Why the Two-Way Singletrack Must Die

For the past few months the entire world has made pastime out of exposing society's faults in relation to Covid-19, and this humble cycling blog would like to take a moment to throw a twig on that righteous fire. While off-road cycling is meant to be a distanced, often solitary activity, many county-park MTB trail system can't remove close interaction between people because of a poor policy and design decision that forces riders into close, face-to-face contact, while both parties breathe heavy droplets right at each other's inhalation zone. If we want to fight the pandemic, something must be done. 

The two-way trail has got to go. 

Truthfully, I am an avowed hater of two-way single track and have been an avowed hater since the first time I encountered a two-way system. 

Before Covid-19, two-ways were dangerous. Just think about it: you get two stoned wannabe racers haulin' tail in opposite directions around trees and through twisting blind corners on an eight-inch-wide scar on the forest floor and what do you think will happen when they meet? 

This isn't hypothetical. A friend of mine dislocated his elbow in one of these crashes. He was headed uphill on a blind switchback and a rider going down side-swiped him off the side of the hill. 

I saw a kid hit a tree not too long ago. He entered the trailhead going much too fast while I was exiting. I ducked to my left, he juked to his right, then seeing that we were both still headed for each other he leaned double-hard and went straight into a tree. He was fine, as was I, but it's true that many two-way singletracks in the Chicagoland area station ambulances in the parking lots every weekend. 

Now add to all that we have schmucks breathing Covids on each other at every intersection and the problem extends beyond the cycling world. 

Why can't all trails be nice clean one-way loops? 

There are a number of things that get in the way, and at least a few obstacles are reasonable and deserve examination. 

1. The Army Corps of Engineers and similar groups do land studies in county parks to determine the effects of human activities on the nearby land and waterways. Mountain bike trails can be destructive, especially in regards to erosion. There are a lot of reasons why erosion is bad, but one of the most salient for the trails I ride has to do with nitrates overwhelming waterways to leach oxygen that then causes mass die-offs. Nasty stuff. Def wanna avoid that. For this and other reasons the ACoE hesitates to allow land to open up for new trails. Two-way out-and-back style trails tend to be less stressful on erosion and are generally preferred by governing authorities.
2. Two-ways provide twice the riding with half the maintenance. Most trails are volunteer-managed so anything that can reduce repair times is valuable, since a lot of the repair effort is spent walking gear around in wheelbarrows.
3. Two-ways allow more total mileage in a small area. Since most county parks are small, it's nice to get more options out of limited space. 
4. Cutting new trail to make a loop is hard. 

These are all fine excuses to keep the two-way, but my argument is primarily about safety. Do any of these reasons compensate for head-on collision? I don't think so. And with people passing each other face-to-face with Covids all about, it makes me think that for everyone's sake we should be pushing for more one-way loops. 

So in conclusion, connect the loop or feel like poop.