toolba

Well, not lost. But does anyone ever have a hard time finding their way around a new trail. I just drove two hours to ride Bull Mountain, a 14.5 mile single-track, and couldn't seem to find my way. Signage was crap or non-existent, and I ended up duplicating parts of the trail and not seeing other parts. I hate when then happens. Is this a common problem?

MattP.

That was one of my reasons for buying a GPS. I'll be getting my license right before summer break, and I plan to ride a lot of the trails within 2 hours of me (there is a ton of trails). I plan of riding most alone since my friend i usually ride with became a roadie...

jeff williams

Try using the sun as a point of reference, last time I got lost was for 3 hours in a park on a really overcast day ( I didn't mind, kinda got lost to stay longer..)

born2bahick

Yeah New trails always get me fuddled, I once came out of the timber looking at landmarks that were familar but my mind was so convinced that I was facing a different direction, the landmarks meant nothing to me and i turn back onto the trail going the wrong direction for about another 45 mins

vw addict

We get "misplaced" quite a few times on night rides. Everything starts to look the same.

SpiderMike

Last time I tried a new trail system, I felt "lost" the whole time. I had noticed some people on the trailside. When I asked if they needed help, they asked me how to get back to the parking lot... Yep I'm lost.

My first night ride was fun. There was one obstacle that would trouble me in the daytime. I started thinking about the obstacle, and how it should be abut three turns up. WRONG, it was the next turn. I actually cleared it without unclipping. I probably offended even Bigfoot with my "yell" when the obstacle suddenly showed itself.

mcoine

Some friends and I got lost once in a big state park. It was getting near dark, when we came upon a road and started riding down the road and we happened upon my friends aunts house. She drove us back to our cars which was about 10 miles away.

junkyard

A couple friends and I got lost one time. I'm not sure we were even on a trail anymore. We happened upon a father and son fishing. They gave us some directions, but the "how the heck did they get here from there while riding bikes" look on their faces was great. I think I had carried my bike as much as ridden it that day.

pinkrobe

I don't typically get lost, but I know two guys who did. Constantly. It was weird - if they weren't riding together, they were fine. Put them together on the same ride where they were forced to find their way and it was a disaster. They could routinely turn 90-minute XC loops into 4 hour trudges through the wilderness. Once, they didn't figure out they were lost until they had to ford a river and scale a 20' cliff. They asked a guy in a canoe where the highway was, then made it back to the trailhead at around 11:00 p.m., about 5 hours after they started.

vw addict

I'm a big fan of doing that on purpose.

wvxc

Most places I ride have a visitor center nearby that offers maps of trails. They are simple and not to exact scale sometimes but they give you an idea.

Peek the Geek

I wouldn't say I've gotten lost, but I have found myself wondering, "What the heck trail is this, and how do I get to the one I want?"

Last year I hit some of the CAMBA trails in northwest Wisconsin, using a map I had received from CAMBA. There had been significant trail changes/additions since the map had been drawn up, and signage was confusing and sparse, so I spent a lot of extra time at trail intersections trying to figure out which way to go next. But the ride was great (except for the black flies in a couple spots), so no worries.

trekkie820

Most Ohio trails are marked well, but some Michigan trails I have ridden spit you out at a road, with the trail just ending, but picking up somewhere on the other side. If you don't know your way, you will be lost.

sarsparilla

I have gotten "lost" a few times but we were always able to find our way back to the parking space.

One of my friends got really lost though. We were riding and he wasn't feeling well so he went "back to the cars" to wait for us there. When me and my other riding buddy got back to the cars about 45 minutes later he wasn't there yet, so we waited for about 15 minutes and then went out to find him. Thankfully he had my cell phone on him because it turns out that he ended somehow in the center of the town next to us. He called my dad and he brought him back to us though and we never really figured out how he got there.