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Singletracks are narrow trails along which people or horses must walk or ride in single file. They vary from about 4 feet to a few inches in width.
Not only are singletracks more challenging because of their confining course and because of their technical nature, but they also blend in with nature more than dirt roads, and therefore have a wilder feeling. There is something spiritual about gliding silently through a redwood forest or along the top of a ridge overlooking lakes and distant peaks on a narrow trail. It allows one to get close to nature while being aware of the changing environment.
You should have intermediate technical skills or be willing to carry your bike through sections of trail that you cannot ride without adversely impacting the trail. You should be able to ride on narrow trails (sometimes only a few inches wide) without riding off the edge. You should be able to descend on loose trails without sliding your rear wheel or be willing to walk your bike down these sections. You should be able to ride over water bars or be willing to walk your bike over them. You should be able to ride around sharp corners without sliding or be willing to walk your bike around them. You should be willing to avoid cutting switchbacks. You should be willing to get off your bike and walk it through wet or muddy sections and to wait for a trail to dry out after a storm or after the snow melts. If you are a beginning mountain biker, please practice riding on rough dirt roads until you can follow a good line through rocky sections, can ride over water bars and across trenches, and can turn sharp corners -- all without sliding your rear tire.
Rules vary greatly between public lands. Some forbid riding on all their singletracks; some allow riding on all their singletracks; some allow riding on some of their singletracks, but not on others. Please check with each land manager to see what the regulations are before riding. Just because there is no sign against riding, that does not necessarily mean that riding is allowed. In general, riding on singletracks is not allowed in national parks, national monuments, and wilderness areas. In the far west, riding is not allowed on any part of the Pacific Crest Trail. Good books describing legal singletracks are presently available for many areas. I highly recommend picking one up for the area in which you wish to ride.
Many public lands require that helmets be worn.
Many public lands have a speed limit for mountain bikes -- usually
15 mph. In addition, you are often required to slow to a walking pace
when visibility is limited (usually less than 50 feet).
Many public lands are open only between sunrise and sunset.
Not all singletracks within public lands are open to mountain biking. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are riding on legal trails. Be sure to check the local regulations when you arrive at the trailhead.
A rolling tire on a hard surface does not cause significant
impact. But if the surface is not hard, or if the tire is not
rolling, or if the tire runs off the trail, then damage can
occur.
There are five main problems:
-Allowing ones bike to run off the trail, causing erosion of the trail edge and therefore narrowing the trail. If you find that you are continually running off the trail, perhaps you should practice on wider trails or ride at slower speeds until you have better control over your bike. Everyone runs off the trail every once in a while, but please do not make a habit of it.
-Allowing the back tire to lock up when going downhill, causing the tire to dig into the trail. A sliding back tire is fairly useless in slowing you down and causes heavy erosion of the trail. Keep the back wheel turning! It helps to pump the rear brake lightly and quickly and to keeps one's weight far back -- even behind the seat on steep downhills. If something is too steep for you to ride without sliding the tire, please get off and walk the bike down.
-Allowing the bike to slide around corners, causing lateral erosion of the trail. Sliding around corners has become an acquired skill for many riders, but it does cause a great deal of trail erosion. Riding a corner cleanly -- without sliding -- is harder to do, but preserves the trail and demonstrates superior bike handling skills. The "chatter marks" that are often seen just before a corner indicate that riders were going too fast and had to slow down too quickly prior to the turn. Keep your speed down and slow down gradually.
-Riding through deep mud, causing deep ruts which act as erosion trenches. The wonderful thing about modern mountain bikes is that they are light! That means that they can be picked up and carried through deep mud. (The bad thing about clipless pedals is that people hate to click out and get their cleats muddy. Don't let this inconvenience keep you from walking your bike through deep mud.)
-Riding around natural barriers and water-bars, which widens the
trail and contributes to erosion. Half the fun of riding singletracks
is to succeed technically -- to ride over roots and rocks and water
bars. If you meet up with an obstacle that you cannot ride, please
get off your bike and carry it over the obstacle rather than riding
around it. If you want to ride on narrow singletracks, then please
ride in such a way so as to keep them narrow. If you are not willing
to keep singletracks narrow, please ride on dirt roads.
Low impact riding not only prevents erosion of trails, but also
preserves our right to use singletrack trails, and might even lead to
the opening of more singletracks for our use!
Singletrack mountain biking differs from dirt road mountain biking in that singletrack trails tend to be narrower, steeper, with sharper turns, and with unavoidable obstacles such as rocks, ruts, roots, and water-bars. Sometimes they are built along the sides of steep slopes with varying amounts of exposure.
Riding on narrow trails means that you may not have any choice in where your bike needs to go -- your line has been determined by the trail builder! If your wheels go off the trail, both you and the trail can be injured. Before heading down a singletrack for the first time, practice riding on narrow sidewalks or between obstacles. If the trail is narrow and deep, you will also need to avoid hitting the side of the trail with a pedal. Generally, go slower on narrow singletracks than you ordinarily would -- until you get used to steering down such a confining course.
Steep downhills can be quite challenging! What you don't want to do is allow your weight to be too far forward. If your front wheel hits something and your bike suddenly slows, your body could be thrown forward, the bike could flip forward, and you could go sailing over the handlebars! You need to have a strong upper body (pushups!), and to keep your weight back. In general, the steeper the descent, the farther back your weight should be. It is not unusual to keep your body in back of the seat on very steep descents. Use enough front brake to help keep your speed under control, but not so much that your bike might hit an obstacle and come to a stop or that your front tire might begin to slide. Use as much rear brake as you like, until it begins to slide (The farther back your weight, the more effective will be your rear brake!). A sliding tire is fairly useless in helping you maintain your speed. In general, if you start to "lose it", let go of the brakes and the bike will usually recover. Loose rocks can pose special problems, making it difficult to brake without sliding. Sometimes the bike will "jackknife" as the rear slides around. (This usually means that your weight is not far enough back!) You may need to let the bike move a little faster than you would like until you reach firmer ground. If your front wheel needs to ride up to get out of a dip or over a rock or over a log or over a water bar -- get off the rear brake! (The rear brake tends to hold the front wheel down, preventing it from riding up. In fact, getting off both brakes when the front wheel needs to move up is best!) And most importantly, if you can't ride a section without sliding your rear tire, please get off the bike and walk it through that section!
Many of you will find that you can turn sharply in one direction but not the other. This is probably the side that you tend to get on and off your bike. Practice getting on and off your bike on the "wrong" side until you feel comfortable doing it. You may find that your bike just does not want to turn! Make sure that you are not applying your front brake -- it will prevent the bike from turning and will increase the probability that the front wheel will slide out from under you. Practice leaning your bike into the inside of the turn while moving your body toward the outside of the turn. Your body may resist moving toward the outside of the turn, especially if there is a cliff. But your bike will not turn if you can't get your weight toward the outside of the turn, so force yourself to do so. If turning left, push your handlebar to the left and away from you. Keep your weight directly over the inside edges of the tires, just as you would keep your weight over the edges of skis as you turn -- the sharper the turn, the greater the lean. Placing all your weight on the outside foot will help you lean the bike toward the inside and will help you keep your weight toward the outside -- over the inside edges of the tires. The steeper the trail as it goes around the turn, the farther back you will need to keep your weight to prevent the rear tire from sliding. On steep uphill turns you will need to pull your body up hard with your arm toward the outside of the turn. (Pull-ups help!) The bike will not turn until your weight is moved to the outside of the trail.
Obstacles pose a special problem. To get over a root or water bar or rock, approach it from a right angle, compress the front of the bike just before hitting it, and pull up with your arms as you reach it. The front wheel will then hop over it. Next shift your weight forward and let your rear wheel hop over it. (Practice riding up higher and higher curbs.) If you have enough speed and you wish to jump over the obstacle with both wheels -- compress the entire bike just before hitting it and pull up and forward with your arms. If your timing is correct, you will sail right over it! If you are riding uphill, you will need to throw your weight more forward as you go over an obstacle. If you are riding downhill, you will need to shift your weight less forward as you go over it. Releasing both brakes helps greatly, but apply them gently after the jump if you need to, so as to avoid skidding. If you must cross an obstacle at an angle, exaggerate your movements so as to jump over it without touching it or to minimize the force with which your bike hits it. And if you can't jump over an obstacle, please get off and carry your bike over it rather than riding around it. Riding down a "drop-off" requires that your weight be shifted way back and that you stay off the front brake! (Practice riding off higher and higher curbs.) Riding over a sharp and deep "dip" requires that you at least hop the front wheel over it (compress and pull). Better yet is to hop the front wheel over it and then the rear wheel over it, or hopping the entire bike over it at once! Do not look down at what your front wheel is about to experience. Instead, be looking ahead. You brain requires time to respond, and has a good memory of what you have seen moments before. By looking ahead you give your brain enough time to process what it has seen and to respond appropriately and accurately. Look at where you want to ride instead of what you don't want to hit. You automatically ride toward whatever you look at. Look for a good line through the rocks and ruts and you will follow this line. But if you look at a rock or rut that you don't want to hit you will hit it for sure! With practice, you will be able to quickly spot a good line, and will be able to relax and ride down it accurately. If you spot a section that will not be ridable for you, stop the bike before you get to it, and walk through it. Once you reach a difficult section, do not hit the brakes, but relax and ride through it -- especially on steep downhill sections. Trying to stop in the middle of a difficult section is a sure way to fall. Riding through it usually is successful.
If you are riding across a steep slope and feel your bike beginning to slide down and off the trail, force yourself to move your weight toward the direction in which the bike is sliding (the downhill side). This will cause the bike to stop sliding and to turn uphill! If you allow fear to cause you to move your weight away from the direction of the slide, your bike will slide out from under you for sure!
The front brake can be your best friend or your worst enemy. It is the most effective brake and can be safely used when traveling straight on a stable surface. But when turning or riding on a loose surface, ease off on the front brake, get your weight back, and rely more on the rear brake.
It takes more than one person to cause a conflict, so here are some ideas for all trail users to help decrease the severity and amount of conflicts on singletracks.
The first thing that we must do is check our attitudes. We must not judge others who use the trail. Regardless of the manner in which they use the trail, they are basically out there to enjoy nature and to enjoy their sport, whether it be hiking, backpacking, horse riding, or mountain biking. These forms of trail use have been shown to be similar in impact, and are all valid ways in which people enjoy natural areas.
All trail users are responsible for being alert and for watching and listening for others. But the faster that a trail user is moving, the more alert that user needs to be. Headphones, loud conversations, and daydreaming contribute to a loss of alertness.
All trail users should stay to the right of the trail. This allows
people to approach and pass each other easily, and removes any
indecision about the proper side on which to pass. Faster users
should slow down when approaching blind curves so as to not surprise
a user on the other side. Sometimes this requires a much slower speed
than the customary 5 MPH. In general, you are riding too fast if:
-you must slide your tires to stop or slow down when you are
surprised by the presence of other trail users.
-other trail users seem nervous as you approach.
-you cannot look up and smile at other trail users as you pass.
-you feel out of control.
Faster users should take care so as to avoid throwing dust or mud onto other users.
Uphill mountain bikers have right-of-way over downhill riders, unless stated otherwise. The rider on the cliff-side of a trail has right-of-way over the rider on the bank-side of a trail. That being said, flexibility, thoughtfulness, communication, and good sense are the keys to reducing conflicts.
Hikers and equestrians have right-of-way over mountain bikers. This means that you should stop and move your bike to the side of the trail or off the trail, if necessary, before hikers and equestrians feel compelled to do so. Horses feel more comfortable when you are below them rather than above them. Talk to the horses as they approach. It doesn't have to be anything intelligent; just use a soothing voice. If you approach hikers and equestrians from behind, let them know that you are approaching before you get so close that you frighten them. You may have to wait until equestrians have found a wide place, have moved their horses off the trail, and have turned the horses around so that they may see you. Please be patient! Horses vary a lot in their responses to mountain bikers. More experienced horses may pay no attention to you. Less experienced horses may panic easily. Follow the instructions of the rider.
Trail users need to get used to (desensitized) to other trail
users. This will decrease fear. It is interesting to note that
bicyclists are not afraid of other bicyclists, and that hikers are
not afraid of other hikers, and that equestrians are not afraid of
other equestrians. The more we know of each other, the less we fear
each other. Concentrate on similarities -- not differences.
We are all out there for the same reasons: To enjoy nature, and to
enjoy what we are doing...
A singletrack is not a BMX course. Please do not ride up on the sides of trails, cut switchbacks, or build jumps. Please just experience what the trail builders have provided. Nothing more, and nothing less.
A singletrack is not a downhill course. Please do not race down singletracks. This frightens other users and often results in trail damage. Experience the joy of riding cleanly rather than riding fast -- and don't forget to experience the scenery as you ride.
If you ride correctly, a singletrack should be no worse for wear after you ride it, and other trail-users should have had a positive experience when they encountered you. Please help to educate others in the art of low-impact and low-conflict riding!
Minimizing Trail Conflicts On Singletrack Trails
Minimizing Trail Impact On Singletrack Trails
Hints For Beginning Singletrackers
Back to Roger's Favorite Singletrack Mountain Bike Rides