It's like whack a mole. People work REALLY hard to be lazy out there. I'm talking digging out rocks, sawing down cedars that have been nailed across bypasses, serious effort just to walk less.   

But to answer your question, yes, we'll have workdays soon. 11/26 we'll be working on the black diamond.

Two words "Game" and "Camera"....

Yeah, some of those bypasses had me scratching my head as to why they were even there. The ORV trails out at URE are similar in that fixing it never ends. 

Are there signs anywhere at Beatty about trail usage and etiquette?  Might help to have some posted on the trail. I'm open to hearing about Jerry's solution too. I remember one he used years back out at poplar tent...

I bypass Beatty on my way to Sherman Branch or Steve's place.   

Gravity - How's my berm doing?  

Enoch wrote on 11/17/16 at 8:18pm:


They did that to create the downhill berms in the switchbacks at the beginning of the black diamond. This is in the same place that cedars nailed across the cut through were destroyed. The cut through now goes around the hole. 

This has been happening for years and years...

Signs and game cameras achieve nothing. Signs are ignored... trust me. I worked for a local P&R for 8 years and we had signs for days and days... No one followed them. Plus they cost $. What is a game camera going to do? Might show you who is doing it but try to get P&R or anyone to care about it... 

here is what you do...

At every cut through/bypass build a 8'-10' gap jump with holes (from where you dug the dirt to make said jumps) on either side of the launch. 8' gaps dont need much dirt... a few wheel barrows on the launch and lander. Dont call them jumps... call them "go around deterrents"  or "barricades" and no one is the wiser...

Walkers wont go into the holes, riders will either hit the jumps or take the original line, and everyone will get rad AF!

Seriously though if you make the alt lines harder and more difficult to use than the original lines folks will choose correctly. Im talking big cedar logs rebared into the ground with quik crete.  Logs have to be 3'-4' high or better. Walkers will still step over them but most riders cant bunnyhop something that high and will choose the correct line. You cant stop walkers... unless you have a crossbow or katana sword. Gotta kill the brain... its the only way!

Or just live it with it like I did when I was temporary TC out there. 

If someone goes out of there way to cut down a purpose built barricade or dig up barriers rebared into the ground with quik crete they can have the go around... thats someone with serious issues and they shouldnt be provoked...

Yea, Beatty's my local that I use a lot when I don't have much time and I really abhor the go-arounds. I've tried to fix a lot of 'em when I'm riding and get fed up - but without a tool to take out the "offending" root, the go-arounds come back again and again 95+% of the time. 

My theory (it's a theory 'cause I'm too lazy to put it into real practice) is to take our the roots that wiil cause or are causing the go-around. If you don't do that - and do it before or as soon as a new go-around starts to appear, you can't stop 'em from reusing their easier, preferred line ('cept maybe Jerry's and Banjo's fixes should work but sound like a LOT of work). Do it even if it's only a smallish root - cause dang it - once they get the idea they don't have to go over that patrticular root - they wont!

This may sound like paving, but it really is only a hand full or two of roots in the whole trail that cause this at any one time. There will ALWAYS be plenty of roots at Beatty (and at most of our trails). We all know if you just wait a bit, more roots or rocks will show up and there should always be lots of roots and features that they can't go around too easily. There are plenty of examples. ( The 2 little switch backs on the climb away from the double bridged stream crossing near the beginning of the Valley trail. These both have tricky roots that would cause go arounds if in a location that would allow the go-arounders to easily do so - but they can't on this sloped section.) 

Beatty in particular can always use a good grooming of excess roots. If we concentrate on preventive root selection for those that are or will cause problems, my theory is we'd have very few go-arounds.

I was out there for the first time in several years last Friday. The roots are no worse than they were when I was helping to maintain the trail but the go-arounds have become pretty nuts.

Whats strange is the faster lines are still the old ones. The many go-arounds arent saving anything off your lap time. Hell I rode Valley/Chigger Holler 1 sec slower than my fastest time ever and stuck to the original lines...

Advocat is right... once a go around starts it only takes one good weekend for it to be established. Cutting roots that are causing the go arounds will certainly help but keeping on top of that out there takes loads of time and dedication, not to mention a small squad of volunteers. 

Either way the trail is riding really well. Still one of my favorites 

Banjopickin wrote on 12/02/16 at 1:55pm:

Agreed.  The shortest path is straight over those nasty roots and rocks, not going around them.  Do. not. stop. pedaling.

DAH wrote on 12/02/16 at 2:07pm:

Amen, brother.