superdex

Hey all, I live near a well-known 4x4/ATV/OHV/dirt biking area (Rampart Range Rd. and surrounding area; https://rampartrange.org/) and it's sooo close, the forest roads are perfect for gravel biking from the house. Sharing the road is hard enough on pavement, I'm hesitant to poke around in an area dominated with motorized traffic, I don't want to head up there and be that guy on a stupid bike.

Do you live near an OHV area? Do you bike the same roads during the season with the other traffic? How do you make it work? (or do I just look for other options?)

Do any of you look for 4x4 roads to ride? (i.e. https://www.trailsoffroad.com/)

thanks,

Elvo

If it's frequented by bros in side by sides I would recommend having a Varia radar or keeping your ears open.

Calsun

Day of the week and time of day can greatly influence the number of people using forest roads. So does the drive time from the nearest large town to an area. For me it is the sight distances that are important. On winding sections where a vehicle can come around a curve and then encounter a rider there is little time for the driver to react. On off-road areas there are a lot of kids that lack maturity and judgment and think they are invincible and so they are more likely to exceed their skill level or safe speed on the road.

I prefer to stick to trails that are too narrow for any motorized vehicle for both bicycling and running.

shelbyfv

Yep, Bubba has had time to replace the beer he shotgunned, best find another place to ride.

Canker

I would. I'd just be careful in blind corners/hill, those things are loud so you should have plenty of warning.
https://www.facebook.com/riderampartrange
Maybe ask on their facebook page first to see if they are ok with it.

superdex

Yeah I don't see myself on the designated OHV trails, I'm thinking the forest access roads that scatter the area. Some good camping too, but honestly, the thought of waking up at dawn to 2-stroke mayhem isn't a pleasant idea.

Even though I see this on their page:
I still don't know I'd ride the trails with signs like this one:

SoSmellyAir

What the sign says and how any restrictions are enforced are often two separate matters.

staehpj1

I wouldn't rule it out. For me it would depend on a lot of factors.

Squeeze

They sure make their address hard to find on their website. I believe I looked at every page on a large PC screen but only found a PO Box. Is it a secret?

l live just a few miles from the OP, or I wouldn't care.

unterhausen

Look at the heatmap for that area on strava or ride with gps. If a lot of people are riding there, it's at least tolerable.

phrantic09

best advice here

Jughed

Still probably better than riding on the road with soccer moms and dump trucks.

superdex

doh. I've used that trick for scouting elsewhere. Looks pretty well utilized. Hm. Now need for it to dry out some up there...



Zoomed in a little, and better contrast:

rosefarts

I've had some amazing rides on the Rampart Range Road. It's so much more pleasant than being beat to death driving it on the washboards.

I personally know 3 people who have been ticketed on the dirt roads out there for driving too fast. On the dirt roads. The Douglas County sheriff uses the area as a moneymaker between motorcycle trash, camper trash, climbers, and hikers, there's lots of tickets to write. It keeps the speed down. They also strictly enforce that only vehicles that can have license plates are allowed on the road. Some get through but the speedway is the dirt bike trail, don't ride that.

From the pavement to the Devils Head parking lot is the busiest, I'd avoid most of that by riding up Jackson Creek instead, once you pass the other Jackson Creek, "traffic" will drop off significantly. Further south it can pick up but not on a weekday. I would highly suggest starting or finishing at Garden of the Gods and heading up and over to Mt Herman Road. Can be done as a loop but it's an annoying city to ride in.

There's some other great stuff if you want to head out to the Wigwams or past the Castle. I think it's worth your time to go to REI and thumb through the two rock climbing guidebooks available to the area, as they'll give you a better sense of the geography. Be warned, there are quite a few roads that don't go all the way through.

More generally though, to answer your question. A couple years ago I was driving with my dad and wife into the Utah hills. I was admiring all the open space and kinda wishing I had a gravel bike with me. Then we started seeing a few yahoo's speeding as fast as they could. One passed us the opposite direction and kicked up so much dust we were unable to see. My dad eased right and stopped until the dust cleared. At the tail end of the dust was his buddy going just as fast and was totally blind. He fishtailed to avoid us and only barely missed us. Had we still been moving or had we not pulled right, it would have been a head on collision in the middle of nowhere. Behavior like that is common in southern Utah and would definitely kill a cyclist if your luck ran out. So yeah, I get your concerns and they're legit. Be careful and enjoy the Splatte.

Clyde1820

Would depend on the route, IMO, but ...

If the sight lines and overtaking speeds are safe enough for both parties, sure.

But then, if a known 4x4 area, that simple fact will itself prompt the people who are there to imagine nobody else will be there, that nobody else who would be there would be going so slowly as to present a risk. At some point, despite poor sight lines, I suspect a driver will believe little to no overtaking risks would exist and thus it'd be safe to "push it" along a route.

Years ago, back in the 1980s, I did some three-wheeled ATV riding out at Pismo Beach. IIRC, there were some souped-up four-wheeled racers out there as well. We were just plodding along on our three-wheelers. On the sand dunes, there is a lot of empty space. Until there's not. Inside the bowl between multiple dunes, it's impossible to know what's over the crest of those dunes. At which point, somebody's dropping onto someone else's head, or running into them, or ... People drove as though risks of speed differentials combined with abysmal sight lines didn't merit consideration. (And that's everybody on engine-powered vehicles. With cyclists being overtaken by modern ATVs, IMO the overtaking speeds would be even worse than what I'd experienced back in the '80s.)

Myself, I wouldn't feel comfortable. Particularly if more than a few ATVs on such a route. But, everybody's different.