BE NICE TO
THE LOCALS... If you were not invited to a trail,
and wander into one without knowing anybody, don't just get on your bike and
ride. Talk to whoever is there, ask who built the place, talk to the locals and
befriend them before you ride. Don't be shy to ASK if you can ride THEIR
trails, locals will rarely say no when asked, they just want to be recognized
for what they built and want to feel secure that you're not going to wreck the
place.
BRING A
SHOVEL... There's nothing that locals like to
see more, than a visitor who is willing to dig. Bringing a shovel with you says
that you've got some dirtjump experience, that you
appreciate what it takes to build a trail, and that you'll help the locals dig.
Also, it's good if you can dig before you ride, for the locals will be more
forgiving to you when you mess something up after a crash knowing you've
already put in an hour or so of digging for them.
DON'T SHAPE
A JUMP... Bringing a shovel with you may
bring a smile to a local's face, or it may strike fear into their hearts. The
last thing a local wants is someone to reshape their jumps, so don't start
modifying anything. Even if you're good at it, it may not be the way they like
it done at their trails. The best thing you can do, is
have your spade shovel ready to move large piles of dirt when they ask you to,
not to shape anything. Let them do the fine work, while you stick to the
laborer work.
IMMEDIATELY
FIX WHAT YOU BREAK... If you're visiting someone else's
trail, and you're not as good as Fuzzy, you'll
probably crash, ghost your bike, or simply case the jumps for awhile before you
get the place dialed (or like me, do all of those at the same time). Whenever
your bike takes a piece out of the jumps, make sure you immediately fix it.
Don't wait until after another run, fix it immediately, and do a good job.
DON'T ABORT
A JUMP ON THE LIP... If you just overjumped
a landing, and know you're not going to make the next jump, either stop quickly
in the pit without skidding your tires (having a front brake makes this easy),
or sacrifice your bike and ghost it, or go for the jump anyway and bail in the
air. Whatever you do, don't stop on the takeoff and roll your tire over the
lip, or worse, plant your big feet on the lip. The main priority is to protect
the lip at all costs. No one cares about casing a landing, what they care about
is the takeoff lip, so protect it at all costs.
NEVER FILL
IN A DOUBLE... This obviously applies only to
beginner riders who are scared of jumping a trail. Sometimes when the trails
are empty and no one is around, they'll 'fill in' a small double with a sheet
of plywood or something, turning the double into a tabletop. The problem with
this is that they'll end up 'rolling over' the takeoff, destroying the lip, and
forcing the locals to spend hours fixing what they ruined. If you can't jump a
double, then go build your own tabletop somewhere else, don't be a trail vandal
just 'cause you suck.
NEVER RIDE
WHEN IT'S WET... If it has rained recently, and the
ground is still wet, don't ride the trails. Even though you may be able to ride
them, you'll be grooving up the jumps, basically ruining them. This is the
number one way of getting locals to want to kill you. If the
ground is moist, go ride street instead.
DON'T
ADVERTISE THE LOCATION... Dirtjumps exist because locals built them. Dirtjumps
continue to exist because their location is kept a well guarded secret. If
you're lucky enough to find out where a trail is, keep it to yourself. Don't
put up a webpage listing the location of a trail, unless you want the locals to
hunt you down and make you eat your computer.
DON'T
LITTER, AND TAKE YOUR GARBAGE WITH YOU... I know this sounds
all too obvious, for if you ever litter anywhere, then you're just a loser,
period. But even if you see garbage cans at the trails, do the locals a favor
and take your garbage out with you when you leave. Don't add to their garbage
problems. This of course doesn't apply to cracked forks and other broken bike parts,
which may be publicly displayed hanging from a tree, a warning to others of the
war between steel and dirt, and the helpless victims killed in battle (that
being your bike).