Good Trail Manners = Healthy Community
February 18th, 2008 at 9:37 am
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Digg! this story.
Weeeee! Yesterday was my first bike of the season! The St. Burke-Gilman/Sammamish River Trail (the trail I’ve come to call my church) was all a-buzz with activity! The first day of real sun is a traditional call for every Seattle-area man, woman, child and dog to make the pilgrimage for at least a few miles on the trail. The crowds made for a fits & starts bike ride, but it felt great!
Which brings me to the title of this post: Trail Manners.
Imagine if the I-5 or our local main street arteries did not have rules for cars - The codes of conduct that allow merging and passing and stopping and starting. These are designed so we all get to where we want to go, and we all get there safely. Without them, chaos would ensue.
The trail is no different. As I was dodging the folks who stopped in the middle of the trail to chat with their neighbor who they haven’t seen all week, I began to think about it… When observed closely ~ the ‘rules’ are all just common sense and common courtesy. All they call for are a few moments to stop and think, what makes sense here? and, how would I like to be treated? (Or the Platinum Rule: Treat others as they would like to be treated.) All it takes is to get outside our own little worlds and consider how we fit in the big picture. All it takes is Good Manners.
Sure. There are probably many people who have never been taught these manners. (As evidenced by the parents who were showing their kids how to rollerblade across the trail without looking for oncoming traffic, the intense riders who pass at 25 mph only to slam on their breaks when they reach the bustle of people walking up ahead (clearly annoyed that these people were interrupting their training), and the the dogs on the ‘extenda-leash’ allowed to dart into the path willy-nilly.)
As I was driving home, I wondered: When did I learn of the ‘trail manners’? Some were carry-overs from many nights at the dinner table with my mom. Others were learned by riding and running with local folks - modeling what they did on the trail. And, truthfully, some were learned by trial and error. THANK YOU to the folks who kindly reminded me that if I am walking my dog, I should keep the leash short and have her right next to me. But none were learned in a class or through some PR campaign.
And then I began to think, why not? Why not a campaign to educate folks on the simple courtesies that first (and most importantly) promote safety, but ultimately promote good fellowship and a healthy community?
I wonder what it would take to have a lovely sign erected on the trail to educate users about trail manners. I wonder what it would take to have a Trail Manners feature on the cover of the Seattle Times? I wonder what it would take to produce a short segment on the evening news hailing the virtues and community-building impact of good ‘Trail Manners’? (Of course, since it’s ‘TV’, we’d also have to toot the perils of when people don’t use them!) (We need a little drama to keep the ratings up!) 
Until that happens however, what we can do is be responsible for our own actions….. oh, and exercise the most important Trail Manner of all ~ patience.
Over to you……..
February 18th, 2008 at 10:43 am
On the dirt, single lane trail that I run, there’s one tiny sign that warns bikers to watch out for pedestrians. I’ve never had a problem with a biker running me down, and I always get over into the side brush whenever I hear them coming up behind me (often they’ll say “biker back” when they see me).
The most inconsiderate ones are the walkers/runners going the wrong way on a one way trail!
I will admit though that I’m guilty of not minding my manners on the paved trail I run by the lake. There are times when the trail splits, bikes and rollerblades on one trail, peds on the other. The problem is that the mileage markers stay with the bike trail so I take it whenever I’m timing my miles, even when it says no peds. I keep an eye out for approaching bikes and run on the grass if there are any behind me so I HOPE that makes up for it!
February 18th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
Ahh… there you go! Rubbing salt in an otherwise festering wound.
Seriously though, this is a great post, and a great topic.
It’s interesting to me, as someone who works hard at trying to be polite on the trail, how annoyed the “impolite” people get when I am polite to them.
For example, I do like to ride my bike fast. But I am aware of other people and riders. I always ALWAYS call out to riders, pedestrians, and any trail inhabitants, that I am approaching and that I will be passing them. I often call out a “On your LEFT!” or if I think the person may not understand that abbreviated message I’ll give the fuller “PASSING you on YOUR LEFT!”
It’s amazing to me that about 50% of the time I actually get a “how rude!” shouted out to me as I pass. Really? It’s only the posted rules that I am to use “bell or voice” when passing.
Now… on the subject of children. It turns out that I have two… and I want to teach them to ride a bike. And I am very thoughtful about the trail dilemma. It happens to be that near my house is a nice WIDE and FLAT portion of the Burke Gilman trail. Unfortunately it is one of the busier sections. But in general space to vehicle ratio, I’ve deemed it to be the safest section on the trail… and trust me, I know every inch of that trail like the back of my hand.
So, it also bothers me significantly, that when I am trying to work with my child, on the safest possible section of the trail, and I’ve versed my child on proper safety protocol, and they are in fact pretty good at riding in a straight line and not swerving, and their bike is adorned with bright lights, big bright orange safety flags… that other trail riders have the nerve to insist that my child’s presences is not appreciated on “their trail!”.
So, the idea of posting signs… a little public service announcement. Sounds like a good idea to me. Let me know when you want to work on this idea. I’m in!
February 19th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Hey Brad!
Thanks for your comment! I love training on the BG too. We did most of our weekday Ironman training there. As a biker, I know that if I want to go fast, I have to go earlier in the day - before the families are out and about. The shenanigans in my blog was Sunday at 2 in the afternoon. It was the first sunny day in a very long time. We had to expect it to be busy. But busy means that the trail manners are even more important. The rude bikers were giving us all a bad name.
I so appreciate the Dads & Moms who teach their kids good trail manners. I remember when Denver (who is now in high school with Phil & Lisa’s kids) was little. I was so proud when he would call out ‘on your left’ - even when he was using his little scooter. Toooooo cute!
Mitch says the ‘city’ has to be involved in putting up any signs……..but he’s also going to check it out with the education folks at the Cascade Bike Club. While this campaign is about so much more than the bikers, (dog owners, rollerbladers, parents, walkers, runners, after-church social clubs, etc.) the Cascade folks might know more about what the steps are to get it though.
We’d have to be sure to keep it a light and positive campaign though. I’m a big fan of trail manners, but I know some folks who are down right militant. This isn’t about slamming any one. It’s about introducing ways we all can get along. The ultimate goal is to create peace, ease and community on the trail. (Oh, and safety too!)
February 19th, 2008 at 10:44 pm
Regivizz - It sounds like you are mindful and do use trail manners!
Thank you!!
It’s the social club who stops to chat in the middle of the trail on a busy afternoon with bikes coming in both directions that I hope will learn the rules of the road.
Keep on running!