I was there last weekend and it was good minus a few small mud spots...go for it...

SAme we rode it Friday night... fun and a littke sloppy in  the usual places....  
 
Thanks to who ever has been doing some tgrimming it makes the ride nicer.

Trail was very god this afternoon. Very little mud, I took the by-pass from the dance to tornado alley to skip the muddiest section.  
 
I have a question, The trail I rode in GA had alternating direction on diff days. Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sun went clockwise and Tues, Thurs and Sat it was counter clockwise. This was pretty cool. The sign at the TH said which way to go on each day. At each intersection there was a small sign to state the direction  on the given days.
 
I spoke with one of th elocals and he said it was like two different trails at the same place.  
 
So is this a possality at FTP. Seems like a great idea to me. And it is supposed to be good for the trail to stay in good shape too.
 

everything said about the benifits of bi-directional trails is true, and i usually favor having the option of riding in whatever direction i please, but at ftp the trail i think its best we only run the trail in one direction. everyone is used to the flow as it has been for the past 10 years and the worst thing we can do is cause a situation where someone somehow ends up going the wrong way and hitting another rider head on.

I could see the liability issue with some one going the wrong way.  That being said I have seen people going the wrong way on the trail anyways. The way Big Creek was set up there were signs every were stating the proper direction for the days of the week.
 
This way on mon wed fri sun. on the back side of the sign says this way on tues thur sat.
 
I gues I am just hopeful, it would be like having 2 trails in one.

Having suffered a dislocated shoulder from a rider going the wrong way over two years ago that still bothers me to this day, the idea of two way traffic at a trail like Ft Pierce is enough to scare the poop out of me.
 
I have been hurt by wrong way riders at Halpat as well as grapefruit.  I vote 1 way all the way!  These trails are too narrow and have too many blind corners to accommodate two way traffic.  Trailbuilders can say whatever they want, two way traffic is very trail specific and applicable only to certain trails.

halpat i can see it working much better, but ftp not so much. you would just open the door to people riding the trail whatever direction they please if the dont care for the direction of the day. much safer if we just stick to one direction.

I think as soon as you let people know that its ok to go either direction, no matter what signs you post there will be people going the wrong way just cuz they can. I can see the day that someone will be coming up big dipper just as someone wants to come down (because that corner is rather blind) and meeting in the middle....not pretty. just an observation.

You guys dont give mtb'ers much credit.... either that or I over estimate our thought and perception process......
 
Personally I ride lots of alternating reverse direction trails with more technical and speed required and have never had a problem.  
 
Lets just do 1 day a week and see how that goes...  
 
I'll make BIG  BRIGHT SIGNS at several important places.....
Maybe NO RETARDS allowed on trails on WEDNESDAYS.  We are running it BACKWARDS TODAY.
 
Attack me if you want.  
 

My direction is that we leave the trail direction as is for now. It would be a major change to the trail system, when we first organized the club one of the decisions was to do away with the 'reverse days' because of some serious crashes that occurred as a result of people not riding the direction of the day, for whatever reason. This was one of the conditions many of us felt necessary for us to assume responsibility for the trail. One collision was at the bottom of the big dipper and involved a person being transported to the hospital with broken bones. There were others as well and many many close calls.
 
Another comparatively minor issue is that the terms of the conservation easement prohibits signs among other things. It doesnt even say signs nailed to trees, or billboards etc (although im sure that is the intent) it just says no signs.
 
My main concern is safety and liability. Right now if someone rides the trail 'backward' they do so at their own risk and would be liable for whatever happens. If we decide to switch directions we would be assuming a measure of that liability, and if this is considered 'trail design' it may not even be covered by our insurance. I would strongly suggest we purchase the additional coverage offered by the more expensive IMBA insurance if we go this route.
 
Im not trying to be a kill joy, but we need to consider whether the potential gains outweigh the risk, and i personally dont think they do in this case.
 
How about we put this up for vote at the next election in Jan? The board members and (new?)club officers can at that point make the  change if they choose.

I think a trail that is in a park can enforce rules a little better.  Compared to a stand alone trail. I woul dimagine if Markham had diff direction on diff day it would work. The more official something looks the more people are ging to listen. Again I come across a few people going the wrong direction as it is now. I don't think it would make a big differnce with the riders.
 
Most importantly right now is getting the trail 100% legit and anything that might compromise that is not worth it. In the future I think this would be agreat idea.

If I offended anyone then I apologize however I ride Carter road in Lakeland and on the designated day (Wednesday) They reverse the flow,they don't have any problems. But I can and will abide by what ever rules we impose.  
 
Bowing out and sitting the corner in shame.