In suburban trail settings, you are one of many users. You have to go farther to get along with them than you do in rural areas or in events. When people get closer, they have to get more polite to avoid conflict. Conflict draws attention. Consider negative attention to be a bad thing. The General Conduct Rule - Don't annoy other users/people and don't portray anything less than a clean image of our sport.

1. Control your noise levels. Don't ride a loud bike AT ALL in a suburban trail area. Here's a tip for keeping the sound down: Repacking your silencer.

2. Further, don't get on the pipe when you're around other users, people's homes and at trail heads. Wait until you're in a ways.

3. Further still... don't dwell in an area, particularly an area within earshot of homes or parks. Ride through and go away. Remaining in an area simply accumulates the impact the sound makes on nearby homeowners or users, and it accumulates the impact to the trail.

4. At the trail head, enter and exit the woods conservatively and quietly. Get off the pipe. Save the wheelies for somewhere else. When transitioning from the street to the woods, do it in a place that draws the least attention. Don't force a following vehicle to react to your turning off the road into a trail... they are NOT used to doing that and neither of you want surprises. Signal. Do not transition from conservative road rider mode until you are WELL into the woods.

5. If you find someone who needs help, do all that you can to render appropriate aid. That implies being able to render some help. People who get off the road a ways *should* learn some principles of first aid. Don't touch them if you don't. Carry a cel phone to summon help if you need to. I carry some simple first aid supplies too. Over the time I've been riding, I've led an elderly couple out of the woods who was lost just before sunset. Patched up a quad rider who flipped his vehicle and shredded his hands (wear gloves guys), and got his vehicle going again. Led a fire team to a location in a set of trails they were unfamiliar with. Helped an 80 year old farmer get a stubborn tractor onto the bed of a trailer in a remote field. Repaired a snapped clutch cable on a rat bike. Provided water to a hiker's dog who was really hurting on a 100-deg day.

All these things helped someone who needed it, and improved our relations with non-riders. Those are good things to do.

6. Haul some trash out if you find it.

7. If you're alone, take it easy. Tell someone where you're going to be riding.

8. Get registered. Do things right. Remove as many reasons to categorize you/your vehicle as an outlaw as you can.

9. Work to establish positive relations with other trail users, and-owners and law-enforcement. Stop and talk with people now and then. Waive. Be friendly. Be courteous.

10. When you meet someone on horseback. Kill your engine immediately. Get off the trail and take your hat off so the horse can recognize you as a person. Wait until the riding party passes before you restart your bike. Personally, I also stop for people walking their dogs or with children/babies too. It doesn't hurt to let them know you stopped FOR THEM ("Just stopping in case your dog is afraid of the noise" or "Didn't want to disturb your baby"… "It's ok… I don't mind waiting at all. Have a good hike.". End it with a smile... it works).

11. Set an example. Lead.

12. Be prepared for mechanical issues too. Make sure your bike is *ready* to go before you head out. Common on-the-trail problems include flat tires, fouled spark plugs, bent disks, broken levers, etc. See my page on bike setup to anticipate many of these.

13. Respect the trail. Don't ride like you're the only one who uses it. You're not. If the trail is generally muddy and will rut up easily, stay off of it until conditions improve. If it's just the occasional mud hole, try to get through there without creating much impact there. Save your competitive mud techniques for your rural rides or events. A special note to quad riders here.. Your machines are a lot heavier and can do a ton of damage in no time. Don't fall for the crap you see on tv as being appropriate in a suburban trail setting. Respect the trail. PLEASE try to understand that you do not need to personally convert every inch of single-track you find to a boulevard. Please stay off the single-track.

13. Shared use principles - Don't go changing things if it's not your land. Some people get furious over long-term damage inflicted so one rider can have some short-term fun. If there's a log across the trail, leave it alone. That might be someone's favorite part of the trail. The same for rocks and other obstacles. Don't cut down trees or widen an existing trail. A lot of trail users relish narrow single track. If your vehicle doesn't fit on a trail, ride somewhere else. If you find the urge to take a chain saw, winch, or pruners to an existing trail, don't be surprised to find another user trying to shove them up your tail pipe. It's just plain rude.

14. If someone you ride with or another rider you encounter "doesn't get it", say something. Better from you than a non-rider. If someone's too loud, get on them. It's fixable and it needs to be fixed. Most of the problems riders have, in my opinion, come about because we tolerate idiots and crude behavior.