Interesting interaction

[glockman]

I have been stuck working Saturdays all summer or going to softball tournaments with my daughter and really needed a break. So yesterday my son and I decided to ride some single-track. The goal was to ride most of the waters up sheep creek. On the way down, I decided that we didn't have to drive all that way in the truck and should instead take Kirkman's up and over to Diamond Fork and take the road to trail 009. So that's what we did. Kirkman's was super dry and dusty which proved to be the biggest challenge I have encountered for the trials tires. After that, the road to the Tub was pretty mellow and we were just enjoying a wonderful day riding. We took 009 over to 15 and headed east on 15. This is one of my favorite singe tracks in the state. It is beautiful and the weather was perfect. I was loving this ride and taking it easy. Until...

We came around a bend in the trail and encountered two people on horses. Now I ride AF canyon A LOT and encounter horses often. I always kill my engine and pull off as soon as I see them. I had yet to have a bad experience. They are always polite and it is a non issue.

In this situation, my 15 year old son was in the lead, both of us on TTR's so not really loud bikes. He stopped as soon as he saw them, which was kind of close due to the bend in the trail. I killed the engine and told him to do the same. As soon as my bike was dead I asked if they had enough room to get around us. That is when the bitching started. It was a husband and wife with the wife leading. She started in with "you need to look ahead of you and stop racing around." I bit my tongue and let her by. We were hauling ass at around 9 mph Then her husband comes around and continues to chew me out for again, "hauling ass and not looking ahead". At this point I was done. I told him I resented being accused of things I hadn't done. He whipped his horse around and told me to go out in the west desert. I responded that HE should go out to the west desert and that I had every bit as much right to ride these mountain trails as he did. In fact, I have actually volunteered and built/maintained mountain single track, had he? I was greeted with silence, to which I asked what made him think he was entitled but I wasn't? Then he started cussing me out for mouthing off and made the homoerotic statement "I can go down hard"

I was confused about the going down thing especially given the circumstance. At this point we were near blows, I mean a fist fight. So I just told him I would have been polite had he been. His reply was again, that he "can go down hard", um still confused, and that we ran his wife over so he wasn't going to be polite and it was our fault. I left it at that since he wasn't acting like he was going to charge me with his horse at this point and we left.

Had this been my only interaction with horseback riders, I would probably think they are all dicks. Luckily I know that one bad apple spoils it for everyone. So my question is, would any of you just kept quiet and let them accuse you of riding recklessly? I have a thing about being accused of things I didn't do so it really set me off.

 

[Kevin B.]

My two cents? I wouldn't have engaged him at all.

My experience with horseback riders is different than yours. I've encountered them hiking, mountain biking, and driving the truck, and the polite ones have been the exception not the rule. It wouldn't surprise me at all to come across a rider with a chip on his shoulder, and I wouldn't waste a minute of my time or risk letting him ruin my day just to talk about it.

If anybody wants to talk to me politely about something they think I could do better, I'm all ears. But people like the riders you came across have an us vs. them mentality and are so hung up on it that you will always be wrong to them and there's no point trying to hash it out. You can't fix it, you can't change their mind by setting a good example, there's no upside to engaging those kind of folks. Let them rant, move on soon as you can. If you need to be vindictive, just bask in the knowledge that you're enjoying your day and those pricks aren't, and leave it at that.

 

[Tonkaman]

I hold my tongue as long as possible anymore. Once they crossed the line though all it would take is a hand full of throttle and that dude would have been thrown off the horse! My style is usually to punch you in the face before you even know how mad I am

 

[DAA]

Interesting for sure. Unfortunately, not unusual though.

You handled it very well, in my opinion. Now that I'm getting older and just pathetically weak I'm much better at just keeping my mouth shut and my hands to myself than I used to be, so I'd like to think I'd have acted the same.

- DAA

 

[JL Rockies]

Back in the old neighborhood in Jersey... well... there were no horses... but still... there'd be words.

I get it that he thought his wife was in danger and you became the representative of the whole moto community of bad behaviorists.

Personally, I wouldn't have engaged him. Maybe an Italian under chin flick as I rode away.

BLM... lolz.

 

[Deleted member 12904]

I haven't really ever had a bad situation with horses. We do have a few cowboys that work the Mountain by my house that seem to have a chip on their shoulder but its more like they just ignore me when I say hello. Hikers on the hand. Im sure some of them think its illegal for bikes to even be on the trail. I had one lady when she seen us coming jumped off the trail and cover her younger (8ish) boy like a bomb attack was coming then throw rocks at me. I was going super slow so I stopped and looked at her and she started yelling your going to kill someone.

 

[jeeper]

I use to turn off the bike and wait for the horses to pass also, but almost every one of them would say something like "you don't need to do that" I think I have only had 3 horsemen say anything rude at all. One was many years ago, who was trying to hunt up AF and was mad that we would be scaring the bucks away..
On lady last week was on that first hill climb on 40, I stopped on the hill, her husband waved me on, so I made a slow and quiet pass.. She was shaking her head and saying something, but I didnt hear her.
It's a hard thing, because even though YOU are right, THEY would win in a land use battle. Because we are already branded as the bad guys is an uphill battle for us.

 

[Jinx]

Funny part about this, in my mind. If I was on the horse the only thing you would have heard from me, was thanks for shutting the bikes down and have a great day!

Just some bad eggs, ignore them and keep riding responsibly. There are a lot of guys who ride horses that appreciate and respect your courtesy.

 

[Spork]

I just look at the horse/rider as a single unit, neither being very bright.

Story time, My brother was coming back from doing something with a tractor years ago and some lady was riding a horse on the side of the road, he said he slowed down moved over but continued to move forward, when he got close the horse spooked jumped right in front of him and he hit the brakes and pinned the horse under the nose of the tractor threw it in reverse and the horse got up. I believe there was a lawsuit by the lady but I'm not sure what ever happened to it. His encounter has moved my opinion of horses to the borderline suicidal category so I give them a wide berth.

 

[Caleb]

You're a bigger man than me. Of all the users on the trails, horses bug me the most. They tear up the trails more than any other user group, they shit all over the trails, and they're unpredictable as all get out. All of which affect every other user of the trails. Also, rarely do you ever hear of them putting together work days to repair the trails they tear up.

 

[rholbrook]

I could care less what he would of said to me but say it in front of my son and you he would have had some trouble with me. I have yet to have any problems with hikers, mtn bikers, or horse back riders. I too will shut the engine off and wait for them to pass. Friday up above Payson Lake we had 6 riders come right in where we had a skeet shoot going on. They could have ridden a different direction to avoid us but they chose to come right down the middle of the range.

 

[gary78bronco]

You're a bigger man than me. Of all the users on the trails, horses bug me the most. They tear up the trails more than any other user group, they shit all over the trails, and they're unpredictable as all get out. All of which affect every other user of the trails. Also, rarely do you ever hear of them putting together work days to repair the trails they tear up.

I have to disagree with you about tearing up the trails. Mountain bikers are the worst. Up Payson canyon they dig up the trail to build jumps.
I hate when people have bad experiences with anyone in the mountains, be it horse riders, mountain bikers, motor bikers, hikers. I think the mountains are a wonderful place that everyone should be able to enjoy with out any problems.

 

[jeeper]

I think the mountains are a wonderful place that everyone should be able to enjoy with out any problems.

Why Can't we all just get along?

 

[Greg]

I think I would have tried to relate to him a little better, to show that you have similar interests and aren't so different... you could have said, "I ride horses too, matter of fact I was riding your wife last night... "

 

[Herzog]

I think I would have tried to relate to him a little better, to show that you have similar interest's and aren't so different... you could have said, "I ride horses too, matter of fact I was riding your wife last night... "

 

[Spork]

I think I would have tried to relate to him a little better, to show that you have similar interest's and aren't so different... you could have said, "I ride horses too, matter of fact I was riding your wife last night... "

:bow::bow::thumbs:

Brilliant!

 

[glockman]

Greg, my wit totally failed me. I didn't even recognize the horse with two asses.

 

[Greg]

Greg, my wit totally failed me. I didn't even recognize the horse with two asses.