I am an avid mountain biker. I absolutely love this sport, and I spend way to many hours reading and commenting on content from this site and that lovely rose-colored one...and I wish I could ride more than the 1-2 times per week that our busy lives can tolerate.
My family (wife, 6 & 9 year old kids) all love to ride bikes. Today we went out for a hike and were coming back down Bridle on Seymour. It was quiet out there, so we decided to let the kids have some fun and walk the "log" prior to the Highschool (down) entrance. We were approaching the end of the log and I noticed a guy came to a stop to wait for us...or so I thought. As we just-just got off the end, this total ass-hat burns by us (by inches) to get onto the log. My wife (who is Captain Calm) called out that he was too close and could have waited another 10 seconds to let us clear the entrance. To which this grey-haired, helmet-less, e-bike riding ass said "well how long should I be expected to wait"...it was literally 15 seconds buttercup...I then called out that he was not riding safely and he could have been more patient and his e-bike would have easily allowed him to catch up to his interval time. While riding the log at this point, he began to mock us about how we were just whining and complaining. We were completely speechless...
As I mentioned earlier, I love this sport. I am quite concerned about how the negative commentary from the public could directly hurt access for the sport that I love. I am going to be actively participating in the Blueridge community association session about parking/trail-access this coming Wednesday. There is a real possibility that the parking restrictions (or more) from 2020 could come up again to further restrict access. I live in the Hyannis/Berkley neighborhood and we donate/contribute/volunteer as a family to the trail association and in our opinion everyone deserves to enjoy these trails. This place is awesome.
I am appalled and disgusted by the behavior of this idiot. It is 5+ hours after our interaction and it is still bothering me. Luckily (or not, depends on how you look at it), this fool made his "move" and comments to a mountain biking family...imagine if/when he does the same to someone who came to the shore to hike for the first time, or had just moved to North Van and sought to explore the amazing North Shore mountains for the first time...or were horseback with an animal that could spook easily. This toxic behavior is completely unacceptable. We can do better. My wife and I spent the rest of our walk explaining to our kids how that persons behavior is not acceptable and mountain biking is an inclusive and fun sport.
I know this dip-sh*t isn't on this board...or if he is f*ck you for endangering my family - if I see you on the trail anytime...we will be having an animated discussion.
We all play a part in how our sport is viewed by the public. COVID sucks, it has tossed our personal and professional lives into turmoil and is actively impacting our family. COVID has challenged every one of us but it doesn't give ANYONE the right to endanger others or be an outright asshole.
I ask everyone on this board. Be amazing. Be tolerant. Be approachable. Be polite. Be patient. Be the perfect mountain biker. Show the public that ass-hats are in the 1-2% range of mountain bikers and are not representative of who we all are.
rant over