Monday, August 6, 2018

Trail Destruction Makes me Angry



 Back to the singletrack today in incredible conditions making me rethink all my ill will I have for the month of July. Wait a few tics... It's August now.

Well damn.... Maybe it really is a July thing.

The sad thing is I don't think I even got over 12 kilometres and the toll on the body was way higher than my 25ish? (I really got to look on Strava more) ride on paved yesterday. The feelings from today's ride are so much more orgasmic. That's the power of singletrack.

I rode over to The Trap in Mill Creek. The high singletrack trails on the north end of the ravine where on social media I saw numerous posts about a root that got cut out. Lots of people were angry and rightfully so. I knew where this root was (sorry no pics on this post) as it was before the ladder bridge heading north and was never of any concern which made me wonder... why?

Did this individual have any good explanation as to why this root had to go? There are many worse areas on the trail for less skilled riders for them to try and pussify up. Why did this root have to go? I hardly even remember it which makes it insignificant yet I still hate talentless douchebags destroying our trails.

This all reminded me of my rant last year which resulted in an angry email from an old decrepit horror of a human being who was or is the head of one of Edmonton's mountain bike clubs. This change in trail is really nothing to be honest but angers me cause more roots will get cut out, more rocks pulled out and hard climbs will get smoothed over to make it easier just like what happened on EMP Blast last year. From the anger posted from others on this issue I know I am not alone and anyone who loves the sport (or hobby) of riding do it for the challenge. Mountain biking is supposed to be hard.

As for the rest of the ride from Old Timers to Ewok and back through Mill Creek I saw a guy with a Go Pro perched on top of his head and it took me back about ten years

Going way back and thinking back to the nineties and at the time imagining how awesome it would be to have a camera on top of your helmet or handlebars capturing very moment so you can watch again and again. Showing the footage to girls you like with the hope that once they see the awesome their bras will magically spring off and your day will epically be remembered for mountain bikes in the afternoon and boobs in the evening.

Ahh to be nineteen years old again..

Now that we have those cameras I honestly get annoyed watching the videos (including my own) at how boring the coverage is. I have a Go Pro like every other mountain biker from the 2008-10 era and it sits in the basement like everyone else's.  I think the mark of a true mountain biker is to have an old Go Pro sitting at home... Unused. Everyone I know has one and it's doing just that.

The coverage I showed Mrs Lonebiker back in the day sadly didn't result in any bra's mysteriously popping off. Just a bored yawn and wandering eyes searching the walls for something more interesting like a small crack or maybe a spider. Anything better than ones boring footage of a a bouncy trail cam going down overgrown Edmonton forests marred with heavy breathing or some bad music dubbed over.

Not trying to shit all over the guy I saw today. Here is hoping he is the exception and makes some killer riding videos.


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