10 Rules Riding Trails with Riders You Just Met
1. The last thing you should be doing when you first meet a rider on or near the trails is look at his bike. Hindi yung bike ang potensyal mong maging kaibigan.
2. Unless safety ang reason, wag ka nang mag-comment sa pagkaka-set-up ng bike ng ibang riders. If you think you’re cool giving unsolicited advice na yung gulong nya ay hindi angkop sa trail or yung piyesa nya hindi okey, asa ka pa.
3. Unless close kayo, kapag nahihirapan na yung kasama mong rider during climbs, wag ka nang magbigay ng tips kung paano nya maaahon ng “madali” yung uphill section na yun. Wala syang paki sa tips mo at naghihingalo na sya.
4. Wag mong gamiting reason yung bike kapag meron kang kapalpakan sa trail. Kaya ka sumemplang dun sa turn na yun, hindi dahil kulang sa grip yung gulong, kulang ka sa skill. Kaya di mo maakyat yung uphill section, hindi dahil pumapalpak yung drivetrain mo, kailangan mong mag-ride more.
5. Kapag sumemplang yung isang rider, lalo na’t baguhan, tulungan mo agad tumayo, check for injuries, check the bike & ride when ready. Don’t spend an exhaustive time playing witness as to how the rider “made a mistake” which caused the crash. The rider will tell you what he/she thought happened & will ask you kung hindi nya alam.
6. Don’t tell other riders you “did it before” when you can’t even come close to doing it right there & then. Di rin naman sila maniniwala kung di nila na-witness nung ginawa mo yun dati. Magmumukha ka lang trying.
7. If there’s a difficult section on the trail that you know off, just give out the needed information on how to go about it & the potential dangers if there are any. Don’t spend 10 minutes telling them about the danger at tinatakot mo lang sila. If it really is THAT dangerous, then don’t take ‘em there.
8. When you’re telling stories of your riding escapades, stop making it sound you’re extreme. Hindi ka extreme, ‘tol. Merong mas extreme sa ‘yo, maniwala ka.
9. When a new rider is asking for tips, wag mong bigyan ng 2 pages worth of tips. One to three tips puwede na. Ikaw ba nag-register lahat ng sinabi ng titser mo during that 1-hour class?
10. Lahat ng klase ng mountain biking cool. Kung tingin mo mas cool ang freeriding kesa XC, hindi ka cool. Kung tingin mo mas cool ang XC kesa freeriding, hindi ka pa din cool. So wag kang mang-discriminate kapag may nakilala kang kakaiba trip na riding kesa sa ‘yo.
