I'm not going to ride at Peterson's anymore.
OK. I'm still going to race at Iowa Games, and if Keaton wants to go down there, I'll go with him. Other than that, I'm not riding (or working) there anymore. I'd encourage others to do the same.
Let's face it, Peterson's has very little to offer a mountain biker. Story County uses a Gator to maintain the trails, so there is precious little single-track.
And then there are the horses.
Tonight I went out to Peterson's with the intention of riding a two-lap time trial, as a way of judging my fitness. Since it was a Monday night, I thought the trail traffic would be light. Before I could even get the first lap started, I encountered a pack of 7-8 horses and riders. I dutifully moved to the side, and let them pass. I hoped that would be the end of it.
I was wrong.
In the first lap, in the little single-track section on the east side, the horses had tromped through, defecating as they went. I caught up to the horses shortly after that (with the fragrant smell of fresh horse feces still assaulting my senses). I said something to the leader about picking up after their animals. He was pretty indignant, and said that they were within the rules. Apparently, once the shit leaves the horse, it’s not their problem.
I rode away in disgust, muttering to myself.
Then I went back. I had visions of blowing by their pack at mach two, but I didn't do it.
Instead, I caught them at a point where I could talk with them at a reasonable distance. The leader of the group stood his ground, and maintained that he didn't have to pick up after his animals, because it would be too inconvenient (he actually used these words) to have to stop every time one of their animals defecated. He instead focused on how horse riders were losing trails, that there weren't many places left for them to ride. Gee, I wonder why? Could it be the shit on the trail? It's hard to call it a multi-use trail, when one user shits where another user walks or rides.
After a few minutes of talking, I realized I was wasting my breath, and my time.
I'm not riding (or working) at Peterson's anymore.
4 comments:
What about those pouches I've seen strapped to the rearends of horses in parades? What would be the problem with requiring the use of something like that? Still too inconvenient I suppose. I wouldn't mind if I were a horserider; something to put on the garden rather than letting it go to waste.
Perhaps we should start leaving little presents where they walk. Wait, do horsefolk walk? Nope...golfcarts on the farm these days.
The guy said "the only place you'll see bags on a horse is New York City".
What got to me was his total disregard for the concerns of the other trail users. During the conversation, when I was trying to stay calm and be non-confrontational, I looked at my HRM and saw 170 bpm!
Paul, I feel for you. But it would be pretty tough to carry shovels while actually on the horse. Perhaps after. It is certainly not a very long walk from any of the parking lots.
Cassie K
Hey Cassie.
Thanks for stopping by my humble abode.
I guess I was thinking of those foldable shovels that you would find at an Army surplus store. I wasn't really expecting "carry in/carry out". I was thinking more of a "move it off the trail" kind of thing. Perhaps a foldable rake would work best.
The idea of a multi-use trail falls apart when one group of users treat the trail this way.
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