#!markdown
I have to say I know the lady, and encounter her every time I ride Fromme (and
I mean EVERY time). She is always with a group, is polite to me and has never
been unbecoming.
I understand that given recent events some bikers might think this is the time
to "stake claim" to bike trails, and in all honesty, I agree. But the fact is:
we share the mountains with a huge number of people, not only riders.
Moreover, I rode Saturday and ran into (figuratively) at least a dozen
hikers/trail runners. ALL WERE POLITE, PLEASANT and COURTEOUS. I know that we
do all the work, fight for all the advocacy, and pay the bills (in all forms)
but that is the fact. Sadly, women and trail users in the later years of life,
for the most part, are not ABLE to do work. I wish they would contribute
financially to help, but that is a pipe dream. I would like to point out a lot
of bikers don't do any work nor contribute financially, so painting other
users as "parasites" would be unfair. I hate conflicts of any sort, but the
fact is: this one made the paper and given the recent history, some resolution
is expected.
I am not going to change how I address the lady. She has never been unbecoming
to me and I will not bring it up. As I have stated before, taking the moral
high road is our best option right now. The spotlight is on us and we need to
show we are the better people. But if there are any incidents, we need to act
and act fast with all due expedience: photos, details etc….. vandalism and
violence cannot and should not be tolerated, regardless of whom the
perpetrator is. Not with violence of our own.
Feb. 2, 2015, 5:11 p.m. - Peter Leeds
#!markdown I have to say I know the lady, and encounter her every time I ride Fromme (and I mean EVERY time). She is always with a group, is polite to me and has never been unbecoming. I understand that given recent events some bikers might think this is the time to "stake claim" to bike trails, and in all honesty, I agree. But the fact is: we share the mountains with a huge number of people, not only riders. Moreover, I rode Saturday and ran into (figuratively) at least a dozen hikers/trail runners. ALL WERE POLITE, PLEASANT and COURTEOUS. I know that we do all the work, fight for all the advocacy, and pay the bills (in all forms) but that is the fact. Sadly, women and trail users in the later years of life, for the most part, are not ABLE to do work. I wish they would contribute financially to help, but that is a pipe dream. I would like to point out a lot of bikers don't do any work nor contribute financially, so painting other users as "parasites" would be unfair. I hate conflicts of any sort, but the fact is: this one made the paper and given the recent history, some resolution is expected. I am not going to change how I address the lady. She has never been unbecoming to me and I will not bring it up. As I have stated before, taking the moral high road is our best option right now. The spotlight is on us and we need to show we are the better people. But if there are any incidents, we need to act and act fast with all due expedience: photos, details etc….. vandalism and violence cannot and should not be tolerated, regardless of whom the perpetrator is. Not with violence of our own.