Why can't people just get along?

[250girl]

I am so sick of the lack of respect and common decency that I see on the trails around here. The trails I ride are used by walkers, dirt bikers,mountain bikers, quads, horseback riders, and many more.Now, if everybody just respected each other and took a few precautions, everybody would get along fine, but NOOOOO. Every body thinks that their "sport" is better than anybody elses, and that they own the trails. For example, some people think that the horses should be kicked off because in the winter and spring they make holes in the packed snow, wich makes it a ittle more difficult for the walkers. Some horse people think that the bikers should be kicked off because they are noisy and drive too fast and scare the horses. It is just mayhem. If the bikers stopped driving like idiots when they are still close to houses and the frequently used walking trails, people wouldn't dislike them so much. If the horse people just got off to the side when they heard bikes coming, and were careful on the walking paths when the ground is soft, things would be better. Soon we are all going to be kicked off of the trails because of our own stupidity.

Why can't everybody just make a small change in their ways, and then we could mostly get along.Why are we all so stubborn and stuck up?

 

[XRpredator]

Why can't everybody just make a small change in their ways, and then we could mostly get along.Why are we all so stubborn and stuck up?

Horse people are stubborn and stuck up because they are horse people . . .

and technically, when you come up on horses, you are supposed to shut off the bikes until they go by. I know if I were on a hayburner, that's the way I'd rather have it instead of having some douchebag on his pinger go roosting by me.

 

[Chili]

As always it a me first mentality for most folks.

As far as horses I always come to pretty much a dead crawl and give a horse rider as wide a berth as possible if we meet on a trail. Much easier for me to control my steed and keep it from panicking than it is for them.

 

[Patman]

Everybody thinks it's everybody elses problem to bow to their chosen activity. The way I see it dirt bikes might make a bit of noise but if properly equipped shouldn't be a big issue and noise is quickly gone. They also tear up the trail a bit but not nearly as bad as mt. bikes with thin aggresive tires. Horses well they also leave things on the trail besides hoofprints and typically when you walk a dog you are expected to clean up after them? mt. bikers are just upwardly mobile walkers and walkers are just poor schmucks that wish they had a dirtbike or horse. So who cares what the walkers want the horse and dirt bike people just need to agree that bikes and horses should both be properly equipped to leave little trace they were there. I haven't seen any type of system dealing with the horse exhaust, perhaps FMF can create something similar to the FMF Q called the FMF No-Poo?

 

[fatcat216]

Well said Patman. :cool:

I guess the way they taught it at dirtbike school was to stop the bike and let the horses go by. Made it sound like force of law here, although I could be mistaken on that. Either way, yes, it's easier to curb a bike than a horse that is in a panic. Those are pretty big beasts.

Good rant 250girl.

It is a 'me' world.

 

[atkkid250]

i agree with chili, although the equestrians are probably among the most arrogant sportsters out there, i allways pick up my trash if i have any off the trail, they DONT pick up their or there horses WASTE , ive been tempted to bag it up and put it on a couple of the known violators porches with a note. but yes, ppl should get along a bit better and make all the sports mroe enjoybale, also, how do the horse people know that the horses dont scare the riders? i dont like horses at all been kicked a few times haha noone cares about THAT

 

[250girl]

[QUOTE/] FMF No-Poo?[/QUOTE]

:laugh: I would happily purchase one of those.

Since I ride both horses and dirt bikes, I respect both. Lucky for me, my horses are not at all afraid of bikes, not even a little bit, I have trained them not to be, and I don't expect bikers to shut off their bikes, just slow down. If I see a horse, I do shut off my bike, just incase.But some bikers......

Horse people do tend to be very stuck up, they drive me nuts. Of course I am not one of them, but some horse people do tend to think they own the trail.And on the subject of horse poo, I will admit I do not clean it up(unless it hapens to be in someones yard). I find that after a hot day or two, it dries up and mostly dissapears. Dog poo on the other hand....... remains yucky for a long time.

And that is another thing that drives me nuts, GARBAGE !! people that leave wrappers, papers, plastic and all sorts of garbage on the trail.Everything I take, comes home with me(except for poop). Even more disgusting, used condoms. My horse got one stuck to the botton of her foot, and I had to pick it out .

 

[truespode]

I can sum it up like this... people suck!

I know a lot of good person's. Individually they are great and I am happy for my circle of friends but I think that the people I know and respect are out of the norm. They are good people with good morals and integrity. Most people I know are not that way.

That is probably why I like my dogs more than most people. I a lot more likely to go up to a strange dog than a strange person (and not for the same reasons as Gomer).

Ivan

 

[BadgerMan]

Why can't everybody just make a small change in their ways, and then we could mostly get along.Why are we all so stubborn and stuck up?

I me mine, I me mine, I me mine.

 

[Ol'89r]

What goes around, comes around. :cool:

A funny little story that happened a few years ago. A couple of riding buddys and I were out riding in the hills and we came across a large group of horse riders. Had to be about 20 or 25 of them. We saw them coming from a long ways away so we stopped, pulled off the trail and took our helmets off to greet them while they passed.

Most of the people in my neighborhood have horses and motorcycles and we all get along quite well. Except for a couple of young jerks on dirtbikes, we all show each other as much respect as we can. I own horses myself and have experienced both sides of the coin.

Anyway, we stopped a few feet off of the trail and waited for the riders to pass. Most of them were very friendly. Tipped their hats to us and thanked us for stopping and taking our helmets off to greet them. A few of them looked straight ahead or looked away as to say they didn't like dirtbikes but they were not going to say anything. We smiled and greeted them just the same.

The last guy was a big overweight slob on a very small Morgan bay. We could see that this guy was going to be trouble long before he got to us. He had a fat red face and reddish hair and beard with tobacco juice running down it. He pulled up and stuck his horses face right into mine and proceeded to tell us that we didn't belong out there. Basically called us every name in the book and told us he was in the posse and was going to have us arrested. I tried to explain that I also had horses and had been riding in those hills for over 30 years on both horses and motorcycles. And that I had as much right to be there as he did. He continued to cuss us out and then spit at me as he rode away. As angry and disgusted as I was, I just sat there like a good li'l' dirtbiker and took it. I though about giving his horse an uppercut to the chin with my helmet which would have caused the horse to dump his worthless fat azz on the ground and then use him for a hill climb but, I didn't. I just sat there and took it. :|

What I did notice was his saddle pad. It was a pad from a riding club from a neighboring city. Several of the riders had the same saddle pads. Funny thing about this story was this group of riders had an annual trail ride where over 50 to 70 riders took a two day ride. Half way through the ride they stopped overnight at a neighbor of mine and had a B-bq, played horseshoes and camped out in my neighbors arena. Then, the next day they rode back.

What was even funnier was the fact that they had to ask my permission to cross my land to get to my neighbors land. If they couldn't cross my land they had to go up a very steep paved road and back down the same paved road. Most of their horses were shod so it wasn't safe for the horses with shoes on to walk on the slippery pavement.

Well, to make a long story even longer, the group that we ran across was doing a pre-ride for their annual trail ride. A couple of weeks later when my neighbor came over to ask my permission to cross my land, I told him about our encounter with this guy. He knew exactly who he was and just looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

I told my neighbor that I had no problem with his club but before they could cross my land, I wanted this POS to come to my home and stand face to face with me like a man and apologize for what he said and did. And he could bring his frikkin posse with him if he wanted to. Apparently, the fat slob wasn't man enough to do that so, they didn't get my permission. Their ride was only a mere shadow of the ride the year before because most of the beginner riders were not comfortable with riding on the slick pavement. They only had about 20 riders attend instead of the 50 to 70 riders that normally attended. Plus they had to go about 6 miles out of their way to get around the paved part. This caused them to be late to my neighbors house, cutting the b-bq short and eliminating many of their games. They also had to leave earlier the next morning because of the extra mileage. All because of one pompous jackass. Several of them wound up trailering out the next day rather than do the extra mileage.

The ride has been cancelled now, not because of me but because a developer closed the trail that gets them from the other side of the freeway to our side. I usually go to those meetings and fight for the rights of the horsemen but, I just didn't have the will to fight on the same side as someone like that. We still ride our bikes in those hills but, we haven't seen their riding club over there in several years. Too bad.

Ya' never know who your talking to out there or who your pissin' off. It can go both ways. :nod:

 

[oldguy]

Ol89er, similar story here. 20 years ago I bought 4 acres to build on and the first time I walked the lot I noticed a well worn path across it obviously heavily used by horseriders to get from a large subdivision to the trail network in the state forest. As soon as we started building many riders stopped and asked about permission which I readily gave out- the alternate route was to stay on pavement and go up a steep blind hill.
I also explained to each rider asking permission that I had planted about 900 pine seedlings and asked that they stay on the present trail as I had not planted any on it. Soon I got around to planting grass and covered large areas with straw and the riders were very good about keeping to the 15 foot strip I left until one afternnon when I got home from work. It had rained all morning and the newly seeded area was all pockmarked with hoof holes and the straw was all pushed around. I repaired what I could and about an hour later I noticed a group returning from the state trails so I went outside. This was a group of 6 women riders and they were all riding side by side across the newly seeded area and of course sinking in about 6 inches. I stopped them at the fenceline and asked why they were off the trail which they replied becuse it was to rough. They were not happy when I told them they would find the road much smoother and in the future they could use that and not my yard. About 30 minutes later one of their husbands came over and told me they would continue using my trail because through eminent domain they had the right since they had used that trail for over 10 years. I corrected him and informed him I would not give them permision and had not given it to them in the past but I would give them a tresspassing ticket if they ever came on my property again. He was about to continue when I opened the garage to let him see my squad parked inside. I never did have to issue a ticket but I stopped cutting the path through my fence line and eventually it got so thick that horse traffic all but ceased on my property.
The snowmobilers were an entirely different problem. None asked permission just assumed since we had a dirtbike track on the property that they were welcome. I didn't have a problem with them cutting through until a group decided to bust drifts all through the area where my pine seedlings were growing. I stopped them also and told them they could not ride in that area because of the trees and if they stayed on the trail they could use the path. When one said they were not sure where I meant I told him to bring me 10 fence posts and I would mark the safe path and they could use 10 feet either side of the posts. He told me they wouldn't but any posts and if I wanted it marked I should buy them. I don't know how it happened but before they returned from their ride some fenceposts did appear out of nowhere and they completely shut down the trail at each end of my property

 

[atkkid250]

haha thats great, there are several horse people who live right in my town, who i am on good terms with, i ride real slow and quiet by their houses because unfortunately to get to the maine trail head we have to ride road about a mile and it takes us right in front of their houses. And then there have been people, mostly out of state mass. people who are the ones yelling at us. that pisses me off more then anything

 

[250girl]

It does seem that out of all of the conflicts, the majority are between the bikers and horse people.It just drives me nuts. Locally just about everybody is great, and we know each other, so usually poeple stop and shut off their engines so that they can have a chat. When on my horse, I have come accross bikers from other parts of Canada. They are usually happy to stop and ask about the local trails and tell me about where they're from.I enjoy talking to other bikers, horsepeople, and anybody else I come accross. I'd never get all up in someones face, no matter how angry I am. I have never had anyone do that to me. I have met a few rude bikers that scream past me in 4th gear, but not many. I have heard stories from some older horsey people about rude bikers, and stories from bikers about rude horsey people. I try very hard not to fall into either category.

Once I heard a horrifying story of a horse/bike collision. Bike came flying over a hill and t-boned the horse. The bike actually entered the horse, and killed it. The bike was totalled, and I think the rider died. The horse rider lived, and hasn't been on a horse since. I think this accident wasn't too far from where I live, I'm not sure though.Hearing this story really scared me, and now I am even more careful than I was before.

Ol'89r
Good for you !! People like that shouldn't even be on the trails, no matter what they are riding! Gosh, I feel sorry for his horse, I wonder what that poor animal has to put up with. :|

 

[agitt73]

nothing like getting roosted with horse apples and cow pies alot of H.S. around here
goes through pastures taste good 2 alot of proteen

 

[atkkid250]

haha

haha yeah, i avoid confrontations but sometimes its inevitbale, also, is there a better term for horse people? other then equestrian which is a pain in the neck to spell? haha

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

We have a fairly large trail system here in Missouri. More than once we have run across horse people while on the trail. Courtesy is: stop and shut off bike, remove helmet (horses seem to like to see a face) and talk to scared horse rider. Almost EVERY time once the horse people see we're not star-wars-monsters (riding gear), and that we enjoy/respect the outdoors like they do, we make friends. And more than once I've heard "we don't mind, you guys keep the trails open." We've even had them point out new trails we didn't know about. Environmentalists on horses AND on bikes.......what a concept.
Original topic.......although working towards "getting along" is always a GOOD thing, sometimes it never works... the proof goes back thousands of years. There are people in this world that are idiots, there are people that want me dead. Sometimes we have to fight for peace and safety.
"Nice" isn't always safe or logical. "Nice" could have been accomplished by just giving all of NY City to the terrorists.... But "kind" says "this will be stopped, for the good of all." I really like girls/women, but common sense and logic are more effective thinking-tools than feelings and emotion.
I'm in trouble now.........

 

[Patman]

So are you saying enviros on horses are terrorists? Maybe you are suggesting we give them NYC as a place to ride horses? That would be OK with me. :)

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

#1...The Sahara Club sure makes it seem that way huh?
#2...Not a bad idea. Perhaps NYC would smell better with a big horse population. :p

 

[atkkid250]

haha

haha, nice patman, i agree, i also agree im thinking with 2 stroke 4 ever, and not just about the 2 stroke thing ! haha. i might make my parents move to missourri, your horse people sound pretty cool

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

i might make my parents move to missourri, your horse people sound pretty cool

"make"? sounds like someone always gets his way.
When treated with thoughtfullness and respect, the horse people in your town will most likely react in the same way.

 

[atkkid250]

well

i have noticed, that the local horse people ride fourwheelers, and they are cool, and we do have a sort of respect, we actually do talk, and they have helped me out once when my bikes chain snapped on hte trail. but the out of state riders, mostly from mass, sorry about that mass people. but they seem to think that they and there horses are better then us, and here in town we have one store, and we all congregate there, and i have heard the local horse riders complain about some pretty rude things the out of staters have done to the trails. but of course your right, i shouold be a bit mre curteous tot eh out of staters, and they might take a bit longer to warm up but im sure they will, thanks:)

 

[MSB22]

wow im glad...we have our own mx place here and thats all....mx and atv's and we just tear it up...all day long..have a good time..no joggers walkers or horses :D

 

[flying flea]

I haven't seen any horses around where i ride. The only Idiots i have to deal with is the quad tards. They are almost a breed of animal. No helmets, many coolers of beer, and they feed on mud. Some of them stray on the track, but a few roosts and front tires move em back to the herd.

 

[250girl]

So I'm not the only dirtbike person that has issues with the quad people eh? Heck, I dislike quads in general, just because they exist :whoa:

 

[flying flea]

Eh.. there are some decent people that ride them, but i do not get the facination of doing circles and spewing up dust.. all hail the doughnuts :worship: