US Marines Confiscate 45 Mountain Bikes

[creaky fossil]

So, what's in my mind as I type these things, Joe? Tell me. You just Dx'd me Doc Shrinkyerhed, lay it out in perfect accurate splendour for us all. What's my aim here?

As to the "few notes here and there," I haven't read anything from you that was insightful on MTBs or skis, nor anything funny otherwise, so why do you bother writing anything? Clearly you're not an expert on skis and MTBs and clearly you're not funny, so why are you wasting my time with your accusatory nonsense? Is it because dragging others down to your level feels good?

Wait -- was that serious? Let's ask Joe. He knows. If he doesn't, Kevin does. And the answer is in Joe's first sentence. DENIAL. Yep, I lack that self-awareness. Completely. Unlike Joe. Or Kevin.

[joetron]

I know Richard Cunningham comparisons cut deep.

Oh wait, let me go back and edit.....

Am I being serious when I say that? Do I actually think I can diagnose the fragilities of Sean(!) and exploit them with a semi-obscure bicycle journalism reference? Do I care? What do I mean by 'care'? Fucking meta bro.

[creaky fossil]

No, actually, they don't. It's pretty easy for me to see you're trying to "get my goat" and to react accordingly.

So, try again Doc. What does a fat, failed DH racer wannabe have to offer here?

("fat, failed DH racer wannabe" isn't describing you, but I'd welcome you to assume it does)

Hang on. Let's triangulate. Ignore you, ignore me, ignore kidwoo, ignore Lindahl, ignore anyone and anything mocked or ridiculed or lied about upthread.

Tell me one thing: is there a rule that says, if you post on TGR, you have to love Democrats, hate Republicans, love "progressives," hate "rednecks," love Judaism, hate Christianity, love being unbelievably rich and arrogant, hate people who scrape by and are humble?

[creaky fossil]

Sean(!)

Thanks for using my name. I thought I might answer to that, since I'm all celebrating no-pants day, 'n' shit. But at the same time I want to get all red-faced angry because Ryan Dunfee's Marketing Scheme says we have to let people like you and the woozer hide behind fake identities so's not to ruin your actual meatspace life when someone sees you're a total DICK online. "Hey, everyone loves me in reality, so I can be a DICK online!"

Oh wait, was that too many notions thrown together? Too tough to follow? Must be because I'm off my meds, right? That's so classy, so accurate, so un-DICK-ish to say such things. Nowhere near as bad as someone who jokes about the hypocrisy of a Jewish bigot hating on Christian rednecks.

[joetron]

No, actually, they don't. It's pretty easy for me to see you're trying to "get my goat" and to react accordingly.

So, try again Doc. What does a fat, failed DH racer wannabe have to offer here?

("fat, failed DH racer wannabe" isn't describing you, but I'd welcome you to assume it does)

Hang on. Let's triangulate. Ignore you, ignore me, ignore kidwoo, ignore Lindahl, ignore anyone and anything mocked or ridiculed or lied about upthread.

Tell me one thing: is there a rule that says, if you post on TGR, you have to love Democrats, hate Republicans, love "progressives," hate "rednecks," love Judaism, hate Christianity, love being unbelievably rich and arrogant, hate people who scrape by and are humble?

Wait, if I did think you were trying to describe me...are you saying I failed at being a DH racer wannabe? Does that mean I was a DH racer? C'mon counselor, tighten up your heckles. #sentencestructuresmatter

In response to your additional question, I'd say absolutely not. No requirement. On some levels we probably agree about some details of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and occupation. However, I'm married to a Jew and have a lot of Jewish friends, and find your loose usage of semi veiled (and other completely unveiled) anti-Semitic barbs quite low-brow and they reflect poorly on your intellect.

I admit that I find approx 62% of your Lindhal heckling spot on and fairly hilarious.

The 'trusty' jokes are getting really stale and tedious though - regardless of my friendship with Kevin. Just a little creative criticism.

[strawjack]

I agree, it's not working. So when I got a YZ250 at 18, would that be BADASS enough for you?

No, probably not. ]

I wouldn't call it badass Creaky, I'd call it proportionate. The YZ490 would be more 'badass' if that's what you were going for, but like everything it's the pilot. Maybe you could ride, but I have my doubts and at the same time don't really care. Unlike you, I do not take this place so f'n serious. You have issues and it's sad. Maybe you an mtngrl could hook up a become happy.

diagnose the fragilities of Sean(!)

Whooaa! Keep me out this

[flatlander#2]

I'm totally not crazy obviously, hahahahahaahaa ha ha. No, you're the crazy one, haahahahahahaha ha ha. Yeah you are. I'm totally awesome and smart and stuff.

Lindahl thing was funny though.

[kidwoo]

If anybody needs to bug me for some investment capital, I'll be at the pool.




That's what we call the Caribbean since we own a small archipelago, and well, workin's for poor people.

[creaky fossil]

Wait, if I did think you were trying to describe me...are you saying I failed at being a DH racer wannabe? Does that mean I was a DH racer? C'mon counselor, tighten up your heckles. #sentencestructuresmatter

Lookee here, an actual conversation! You know, since we've never met let alone skied or ridden together, that I have no clue what kind of bike rider you are. Maybe that's a big chunk of the angle I ply, the fakeness of the internet and its Every Human Plays the Role He/She Wishes He/She Were Born Into. I know that's old news and Bill Spear-Shaker said "all the world's a stage," but anyone who hasn't seen that stuff ramp way up on the internet must be willfully blinding self to these obviousnesses.

Maybe the reason I pick on stuckie is because I HAVE met him, and found him a creepy-as-fuck person who presents a totally fake persona on TGR. Or maybe not. But I have seen him ride a bike, and it's not pretty -- and more importantly, I wouldn't make fun of it if he didn't play the Experienced Honch with Enhanced Subtle Perception.

But anyway, let's move on.

In response to your additional question, I'd say absolutely not. No requirement. On some levels we probably agree about some details of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and occupation. However, I'm married to a Jew and have a lot of Jewish friends, and find your loose usage of semi veiled (and other completely unveiled) anti-Semitic barbs quite low-brow and they reflect poorly on your intellect.

Sidedness. It's a shitty thing. It's shittier when a sided person plays the holistic or balanced person. Maybe what I do sometimes (emphasis on "some") is notice how cultural trends are shifting. 2016 you can piss and shit all over a Christian, call 'em stupid, rednecks, magical thinkers, etc and nobody bats an eyelash. But use the term "Jew" and suddenly a shitstorm falls on you.

I don't play favorites. Anyone who knows me -- the person in meatspace -- knows this. In fact, people who actually know me, my life, my work and personal/friendships history, knows I'm about as removed from a prejudger/closed-minded sort as one can get and still be above soil and far from any tombstone. Perhaps my bleak comic tastes have persuaded you contrarily.

I admit that I find approx 62% of your Lindhal heckling spot on and fairly hilarious.

Isn't it obvious I don't care whether he's a great skier, but rather, care more about this incessant need to remind everyone HOW great he is? I might actually admire the guy's skiing if I saw it. It's the presentation that sucks. I sound like a superficial foodie describing a disappointing meal at an expensive restaurant, eh?

Also, I have an aversion to enginerds who split the wrong hairs and pay attention to facts/details which are essentially make-work.

The 'trusty' jokes are getting really stale and tedious though - regardless of my friendship with Kevin. Just a little creative criticism.

The prevailing trustafarians-RULE-dood! attitude at TGR remains, and Woozer's smugness does too. Ball's not in my court.

[flatlander#2]

I like your hat and smooth smooth arms.

[flatlander#2]

It's the presentation that sucks. I sound like a superficial

Yeah I can see how that could be weird and like a problem and stuff.

[kidwoo]

I like your hat and smooth smooth arms.

Such a dear for noticing. The hat was an easy buy. The waxing on the arms was simply barbaric. But mother finds them more socially presentable, so I suffer for the greater good. Certainly wouldn't want to get in bad graces with mother and that rather substantial inheritance coming my way. The 'fund' can only pay out so much. And what with a democrat in office.........

[creaky fossil]

Yeah I can see how that could be weird and like a problem and stuff.

Sometimes trout rise to a poor fly presentation, but when they do, it's not about the quality of the presentation being "good enough" is it?

I wouldn't call it badass Creaky, I'd call it proportionate. The YZ490 would be more 'badass' if that's what you were going for, but like everything it's the pilot. Maybe you could ride, but I have my doubts...

"Proportionate" in what ways? Maybe you were 245 lbs at age 14 and would have found a KX90 slower than I found a Rupp w/ centrifugal clutch at the same age, but when I was 14 I probably weighed a lot less than you did. Otherwise, I salute your Lindahlisms, as it takes a brave soul to be a copycat instead of originating your own comic thoughts.

...and at the same time don't really care. Unlike you, I do not take this place so f'n serious. You have issues and it's sad. Maybe you an mtngrl could hook up a become happy.

I'm trying to follow this, you don't care & don't take it serious (minus the -ly part for extra pseudo-Blue-Collar vibe) but you feel compelled to correct my errors and convict me of "issues" and a "sad life" and suggest I hook up with someone? That sounds great as a word salad and as the ravings of a disorganized mind. I'm trying to be impressed with your creativity. However, see the response above.

Whooaa! Keep me out this

Numerous bone & joint injuries testify to the fragility, but I understand how you'd prefer to take pot-shots at the psychological side of things. Golf claps all around for that one.

[capulin overdrive]

flatlawyer: stay classy, upper west siders

capulin: the only "funny" in the woozer's remark is the smug superior angle, and you have to share both the smugness and the superiority. so, if you like Bill Maher or Steve Colbert or SNL ripping on REPTHUGLICANS, you probably like it. otherwise, I have no way of verifying your claim to ranching, so you may as well be Rontele in Dubai writing a contract for some Chertoff company based in Israel. you can pretend to be whatever you like on the interwebz, as TGR comments prove regularly. when someone questions your fantasy projection, just say "sorry you don't get the joke, we're just killing time here in our cubicles," and continue the 3-card-Monte while gleefully chuckling at the "fool" whom you "pwned" because the "fool" took seriously the fantasy you projected. so clever.

Don't need to prove anything to anybody on here, I've met many maggots on the hills, have done deals with many others who know who I am and where I live. So believe me or not.

Farmers and ranchers are only 1% of the population, we've got enough crazy shit to deal with, without having deadbeats like the Bundy's dragging us into the muck with them.

I pay my grazing fees, and play by the rules. That's what adults do.


Get that the majority of people on here are tree hugging hippies, and I lose my shit every once in awhile. But for the most part, I try not to shit where I eat, and act like I'm a guest here.


And for fuck's sake this is a forum for spandex wearing freaks who ride kiddie toys, how serious are we supposed to take this?

[creaky fossil]

A better Q is how the FUCK (caps for you, to see if you take the bait of IMPLIED ANGER) do you find yourself in a position of knowing that anyone but yourself is "serious" about something?

Your answer didn't tell me boo about what you know regarding the Bundys, their region, or the government's behavior in that region. It just asserted that you raise cows. I could say I run 5,000 head, you wouldn't know if that's true or not. Not from my post, anyway.

So, like most people, including Woozer, you take the ...cough cough... "facts" of the Bundy situation from media sources whose primary motive is click-farming and/or eyes-on-TV farming. Looks a bit like too much deference to people who aren't honest, IMO. Not exactly something to be smug about, that position. But whatever floats your balsa wood sliver, I guess.

[jamal]

So, how about that bike confiscation thing?

From what I have heard the trails are fairly established and there might not be signage everywhere. I had always assumed that you are responsible for know where you are, which these days is easier than ever since almost everyone has a smartphone or garmin. Some comments on another site are claiming that ignorance is often an acceptable defense in trespassing cases.

[XavierD]

So from what I have gathered some of the trails go through impact areas for various ranges. The Marines got tired of having to shut down the ranges for several hours just because a Biker decided to ride through one of the danger areas.

Personally, I think they should drop a mortar round on the confiscated bikes before being returned to their owners. Hopefully the bikers would gain a greater appreciation for why you might not want to go whizzing through an undeveloped area of a .mil base without first checking with range control.

The bundy comment was funny.

[evdog]

So from what I have gathered some of the trails go through impact areas for various ranges. The Marines got tired of having to shut down the ranges for several hours just because a Biker decided to ride through one of the danger areas.

I live in SD and ride this area often. There are two different trail systems where riders have been trespassing on the base. Sycamore Canyon (red) and East Elliot aka Spring & Oak Canyons (blue). It's possible to ride from one to the other, as well, on a trail that is not shown. Yellow is the base boundary.



The 45 bikes were confiscated at the south end of Sycamore Canyon on the Stowe Trail (red) where it enters the base from the south. Stowe was the historic wagon trail between Santee to Poway dating back to the 1850's. It runs about 10-20ft inside the base along Santee Lakes and does not affect the rifle range. It should also have minimal risk of unexploded ordnance. The land south of the base along Stowe, and east of the base is private land owned by developers. So none of the trails in the area are legal, though riders have been using them for decades.

Spring & Oak is really the area that has led to all the enforcement. There were few issues here for a number of years but as riders built more trails eventually Spring & Oak turned into the go-to MTB destination for your 2-hour evening and weekend warrior type ride. And, as MTBers often do, they pushed things too far with a couple trails that took riders up on the ridgetops in sight of the main rifle range. Each time this happened while the range was hot, training would stop while the MPs chased the riders down. Hikers were also trespassing far into the base to check out old missile silos and bunkers. Spring & Oak south of the base used to be private land but has mostly been bought up by the City of SD and CA Fish & Game for habitat mitigation and open space. Now that the land is being incorporated into Mission Trails Park the trails are under threat of closure while a management plan is completed. City of SD seems open to trails but CA DFW thinks that recreation and preservation cannot co-exist and is trying their best to force us onto fireroads as "trails". While marine enforcement had always occurred sporadically it was stepped up the last 4-5 years as more people caused more problems for the marines. First occasional patrols with warnings, then citations, and now stepped up enforcement with confiscations. This has pushed a lot of riders over to Sycamore Canyon where there had always been less enforcement. But as the marines are securing their whole boundary that area is seeing more attention.


I don't have a lot of sympathy for riders who were caught. People are so habituated to riding illegal trails in SD that no one really thinks about them as being illegal. The general thought process seems to be that if everyone else is riding there, and no one is giving me a ticket, then it must be ok. When people start getting tickets, it will keep some riders away...for awhile. But as soon as enforcement ends or things quiet down people are right back out there.

Enforcement has occurred at both Stowe and Spring & Oak on and off for so long that there is little excuse not to know you are trespassing. It doesn't take a rocket scientist or much time to dig up the info you would need to stay off the base. There are plenty of ways to access all the other illegal trails in Fanita/Sycamore without crossing the base but people insist on starting from the same spot in Santee.

That will end shortly once Pardee starts grading their land along Stowe Tr south of the base. Riders will all start trying to access the trails from access points in the neighborhoods. A popular access point was already shut down last year when neighbors got fed up with dozens of riders parking in front of homes from sunrise to after sunset, making noise and otherwise behaving like douchebags. Round 2 of that will start shortly so expect more angry internet posts on MTBR about parking and access!

Interestingly, the new base commander is apparently a mountain biker and part of his reason for starting to confiscate bikes is knowing that this is the only way he will get the message though to keep bikers off the base. Tickets that were given out were always reduced in Federal Court and were not really a deterrent.

[Rico in Flag]

^^^Thank you for getting this thread back on course.