On 22/08/11 7:09 PM, Jonz wrote:
On 8/22/2011 3:43 PM, jcdill wrote:
On 21/08/11 5:57 PM, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

A reasonably-truthful argument can be made that

bicycles (as a group) do a LOT more damage to the trails, especially
when riding on the trails during the rainy season. Unless you want to
start seeing signs banning bikes from all the single track in many parks
for the entire rainy season (which happens quite a bit for horse riders)
you might want to get off that "high horse" about damage to the trails.
It can come back to bite the biking community very hard.

Ooooh... Sounds like a threat to me.

It's not a threat, it's a reality.

There was a big thread following an equestrian event at Fort Ord where
bikers complained about "all the damage to the trails". In response, it
was pointed out that:

1) The event had both "good weather" and "wet weather" routes, and they
used the wet weather routes.

2) We had unusual late season rain.

3) Sea Otter (held in April, at a time when rain is much more likely)
has run several times when the trails were *really* wet, and with
thousands of bikes riding on the trails (practice, racing, gran fondo,
for fun, etc.) they really tore the trails up pretty bad in those years.

So, if the bikers want to run the risk of seeing the mountain bike races
at Sea Otter canceled, just go ahead and complain about the horse riders
"tearing up the trails" at a sanctioned event. Because what's good for
the goose is good for the gander.

The manure horses leave on the trail becomes fertilizer for the park.

Eventually. But before it does, it is a disgusting, ugly mess that horse
riders should be forced to clean up.

That's one person's opinion. People who live in glass houses shouldn't
throw stones. When you gripe about horses, you just open up the
conversation to gripes back about bikes, and you KNOW that there are bad
actors in the bike group and to have others pointing out the bad
behaviors of those bad actors doesn't endear people to bikes.

jc