Respect your Trails

[jimithng23]

I am feeling long winded today and it's a tad slow at the dealership so I have some time to kill....

Everyone is aware of the "Trail Status" on the homepage (www.qcforc.org) I assume, correct?

Good. Now raise your hand if you actually abide by it.

Hmmmmmm...not seeing too many hands out there.

FORC puts a ton of sweat hours into the creation and maintenance of these trails that everyone loves so much. It sucks to see and hear about the trails being damaged when our parks are *CLOSED*...

We've been battling wet spots at SBP all year long because of the decisions by a select few people to ride while the trails were too wet. Their tires then create ruts that allow water to pool, and it's all downhill from there. Riding around the wet spot is *not an option*. This widens the trail and allows for water to pool in a larger area, expounding the problem area. If your tires and frame are caked with mud after riding out at SBP, you DEFINITELY should not have been on the trail.

I'm just as frustrated as the next guy/gal with this year's weather and wish I was able to get a ride in more often than not. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. Yes, we are currently in the middle of peak race season so you have to get your miles in, I understand that. Please don't selfishly jeopardize years of work, political and manual, because you need to win the next race...hop on the road bike, ride the path, ride the hill by your house, ride to the bar...just stay off of the trail when it's too wet, that's all.

If you're like me, you joined FORC because of the thrill, the stoke, you get from a ride, the comraderie of your fellow riders back at the parking lot, and of course....all of the beer. FORC is not a priviledge, nor are the parks we are currently a part of. All of this can be taken right from under us by the fault of the few.

Let's just all do our part, pay attention to park closures, and if you run into a mudpit/wet spot get off your bike and walk...if you do ride through it, you better be at the next trail day to help fix the problem you just created!

[Bexter]

Excellent points Mielke! Good reminder. I am guilty at times of not looking just assuming the trails are open (my case today).

[Rage]

Still trying to keep Kickapoo up and down closed. People keep opening the chains, so others then assume it's ok to ride. It's not. In fact they're getting much worse due to people riding through the mud, creating grooves that don't allow the water to drain. We're pretty close to having to close these trails permanently.

If the chains are open and you find the trails muddy, please feel free to close the chains. Chances are it was not "officially" opened. Let our new SBP steward Aaron Mielke or myself know.

Thanks,
Rg.

[Dirt]

Some people are mean and just don't care about damaging trails others are just uneducated and don't understand the problems they are causing. I used to be like that - "Mud? Cool!" Thanks to friends at FORC showing me the way, I now have the utmost respect for our trails...So, don't ride through the mud and if you see someone else riding these trails, PLEASE kindly let them know it's not the thing to do and why (see above). Most logical humans will understand and be more kind to the trails going forward. If you see someone doing wrong and don't say anything, you might as well be doing the damage yourself.

Remember: Only you can stop trail rut...

[Rage]

Remember: Only you can stop trail rut...

I love it! My new signature...

Rg.

[magestic85]

I just found out about the trails, I had a lot of fun there and I would not mind to learn more about what FORC is and helping maintain the trails. What do I do, who do I talk to

[jimithng23]

1. Join

2. Participate in a trail day - this Thursday at Illiniwek AND/OR this Sunday at Sunderbruch.

3. Register for the 'Fest!

I'd say if you made good on 2 of the above 3 things, you'd have a real good idea of what FORC is and what FORC does to take care of trails.

[magestic85]

what time on thursday and sunday and what is the fest and to join i need to pay $20 i dont have paypal so if i print the form what to i do next

[jimithng23]

what time on thursday and sunday and what is the fest and to join i need to pay $20 i dont have paypal so if i print the form what to i do next

simply click on each link that I posted. you will find all the information you need.

if you can't click on the above links.......

Thursday @ Illiniwek (weather permitting) 5:30pm

Sunday @ Sunderbruch (weather permitting) 9:00am

At the bottom of the printable membership form is the address to send your $20 check.

hope that helps ;-)

[gateway75]

Great words of wisdom! Thanks for posting it!

I do have a question, do you think that Sunderbruch Park will be available by Friday? A friend of mine and I are looking to make the trip to Davenport to enjoy the awesome FORC trails. Please advise! :)

[badfish41]

Great words of wisdom! Thanks for posting it!

I do have a question, do you think that Sunderbruch Park will be available by Friday? A friend of mine and I are looking to make the trip to Davenport to enjoy the awesome FORC trails. Please advise! :)

Sunderbruch will be open Friday if we do not get any rain in the mean time. Kickapoo up and down still need some work to repair them, so please avoid those trails and ride the asphalt path up the hill.

Have fun!!

[MonteSS10X]

Ummm... Isn't the sunderbruch trail day on Saturday this weekend? I'm planning on coming out for my first trail day. It's about time I pitch in and help.

[Trevize1138]

Hi!

Out-of-state rider here and I just wanted to say I was very impressed with how a guy everyone called "Goldie" handled a pair of riders when we found they'd been riding Sunderbrunch despite the big, red "CLOSED" sign Friday afternoon. It was obvious to me that Goldie was keeping Hanlon's Razor in mind when educating people on why we stay off trails when they're wet. He addressed them with respect and the benefit of the doubt and they responded well. Just always impressive when I see something like that working so well.

In my 11 years of experience with trail advocacy in MN I'd say the hardest, most delicate job we all have is dealing with trail poachers. All of us share the frustration seeing hard work destroyed by wet, muddy ruts. I've already seen in the Twin Cities area how acting on that frustration backfires in a bad way. Glad to see you guys in the Quad Cities are letting cool heads prevail.

Keep up the great work, QCFORC!

[SugarShane]

Hi!

Out-of-state rider here and I just wanted to say I was very impressed with how a guy everyone called "Goldie" handled a pair of riders when we found they'd been riding Sunderbrunch despite the big, red "CLOSED" sign Friday afternoon. It was obvious to me that Goldie was keeping Hanlon's Razor in mind when educating people on why we stay off trails when they're wet. He addressed them with respect and the benefit of the doubt and they responded well. Just always impressive when I see something like that working so well.

In my 11 years of experience with trail advocacy in MN I'd say the hardest, most delicate job we all have is dealing with trail poachers. All of us share the frustration seeing hard work destroyed by wet, muddy ruts. I've already seen in the Twin Cities area how acting on that frustration backfires in a bad way. Glad to see you guys in the Quad Cities are letting cool heads prevail.

Keep up the great work, QCFORC!

I had a blast riding with you Chris! Way to ride those trails (all of them) on a single speed.

[jimithng23]

Hi!

Out-of-state rider here and I just wanted to say I was very impressed with how a guy everyone called "Goldie" handled a pair of riders when we found they'd been riding Sunderbrunch despite the big, red "CLOSED" sign Friday afternoon. It was obvious to me that Goldie was keeping Hanlon's Razor in mind when educating people on why we stay off trails when they're wet. He addressed them with respect and the benefit of the doubt and they responded well. Just always impressive when I see something like that working so well.

In my 11 years of experience with trail advocacy in MN I'd say the hardest, most delicate job we all have is dealing with trail poachers. All of us share the frustration seeing hard work destroyed by wet, muddy ruts. I've already seen in the Twin Cities area how acting on that frustration backfires in a bad way. Glad to see you guys in the Quad Cities are letting cool heads prevail.

Keep up the great work, QCFORC!

Fantastic to hear this, thank you!

[Dirt]

Hanlons Razor. Nice.

[tango72]

The other day I got to Sunderbruch and the trail sign said closed. The website gave it an open indication. It hadn't rained for atleast 24hrs and the trail conditions were good (no soft mud and nothing sticking to the tires). I was told by some other riders that they had called their friends at FORC and were told the the sign just hadn't been changed. I want to ride as much as the other guy, but I do not want to damage the trails either. So, does the website status trump the trailhead sign, vice versa or do they all have to be agreement??

Thanks, looking to do the right thing, but to have fun

[jimithng23]

The other day I got to Sunderbruch and the trail sign said closed. The website gave it an open indication. It hadn't rained for atleast 24hrs and the trail conditions were good (no soft mud and nothing sticking to the tires). I was told by some other riders that they had called their friends at FORC and were told the the sign just hadn't been changed. I want to ride as much as the other guy, but I do not want to damage the trails either. So, does the website status trump the trailhead sign, vice versa or do they all have to be agreement??

Thanks, looking to do the right thing, but to have fun

Try as we may, we're discovering the difficulties of managing a physical trailhead sign and we're working to do all we can to make sure both signs coincide with one another.

That said, the website status holds precedence over the trailhead sign.

Cheers!

[Vittetoe761]

Also, if you are looking at the trail status on a PC, you can hold your mouse pointer over the open/closed image to see when it was changed last. Might be useful information, maybe not...

[DH001]

If anyone is wondering, the same applies for Illiniwek (web status takes precedence). There can be a bit of lag time until the park staff change the signs, especially on weekends.

[tango72]

Awesome, thanks.