Video: Trail Builder vs Trail Poacher

Sep 17, 2021 at 10:38
by Mark Matthews  

A trail builder defends his territory. These rare creatures are a vital part of the mountain bicycle ecosystem. Moments captured by Scott Bell Visuals

Trail poaching


Author Info:
mmatthews avatar

Member since Jan 15, 2000
33 articles

78 Comments
  • 99 0
 Awesome video. So true as well. I'm glad he got the poacher to help digging. I thought he was going to kill him and eat him.
  • 14 0
 Nah, too stringy. Gotta fatten him up first. Wink
  • 13 1
 This was legitimately funny. A cut seen over to a campfire and meat roasting on the spit beside the poacher helmet would have been all time though. Builders got to eat after all.
  • 79 2
 Supremely awesome video. The Sir David Attenborough voiceover was the chefs kiss.

That said, as a trail builder myself, what I would prefer poachers do is go build their own trails/jump lines rather than offer to help at existing stuff. Too many cooks in the kitchen can make for a messy dish.
  • 8 0
 Nail on the head jackalope!
  • 14 1
 I'd just settle for them not riding shit when it's still soft and wet.
  • 1 0
 too many kooks* in the kitchen can make for a messy dish
  • 2 0
 @Dustfarter: I've literally gone to take 10 minute walk with the trail pup after shaping up a wet berm and come back to tire tracks and skid marks on the stuff I just fixed. The entitlement of most of our local community is breathtaking.
  • 51 3
 I don't mind people poaching our trails, we build the trails to be ridden, but it's shocking how fast those poachers turn into vapid conservationist A-holes the minute you build a feature that they can't do. I'm convinced most trails advocacy groups were spawned by these people trying to force legitimate trail builders to build tamed down crap that doesn't scare them.
  • 1 0
 #mmbts

CM!
  • 1 0
 @Cro-Mag: yeah, we're constantly battling people like you that ride and don't touch a tool for 5-6 years at a time.
  • 29 0
 Just like home...
Funny and sad at the same time, all the riders I approach and ask for some helping hands are way to busy. Most are younger, don't have kids and I think my job can compete with most other professions sucking hard at work/life balance. Still, I love to see other riders enjoying my lines and kickers, so I´ll keep on digging...
  • 4 0
 no estas solo amigo Wink
  • 26 0
 ... then the land manager discovers the watering hole for which all fun loving is gathered and lays a trap in the form of knock down orders for all doubles and wood features. Desperate, the colony moves on to other fertile, but fleeting land and hence completes the cycle of two wheel life.
  • 19 0
 Great vid and spot on!
Back when Strava was first emerging...we were out in a remote area building. All hours of the day and night. I shit you not, we were coming out of the area one morning and found a dude in the bushes tracking us. We knew this guy was a rider as he has his bike...said he used the "heat map" feature on Strava to find it and that's how he knew people were riding over there. Turns out, riders had been going there (NOT US) using Strava and marked it. The spot was doomed and later destroyed by rangers. I am very reluctant to pick up a shovel till this day...
These F'ing Youtubers don't help either....SMH
  • 4 0
 every wack rider on youtube is punching the Air right now.
  • 48 31
 I miss the scene with the trailbuilder picking up his empty beercan and carrying it out of the forrest.
  • 50 1
 just pretend he threw it into his bucket, which was just out of frame. This is a fun bike movie, not a serious environmental campaign.
  • 34 0
 I’ve never met anyone who spends significant time in the woods and leaves anything behind, aside from loggers. What I tend to find are an obnoxious amount of mylar/foil balloons, the “Happy Birthday/Valentines/surely it just disappears into outer space” floating trash that lands in the forest. The loggers leave oil buckets and soda cans all over the place, not to mention the massive strands of choker cable and broken machinery. Accept that it happens and pick up/pack out what you can so it’s a better experience for the next visitor.
  • 30 0
 Trail builders can be messy creatures but they always pack out what they bring in! Smile
  • 3 0
 Chill out bud. It’s a comedy video.

Buuuut, when I’m building my home trails, I throw 100% of my beer cans on the ground in the middle of the trail, then I pick them up on my way out.

If you’ve never finished the last sip of beer on a trail you’re working on, then crushed the can a bit and chucked it on the ground, you’re doing it wrong.

Also it’s like a warning/yield sign for poachers. Keeps them from running me over.
  • 10 0
 I trail build so i can have features to ride close to home, sure people/poachers ride without helping , but that's just a reality unfortunately. however it is super funny to hear how shocked people are when they finally show up and go " wait you built this alone !?! " that's probably the best part aside from having a sweet line that ends in my yard !
  • 9 0
 There are 2 big lies in Mountain Biking. Lie number one "It's all downhill from here." Lie number 2 "What's your email? I'll come help you dig." Either lie should be recognized, smiled at, and then ignored.
  • 6 0
 everyone is too busy to help out when the weather isn't ideal but if it's sunny, let's ride! Too many moochers out there.
  • 8 1
 I had a poacher on a trail I was building actually try to tell me how to build my trail, being a nice guy I just told them its a work in progress but I should have handed him a shovel. Most poachers in my area are not that good and ride in the worst possible conditions destroying lips and landings before their even done.
  • 9 0
 Love it, top notch editing, so hilarious but still getting the message across that trails aint free.
  • 5 0
 Ha that was sweet! If you find a new trail . A secret trail. Please walk your bike to the hidden trail entrance. Ask the builder if working on the trail is acceptable and chances are your messing with his /her perfect vision of a trail.
  • 7 1
 Never commented before, but this deserves props! Great video guys…..made my morning!!
  • 7 0
 Freeride aint free
  • 3 1
 Fantastic vid, Very well done & much truth...Sadly these days I have less spine and time than I used to for maintaining my favorite trails. So now if I bump into a trail builder or two, I generally open my wallet and make a donation for their time & efforts, its a smart investment..
  • 2 0
 I haven't dug once in my whole life. Local organizations want applications and background checks just to volunteer like we're launching dod satellites. Too much beaurocracy to help on legal trails, too much population density to build illegal ones. I'll just keep pedaling while the good ol boys club moves dirt.
  • 5 3
 Its a known fact that poachers ride Marin Bikes. You can spot them easily. They can be spotted wearing patagonia shirt, short shorts and ankle socks with long knee/ shin guard pads, similar to the star wars white armor.
  • 5 0
 Maan, that´s why I love Canada
  • 4 2
 Hope the builder apologized.
  • 5 0
 12/10!!! Such a brilliant video.
  • 2 0
 Better not fall or wipe out on the trails - never know where the guy took a dump or pissed on the trail to patch it up in piecemeal!
  • 4 0
 Solid Gold!
  • 3 0
 Sweet video Mark!
  • 3 0
 10/10
  • 3 0
 @brianpark got taller?
  • 3 0
 Gold
  • 2 0
 Hahaha quality... if only the real outcome was a dig session
  • 4 2
 Excellent video! Get a damn shovel and dig dammit.
  • 5 3
 Pick up your trash mate Wink

Love it !!!
  • 3 1
 This is absolute fu¢king gold
  • 2 0
 good job! good entertainment!
  • 2 0
 That was really well done!
  • 3 0
 nailed it
  • 3 0
 Ya this is incredible
  • 5 6
 In reality that poacher helps you for a half a day and thinks all of his homies can shred there now. If you don't build your own trails to share, stay the fuck off mine. And have a good day!
  • 12 0
 This is why I bought my own land to build my own trails. Just run atvs with racks. If you’re building on public land you can’t really complain - it’s public.
  • 5 0
 @SterlingArcher: this. I don't understand the mentality. Public land = free game.
  • 8 0
 @Bro-LanDog: nope you can't complain, but it's always nice to get respect from fellow riders.

You don't understand and that's okay, it's because you haven't built once in your life (as stated in your other comment). Just because there's no rule against something and you can do it, doesn't mean you should. If you're not damaging a trail it doesn't even matter but it's about respect more than anything. When someone pours hours of their time into something for all of us to ride, obeying their wishes is the respectful thing to do.

That is just my personal opinion because I know how much work and sacrifice goes into building rad trails and respect is something I highly value.
  • 3 0
 @mmatthews: again. In my other post it's not like local organizations that build are inclusive. Respect, sure. I respect the trails. But I also would never feel entitled to something I built that's literally there for anyone to use.
  • 3 0
 @Bro-LanDog: I'm sorry to hear your local organizations aren't inclusive. I think you're local building culture has also influenced that mindset. We're super lucky here in BC and people in general are respectful enough to stay off public trails that are still under construction.
  • 4 0
 @Bro-LanDog @mmatthews The problem is when you say it's 'under construction' but then you see it being ridden on youtube. The etiquette is so nuanced. Private trails on public land (this is BS); trails under construction on public land (OK - should be off limits but only if they're properly marked as still under construction); secret trails on public land (free game if you find them, but don't share on social media); trails on public land that are finished but the builder wants to get their edit for youtube before making the trails public (monetizing public land for private gain - bugger off). People are precious about dirt - it's just dirt FFS
  • 2 0
 Is that trail on trail forks yet???
  • 2 0
 check strava first, it's leaps ahead.
  • 1 0
 @heckler73: Ha, I was going to say, where's the part where the poacher leaves his strava on to attract fellow poachers.
  • 2 3
 I'm totally cool with riders hitting trails that aren't "finished". More tires gets our new trails burned in faster so my work is more fun for me to ride sooner.
  • 1 0
 Attenborough fir the WIN!
  • 3 1
 Fantastic
  • 3 1
 Great video!
  • 3 1
 Best video all year
  • 2 0
 VOY.
  • 1 0
 Brilliant, haha, who is the Attenborough impersonator? Nice work, Matthew.
  • 1 0
 Awesome, great narration and filming!!
  • 1 0
 Poacher come gate keeper..... I mean game keeper.
  • 1 0
 SOOO Good
  • 1 0
 no dig no ride...
  • 1 0
 Very Good
  • 2 1
 Thumbs up!
  • 1 0
 True Story.
  • 7 8
 everything about this was SO good.
  • 1 1
 Clever.







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