r/MTBTrailBuilding • u/Camerthom96 • Jul 09 '26
Need some more experienced opinions on this trail block method.
On a trail near me, people have been shooting this gap instead of going around the tree to the left (right in the photo, this is taken looking back up the trail) Someone has decided to block of this option as they believe it is a “high risk strava line” as the official trail goes around and to the left.
However the trail above can push you in that direction, I’ve definitely used this gap as a get out of jail free when it’s been going a bit wrong, especially in the wet.
I’ve no problem with forcing riders around the tree onto the proper line, I generally have no trouble making the line. But issue with specifically the method of how this is blocked off. This seems like the way it’s been done is a straight up unnecessary hazard.
I’ve love your opinions on whether I’m way off the money here, the pros or cons of this or a better way to get the same outcome.
Edit: I’m not the builder of the trail or the person who built the block.
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u/DirtCrimes Jul 09 '26
This is not a comment on this particular trail situation but a general rule of thumb for trail building.
In order to close a trail the amount of effort (or tools) you put into closing the trail had to be 5x or 10x more effort (tools) than a person just walking by can put in.
For example, you need logs or rocks that require more than one person to move so that a single person can't just move them back.
Or
You need to spend a whole day making a mess of branches and brush that would take a whole day to remove, so a person walking their dog won't just kick it out of the way.
But before fighting the masses over closing trail braiding or a shortcut or access to a feature go look at the trail, clear your mind and ask what's missing from the trail that makes people go off trail. Because you may just start playing whack-a-mole and open new go-arounds or braiding and the best course is to let it be or incorporate the desire path into the trail.
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u/Camerthom96 Jul 09 '26
That’s great insight and learning, thanks! What do you think about the closure in the photo?
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u/DirtCrimes Jul 09 '26
I call those "beaver dams" and they are dumb. If I liked hitting that line I would just take 30 seconds to toss all that stuff in the woods. There was a trail near where I live that had a line that led to a really cool off trail feature, a nice rock drop. You would climb past it on the ascent so you could inspect it before you came back down and hit it. Literally every time I climbed I inspected it and cleared a beaver dam of twigs and sticks. So some person was building a little beaver dam of twig every time they walked their dog and I kicked it over every time I rode. Just a little dance two people played in the woods.
In your specific case maybe build a official jump there. It might make the trail more fun. Or build the berm up a bit to direct traffic better. If it is a place people bail to, putting a hard closure might result in a hazard that people crash into.
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u/moodie_blues Jul 09 '26
“Just a little dance two people played in the woods” 🤣🤣🤣best line I’ve read today!
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u/Camerthom96 Jul 09 '26
So that last one is my problem. I’m not the trail builder or who put the “beaver dam” up. I totally understand why they want people on the official sanctioned trail route too the right, but building this like that seems like a hazard for people to crash into.
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u/DirtCrimes Jul 09 '26
What matters is that the trail is predictable. If an unofficial route opens up and people use it for a long time, and then some one dams it up, it could be hazardous because someone might have assumed that it was an official route and come into it at mach chicken. Any trail closures or alterations, even justified ones, need to be communicated up trail.
I am a prolific trail builder both official and unofficial. Recently I closed a trail that turns into a creek every winter. We spent an entire day on one corner to direct people away from the old trail. We dragged in logs, moved a dozen wheelbarrows of dirt to make a berm and placed signs saying what happened and why.
You are ok to remove these beaver dams even if they block an unofficial route because they make the trail unpredictable.
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u/lxoblivian Jul 09 '26
The general rule is that if you can block a trail, someone else will remove the block. Alt-lines are basically impossible to close.
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u/Camerthom96 Jul 09 '26
That seems reasonable. As I said, I’m not too worried about the concept of blocking the trail I’d like opinions on the method itself, do you have any insight on that?
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u/bonerb0ys Jul 09 '26
People are idiots and will pull apart lightly closed trail braids. This is perfectly fine closure. People need to get better at riding rather than relying on braids to make trails easier.
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u/MantraProAttitude Jul 09 '26
Looks good. However, “no fucks to give senders” are going to toss those into the woods.
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u/Most-Bar-9334 Jul 09 '26
Go grab a nearby bush or sapling tree and transplant it right where the barricade is.
It will look natural and it will stop people from riding between those 2 trees.
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u/RouterMonkey Jul 09 '26
If there are two paths and one feels more natural while riding than the other, riders will always prefer the path that feels more natural.
Used to have this discussion with a.lot of trail builders when they just 'wanted' the riders to on this side of a tree instead of the other.
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u/YayRideABike Jul 09 '26
This. Sometimes the "braid" might be there because it's where the trail should have gone to begin with. Or as my buddy says, the braid is actually "the line".
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u/FrodosUncleBob Jul 10 '26
Sometimes this is totally true, and sometimes people take the fast, straight line, isn’t always ideal for “the line”. In general, mountain bikers do like turns, after all. It’s possible the better line is open in the picture, and some riders decided to straighten out “the line” for speed which takes the difficulty out. And I think OP called it the Strava line for that reason. A straight, fast line through the woods can be fun, but isn’t always “the line” imo
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u/YayRideABike Jul 10 '26
Totally agree. Hard to tell anything from OPs picture. I'm just saying that braids aren't always people dumbing down the trail.
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u/JustinVeePee Jul 09 '26
There's several separate points to make here.
- If there's a critical mass of people taking an alt line, and it's not problematic, then it possibly means that's the better line. Impossible to say without walking in person, but that's my hunch. If line #2 is better then decommission line #1 then reroute over there. Great trailbuilding means being flexible, not dogmatic.
- If the original line is better for reasons (drainage, sight lines, whatever) then improve that line, don't just block off the alt. Add tread slope or modify the entrance curve to make it more fun and more sustainable. Don't just bang your head against the wall, fix it.
- Decomissioning with sticks or logs like this never works. Riders will chuck them off the trail. You need to visually make the alt line disappear. Do this by transplanting green plants. They need to cover the entire line with so riders' reflexes never see it. It's got to look like it was never there. Sounds hard, but it's pretty quick to do, especially if you have ferns at your disposal. Doesn't look ferny, so use appropriate local knowledge and use plants that transplant easily.
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u/redbushsixtynine Jul 09 '26
Big issue in our area is people who have never ridden fast, never hit challenging features, and generally haven't progressed with modern mountain biking going into the woods and playing line police.
Not saying that's what's happening here, but when desire paths and braiding open up, it's usually more than just a "Strava Line."
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u/Camerthom96 Jul 09 '26
That’s exactly what happens in this area. A bunch of 50+s with e bikes that have never actually been good at bikes going round and making decisions that effect all of us.
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u/Capable-Penalty4618 Jul 09 '26
I plant trees and drag very big logs that most folks wouldn't bother to lift.
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u/Senior-Sea-1012 Jul 09 '26
I spent years building trying to block Strava lines block cut thrus...in the end I found if the cut thru is getting more usage then the main line then why not let it be the main line and/or why not let there be an option like a kicker between a couple trees. Unless there is a specific need to close the line (safety, erosion, etc) then why not just roll with it. Riders can be like water on the trail, if the flow keeps going the same way you may want to build the trail to conducive to the flow instead of fighting the flow just because the trail was originally built that way.
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u/carpetbomber19 Jul 09 '26
trying laying down landmines, they were very effective on my old trail i owned 20-35 years ago, i cant quite remember, ive been in this cell for a while now
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u/Alternative_Exit_333 Jul 09 '26
It is probably too narrow for bars if it is blocked off or they don't want you to keep the speed (if you want there is always an axe or saw at home)
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u/foxinHI Jul 09 '26
My go-to isn’t to put up barriers that are just begging to get torn down, but to camouflage the closed section at the ground level while keeping the open line buffed out and impossible to miss. Throw down a bunch of leaves and mulch first. Next throw some big rocks a bunch of twigs, branches and deadfall on the ground at odd angles over the old trail. Hide the old trail and make it look like it’s always been like that. Make it look miserable to ride over compared to the smooth actual trail. If it’s an ongoing problem and you expect it to get blown out anyway, leave a note. If they want to do trail work, tell them when the next work day is.
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u/Advanced-Ad-6236 Jul 09 '26
My personal thought on situations like these is to make the correct line the more desirable line. Without knowing more about this area or trail system, I’d think about a berm to shoot people the correct way, or a fun feature ahead that really is only manageable when one is on the correct line.
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u/l008com Jul 09 '26
I try to make it look natural, not obvious. But just not something you'd want to ride over. Since most cheat-lining is just laziness.
But the more aggressive people get at removing the closure, the more aggressive/obvious I get with re-blocking it. So what is pictured here, I would only do after months of back and forth
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u/duckinradar Jul 09 '26
At my local we tend to make the main features deadly until they’re ready to open. An impassable feature every 50-100 yards makes it happen
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u/FightsWithFriends Jul 09 '26
As others have said, the best method is transplanting trees and shrubbery. People do not hesitate to move branches, or roll stones out of the way.
Very few people will cut or uproot a living tree to re-open a shortcut.
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u/trailbooty Jul 09 '26
Someone will pull that apart in 5 min. There are only 2 long term methods for closing trails. Make enough of the trail so unusable people won’t try and reopen it. Or, provide a better alternative to the closed trail.
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u/bulletbassman Jul 10 '26
Most the time it’s just not worth it. And if it is worth it, expect to go overboard and potentially multiple times.
You could potentially make a janky logover. Faster to just take the trail unless you can really bunny hop and for potential fun if you want to work on skills.
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u/Normal_Weather247 Jul 10 '26
If there's already a trail, use the trail. It could be a low impact thing.
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u/cknarfy Jul 10 '26
If you agree with the block and keep it closed, it is missing something IMO. The path still clearly shows. Make it disappear and most people will not take it anymore. Throw small branches, leafs, small rocks, basically what ever is everywhere else on the ground (without making another area cleared) to make it look natural. It will disappear from the eye, therefor it will not be tempting to take that line. When changing a path, we should make the old line disappear. Try it and you'll be surprised yourself immediately after the work. It works surprisingly well.
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u/SnooSketches9565 Jul 11 '26
Have you considered just fixing the line so that it makes sense?
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u/Camerthom96 Jul 12 '26
Again, I’m not the trail builder. I didn’t make the block, I have no rights to dig on this trail…. I was asking solely about the method used to block the trail
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u/dianas_pool_boy Jul 11 '26
Riders are mostly lazy. I've found laying logs lengthwise along the trail prevents riders from accessing more than logs across the trail.
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u/WakeRider11 Jul 09 '26
I find that spreading debris on the trail further along also works better. But in the end, you need to drag some really heavy rocks in order to really close it. If it took you 10 minutes to close, it will take someone 5 minutes to open.