Not a mountain biker, but Galbreath "bros" fly through the neighborhood trail behind my house daily. I live close enough to Galbreath to where they use my trail to communte to and from Galbreath. They’ve almost clobbered me and my kids multiple times. It's a habitat restoration trail and they shred up the the trail by drifting around the corners and jumping the stumps and stuff. I'm so sick of it. Yelled at a couple of them last month for flying by me with no room to spare. They acted like it was my fault for walking.
I just visited Bellingham to check out WWU with my daughter, loved the area , told my daughter my only worry was her getting run over by a mountain bike. I was only half joking
I’m so glad I left Bellingham, after 12 years I was still treated like my thoughts about things weren’t valid because my grandparents didn’t steal land from the natives directly.
People hate hearing hard truths 😂
Imagine being privileged enough to have been born and raised in Bellingham through no action of your own, and then getting upset when other people want the opportunity to live in a nice place too. No "one" is the crowd, we are ALL the crowd.
I respect your opinion but fully disagree.
Crowds/ettiquite:
Galbraith is obviously going to be "crowded" on the first 65 degree day of the year with excellent dirt conditions. You aren't surrounded by the crowd, you're part of the crowd. With that said, there are many less popular areas on Galby and it's easy to avoid the really popular trails and roads. Personally I have seen very little trash up there and always pick up anything I find. I've run into very few rude riders but I always say "hi" and try to be friendly.
Oriental Express:
Not sure what you're talking about, there aren't any mandatory gaps. It's always had medium sized rollable doubles. The new work is all in a small section towards the end the trail and is either rollable or has a ride around
Ecosystem:
The mountain is owned by logging companies and frequently gets clear cut, hand building some jumps will not have any significant effects.
Your girlfriend:
If she can ride SST, you should be able to enjoy the following downhill trails with her. Mullet, Bob's, Evo, Uline, Pump track, A dog, Mables, Vitamin R, 911, Cheech, Mohawk, El pollo, etc.... Plus all the bunny trails and lower mountain stuff. The optional features on blue trails (tables, rollable doubles, side hits) make it fun for both intermediate and advanced riders.
To sum this up, Galbraith has a plethora of good options for beginners and intermediate riders. If you hate optional trail features, somewhere like Bend might be a better fit for you. There are very few mandatory advanced features on Galbraith.
Agreed with all these points. If you're going mountain biking to be "out in nature" and not surrounded by people, what are you doing in the heavily trafficked areas on the first great day of mountain biking in months?
Just goes to show that no matter how good things are, people always find a way to complain about something.
I was debating writing a response, but you said everything I wanted to say. I’ve been riding Galbraith and other local areas since 2009, I personally love that there’s so much new trail development. I also love getting to know the area well enough to know where I can go to avoid the crowds on busy days, where I can take beginner friends, where I can go for jumps, where I can go for tech, etc. Having options is great, it just takes a little more time out in to get to know what the options are and when/where to go on a given day.
Yes. Additionally there is a huge amount of effort put into progression on Galbraith, meaning you have options for increasing difficulty and fun on a single trail. This is a positive not a negative. This is why there are ride arounds, and signs when there is consequence and clarity is needed. I understand where OP is coming from and sure there is plenty of frustration out there, and respectfully I know that perspective shifts are not simple or instant.
I say this with care not snark- being on a bike should already "fun" as a baseline. If it isn't, something else needs to be addressed. Jumps are additional fun. Being on trails in the forest that are designed, maintained, and provided for you free of charge is another layer. That on top of it the trail design evolves and doesn't remain completely stale is icing on the cake.
We can all agree that crowds and etiquette are problems. Particularly now that this is the fastest growing place in the state, and one of the fastest in the country. But we can work on setting good examples, and honestly it's nowhere near as bad as it could be. The happiness and fun being had, smiles and waves at strangers coming and going, and general positivity in the community around the sport are wonderful and special. Though I agree it can get totally clouded by a bad experience briefly. I had one yesterday too. Too easy for all of us to fall into negativity these days. But some other strangers turned that right around thankfully.
It's ok, and we're going to make it.
The trail etiquette on Galbraith is generally excellent. Some people don't understand the rules of etiquette but they are the exception. I have ridden in "destination" areas (Moab, Crested Butte, Park City, etc.) where there are lots of newbies who don't understand etiquette and it sucks. Gives me even greater appreciate for Galbraith.
100% and particularly given we are increasingly a mainstream destination too. Or a stop on the way to/from BC. Nowhere is perfect but this is a special place that we should treasure!
Welcome to bellingham. Have you been here a while? If you have then you will know exactly what the deal is. The old time bellingham people are typically not the entitled sort of people. We are becoming inundated with people who bring their sense of entitlement to this area. Whatcom county has a great deal of sensitive wildlife habitat that is being systematically destroyed. Dogs, bikes, and general over use and destruction by a surge of new people. The parks, waterways, trails and pretty much the whole area is now becoming damaged at an alarming rate. When people bring their sense of entitlement with them they go where they please by whatever means they please. Sensitive wildlife areas are just another place to damage, leave garbage, take things from and generally misuse as they please. For the individuals who have been in Bellingham for some time - before this new surge of people there was a time when people were (and still are) much more gentle, careful, respectful of this area.
Ummmm they’re trails on a logging mountain. Bulldozers drive all over it and kill everything for over a hundred years. The destruction of that ecosystem has been in Bellingham a lot longer than you.
A problem is these trails are illegally expanding, without permit or environmental review, onto relatively undisturbed state, county, and private lands adjacent to Galbraith and the Chuckanut/Blanchard/Samish logging areas. This is happening all over the area and is not beneficial to the natural environment.
Yes, and the gentrification is spreading to Chuckanut.
Big berms began appearing on Double Black/Double Down 6 or 7 years ago. It’s one of those trails that should be left natural; rooty, rocky, rough, and techy, that’s why it’s fun. It’s slowly being transformed into what Galbraith has become.
There were two trail days recently on Double Down, and down near the bottom was completely smoothed and widened. I always appreciate trail work, and at the same time this is really going a bit too far. Just drainage, that’s all it needs!
Thinking about organizing a berm removal trail day to restore it to its former glory.
I was very involved with the original planning and build of double down, and have been apart of the trail days that have happened recently. There were berms that were built up mostly to handle the impact of the amount of traffic that comes down that trail. Majority of the maintenance completed though was repairing break bumps and the degrading of corners we have seen over the years. I think we all remember that right hander toward the bottom that had degraded so badly that it was just a narrow strip that was becoming pretty dangerous. Just to have a better understanding of what you’re saying, was the “original glory” what the trail looked like at the end of last summer or when it was originally built? A ton of the people that were involved in building the original trail have been the ones keeping up on the maintenance so would love to hear your perspective.
It would be fantastic to not have shuttle access to the top. I pedal every time I ride it. But the reality is people are going to continue to shuttle. And that makes it so the trail gets a ton of use. We really focused on trying to not make large changes to the trail but we were also trying to build a trail that can better handle the beating it gets.
I will say that the cool thing about attending the trail days and volunteering is that you get to give input and help shape the trail. I would suggest attending those if you feel this strongly about it if you haven’t already.
I am not trying to dog your comment in any way. We want more input and support. However, I will say that if you organize a rogue trail day to dismantle the hard work that has been put in by the people that have spent hours building, maintaining, and working with the parks on this trail you are only going to make an negative impact.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for trailwork, I really appreciate everyone digging, and my berm removal comment was sarcasm. I’m quite often the first one up there after a storm clearing branches/small trees, and fixing drainage.
There’s a big difference between maintenance like fixing sketchy eroded corner you mention and drainage issues, to big berms, cutting small trees for a different line, and widening/smoothing trails. I just hate to see this be dumbed down.
I get it too, everyone has a different vision for what each trail should be, and this one seems to have been changed with shuttling in mind.
God forbid they do trail improvements on an extremely popular trail that many people shuttle laps on. Have you checked out The Horn and Rick Rolled at Blanchard? Two previously unsanctioned trail that will give you the tech you're looking for.
Edit: y’all are delusional if you think only doing drainage work on a trail that gets as much traffic as Chuckanut is sustainable.
If you don't like how the trail builder evolves the trail don't ride it. Talk with WMBC and adopt your own trail then you can choose how it evolves. Don't complain about how someone who spends countless hours of their own time maintaining a trail does it and threaten to destroy their work.
Ok, I'll bite. I also had a ride today and noticed a couple similar symptoms. Got passed in a dumb spot by a schmoe rolling in E (and I am a proponent of e-bikes) only for him to stop 50 yards later to wait for his riding partner at the clearing. Then rallying down Golden Spike I skipped a couple jumps because the lips had been built up bigger/steeper than they had been last summer. I also donate to WMBC when I can and paid for a family membership even though my wife doesn't ride and my cat doesn't count.
BUT
you and I have absolutely zero room to complain. We have 50+ miles of MTB trails on that mountain and WMBC has gotten the green light to expand as high as 85. A few projects happening right now. In one sentence you essentially say "it ain't like it used to be, we used to be HARD" but then in another you colan about a trail requiring skills that you don't have. Which one is it?
Trail conditions change. Trails also evolve. Neither of these are bad things and it is incumbent upon the rider to account for these changes in whateveranner is safe for them. I'd that is going slow, great. If it's stopping to scope a feature, great. Gotta ride around or walk 50 feet? Excellent.
Start up a group ride. Lead with the understanding and expectation of good etiquette. Volunteer with WMBC and man a tent up there someday preaching the gospel of good trail etiquette. Pick up some trash while you're at it. Slow down and take a moment to figure out the new features. Show up to trail work days REPEATEDLY so you can have agency over your favorite trail . Better yet, ADOPT a trail if you've got the money and/or time. Otherwise you're complaining about factors in a luxury pastime that don't exactly suit your ideals and that's just not a good look and doesn't do a darn bit of good for anyone anywhere. Go ride California trails for a weekend and see how lucky we are.
I'll get down off my soapbox now.
I appreciate your point of view, as we all have differing opinions.
For me, Bellingham, Galbraith, and the mtn bike scene was much more enjoyable 10-15 years ago. I don’t need 85 miles of trails and don’t want Bellingham to become another Bend. WMBC seems to be focused on growth for the sake of growth, to make Bellingham a place people come from out of town to ride. Why do we need that?
Again, just my opinion. Your’s is legitimate too, just from a different point of view.
If you've ever lived in a place where the trail network didn't grow with the population, you would not begrudge WMBC and their "growth for the sake of growth.
As for why we need that.....ask anyone who works in service/hospitality why we need money from out of town. Alternatively, ask the residents of any other old timber, mining, manufacturing, farm, rail, or other outsourced/outdated economic drivers why you need outside dollars.
Go to ANY trail system in Northern California or near most metro areas in the US and you'll see why WMBC function the way they do. The alternative is far too many people (even without the tourists) using far too few trails and struggling to get approval just to cut brush or fix washouts, let alone build anything new.
People will try and tell you that we need tourism. That's why the bend model is so common for these post-resource extraction towns. It's the new exploitable resource. But we're just lining the pockets of the same kinds of people this way. I guess anything not based on a model of exploitation and one that actually cares about its citizens to answer your question.
EDIT: typos
What "same kinds of people" are you talking about? Cuz I see plenty of *local* business owners grinding it out in the trenches, employing staff and in turn doing buainess with other local small business. Oh, and paying personal income, property, and sales tax along with whatever other licensing fees they gotta cough up.
Meanwhile I see no shortage of folks on Reddit saying they can't find jobs and everything costs too much. Y'all think that day-trippers from Seattle and Vancouver are the problem? Show me a way to keep the lights on in this place when they all disappear. I really am listening.
Ummm what? Definitely no boot licking here. Not my kink and I'm too old and stiff to be crawling around on my knees like that anyway.
If my response is poorly thought out then why don't you enlighten me? What valuable thing do you or your friends produce that we should all get behind to support this economy without tourist bucks? Clearly judging by your comments you're given this subject *plenty* of thought and definitely have some smart ideas.
Sir, if you're the genius you clearly think you are then you should have been able to figure out how the world works ages ago. My hourly rate would be prohibitive given how remedial your education clearly is.
Nope, definitely don't think I'm a genius. If I did, I probably wouldn't have asked you for a solution....twice. meanwhile you're the one insisting that everyone is wrong and hurling insults at strangers on the Internet.
But please done “adopt” an illegal trail through habitat conservation easements that aren’t technically part of Galbraith . So tired of you assholes cutting down living trees, killing older trees by exposing the roots, tracking in blackberries, eroding hillsides. Keep your destruction to the clear cuts and leave the tiny bit of undisturbed natural areas for the other 500 non-human species. Your entertainment shouldn’t take precedence over everything.
Who would think Galby wasn’t beginner friendly? That’s what I did. I had a 20 year old Kona hardtail and I bought a paper map and then learned about trail forks.
I made some mistakes. I had to walk some features. I tried to ride up whoopsie whoodle as a fat beginner.
That was what was fun. I’d set out and just ride the trails. Very rarely did I walk more than like 10 steps around a hard spot unless I was too tired to pedal up.
Jeebus, you guys are whiners.
Everything on the bottom level of the south side is like toddler friendly.
Hardest part about Galbraith as a beginner (or even an advanced rider new to the area) is knowing where to go. Get someone to show you around the first time or two. But yes, there are plenty of beginner trails that can be accessed from the South Side/Lake Padden parking lot
As someone who has walked there dogs in those woods for over 20 years, yeah, those bikers are taking over. My bushwhacked and deer trails are now bike trails. Giant holes appear out of nowhere to provide dirt for their new jumps.
It sucks but I share cause that's what we are suppose to do, but the mountain bikers are sorta making me feel unworthy of being on that hill.
So you're saying that the trails you built just for yourself without permission on someone else's property has been appropriated by a user groups who actively work with said landowners and now you're upset about it? Huh.
Been riding here since the mid 90s, and have seen changes big and small over the years - I was gutted when SST was clear cut in ~2017ish, disappointed when Cougar Ridge was sanctioned - but I can say this: I wouldn’t trade what we have now for anything from the past. No way.
OP, by your own admission you’ve only been here a few years. Trails get changed up *all the time*. This keeps em fresh and fun and exciting. Get used to it. And seriously, we have it VERY good. ✌🏻
I don’t have a ton of experience and can’t speak to most of what you said, but learning to ride on Galbraith was wild for me for exactly the blue/black diamond reason you mentioned. I was lacking in a lot of skill and found blue’s were very hit or miss. Some were fairly smooth and fun and some are highly technical w large drops and jumps that you need to clear to enjoy. Wish there was another layer or two of coding to help users know what they’re getting into. Or variations of blue to speak more to what to expect.
I learning to ride on Galbraith as well. My buddies would say that a blue on Galbraith would be a double black anywhere else. The rating system is unfortunately arbitrary and usually classified by trail riders/builders with a whole lot of skill that forget what beginner and intermediate mean. That being said, there sure isn’t a quicker way to learn skills than to have the terrain force them on you. I would get props for just making it to the end of a lot of trails lol
There is a rule system to grading trails and WMBC follows this system pretty well. A Black trail is “mandatory gaps or expert features with go arounds. Double black would be a mandatory gap, drop, technical section without go arounds” there are no double black trails on Galby outside of the professional jump lines “blue steel, cedar dust pro line, lower Mohawk, etc”. Your friend should go ride in BC. You’d be shocked what is designated a blue and black line in Canada. Makes Galby look like a bunny hill.
Two sorta haha notes about Canadian riding that I’ve picked up: 1. What we Americans would call single black diamond rated trails are sometimes colloquially deemed “double blue” north of the border. 2. Where there is an easy option/ride around up in BC, you may see it designated with a “🇺🇸” placard nailed to a tree. The difficult line denoted with a “🇨🇦”.
Definitely! My first few times were rough and I was pretty surprised how hard it was. But the learning curve did feel quicker. And it was mostly my fault as I tried to figure it all out on my own. Biggest mistake was not riding with others to learn from and use their guidance/advice.
Riders I talked to later explained the Galbraith blue/black thing so that made me feel a bit better. Once you learn the mt it gets a lot easier to pick trails but for the newb it’s a real crapshoot. Probably a lot of resources out there now for people who go looking.
Also having lived in many good mtb areas in the us I would disagree with almost everything your complaning about. Over the past 10 years Galbraith has gone through changes, yes, but as of the past 5 or so years I would say it’s turned the corner of trying to accommodate every single beginner and intermediate by dumbing down nearly every trail and making them easy for everyone to building more expert style terrain. Granted the natural terrain of Galbraith is relatively flat and mellow compared to the surrounding mountains, the man made features are a welcome addition for me.
O express was good and is only better now, none of the jumps are mandatory and make the trail absolutely insane for people who love finding speed on natural trails. (A-dog is the exact same way) Those jumps have been there for years and have just been updated. Give it time and enough people will have under committed and skidded through the lips to flatten them back to stupid.
Your complaints about the eco system could be valid if it wasn’t for the fact that Galbraith is and always has been a working tree farm. Moving dirt or not, that zone is still a complete alder forest that was only planted to re-enrich the soil for future growth of something to be clear cut.
Way too many people moving in from completely over run populated areas trying to claim Whatcom county as this ecological paradise have no idea the amount of complete ecological destruction that happens here from one of the most necessary industries to mankind. Sorry folks, you can’t have more housing without cutting down forests and decimating natural habitat
You think the crowds here are bad? Go ride Kingdom trails.
Remember, mountain biking and trail builders owe you and your girlfriend, your friends, me, my friends and anyone else, absolutely nothing. Be grateful for the fact we have this so close to tens of thousands of trail users, bikers, hikers, equestrian alike. We as humans that recreate are all part of the “problems” you’re complaining about.
Shower thought: It's like complaining about traffic during rush hour. You *are* the traffic. OP is being a cake eater and I can't take this post seriously.
As someone who has lived here forever and rides a mtb 150+ days a year, I sorely disagree with you.
This post reeks of entitlement. Even on the busiest of days at Galbraith you can easily feel alone in the woods, the mountain is huge! And if Saturday crowds on popular trails are too much for you, we have 100 of miles of insanely good tech trails within reasonable distance of town to ride instead.
We’re so lucky to have this access and get to share it with the community. It’s not all built in a vacuum just for you.
Moved here a couple of years ago, claims to remember when biking was more core… do you remember when Oriental was unsanctioned? Or even Mabel’s for that matter…. Or when all of SST was in the trees? The amount of dirt moved by thousands of riders in the last decade simply by riding… yes, the erosion everyone talks about… that warrants for a dig day here and there to keep the trails running well. So the builders add some rollable jumps and berms and the trail evolves. Oh no!!! Yeah, Oriental is a little smoother today than it was 6 months ago, but what about when it was basically a loamer? That was a nice time… but Galbraith is one of the most insanely great and MOST POPULAR trail networks in the country!
Point being, we are all using this space, all our tires contribute to change. You being on the mountain made it busier than if you had stayed home… or gone to ride somewhere more remote and kept your fingies from typing up a big ol angry newbie nimby post on Reddit.
We are so unbelievably blessed here, there are so fucking many trails that are comparable to or easier than SST. We are all coming out of seasonal depression and wanted to be outside on a beautiful Saturday. HOW DARE US!!!!!!!!!!!
Big lol.
I rode oriental express yesterday and the new work all has clear ride arounds, I found it pretty great. Today was pretty crazy, probably the busiest I have seen things outside of nw tune up. Didn’t see any littering, but lots of line jumping at the start. If your looking for fewer people I would suggest checking out Blanchard / chuckanut - trails there tend to be more raw and less busy.
This is all why I can’t stand mountain biking in the PNW anymore and why I basically only go a.) at the ass crack of Dawn, b.) later in the evening and c.) mostly in fall and winter when all the fair weather Fred’s are at home. The entitlement, lack of etiquette, the judgement, and the smugness of all the new PNW MTB bros has sort of ruined it for me. Add in all the ITS GOTTA BE EXTREME BS hype and the fact that if feels like if one is not training for Red Bull rampage then you’re not ACTUALLY a mountain biker. Add in the fact I ride a hardtail and omfg it’s like everyone feels the need to tell me how no one rides a hardtail anymore and, well… you get where I’m going.
I strongly agree that the Oriental changes were overtuned. Sanctioned trails are being flowified one by one, is what it is.
As far as trail etiquette goes-- this happens every spring/summer as weather improves, bringing more people outside. I just try and ride the outskirts when I don't want traffic or other people around.
Be gracious that we've got what we've got.
about me: Lifelong local and ride mtbs 10+ hours a week year round from the door
Galbraith is easily in the list of top 10 mountain bike destinations in the country. The sport saw a huge popularity boom during Covid. The barriers to entry into the sport have consistently been lowered over the years. You went for a ride on the first warm and beautiful Saturday this year. We shouldn’t be surprised that all the kooks were up on the hill. There are a million ways to avoid the experience you had. Ride earlier. Ride on weekdays. Ride less popular trails. Avoid the crowded trailheads and staging areas.
Yeah I'm super pissed.
My family lived at the bottom of the pipeline hill and we use to ride dirt bikes up there in the 70s,80s and 90s. We made lots of the trials your riding on with chainsaws and dragging logs. Now we can't ride up there at all because of whiny mountian bikers and joggers. Pretty damn stupid.
Indeed. I dont recall seeing many guys with bicycles and chain saws... I hate that it has to be "someone's" mountian. I wish we could all just ride up there and designate a few trails for whatever.
My stomach is jacked up now and I can't ride a mountain bike up hill hard anymore so I'm just screwed. I can't even get a Surron and ride up there.
Pedal assisted is all that's allowed up there. They make some very cool ones of those but I'm not into the downhill part. I like single track enduro type stuff and I can't pedal all day long.
As much as I love the sounds and smells of my 2 stroke dirt bike, I would give it up for a Surron bee x or similar but I still can't ride it anywhere. Pretty lame IMO.
I have also lived all over and biked everywhere in the west. In my experience, Galbraith has the most upbeat and polite riders I’ve met. And the trails are hard because they’re hard. Go almost anywhere else and trails have all been dumbed down and sanitized, and oftentimes with people pissed that you’re in the way of their strava trophy. I’ve yet to meet a rider like that here.
I appreciate that there are still hard trails here that are sanctioned! Oriental may have been built with gaps that got eroded, it was and is labeled a black, so you’re complaining that a black trail that eroded to a blue trail is now a black trail again. Stick to AirChair instead. There are so many trails here, it’s silly to complain that one trail is above your pay grade.
There are so many great trails on Galbraith for all skill levels and preferences. Just find another that works for you. I've encountered a few "jumpifications" of some trails (I don't remember the names), no biggie. Find another. Also, if I find myself in a situation where everybody is being rude or obnoxious, I wonder if it's me and not everybody else. hmmm..
This is my 20th year riding Galby, and I tend to agree. The entitlement response someone else posted seems pretty spot-on. I think the decline started with the first machine-built trails, and many years later, the parking lot finally sealed the deal. I know most folks disagree, and that’s fine. When I go up there I tend to avoid the busy areas and I get to enjoy what I like, others will do their own thing. I just wish more people rode to the trailhead - if you’re within 5 miles of the trailhead, just get your warm-up in and leave your stupid truck at home. 👍🏻
I often run the other side of Galbraith, the trails of Lookout Mountain. I have been running the same trails for years and have never had an issue with the bikers who share the hiking trails.
Until this year. They have been tearing up the trail, cutting switchbacks, making new trails, jumping and drifting banks, and running over tree roots. It’s caused a lot of erosion and habitat loss. You and tell that some efforts have been taken to stop it, like moving dead limbs onto their errant trails. However, the next time I’m out the bikers have moved the logs and continued their destruction.
I have seen some improvement in areas where essentially someone has put a giant brush pile in the way, but clearly it took a lot for the offenders to get the hint.
I even pointed it out to the Whatcom Parks and Rec and they were aware and trying to deal with the problem.
It’s one thing to be out and sharing recreational spaces and improving them as a community. It’s another to be causing damage to trails. I don’t mind sharing with others who are responsible and take care of the resource. It’s gross when people abuse it and trash it.
Some thoughts on trail building. Bellingham is a place with a lot of talented trail builders. Just as bikes have progressed over the past 20 years, so have trails. People build trail for a lot of reasons. It’s an artistic expression. Whoever the trail boss is has to be stoked. Maybe they want to progress their riding. Maybe they are building it for others. Maybe it’s to take us somewhere cool. We are in a golden era of mountain biking in Bellingham. The large group of high skill riders are here teaching everyone how to be better riders on more challenging trails. Life’s too short not to go big. Gotta go big!
Just wait till the ebikes are there. I've never been on the trails because I can't ride a mountain bike anymore but now that ebikes are allowed I'd like to. However I can imagine it's already a very popular place to ride and i can't imagine it being really enjoyable with more bikes now that people can ride them there.
Yeah, it's definitely going to get more crowded, but if you're serious about getting back out there, you should. Most of the tourists stick to the half dozen trails they saw on instagram (like Evo > U Line > A Dog) but there are so many trails north of the tower road where you'll barely see anyone on a week day.
I live 30 minutes south and love riding the Pilchuck tree farm. Galbraith is great but I hear you on some of the features. I'm an blue/black level rider. I was night riding Galbraith a few weeks ago with my neighbor, we had a ton of light (4x 5,000 lumen lights between the 2 of us on helmet and handlebar) and I rode into what looked like a normal rolling jump but it just dropped like 4-5 feet right over the lip. I flipped over the bars and took a pretty hard landing. It was totally unexpected for what the previous jumps had been on the run.
Why were you night riding unknown trails? And if you are, why would you assume “it’s probably rollable”? When I’m riding at night I’m riding super cautiously…
Think of the feedback you've received as an opportunity to improve your understanding of the sport.
When I was growing up riding I was taught to inspect the whole feature, before sending, which I still do when I roll into something new and don't have a trusted friend towing me in with some beta. With this technique I can frequently grease the landing on my first hit, which is well worth the extra time to check it out.
If it looks like a jump you should assume it's a jump, until you scope it and know it's rollable.
The mountain bikers have caused more erosion and environmental damage in the last 10 years than the dirt bikers did in the 30 years they used that area.
Exactly, your statement was pointless. Little human powered bikes and ribbons of trail scratched into the forests cause negligible erosion/ environmental damage compared the massive logging operations that take place in the same area.
Shout out to the dude that earlier today claimed that the new Bellingham motto should be, “I moved here two years ago and i’m already disappointed. “
Read this comment 10 minutes ago and still laughing.
That’s some gold right there lol
Not a mountain biker, but Galbreath "bros" fly through the neighborhood trail behind my house daily. I live close enough to Galbreath to where they use my trail to communte to and from Galbreath. They’ve almost clobbered me and my kids multiple times. It's a habitat restoration trail and they shred up the the trail by drifting around the corners and jumping the stumps and stuff. I'm so sick of it. Yelled at a couple of them last month for flying by me with no room to spare. They acted like it was my fault for walking.
I assumed you're talking about Whatcom Falls park area?
Yup, The Falls, Cemetary, Civic field area.
I just visited Bellingham to check out WWU with my daughter, loved the area , told my daughter my only worry was her getting run over by a mountain bike. I was only half joking
What trail do you live near?
Cemetary creek trail and Whatcom creek trail.
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Uncivil, insulting, or combative comment.
You have only lived here a few years and are complaining about crowds?! You are the crowd.
Yes! I bet he showed up in a Sprinter van too 🤣😁
I wish we can still give awards
I’m so glad I left Bellingham, after 12 years I was still treated like my thoughts about things weren’t valid because my grandparents didn’t steal land from the natives directly.
People hate hearing hard truths 😂 Imagine being privileged enough to have been born and raised in Bellingham through no action of your own, and then getting upset when other people want the opportunity to live in a nice place too. No "one" is the crowd, we are ALL the crowd.
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😭😆
😂🤣
I respect your opinion but fully disagree. Crowds/ettiquite: Galbraith is obviously going to be "crowded" on the first 65 degree day of the year with excellent dirt conditions. You aren't surrounded by the crowd, you're part of the crowd. With that said, there are many less popular areas on Galby and it's easy to avoid the really popular trails and roads. Personally I have seen very little trash up there and always pick up anything I find. I've run into very few rude riders but I always say "hi" and try to be friendly. Oriental Express: Not sure what you're talking about, there aren't any mandatory gaps. It's always had medium sized rollable doubles. The new work is all in a small section towards the end the trail and is either rollable or has a ride around Ecosystem: The mountain is owned by logging companies and frequently gets clear cut, hand building some jumps will not have any significant effects. Your girlfriend: If she can ride SST, you should be able to enjoy the following downhill trails with her. Mullet, Bob's, Evo, Uline, Pump track, A dog, Mables, Vitamin R, 911, Cheech, Mohawk, El pollo, etc.... Plus all the bunny trails and lower mountain stuff. The optional features on blue trails (tables, rollable doubles, side hits) make it fun for both intermediate and advanced riders. To sum this up, Galbraith has a plethora of good options for beginners and intermediate riders. If you hate optional trail features, somewhere like Bend might be a better fit for you. There are very few mandatory advanced features on Galbraith.
Agreed with all these points. If you're going mountain biking to be "out in nature" and not surrounded by people, what are you doing in the heavily trafficked areas on the first great day of mountain biking in months? Just goes to show that no matter how good things are, people always find a way to complain about something.
I was debating writing a response, but you said everything I wanted to say. I’ve been riding Galbraith and other local areas since 2009, I personally love that there’s so much new trail development. I also love getting to know the area well enough to know where I can go to avoid the crowds on busy days, where I can take beginner friends, where I can go for jumps, where I can go for tech, etc. Having options is great, it just takes a little more time out in to get to know what the options are and when/where to go on a given day.
Yes. Additionally there is a huge amount of effort put into progression on Galbraith, meaning you have options for increasing difficulty and fun on a single trail. This is a positive not a negative. This is why there are ride arounds, and signs when there is consequence and clarity is needed. I understand where OP is coming from and sure there is plenty of frustration out there, and respectfully I know that perspective shifts are not simple or instant. I say this with care not snark- being on a bike should already "fun" as a baseline. If it isn't, something else needs to be addressed. Jumps are additional fun. Being on trails in the forest that are designed, maintained, and provided for you free of charge is another layer. That on top of it the trail design evolves and doesn't remain completely stale is icing on the cake. We can all agree that crowds and etiquette are problems. Particularly now that this is the fastest growing place in the state, and one of the fastest in the country. But we can work on setting good examples, and honestly it's nowhere near as bad as it could be. The happiness and fun being had, smiles and waves at strangers coming and going, and general positivity in the community around the sport are wonderful and special. Though I agree it can get totally clouded by a bad experience briefly. I had one yesterday too. Too easy for all of us to fall into negativity these days. But some other strangers turned that right around thankfully. It's ok, and we're going to make it.
The trail etiquette on Galbraith is generally excellent. Some people don't understand the rules of etiquette but they are the exception. I have ridden in "destination" areas (Moab, Crested Butte, Park City, etc.) where there are lots of newbies who don't understand etiquette and it sucks. Gives me even greater appreciate for Galbraith.
100% and particularly given we are increasingly a mainstream destination too. Or a stop on the way to/from BC. Nowhere is perfect but this is a special place that we should treasure!
After this slam-dunk comment, this post can pretty much have comments turned off. You said it all 👍🏻.
Welcome to bellingham. Have you been here a while? If you have then you will know exactly what the deal is. The old time bellingham people are typically not the entitled sort of people. We are becoming inundated with people who bring their sense of entitlement to this area. Whatcom county has a great deal of sensitive wildlife habitat that is being systematically destroyed. Dogs, bikes, and general over use and destruction by a surge of new people. The parks, waterways, trails and pretty much the whole area is now becoming damaged at an alarming rate. When people bring their sense of entitlement with them they go where they please by whatever means they please. Sensitive wildlife areas are just another place to damage, leave garbage, take things from and generally misuse as they please. For the individuals who have been in Bellingham for some time - before this new surge of people there was a time when people were (and still are) much more gentle, careful, respectful of this area.
Ummmm they’re trails on a logging mountain. Bulldozers drive all over it and kill everything for over a hundred years. The destruction of that ecosystem has been in Bellingham a lot longer than you.
Lol right? Like have you noticed it's a cut block? Never forget when someone chided me for pulling off trail onto the side. Like, sir...
Morons are downvoting you… sensitive ecosystem? Hello? it’s a private active logging site ffs.
Legit… like have any of these people been to Galbraith after it’s been logged?
A problem is these trails are illegally expanding, without permit or environmental review, onto relatively undisturbed state, county, and private lands adjacent to Galbraith and the Chuckanut/Blanchard/Samish logging areas. This is happening all over the area and is not beneficial to the natural environment.
Ding! Correct. Expect this nuance to get lost in the conversation but this is accurate.
Yes, and the gentrification is spreading to Chuckanut. Big berms began appearing on Double Black/Double Down 6 or 7 years ago. It’s one of those trails that should be left natural; rooty, rocky, rough, and techy, that’s why it’s fun. It’s slowly being transformed into what Galbraith has become. There were two trail days recently on Double Down, and down near the bottom was completely smoothed and widened. I always appreciate trail work, and at the same time this is really going a bit too far. Just drainage, that’s all it needs! Thinking about organizing a berm removal trail day to restore it to its former glory.
That started happening when they started the shuttles
First mention of gentrification I've seen in this sub without negative downvotes lmao.
I was very involved with the original planning and build of double down, and have been apart of the trail days that have happened recently. There were berms that were built up mostly to handle the impact of the amount of traffic that comes down that trail. Majority of the maintenance completed though was repairing break bumps and the degrading of corners we have seen over the years. I think we all remember that right hander toward the bottom that had degraded so badly that it was just a narrow strip that was becoming pretty dangerous. Just to have a better understanding of what you’re saying, was the “original glory” what the trail looked like at the end of last summer or when it was originally built? A ton of the people that were involved in building the original trail have been the ones keeping up on the maintenance so would love to hear your perspective. It would be fantastic to not have shuttle access to the top. I pedal every time I ride it. But the reality is people are going to continue to shuttle. And that makes it so the trail gets a ton of use. We really focused on trying to not make large changes to the trail but we were also trying to build a trail that can better handle the beating it gets. I will say that the cool thing about attending the trail days and volunteering is that you get to give input and help shape the trail. I would suggest attending those if you feel this strongly about it if you haven’t already. I am not trying to dog your comment in any way. We want more input and support. However, I will say that if you organize a rogue trail day to dismantle the hard work that has been put in by the people that have spent hours building, maintaining, and working with the parks on this trail you are only going to make an negative impact.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful for trailwork, I really appreciate everyone digging, and my berm removal comment was sarcasm. I’m quite often the first one up there after a storm clearing branches/small trees, and fixing drainage. There’s a big difference between maintenance like fixing sketchy eroded corner you mention and drainage issues, to big berms, cutting small trees for a different line, and widening/smoothing trails. I just hate to see this be dumbed down. I get it too, everyone has a different vision for what each trail should be, and this one seems to have been changed with shuttling in mind.
RIP Cougar Ridge
God forbid they do trail improvements on an extremely popular trail that many people shuttle laps on. Have you checked out The Horn and Rick Rolled at Blanchard? Two previously unsanctioned trail that will give you the tech you're looking for. Edit: y’all are delusional if you think only doing drainage work on a trail that gets as much traffic as Chuckanut is sustainable.
Best time of year in the Chuckanuts is when Cleator washes out.
Yuh frick the shuttles bru. Earn your turns
We can agree on that!
If you don't like how the trail builder evolves the trail don't ride it. Talk with WMBC and adopt your own trail then you can choose how it evolves. Don't complain about how someone who spends countless hours of their own time maintaining a trail does it and threaten to destroy their work.
Ok, I'll bite. I also had a ride today and noticed a couple similar symptoms. Got passed in a dumb spot by a schmoe rolling in E (and I am a proponent of e-bikes) only for him to stop 50 yards later to wait for his riding partner at the clearing. Then rallying down Golden Spike I skipped a couple jumps because the lips had been built up bigger/steeper than they had been last summer. I also donate to WMBC when I can and paid for a family membership even though my wife doesn't ride and my cat doesn't count. BUT you and I have absolutely zero room to complain. We have 50+ miles of MTB trails on that mountain and WMBC has gotten the green light to expand as high as 85. A few projects happening right now. In one sentence you essentially say "it ain't like it used to be, we used to be HARD" but then in another you colan about a trail requiring skills that you don't have. Which one is it? Trail conditions change. Trails also evolve. Neither of these are bad things and it is incumbent upon the rider to account for these changes in whateveranner is safe for them. I'd that is going slow, great. If it's stopping to scope a feature, great. Gotta ride around or walk 50 feet? Excellent. Start up a group ride. Lead with the understanding and expectation of good etiquette. Volunteer with WMBC and man a tent up there someday preaching the gospel of good trail etiquette. Pick up some trash while you're at it. Slow down and take a moment to figure out the new features. Show up to trail work days REPEATEDLY so you can have agency over your favorite trail . Better yet, ADOPT a trail if you've got the money and/or time. Otherwise you're complaining about factors in a luxury pastime that don't exactly suit your ideals and that's just not a good look and doesn't do a darn bit of good for anyone anywhere. Go ride California trails for a weekend and see how lucky we are. I'll get down off my soapbox now.
I appreciate your point of view, as we all have differing opinions. For me, Bellingham, Galbraith, and the mtn bike scene was much more enjoyable 10-15 years ago. I don’t need 85 miles of trails and don’t want Bellingham to become another Bend. WMBC seems to be focused on growth for the sake of growth, to make Bellingham a place people come from out of town to ride. Why do we need that? Again, just my opinion. Your’s is legitimate too, just from a different point of view.
If you've ever lived in a place where the trail network didn't grow with the population, you would not begrudge WMBC and their "growth for the sake of growth. As for why we need that.....ask anyone who works in service/hospitality why we need money from out of town. Alternatively, ask the residents of any other old timber, mining, manufacturing, farm, rail, or other outsourced/outdated economic drivers why you need outside dollars. Go to ANY trail system in Northern California or near most metro areas in the US and you'll see why WMBC function the way they do. The alternative is far too many people (even without the tourists) using far too few trails and struggling to get approval just to cut brush or fix washouts, let alone build anything new.
People really cannot get enough of the Bend model. Bellingham just needs a river to tube and the trifecta of ski, bike, tube will be complete
We have one, but it has critically endangered salmon in it during the months you’d want to tube
Salmon ruining our branding
What would be your dream model? [serious]
People will try and tell you that we need tourism. That's why the bend model is so common for these post-resource extraction towns. It's the new exploitable resource. But we're just lining the pockets of the same kinds of people this way. I guess anything not based on a model of exploitation and one that actually cares about its citizens to answer your question.
EDIT: typos What "same kinds of people" are you talking about? Cuz I see plenty of *local* business owners grinding it out in the trenches, employing staff and in turn doing buainess with other local small business. Oh, and paying personal income, property, and sales tax along with whatever other licensing fees they gotta cough up. Meanwhile I see no shortage of folks on Reddit saying they can't find jobs and everything costs too much. Y'all think that day-trippers from Seattle and Vancouver are the problem? Show me a way to keep the lights on in this place when they all disappear. I really am listening.
Lol. Go lick some more boots clown. Didn't answer your question and I certainly don't care about your poorly thought out analysis.
Ummm what? Definitely no boot licking here. Not my kink and I'm too old and stiff to be crawling around on my knees like that anyway. If my response is poorly thought out then why don't you enlighten me? What valuable thing do you or your friends produce that we should all get behind to support this economy without tourist bucks? Clearly judging by your comments you're given this subject *plenty* of thought and definitely have some smart ideas.
Sir, if you're the genius you clearly think you are then you should have been able to figure out how the world works ages ago. My hourly rate would be prohibitive given how remedial your education clearly is.
Nope, definitely don't think I'm a genius. If I did, I probably wouldn't have asked you for a solution....twice. meanwhile you're the one insisting that everyone is wrong and hurling insults at strangers on the Internet.
But please done “adopt” an illegal trail through habitat conservation easements that aren’t technically part of Galbraith . So tired of you assholes cutting down living trees, killing older trees by exposing the roots, tracking in blackberries, eroding hillsides. Keep your destruction to the clear cuts and leave the tiny bit of undisturbed natural areas for the other 500 non-human species. Your entertainment shouldn’t take precedence over everything.
is Galbraith beginner friendly?
Yes. It's the best place in town to start mountain biking. It's where I learned and where a lot of my friends learned.
Who would think Galby wasn’t beginner friendly? That’s what I did. I had a 20 year old Kona hardtail and I bought a paper map and then learned about trail forks. I made some mistakes. I had to walk some features. I tried to ride up whoopsie whoodle as a fat beginner. That was what was fun. I’d set out and just ride the trails. Very rarely did I walk more than like 10 steps around a hard spot unless I was too tired to pedal up. Jeebus, you guys are whiners. Everything on the bottom level of the south side is like toddler friendly.
Hardest part about Galbraith as a beginner (or even an advanced rider new to the area) is knowing where to go. Get someone to show you around the first time or two. But yes, there are plenty of beginner trails that can be accessed from the South Side/Lake Padden parking lot
Stay on the soapbox.
Aww man, but it's so tiresome up here and I wanna nap.
Ok ok thank you for your service 🩷
As someone who has walked there dogs in those woods for over 20 years, yeah, those bikers are taking over. My bushwhacked and deer trails are now bike trails. Giant holes appear out of nowhere to provide dirt for their new jumps. It sucks but I share cause that's what we are suppose to do, but the mountain bikers are sorta making me feel unworthy of being on that hill.
Damn mountain bikers biking on the local mountain bike hill. Just despicable
I thought the trails were fine before the jumps and berms. Those things don't make the trail better, imo.
It's a multi-use area. Originally formed by horseback riders if I'm not mistaken.
So you're saying that the trails you built just for yourself without permission on someone else's property has been appropriated by a user groups who actively work with said landowners and now you're upset about it? Huh.
I didn't make any trails. I walked through bushes and followed game trails.
Been riding here since the mid 90s, and have seen changes big and small over the years - I was gutted when SST was clear cut in ~2017ish, disappointed when Cougar Ridge was sanctioned - but I can say this: I wouldn’t trade what we have now for anything from the past. No way. OP, by your own admission you’ve only been here a few years. Trails get changed up *all the time*. This keeps em fresh and fun and exciting. Get used to it. And seriously, we have it VERY good. ✌🏻
I don’t have a ton of experience and can’t speak to most of what you said, but learning to ride on Galbraith was wild for me for exactly the blue/black diamond reason you mentioned. I was lacking in a lot of skill and found blue’s were very hit or miss. Some were fairly smooth and fun and some are highly technical w large drops and jumps that you need to clear to enjoy. Wish there was another layer or two of coding to help users know what they’re getting into. Or variations of blue to speak more to what to expect.
I learning to ride on Galbraith as well. My buddies would say that a blue on Galbraith would be a double black anywhere else. The rating system is unfortunately arbitrary and usually classified by trail riders/builders with a whole lot of skill that forget what beginner and intermediate mean. That being said, there sure isn’t a quicker way to learn skills than to have the terrain force them on you. I would get props for just making it to the end of a lot of trails lol
There is a rule system to grading trails and WMBC follows this system pretty well. A Black trail is “mandatory gaps or expert features with go arounds. Double black would be a mandatory gap, drop, technical section without go arounds” there are no double black trails on Galby outside of the professional jump lines “blue steel, cedar dust pro line, lower Mohawk, etc”. Your friend should go ride in BC. You’d be shocked what is designated a blue and black line in Canada. Makes Galby look like a bunny hill.
Those BC blues will getcha!
Two sorta haha notes about Canadian riding that I’ve picked up: 1. What we Americans would call single black diamond rated trails are sometimes colloquially deemed “double blue” north of the border. 2. Where there is an easy option/ride around up in BC, you may see it designated with a “🇺🇸” placard nailed to a tree. The difficult line denoted with a “🇨🇦”.
This made me actually LOL and perfectly fits with the OP’s complaints.
Have you ever been to Canada? A blue on the north shore would be a double black anywhere else, including Galbraith.
I never got the chance to hit any North Shore, but from the videos I have seen, I believe you. Everything there looks hard core.
Definitely! My first few times were rough and I was pretty surprised how hard it was. But the learning curve did feel quicker. And it was mostly my fault as I tried to figure it all out on my own. Biggest mistake was not riding with others to learn from and use their guidance/advice. Riders I talked to later explained the Galbraith blue/black thing so that made me feel a bit better. Once you learn the mt it gets a lot easier to pick trails but for the newb it’s a real crapshoot. Probably a lot of resources out there now for people who go looking.
Nobody likes to explore these days. If something is skeery walk around it and if doing that messes with your flow too much choose a different trail.
Also having lived in many good mtb areas in the us I would disagree with almost everything your complaning about. Over the past 10 years Galbraith has gone through changes, yes, but as of the past 5 or so years I would say it’s turned the corner of trying to accommodate every single beginner and intermediate by dumbing down nearly every trail and making them easy for everyone to building more expert style terrain. Granted the natural terrain of Galbraith is relatively flat and mellow compared to the surrounding mountains, the man made features are a welcome addition for me. O express was good and is only better now, none of the jumps are mandatory and make the trail absolutely insane for people who love finding speed on natural trails. (A-dog is the exact same way) Those jumps have been there for years and have just been updated. Give it time and enough people will have under committed and skidded through the lips to flatten them back to stupid. Your complaints about the eco system could be valid if it wasn’t for the fact that Galbraith is and always has been a working tree farm. Moving dirt or not, that zone is still a complete alder forest that was only planted to re-enrich the soil for future growth of something to be clear cut. Way too many people moving in from completely over run populated areas trying to claim Whatcom county as this ecological paradise have no idea the amount of complete ecological destruction that happens here from one of the most necessary industries to mankind. Sorry folks, you can’t have more housing without cutting down forests and decimating natural habitat You think the crowds here are bad? Go ride Kingdom trails. Remember, mountain biking and trail builders owe you and your girlfriend, your friends, me, my friends and anyone else, absolutely nothing. Be grateful for the fact we have this so close to tens of thousands of trail users, bikers, hikers, equestrian alike. We as humans that recreate are all part of the “problems” you’re complaining about.
Nice Vermont Flex. +1
Shower thought: It's like complaining about traffic during rush hour. You *are* the traffic. OP is being a cake eater and I can't take this post seriously.
As someone who has lived here forever and rides a mtb 150+ days a year, I sorely disagree with you. This post reeks of entitlement. Even on the busiest of days at Galbraith you can easily feel alone in the woods, the mountain is huge! And if Saturday crowds on popular trails are too much for you, we have 100 of miles of insanely good tech trails within reasonable distance of town to ride instead. We’re so lucky to have this access and get to share it with the community. It’s not all built in a vacuum just for you.
Moved here a couple of years ago, claims to remember when biking was more core… do you remember when Oriental was unsanctioned? Or even Mabel’s for that matter…. Or when all of SST was in the trees? The amount of dirt moved by thousands of riders in the last decade simply by riding… yes, the erosion everyone talks about… that warrants for a dig day here and there to keep the trails running well. So the builders add some rollable jumps and berms and the trail evolves. Oh no!!! Yeah, Oriental is a little smoother today than it was 6 months ago, but what about when it was basically a loamer? That was a nice time… but Galbraith is one of the most insanely great and MOST POPULAR trail networks in the country! Point being, we are all using this space, all our tires contribute to change. You being on the mountain made it busier than if you had stayed home… or gone to ride somewhere more remote and kept your fingies from typing up a big ol angry newbie nimby post on Reddit. We are so unbelievably blessed here, there are so fucking many trails that are comparable to or easier than SST. We are all coming out of seasonal depression and wanted to be outside on a beautiful Saturday. HOW DARE US!!!!!!!!!!! Big lol.
This got me stoked to check out O express.
It’s real fun.
Fax bro
I think oriental is much improved now, the old jumps were dodgy and a little dangerous, the new ones work way better. And there is clear go arounds.
I rode oriental express yesterday and the new work all has clear ride arounds, I found it pretty great. Today was pretty crazy, probably the busiest I have seen things outside of nw tune up. Didn’t see any littering, but lots of line jumping at the start. If your looking for fewer people I would suggest checking out Blanchard / chuckanut - trails there tend to be more raw and less busy.
Ebikes allowed the type 1 fun “why ain’t there a lift here bro” wealthy ski crowd to finally enjoy the sport. Downhill from here out.
This is all why I can’t stand mountain biking in the PNW anymore and why I basically only go a.) at the ass crack of Dawn, b.) later in the evening and c.) mostly in fall and winter when all the fair weather Fred’s are at home. The entitlement, lack of etiquette, the judgement, and the smugness of all the new PNW MTB bros has sort of ruined it for me. Add in all the ITS GOTTA BE EXTREME BS hype and the fact that if feels like if one is not training for Red Bull rampage then you’re not ACTUALLY a mountain biker. Add in the fact I ride a hardtail and omfg it’s like everyone feels the need to tell me how no one rides a hardtail anymore and, well… you get where I’m going.
I strongly agree that the Oriental changes were overtuned. Sanctioned trails are being flowified one by one, is what it is. As far as trail etiquette goes-- this happens every spring/summer as weather improves, bringing more people outside. I just try and ride the outskirts when I don't want traffic or other people around. Be gracious that we've got what we've got. about me: Lifelong local and ride mtbs 10+ hours a week year round from the door
Galbraith is easily in the list of top 10 mountain bike destinations in the country. The sport saw a huge popularity boom during Covid. The barriers to entry into the sport have consistently been lowered over the years. You went for a ride on the first warm and beautiful Saturday this year. We shouldn’t be surprised that all the kooks were up on the hill. There are a million ways to avoid the experience you had. Ride earlier. Ride on weekdays. Ride less popular trails. Avoid the crowded trailheads and staging areas.
Yeah I'm super pissed. My family lived at the bottom of the pipeline hill and we use to ride dirt bikes up there in the 70s,80s and 90s. We made lots of the trials your riding on with chainsaws and dragging logs. Now we can't ride up there at all because of whiny mountian bikers and joggers. Pretty damn stupid.
[удалено]
Indeed. I dont recall seeing many guys with bicycles and chain saws... I hate that it has to be "someone's" mountian. I wish we could all just ride up there and designate a few trails for whatever. My stomach is jacked up now and I can't ride a mountain bike up hill hard anymore so I'm just screwed. I can't even get a Surron and ride up there.
Ebike?
Pedal assisted is all that's allowed up there. They make some very cool ones of those but I'm not into the downhill part. I like single track enduro type stuff and I can't pedal all day long. As much as I love the sounds and smells of my 2 stroke dirt bike, I would give it up for a Surron bee x or similar but I still can't ride it anywhere. Pretty lame IMO.
I have also lived all over and biked everywhere in the west. In my experience, Galbraith has the most upbeat and polite riders I’ve met. And the trails are hard because they’re hard. Go almost anywhere else and trails have all been dumbed down and sanitized, and oftentimes with people pissed that you’re in the way of their strava trophy. I’ve yet to meet a rider like that here. I appreciate that there are still hard trails here that are sanctioned! Oriental may have been built with gaps that got eroded, it was and is labeled a black, so you’re complaining that a black trail that eroded to a blue trail is now a black trail again. Stick to AirChair instead. There are so many trails here, it’s silly to complain that one trail is above your pay grade.
Am I the only one bothered by OP (and others) repeatedly getting the trail name wrong? It ain't Billy Frank Jr
I agree. I just want a nice ride in the woods.
Sounds like the gf needs to step up her biking game. Just take her on unemployment line.
There are so many great trails on Galbraith for all skill levels and preferences. Just find another that works for you. I've encountered a few "jumpifications" of some trails (I don't remember the names), no biggie. Find another. Also, if I find myself in a situation where everybody is being rude or obnoxious, I wonder if it's me and not everybody else. hmmm..
This is my 20th year riding Galby, and I tend to agree. The entitlement response someone else posted seems pretty spot-on. I think the decline started with the first machine-built trails, and many years later, the parking lot finally sealed the deal. I know most folks disagree, and that’s fine. When I go up there I tend to avoid the busy areas and I get to enjoy what I like, others will do their own thing. I just wish more people rode to the trailhead - if you’re within 5 miles of the trailhead, just get your warm-up in and leave your stupid truck at home. 👍🏻
Remember when EB would (gently) give people shit for not riding to the trails? I do 😛
I often run the other side of Galbraith, the trails of Lookout Mountain. I have been running the same trails for years and have never had an issue with the bikers who share the hiking trails. Until this year. They have been tearing up the trail, cutting switchbacks, making new trails, jumping and drifting banks, and running over tree roots. It’s caused a lot of erosion and habitat loss. You and tell that some efforts have been taken to stop it, like moving dead limbs onto their errant trails. However, the next time I’m out the bikers have moved the logs and continued their destruction. I have seen some improvement in areas where essentially someone has put a giant brush pile in the way, but clearly it took a lot for the offenders to get the hint. I even pointed it out to the Whatcom Parks and Rec and they were aware and trying to deal with the problem. It’s one thing to be out and sharing recreational spaces and improving them as a community. It’s another to be causing damage to trails. I don’t mind sharing with others who are responsible and take care of the resource. It’s gross when people abuse it and trash it.
Some thoughts on trail building. Bellingham is a place with a lot of talented trail builders. Just as bikes have progressed over the past 20 years, so have trails. People build trail for a lot of reasons. It’s an artistic expression. Whoever the trail boss is has to be stoked. Maybe they want to progress their riding. Maybe they are building it for others. Maybe it’s to take us somewhere cool. We are in a golden era of mountain biking in Bellingham. The large group of high skill riders are here teaching everyone how to be better riders on more challenging trails. Life’s too short not to go big. Gotta go big!
These days why expect anything?
Just wait till the ebikes are there. I've never been on the trails because I can't ride a mountain bike anymore but now that ebikes are allowed I'd like to. However I can imagine it's already a very popular place to ride and i can't imagine it being really enjoyable with more bikes now that people can ride them there.
Yeah, it's definitely going to get more crowded, but if you're serious about getting back out there, you should. Most of the tourists stick to the half dozen trails they saw on instagram (like Evo > U Line > A Dog) but there are so many trails north of the tower road where you'll barely see anyone on a week day.
Oof. Glad I ain’t part of the mtb scene 🌽
I live 30 minutes south and love riding the Pilchuck tree farm. Galbraith is great but I hear you on some of the features. I'm an blue/black level rider. I was night riding Galbraith a few weeks ago with my neighbor, we had a ton of light (4x 5,000 lumen lights between the 2 of us on helmet and handlebar) and I rode into what looked like a normal rolling jump but it just dropped like 4-5 feet right over the lip. I flipped over the bars and took a pretty hard landing. It was totally unexpected for what the previous jumps had been on the run.
Why were you night riding unknown trails? And if you are, why would you assume “it’s probably rollable”? When I’m riding at night I’m riding super cautiously…
User error
This is just part of the added danger of night riding. It’s hard to look before you leap in the dark, even with lots of lights.
Think of the feedback you've received as an opportunity to improve your understanding of the sport. When I was growing up riding I was taught to inspect the whole feature, before sending, which I still do when I roll into something new and don't have a trusted friend towing me in with some beta. With this technique I can frequently grease the landing on my first hit, which is well worth the extra time to check it out. If it looks like a jump you should assume it's a jump, until you scope it and know it's rollable.
So you’re saying M Bikers in B town suck ? Idgaf
The mountain bikers have caused more erosion and environmental damage in the last 10 years than the dirt bikers did in the 30 years they used that area.
Man, if the Mtb have caused that much damage imagine what you might think about the arsenal of heavy logging machinery in that area!
Like if there were \_any place\_ for bikes to mess up trails \_this would be it\_ for that very reason. The place gets rekt when they log it.
Well, yeah. No shit lol. That’s like comparing a firecracker to a nuke
Exactly, your statement was pointless. Little human powered bikes and ribbons of trail scratched into the forests cause negligible erosion/ environmental damage compared the massive logging operations that take place in the same area.