1. Bike dealers who continue to drink the Trek (and Specialized...but not to as big of a degree) Kool-Aid despite the fact that they get bikes rammed down their throats they don't need or want, open competing dealers a stone's throw away, and threatening dealers to pull their dealership if they don't kick brands X, Y, and/or Z out of their store.
2. My neighbor, who despite being a really smart gal, is allowing her normally indoor cat roam the neighborhood in effort to get it pregnant so her 10-year-old daughter can witness "the miracle of birth". Huh?!? Why do smart people do dumb things? With our local shelters filled to their respective brims with homeless cats, this is one of the most irresponsible things I've heard of lately.
3. Trail poachers! Yes, it seems like every trail system has them. One of my local trails, Lake Hodges, was ravenged by the fires this past October. It was closed for a few months, but is now re-opened for the most part. There are a few trails that have remained closed due to the sensitivity of the areas the trail passes through. At every trail entrance around the lake, there are signs that make it very clear that the trails will remain open while the landscape heals if...and only if...people stay on the designated trails. If people don't respect this, the trails will be shut down.
The trails that are closed are clearly marked that they are closed. So what do people do? They just make a new trail that circumvents the "closed" signs 10 feet down the trail. Or, they just hop over the caution tape to access the closed areas. This is evidenced the many tire tracks you see going right on past the closed signs...right over the caution tape in some cases. I tried to take a couple of pictures of this, but they didn't come out all that great.
What's up with this poaching BS? Do the rules apply to everyone but you? Do you have such little respect for the fragile environment and your fellow riders who might lose Hodges as a trail system because of your selfishness? Last weekend, I saw a couple guys go around the closed signs and ride away on a closed trail. Lame.
The signs at the trail entrances that mandate people stay on the designated trails also ask all trail users to help educate others about the importance of staying on the trails in effort to ensure we are able to keep riding there. So consider this doing my part: To everyone who rides Lake Hodges, stop poaching the trails. I enjoy riding out there as do many other people...please don't allow your selfishness to ruin access to this area for others. It's just not worth it. Stay off the closed trails. When the park rangers see all the tire tracks on trails that are closed, it makes all mountain bikers as a group look bad. Have some respect. Thanks for listening.
On a more positive note, I met a few cool guys out there at Hodges on Saturday. One was on a Xeon S (and loves it), one has a Xeon S on order, and the other was considering upgrading from his Iron Horse soon. Very cool! Thanks guys!
Ciao for now!
5 comments:
it's sad that Trek is working the LBS like Cannondale did way back when. Hard to justify a $1k hybrid when it had less features than the schwinn/trek at the time.
:sad2:
My friend owns a LBS and is going through the same kind of Specialized BS that you're talking about. It sucks.
As for the poachers, they do feel that the rules apply for everyone but them. It's the whole "The MAN can't control me!!" attitude that gets the rest of us kicked off of good trails.
After working at both Spec and Trek dealers I can tell you Trek treats their dedicated dealers a whole lot better. They drink the kool-aid because it works.
It is so great to have your creative juices going again. Your fans were missing your unique perspective. I have been out on my new ride, (two flats already) those cactus thorns are tough. Thanks for the advice and killer new ride.
Dave
former vintage Schwinn rider....lol
Kool- Bike Biz!
I work in the cycling/mountain biking industry also, and would appreciate ANY guidance you can give me in my search for others like myself to meet and/or network with.
Right now, I am specifically looking for people to network with who speak Japanese.
Know anyone?
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