Banging my head with a hammer

uzziboy

uzziboy

Member
Here comes the grumpy old man. RANT WARNING!!

Was riding Aliso today. Here are my observations in the time frame of an hour and a half.

/rant

1 A group of hikers (albeit kids with one adult) completely taking up the entirety of west ridge coming down. I kindly reminded them of the rules that they should remain on the left side of trail. For courtesy and safety.
2. Ebikes galore. I’m over getting angry with these ppl. But still illegal
3. At least 3 dogs non leashed.

So I’m wondering how far do we go in regards to tolerating this behavior? Where do we draw the line on what will make us say something to these people?

Im not angry by any means. With such blatant disregard for the rules, besides banging my head with a hammer, how can we solve these problems? Or am i just overreacting? Just asking.

/rant over
 
Solution: run into e-bike at full force. Fall over... "ouch my neck hurts". Sue for $250,000 for riding an illegal motorized vehicle in County Park. OC Register picks up the story and it makes the weekend news. Suddenly e-bikes disappear from Aliso.

Problem solved.
 
uzziboy said:
Here comes the grumpy old man. RANT WARNING!!

Was riding Aliso today. Here are my observations in the time frame of an hour and a half.

/rant

1 A group of hikers (albeit kids with one adult) completely taking up the entirety of west ridge coming down. I kindly reminded them of the rules that they should remain on the left side of trail. For courtesy and safety.
2. Ebikes galore. I’m over getting angry with these ppl. But still illegal
3. At least 3 dogs non leashed.

So I’m wondering how far do we go in regards to tolerating this behavior? Where do we draw the line on what will make us say something to these people?

Im not angry by any means. With such blatant disregard for the rules, besides banging my head with a hammer, how can we solve these problems? Or am i just overreacting? Just asking.

/rant over
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Unfortunately, this is how humanity functions these days. Anything goes. People consider their own needs, before they consider needs of others, because they believe that others would do the same thing. That's a terrible attitude. I see the exact same thing on the trails in my area.

And the roads, good Lord, the roads. I get nearly run off the road while driving every single day now. Drivers pass me on the right in the bike lane!!! Cars don't stop at red lights when making a turn. Cars don't stop at stop signs either. Freakin' nuts!!!
 
I am noticing this everywhere as well and by "this" I mean "I will do whatever the hell I want to do, whenever and wherever I want to do it." I see it at school with parents who won't follow or support any policy or rule they don't agree with. Hell even staff who disagree with a policy won't follow it, knowing that they are protected from consequences.

And we know the national mood - if you don't like the rules regarding safety, and some asshat on TV/social media/radio told you to disobey, then go for it. It's your right! Mad at somebody? SHOOT 'em! Mad at social injustice? LOOT 'em and burn it down!

There is no interdependence - only independence. We are no longer willing to do something for the good of others or for the greater good. We as a nation have regressed to petulant teenagers who demand freedom without any responsibility or social obligation. If you do demonstrate concern for others, you are labeled weak. Ironic in the case of e-mt bikes.
 
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herzalot said:
Except when we apply something to a generation it's usually the 20 somethings that are demonstrating that value. In the case of my rant above, it's the full range of generations from the 20 somethings through the septuagenarians.
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I actually don't see the 70+ people living this lifestyle. I do see them responding in shock and dismay as they see it going on around them though.
 
ebikes will not be off our local trails any time soon... here is a response I received today from an OC Parks ranger for the O'Neil park:

Paul,


Thank you for your e-mail. Ebikes are a complicated issue. OC parks allows them on some paved regional trails only. However, current ADA laws allows anyone with a mobility disability to use an ebike or other motorized device to access the trails. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an explosion in sales of ebikes. We will continue to enforce individuals against unsafe operation, such as excessive speed. If a user is riding in an unsafe manner, please call the main park office line to report.


Thank you for your understanding.


Russell Eaton

Park Ranger II | O’Neill Regional Park


OC Parks

30892 Trabuco Canyon Road

Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678


Looks like the ADA laws are allowing this issue to explode and compound. I wonder how long it will take for the OC Parks department to just shut down the entire trails to bikes as a whole?!

Ride the trails before they get shut down entirely.
 
yeah E BIKES. This reminds me of the cell phone outrage. It made people text instead. E BIKES are here and here to stay. So get with the program and except it. Getting mad over a trail user is just wasting your Karma on something beyond your control.
Happy evenings on the single track trails
BTW There is no left/right rule for trail users. I always try to yield standing on the uphill side of the trail, and always climb on the downhill side
 
I'm at superior-Market. Old woman my age and maybe her very old mom hogging the isle reading oatmeal labels deciding which size to get. I'm in no hurry, but after a minute and they clearly see me waiting I ask if I can grab an oatmeal. They part ways, I grab oats and say in a friendly tone "you know you should get the big one" The 60-ish year old meany says ((Is their anything else you'd like to order me to do?))

Daughter at WalMart. Lady with full cart in front of my daughter started screaming for the manager when a cashier asked my kid with two items in her hand to come to the new isle opening up. Chloee said its ok and went ten isles over to get away.

Its not just idiots and a-holes on the trail. It's Ca and hate, and me me me dipsticks. Were in big trouble. I'll stop there..
 
Dirtrider.... said:
ebikes will not be off our local trails any time soon... here is a response I received today from an OC Parks ranger for the O'Neil park:

Paul,


Thank you for your e-mail. Ebikes are a complicated issue. OC parks allows them on some paved regional trails only. However, current ADA laws allows anyone with a mobility disability to use an ebike or other motorized device to access the trails. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an explosion in sales of ebikes. We will continue to enforce individuals against unsafe operation, such as excessive speed. If a user is riding in an unsafe manner, please call the main park office line to report.


Thank you for your understanding.


Russell Eaton

Park Ranger II | O’Neill Regional Park


OC Parks

30892 Trabuco Canyon Road

Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678


Looks like the ADA laws are allowing this issue to explode and compound. I wonder how long it will take for the OC Parks department to just shut down the entire trails to bikes as a whole?!

Ride the trails before they get shut down entirely.
Click to expand...

That is a response from someone who hasn't actually read the ADA laws. You cannot discriminate against those with disabilities by asking what the disability is....BUT....you can ask for proof of a disability. Similar to Handycap Placards you see parked in the blue stalls in parking lots.
 
jimbowho said:
REALLY? That actually sounds like fun.
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A few years back, @mtnbikej and I were doing a weekly night ride- almost always Maple to Motorway. We hardly saw a soul. It was serene.

One week we did STT and the Luge… There was an organized ride of at least 30 people. We were weaving in and out of lights the entire way… So many people it was comical and sad at the same time. :D
 
Faust29 said:
A few years back, @mtnbikej and I were doing a weekly night ride- almost always Maple to Motorway. We hardly saw a soul. It was serene.

One week we did STT and the Luge… There was an organized ride of at least 30 people. We were weaving in and out of lights the entire way… So many people it was comical and sad at the same time. :D
Click to expand...

Sounds awfully similar to the GE ride with Mikie when Sara and friends were, shall we say, not happy with a 30 person conga line interrupting their ride on a normally empty trail.

By their looks you'd think I was on an ebike, blasting speed metal on the speaker and wearing a speedo . :sneaky::)
( not that I've done that or anything :whistling:)
 
Dirtrider.... said:
ebikes will not be off our local trails any time soon... here is a response I received today from an OC Parks ranger for the O'Neil park:

Paul,


Thank you for your e-mail. Ebikes are a complicated issue. OC parks allows them on some paved regional trails only. However, current ADA laws allows anyone with a mobility disability to use an ebike or other motorized device to access the trails. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an explosion in sales of ebikes. We will continue to enforce individuals against unsafe operation, such as excessive speed. If a user is riding in an unsafe manner, please call the main park office line to report.


Thank you for your understanding.


Russell Eaton

Park Ranger II | O’Neill Regional Park



Looks like the ADA laws are allowing this issue to explode and compound. I wonder how long it will take for the OC Parks department to just shut down the entire trails to bikes as a whole?!

Ride the trails before they get shut down entirely.
Click to expand...

Pretty sure whats in italics is false. Right?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
I actually don't see the 70+ people living this lifestyle. I do see them responding in shock and dismay as they see it going on around them though.
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I will remind you that many of our politicians who have fomented a retreat to selfishness, division and hatred are in their 70s. And many of those who took down the American flag to replace it with their favorite cult leader were in their 60s.
 
herzalot said:
I will remind you that many of our politicians who have fomented a retreat to selfishness, division and hatred are in their 70s. And many of those who took down the American flag to replace it with their favorite cult leader were in their 60s.
Click to expand...

There are also a few of us who fought for the Flag in the early 90's .... Shield, Storm, Enduring Freedom, Kuwait, Iraq, Somalia ....

F@ck the politicians ... when you are in the military you have no real choice.
 
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