know what intermediate means in this context. I'm pretty confident on most double black terrain whatever that makes me.
I've ridden blues that are a fun time for anybody from beginner to sponsored pro. I think you are looking at it from the perspective of somebody who hasn't ridden many well built trails. If you want to ride amazing blues go to Europe, US trail building is a ways behind

 This x 100. I consider myself an intermediate rider and some of the most fun I have in the bike park is chasing my advanced friends down blue trails, and also riding with beginner friends to help them session features and learn/progress on those same blue trails. They're the great equalizer of bike park riding. They allow the whole group from beginner to advanced to ride together and everyone has fun. If it weren't for blue trails we wouldn't have many party laps. Cat's Paw anyone?

 Yep, BC Blue is indeed a thing. Half Nelson, though, is (or was the last time I was up that way pre-Covid) just a really fun, flowy joy ride. Nope, it's not a techy character builder. Nope, it's not a huge puzzle to figure out line choice and all that. Yes, it's easy to ride with some flow, and then offers better riders the option of dialing it up by going faster/bigger/more creative. It's a bit like ice cream - nope, you wouldn't want to have it all the time, or exlusively. But frankly, if someone can't have fun on that, that may indicate they're just a little bit dead inside.

 @g-42: I am with you. I think some of the issue may be the bikes that people are riding. Too long and slack can probably take some of the fun out of blue trails.

 And then onto Aline obviously

 @christinachappetta: And then into the 4-hour gondola line #RIPFitz

 hahaha YES! This weekend of supercross had James showing his Bubba Scrub and wowza did he change the way we ride! Love that guy

 my worst injury came on a blue trail. wound up off work for 3 months. 18 months in, and I'm still recovering. non-tech + high speeds = worse crashes that are potentially life altering. all it takes is a split-second of inattention.

 @slyfink: my worst bike injury happened on a bike path with freshly installed 800mm wide bars. I went to pass a pedestrian and clipped a fence post and endoed. I broke a floating rib, and was out of work for 2 months.
That was my first and last time riding with 800mm wide bars. I also pass people a lot more cautiously, and pretty much prepare to make a complete stop in those types of scenarios now too.

 maybe this is better for "us" hahah keep the trails clear and ready for speed! Blue trails suck, don't go

 I think of blues as fun with less risk, and that allows me to go faster. I have kids to feed, and I'm not young and invincible anymore, so a lot of black or double black trails just feel too risky to enjoy. Any time a trail sort of forces you to get more than about 3 feet off the ground, whether drops or jumps, I just find myself lacking the commitment to send it, and as a result I don't enjoy it as much. There are great blues at the bike parks here in CO, which have features like rollers that could be doubled if you have the speed or pull up hard, but I tend to keep things low, and often I feel like pumping those instead of jumping is just as fast.

 And somehow, you're in charge of determining what flow is, what riders are supposed to do, and exactly why the world is going to hell?

 "Feel the flow Happy. Feel it. It's circular. It's like a carousel."

 Sounds like someone can’t rail berms

 You've never ridden Del Bocca Vista at Whis?!

 @ADGproductions: The best green trail there ever was! That's my next vid haha the green's in WBP

 I actually feel bad sometimes when there aren't green trails around...like how do people build up and progress if they don't get a good learning platform?! Stoked that for the most part, there are now trails for everyone!

 Yeah, I prefer hitting aquamarine trees compared to rouge trees. Just a bit of a color preference.

 Yeah, French trees are the worst.

 @duncanstrohnd: When you take the French line and find someone planted a French tree in it, that's the worst.

 hahah yes!

 Just like my girls

 The loamier the better

 The only gate is lack of skill. If you have the chops, nobody stops you from going full send. Most riders who choose to mindfully put in the time to progress instead of just pedaling the same way they have for xxxx number of years can get to riding gnar trails in a season or 2.

 It's based on the colour of the bruises incurred.

 In Europe, AFAIK there’s no standard, and it’s mostly dictated by marketing requirements.

 @duncanstrohnd:

 I think it's mostly up to the local organizations to add trails to the networks (on TF anyway) and then make the choice on trail rating in comparison to those around them.

 Some trail networks around the sea to sky area use the Whistler Trail Standards that have guidelines on the rating of a trail dependant on features, grade etc

 @christinachappetta: please write it. I would like more ammo to blow most of them apart!

I don't really have a better system, but maybe we should be adopting something like climbing (or, what I think climbing has) with a bit more subtlety than green/black/blue (red doesn't exist in my world)

 @duncanstrohnd: those red/black ones really hurt

 @owl-X: same, no red trails here really. But I like the idea of more trail variety. To only allow green, blue, black is a bit too narrow.

 Bentonville Black = Austin Green.

 IMBA has guidelines a good builder will use. That said-those guidelines don’t make for good trails, just compliant trails.

Lots of meh blues as a result.

 @BarneyStinson: most stupid and unlikely sentence of the thread. Quote your sources please...

 @danstonQ: riding in bike parks in France and Italy.

 theconversation.com/debunking-the-dunning-kruger-effect-the-least-skilled-people-know-how-much-they-dont-know-but-everyone-thinks-they-are-better-than-average-195527

 @Takaya94 - this ^^^

 @AltaSki: oh right! thats why both my comments got upvoted and yours was downvoted into oblivion by the largest mountain biking community around. Dude, just get off your phone and go ride your bike, you need a break.

 Ours have been integrated for as long as I can remember.

 Ya I'm with this... fondly recalling the days when trails had no colors and we would just ride around and figure out which trails were what and had fun doing it. Then again, most things on PB make me realize I'm getting old so this is no surprise... and I do agree with the low key burn of this article, roasting all those intermediates who think they're experts and are too cool to ride "blue" trails.

 shoooooweee!!!! 10 beers?!

 that's nothing one time I drank 100 beers

 Well said ;-)

 Utah has some reallll spicy blues and all the front wheel lifts

 by garmin

 Friday Fails show us on a weekly basis that you’re onto something….

 No…Nelson blues are black most other places

 yeah it's a love hate for me... love to hate them but also love to ride them and feel relieved when we've made it out alive

 I am 5'4" ish...on a tall day, and I ride a small Fuel EX.

 Might as well ban fun then...

 @HeatedRotor: To each their own. Not a fan of "trails" that are essentially groomed pump tracks. Of course I say "ban" in jest. But its kind of lame and boring when every trail in a trail system is nothing but berms, rollers and tables, which seems to be the trend at MTB specific trail systems these days

 @HeatedRotor: Keep riding your easy, sidewalk smooth trails. I'll be going mountain biking.

 @matyk: never said i only rode them.... - hey if your not skilled enough to make some good fun from blues, thats ok, youll get better one day.

 You are correct, but you hurt my ears.

 It seems she is the complete package. No?

 I imagine it's because you can't go fast enough to stick the outside of the corners and end up in the slippery gravel on the flat.