Rude Mountain Bikers-- Turkeys On Full Alert...

[quavers59]

    Just an off Season Topic here. Those here who only have access to State/Public Lands have probably  seen a huge increase in Mountain Bikers on Public Lands in the last 10 years. And not just on the Weekends either. Local " Open" Lands as well. Give a few kids on Dirt Bikes a few weeks to get a new Trail started and the Mountain  Bikers will definitely  find it and spread the word.
      I have never had any problem  with Hikers on Public Lands. Most are friendly. But these Mountain Bikers " for the most part" are Rude and can be on Top of you Quickly and Quietly and at Full Speed if they are alone.
    And that is the problem right there-- for the Turkeys. Be in a Mom with Poults ,an older Family Flock in October, or 2 Gobbler Brothers Traveling  Together. Those Mountain Bikes are Quiet. Then the Turkeys see Fast Flashes of the Brightest  Yellows,Pinks,Reds,Purples,Greens,etc- all molded into one and moving at super sonic speed.
    I was Full Turkey Hunting some years back and around a curve in the narrow Trail came a Mountain Biker. He almost hit me. Light orange mirror sunglasses and not even a nod.  I repeat- these Bikes are Quiet.
    A big problem  with the Mountain  Bikers on Public Lands is their habit of Biking around the Perimeter of Fields. I can't  think of anything else that would Scare the Turkeys more then to see a Bright Blue,Red,+ Yellow contraption  moving in their direction at a Top Speed.
    I have adapted  to what is going on. It is what it is. Just one more thing  that will Probably  quiet up the Gobblers and have them on Alert when entering Fields.
   And most Mountain Bikers don't  want you out there on " Their Land". Back in April in New Jersey,I was climbing up a medium mountain and saw that the Trail was altered. It was replaced by these stupid circular Trails that the Mountain Bikers had Built.
    And that Mountain Biker Group is huge. I don't  know how much Local + National  Political  Clout they have-- but they probably  have more then the Hunters.
   Again- just an off Season Topic here. If you Own your own Land or have Private Access and never set foot on Public Dirt-- consider  yourselves Fortunate.

[Happy]

You are dealing with people that wear helmets. That should tell you what you need to know.

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[Old Timer]

Spike strips! LOL

[Turkeybutt]

Just something else for us turkeys and other animals to deal with!

[Sir-diealot]

Okay as someone that did a lot of mountain biking before my last car accident and still goes to races on occasion I have to ask an honest question, how is your hearing? These bikes are anything but quiet. These days they have shocks going up and down in the front and the back and sometimes on the seats as well, the brakes tend to squeak quite a bit especially if it is on a downhill trail as the brakes tend to "glaze over" or "Toe" forward making them squeak when applied. In some cases the people are wearing protective gear made of plastic that gets jostled around as they go down the trail and so on all making tons of noise.

Yes on some trails they can really get going fast, no doubt about that, but the motorcycles you bring up go faster and are much louder. By the way you seem to use "dirt bikes" and "Mountain Bikes" interchangeably, they are not the same.

I find horses to be more a problem myself, hate them on the trails, nothing like riding your bike along and having crap splashed all over you that some horse left behind on the trail. Or having a horse that spattered it across the whole trail and you can't walk around it. I think they should have to get off the horse and use a shovel to throw it off into the weeds myself. Also the horseshoes leave more sign behind with their metal shoes than the average biker does with their rubber tires.

Turkey see cars/motorcycles those colors on the road going by much faster all the time so I do not think that bugs them. They also see trail vehicles on the farm going by.

As far as their habit of Biking around the Perimeter of Fields goes they really do not have much choice, it is not easy to ride over roots and all like on a dirt bike (not that it is a ton easier) plus the farmers would complain if they rode through their crops and rightfully so.

Now as far as going by you with the glasses, I was not their to see what the area looked like, could be it may have been safer for him to continue if it was a steep area or stony, maybe not. (looking back you say it was narrow) Could be if he was moving fast he could not turn his head, on a bike you tend to go where your head turns, try it some times on a road bike. I personally would have tried to stop if safe.

Quite frankly you come off like it is your trail, we all share it and the majority of cyclist I have known are pretty good people. (Except those road snobs that have to have everything matching, and wear lycra pants, those guys/gals tend to be rich elitist jerks) Oh and those circular trails (if I am understanding you correctly) are called loops and are used by both bikers and hikers alike, normally for shortened rides/walks.

Now IMBA the International Mountain Biking Association and others heavily discourage altering trails, not only because it changes the looks but because if done incorrectly which it is in most cases by these fringe groups it can cause severe erosion. Unfortunately just like any other group of people all have their bad ones and yes trail damage happens by mountain bikers/motorcyclists/hikers/skiers and yes even hunters who want more "Radical" trails or better access to other areas and it is a shame.

[GobbleNut]

General public use of our public lands comes with the territory nowadays,...and us turkey hunters are the "odd men out" in terms of the priorities of the agencies that manage these lands.  And it ain't gonna get any better going forward.  Taking an antagonistic approach to dealing with it does nothing but move the needle further towards the non-consumptive use side of the equation in terms of how those managing agencies look at things.

The best we can do is "try" to keep a smile on our faces when dealing with that general public, while at the same time lobbying for regulations that mitigate some of the conflicts of interest.  For instance, there are existing places where things like dirt bike and ATV use is restricted during hunting seasons, or in certain areas, in general.  There are reasonable compromises that can be made with these other folks. 

Word to the wise: Getting all bent out of shape with them prior to "coming to the table" to find those compromises is not going to help matters one bit.   

[hootgobbleyelpgobble]

To Hell with a mountain bike and double to Hell with a group of bikes on a public road way. The public paved roads are an entirely different animal and discussion.

I understand we share the public trails but I have yet to have a good encounter with a bike rider that was off road. Even had them trespassing on private land in the South East. I think it is a double edge issue trying to get them on a level playing field with permits, etc. Right now in all the states that I have been aware of when I have bumped into bikers, is hunters were the only ones paying for the right to be there.

Just have to go farther and stay longer to avoid people in general.

[Dtrkyman]

I have zero issue with bikes in general, however electric bikes on closed forest roads is a whole other issue out west.

These trails are closed to motorized vehicles during winter and early spring months, there is evidently zero enforcement on these roads, was like the electric bike hells angels in one place I hunted, thought going early when all the roads were closed would be a bonus, well not really!

Even asked one group at a gate(nice enough crew) what the regs were, they all played stupid.

Now I hear they are changing what is considered a motorized bike, certain sized motors are legal, how the hell is a bike with a motor legal on a non motorized or closed trail, logic just keeps eroding away.

[joey46]

Insulted as many electric bikers as I could handle during early March on a Florida forum.  The situation down here was the ones using illegal (no bikes/no horse) trails on their EBs and passing hunters that were already walking in. Very common on the bigger WMAs such as Big Cypress.  Word is they will get more access and less regulation next year.  Just buy a golf cart. 

[guesswho]

There is probably a Mountain Biker forum somewhere and they are discussing rude turkey hunters who put up tents and rubber turkeys right on the bike trails. 

[quavers59]

  Disagree with you Die-alot. I usually  agree with all your Threads on huntingny.
   Don't  tend to overthink  things.  Those New Mountain Bikes are quiet. They can be on top of you on a Heartbeat. Or The Turkeys.
   I don't  know about you- but,I Hike year round-- including just this morning.  I see alot out there.   See you back at huntingny soon.

[g8rvet]

What has always bugged me is that hunters are the only ones in Florida that pay extra to access land that is free to others.  And I am not talking about our Hunting license.  I am talking about our management stamp.  Unless all users need a special fee, then no users should have to pay for land that belongs to all of us.  Some of them do charge for equine and off road vehicles, but not all.  Conversely, I would be cool with it if hunting season was for hunting and the rest of the year was all other user season.  Bet that would fly like a lead balloon. 

[RutnNStrutn]

Again, just like the hunting techniques that some of us here don't like, bikers are legal. So you have 2 choices. Change the law, or put up with it. Either that or pay to hunt private land. I don't see another option.

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[nativeks]

To Hell with a mountain bike and double to Hell with a group of bikes on a public road way. The public paved roads are an entirely different animal and discussion.

I understand we share the public trails but I have yet to have a good encounter with a bike rider that was off road. Even had them trespassing on private land in the South East. I think it is a double edge issue trying to get them on a level playing field with permits, etc. Right now in all the states that I have been aware of when I have bumped into bikers, is hunters were the only ones paying for the right to be there.

Just have to go farther and stay longer to avoid people in general.

Ive had far more issues with turkey hunters from the SE tresspassing on private land here in the plains than I have with cyclists (outside of the 4 days either side of Garmin Unbound).

Disclaimer: I am a cyclist myself and do about 1600 miles of gravel riding a year.

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[Sir-diealot]

  Disagree with you Die-alot. I usually  agree with all your Threads on huntingny.
   Don't  tend to overthink  things.  Those New Mountain Bikes are quiet. They can be on top of you on a Heartbeat. Or The Turkeys.
   I don't  know about you- but,I Hike year round-- including just this morning.  I see alot out there.   See you back at huntingny soon.

I spend time on trails quite often, not as much as when I was mountain biking but much more since I got into photography. I have not been rode up on when walking by mountain bikes, those cross over bikes are much quieter though.
I don't spend a lot of time there because of the lack of logic and the hoard mentality I see there, if you disagree with my buddy we will ride you for it even if you are clearly right, he is more popular so he matters and you don't. Not what I care for, it is like being in Jr. High again the way they act there.

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