Horses and Bikes Together? March 19, 2011
Posted by Dave Of Prescott in Just Stuff, Mountain Biking, trails.Tags: Equestrians, Granite Basin, Mountain Biking
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This morning the Prescott Mountain Bike Alliance had a group ride out in Granite Basin.
Part of the event was a pow wow of sorts with representatives from a local equestrian club. The horse folks made a presentation about how horses perceive bikes and other things and then what we as bikers can do when we come upon horses on the trail. Trail etiquette 101.
UPDATE: Here are some trail etiquette guidelines that IMBA just published today 4/3/2011
They told us that horses know we are coming toward them long before their riders do, and that when we see horses while mountain biking, we should call out (no bells, or horns) to them, and ask them if we need to get off our bikes. They know their horses, and will instruct us on what to do. Some horses are used to bikes and the horses will just step off the trail and their rider will instruct us to just ride on by (slowly). Others will ask us to dismount and walk by. And there are others that will ask us to dismount, step off the trail with our bikes and let the horses go by us. When we do step off the trail, they ask that we stay in the open (not behind trees or bushes) so the horse can see us. Horses view things that they are not used to as predators, and so it is important to continue talking in a normal voice so the horse knows that we are human.
There are those people out there that want to stir up controversy and try to make it seem that equestrians and mountain bikers are adversarial, but that is just not true for 99% of us. We recognize that these trails on public lands are for all of us and we do what we can to make any interaction as pleasant and smooth as possible.
The equestrians that spoke to us brought up two things that we hear mountain bikers complain about a lot. Piles of horse manure in the trail, and horses riding on muddy trails and tearing them up. I for one was glad that they brought this up and it didn’t have to come from on of the bikers there. The horse folks said that they should be moving the manure off the trail, and added that experienced equestrians do not ride when the trails are muddy.
This notion of experienced vs. green horses and riders are what prompted a question from me, “Are there steps that equestrians should take to get their horses used to bikers and hikers before taking them out on multi-use trails?”
The answer was yes, that if they are planning on having their horse in an area where it could come across hikers, dogs, or bikers, the owner themselves should take the time to acclimatize their animal to these possibilities. However many do not. There have been many cases of bikers being yelled at by people on horses, saying things like, “Stop, my horse is afraid of bikes! Or event telling us that we do not belong on the trails.
It was nice to hear that these leaders of the horse community agree that through joint awareness with bikers and hikers, and all three groups taking the time to prepare for the eventual on trail encounter, we can and will make taking to the trails a fun and enjoyable experience for all of us.
After the meetup, we went on an 11 mile ride down the Mint Wash Trail 345 to the junction with the 308, where we turned around and backtracked then took the 347 back up to complete our loop. On the way, we encountered horses on 3 occasions, and in all 3 the horses stepped off the trail and waved us by. Perfect!
2011 GORD Official Results Posted March 16, 2011
Posted by Dave Of Prescott in Events, Mountain Biking, Trail Running.Tags: Arizona, duathlon, Go Off Road Duathlon, GORD, High Gear Bike Shop, Mountain Biking, Prescott, trail running
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The Official Results of the 2011 Go! Off Road Duathlon held in Prescott, AZ on March 12, 2011 are now posted on the GORD website.
Here are a few highlights and other tidbits about the event.
Fastest Overall Male – Dan Hight (39) from Prescott with a time of 59:57. Dan came in from the first run 58 seconds behind the leader, but rode the fastest mountain bike leg with a blistering split of 34:53 for the 8.2 mile course.
Fastest Overall Female – Sandi Scrimgeour (46) from Prescott with a time of 1:15:22. Sandi also had the fastest female bike split with a 43:43.
Other things to note are:
- On his final trail running leg, Chris Bray ran at a 5:58/mile pace.
- Vickie Nelson of Team BFC Racing had the fastest women’s pace of 7:05/mile on the final leg.
- Resolute Sasquatches (either Pete or Justin) had the fastest pace of the day at 5:52/mile….wow! That is smokin’.
- Brian from The Fat Tire Loafers had the fastest team bike leg at 36:34.
- Our competitors ranged from 25 to 62 years old.
- High Gear Bike Shop gave us lots of fabulous prizes to give away!
There are some photos posted on the GO-AR Shutterfly page. If you were there and took any photos, or know someone who did, please send them to us at this address: info (@) go-ar.com, we can put them up for all to see.
Upcoming events:
12 Hours At Night Mountain Bike Ride
GORD Finish Times and Rankings March 12, 2011
Posted by Dave Of Prescott in Adventure Recreation, Events, Mountain Biking, Trail Running.Tags: duathlon, fitness, Go Off Road Duathlon, multisport, Prescott
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Here is a quick look at results from the 3rd annual Go! Off Road Duathlon.
Full results with all the split times to follow in the next couple of days.
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:12 PM for Male 12-19 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
No results yet for this age group. | ||||
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:13 PM for Male 20-29 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 31 | Lee Taylor | 1:13:12 | Gilbert |
2 | 97 | Conor Eldridge | 1:14:47 | Tucson |
3 | 32 | Allen Taylor | 1:17:14 | Chandler |
4 | 71 | Derek Burr | 1:29:32 | Phoenix |
5 | 53 | Charles Towler | 1:29:46 | Buckeye |
6 | 54 | Adam Jordan | 1:29:47 | Buckeye |
7 | 93 | Brock Mounsey | 1:36:35 | Peoria |
8 | 49 | Kyle Carmichael | 1:39:57 | Mesa |
9 | 15 | Jon Young | 1:40:22 | Phoenix |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:13 PM for Male 30-39 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 18 | Dan Hight | 0:59:57 | Prescott |
2 | 98 | Ryan Welborn | 1:04:06 | Yuma |
3 | 1 | Jason Lohman | 1:07:03 | Prescott Valley |
4 | 57 | Kean Mihata | 1:07:08 | Page |
5 | 48 | Dan Streeter | 1:08:27 | Prescott |
6 | 37 | Tanner Jones | 1:10:17 | Tucson |
7 | 91 | Patrick Lynch | 1:10:27 | Prescott |
8 | 47 | Tom Stotler | 1:10:45 | Prescott Valley |
9 | 72 | Jared Burr | 1:11:11 | Phoenix |
10 | 62 | Jeff Strom | 1:17:38 | Buckeye |
11 | 3 | Thomas Hedwal | 1:18:09 | Flagstaff |
12 | 43 | Ward Tyczka | 1:18:19 | Goodyear |
13 | 63 | Chris Reidy | 1:24:20 | Tempe |
14 | 25 | Breck Gudinas | 1:28:54 | Anthem |
15 | 50 | Israel Albarran | 1:29:27 | Flagstaff |
16 | 16 | Jeffrey Knight | 1:30:12 | Mesa |
17 | 8 | Matt Mandel | 1:30:36 | Tucson |
18 | 35 | Ken Skinner | 1:35:04 | Prescott |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:14 PM for Male 40-49 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 95 | Chris Bray | 1:02:55 | Prescott |
2 | 39 | David Benjes | 1:03:32 | Tucson |
3 | 90 | Eric Nelson | 1:14:36 | Prescott |
4 | 73 | Bill O’Leary | 1:14:43 | Prescott |
5 | 89 | Manuel Heredia | 1:14:46 | Prescott |
6 | 42 | Noel Kingston | 1:15:00 | Prescott |
7 | 36 | Mark Jacoby | 1:24:22 | Phoenix |
8 | 60 | Joel Medrano | 1:29:41 | Buckeye |
9 | 28 | John Donovan | 1:34:49 | Scottsdale |
10 | 41 | Dan Munsell | 1:37:48 | Prescott Valley |
11 | 58 | Gregory Peterson | 1:44:14 | Buckeye |
12 | 99 | Ron Barrett | 1:51:33 | Buckeye |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:14 PM for Male 50 and Over in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 96 | Steve Becker | 1:09:43 | Prescott |
2 | 66 | Dennis Freeman | 1:16:08 | Phoenix |
3 | 38 | James Jones | 1:16:27 | Prescott |
4 | 40 | Marc White | 1:23:49 | Chandler |
5 | 88 | Robert Coombs | 1:26:44 | Prescott |
6 | 59 | Larry Phillips Sr. | 1:46:28 | Waddell |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:15 PM for Female 12-19 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
No results yet for this age group. | ||||
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:15 PM for Female 20-29 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 56 | Jennifer Wytaske | 1:48:52 | Flagstaff |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:16 PM for Female 30-39 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 52 | Chelsea Carpenter | 1:35:22 | Phoenix |
2 | 24 | Jessica Gudinas | 1:39:03 | Anthem |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:16 PM for Female 40-49 in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 51 | Sandi Scrimgeour | 1:15:22 | Prescott |
2 | 65 | Keri Postlewait | 1:21:27 | Flagstaff |
3 | 92 | Diane Rogalcheck | 1:24:48 | Prescott |
4 | 4 | Shaula Hedwal | 1:31:19 | Flagstaff |
5 | 27 | Dana Hogan | 1:40:34 | Sierra Vista |
6 | 94 | Jonea Mounsey | 1:47:07 | Peoria |
7 | 2 | Sandy Lightner | 1:50:27 | Prescott Valley |
Age Group Race Report as of 3/12/2011 5:53:17 PM for Female 50 and Over in division Solo | ||||
Place | Bib # | Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 44 | Gretta Jordan | 1:38:01 | Prescott |
2 | 55 | Deborah Fresquez | 1:39:04 | Flagstaff |
Division: Relay | ||||
Place | Bib # | Team Name | Elapsed | City |
1 | 126 | BFC Racing | 1:05:49 | Phoenix |
2 | 123 | Prepare to Panic | 1:07:37 | Tucson |
3 | 124 | Resolute Sasquatches | 1:09:45 | Mesa |
4 | 129 | Jim’s Alignment | 1:11:41 | Prescott |
5 | 125 | It’s Walt and De’ not De’ and Walt!! | 1:13:14 | Scottsdale |
6 | 132 | Cheeky Monkeys | 1:19:08 | Phoenix |
7 | 131 | Jump Around! | 1:23:28 | Prescott |
8 | 130 | Blood Sweat and Beers | 1:24:38 | Phoenix |
9 | 127 | Fat Tire Loafers | 1:25:49 | Prescott |
10 | 128 | Penn and Taller | 1:52:31 | Phoenix |
11 | 122 | Team Dirty Wives | 1:55:25 | Prescott |
Favorite Trail Area…..Wasted! March 9, 2011
Posted by Dave Of Prescott in trails.Tags: Arizona, Granite Basin, Prescott, Trail 349, trails
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Michael, Frank and I went out to Granite Basin on Sunday afternoon to enjoy some of the sweetest single track around….or so we thought.
It appears the forest thinning project that the National Forest Service has contracted out has decimated most of trail 349, and part of trail 350.
Trail 349 west of Granite Basin Rd. is almost non-existent. The bushes are all gone (sort of). They have been hogged out and shredded. Bits of brush and branches lay scattered all over the forest floor, including on the trail. This and the truck and tractor tire depressions left in the soft earth have made the trail disappear.
It is my sincere hope that the Forest Service make sure that the contractor goes back in and restores the trails. If for some reason that doesn’t happen, there will be a multitude of hikers, bikers and equestrians very, very upset!
After this next weekend, I shall head back out there to see what if any restoration has been performed…….Stay tuned.