Trail rage incident

[Connie]

I lived in Marin County, for many years.

I still have property there.

Gonzo. I learned that term from mountain bike enthusiasts there.

The fact is, riding a mountain bike at high speed off Mt. Tam is a big deal "sport" around there.

In Marin County, drugs are still a very big deal all the intervening years since the 1960's: from kids in middle school to aging hippies.

I would say "investigation" is called for, but drugs doesn't have to be the answer.

Many of the mountain bikers that come in to ride in Marin County are inconsiderate total jerks.

[Bronk]

Where I live there are mostly mixed use trails...horses, bikes, trail runners...these groups all show up to demand equal rights of use on trails but don't join trail clubs, do maintenance or help build trail. And these groups tear up trails more than hikers do by a longshot. They leave piles of horsecrap in the middle of the trail, leave ruts and wrappers from whatever those energy gels the runners carry. And they ALWAYS expect hikers to yield when they come flying down the trail and act like you're the one in the way. Be glad the AT is hiker only. Thankfully most of the trails I speak of don't get a lot of use except during certain times of year and for scheduled events.

[kibs]

It takes a real man to hit a woman!

[Speakeasy TN]

The secondhand account from the sister surely doesn't have any bias, I'm sure. She got bumped by either a pedal or handlebar. If it had been much of a collision the bike would have gone down too. The situation escalated AFTER the initial encounter. Do you really think this woman chased him down without screaming and yelling? Now trade places, you're out on a trail and somebody is P issed at you, rightly or wrongly and has chased you down. No violence? never hit a woman? Uh huh...... I've see lots of traumas sent to us by females . Both parties should accept responsibility and move on.

[kayak karl]

never hit a woman?

NEVER hit a woman. That is what men do.

[canoe]

In the boating world we call that "the tonnage rule".

Bogus. You might want to go and re read the Rules of the road.

[Sarcasm the elf]

Bogus. You might want to go and re read the Rules of the road.

If you're operating your boat on the road then that might be the issue.

[canoe]

And yes I too am appalled that a man would ever hit a woman. I can't believe some of your remarks. Is nt that what everyone got upset with when the football player hit a woman in an elevator and the race car driver choked his girlfriend. come on people

[canoe]

If you're operating your boat on the road then that might be the issue.

I suppose the smiley face means you do know what the Rules of the Road publication is the standard by which marine navigation is conducted

[mrcoffeect]

It takes a real man to hit a woman!

I know. His mother and father should be SO proud of their boy for standing his ground. In a perfect world this guy would get slapped silly then get sterilized so that he does'nt pass his DNA on to anyone.

[Traveler]

Where I live there are mostly mixed use trails...horses, bikes, trail runners...these groups all show up to demand equal rights of use on trails but don't join trail clubs, do maintenance or help build trail. And these groups tear up trails more than hikers do by a longshot. They leave piles of horsecrap in the middle of the trail, leave ruts and wrappers from whatever those energy gels the runners carry. And they ALWAYS expect hikers to yield when they come flying down the trail and act like you're the one in the way. Be glad the AT is hiker only. Thankfully most of the trails I speak of don't get a lot of use except during certain times of year and for scheduled events.

Mixed use trails I have experienced are much as you describe here, some having a lot of blind curves that hikers have to approach very carefMixed use trails I have experienced are much as you describe here, some having a lot of blind curves that hikers have to approach very carefully lest they get run over. Though I understand the need for mixed use trails, especially in areas with limited space, it remains a poor mix in my view. As evidenced in this thread, some people fail to understand or do not want to play by common and posted yield rules (Bikes yield to hikers and horses, hikers yield to horses). Unfortunately, the more militant of the biker clan tend to break the rules in both access prohibition and yielding rules, which taints other bike users, even polite ones, as being the same.

The issue discussed here has few facts, but appears to involve a yielding circumstance, where the woman was in relation to where the biker wanted to go. Yielding of course helps this stuff work out, however I don't see a lot of bikes do this (perhaps 20% of the total I run across). I have yet to see anyone moving at 20 mph or higher downhill on a bike yield to anything. This is why I will stay out of the bike "ditch" and remain high on these trails on corners. I am visible and have a reasonable escape route if the bike does not yield, it forces their route into the "ditch", if they want to stay at speed its their risk.

The IMBA consistently pressures officials for unlimited use of trails by mountain bikes like the PCT, they and other bike groups periodically try to get more access to the AT as well. Fortunately the AT is defined by Congress as a "Footpath", so access is not likely to come anytime soon. The PCT may have a different fate in the areas not designated as Wilderness. Fortunately, the Wilderness designation prohibits mechanical vehicles, a category which includes bicycles. There has been little movement or interest to change this designation, or changing the designation of the AT as a Footpath in Congress.

The more militant of the biking community ignore access prohibitions where they exist. I am seeing tire tracks on the AT treadway in NY, CT, and MA where I never saw them before, though I have not actually seen the bikes. Though I am not against mountain biking as an activity, I have some issues with mixed use, given the problems I have seen with it. I also have considerable issue in allowing bikes on foot trails that took a number of decades to get built without much if any use of federal dollars. Bike enthusiasts can construct their own limited access trails for bikes only and have around the US, but it does not seem these groups want to engage in that kind of long term effort, preferring instead to go where others have established a path.

[handlebar]

If the information posted by the victim's sister on FB is accurate, and I suspect it is despite the obvious conflict of interest, "The most stunning bit of detail not included in the article is that she was attacked by a bicyclist who was about 30 years her junior. He dropped his bike and charged her full speed, picked her up, and flung her off the trail and down a hillside. Her phone is lost. She spent the afternoon and evening of her birthday at the hospital. She is badly bruised and cut and understandably traumatized.") then the 35-year old man should be charged with assault and battery. Often public park managers attempt to sweep incidents like this under the rug since they give bad publicity.

Hopefully, the authorities will follow up, catch the guy, give him a speedy trial and a maximum jail sentence and confiscate his bicycle(s), then follow up with a long period of probation after which he will be required to seek seek and personally pay for mental health counseling, and require as a condition of probation that he no longer ride any bicycle. Then the lady should hire a lawyer and sue the guy.

There is no verbal confrontation that warrants such behavior on the part of a 35-year old man toward any woman, let alone a 65 year old, no matter how obstreperous she might be.

[Francis Sawyer]

I'm sort of "on the fence" about this one. Bicyclists ARE really annoying but then so are some 65yr old women.

[kayak karl]

I'm sort of "on the fence" about this one. Bicyclists ARE really annoying but then so are some 65yr old women.

so, some annoying 65yr old women deserve to get beat??

[Francis Sawyer]

Everyone takes a beating once in a while. Sometimes we deserve it sometimes we don't. We don't get to choose.

[canoe]

Everyone takes a beating once in a while. Sometimes we deserve it sometimes we don't. We don't get to choose.

Really? Do you also carry a club and drag your woman by the hair

[Connie]

If she was struck by the handlebar or the pedal, the bicycle doesn't have to go down for her to have been painfully hurt. If I were quick to speech, I would have words.

I saw a horse hit by the edge of the boot of a bicyclist. The horse went down. The veternarian was called. The horse was shot dead.

If you think it is no big deal for a senior citizen to be stuck painfully, compare that to the strong healthy horse.

The woman may have demanded ID. She did try to take his photo. Now, we find out he bodily picked her up and threw her down a hillside. I don't need to ask how much hillside: he should be charged with attempted murder.

There must be an artist to draw a likeness. The bicycle color and features could identify him. His bicycle jersey could identify him. Other bicyclists could find him.

In Marin County there are artists. In Marin County every fancy bicycle is distinctive in price, and, I would say, known and grown men in the San Francisco Bay Area frequently have fabulous custom-made bicycles.

[kayak karl]

Everyone takes a beating once in a while. Sometimes we deserve it sometimes we don't. We don't get to choose.

your right when your talking about the school yard. boys will be boys and you may get a well deserved beating, but boys grow up and become men and put childish things behind them. sad thing is, some never grow up.

[rickb]

There must be an artist to draw a likeness. The bicycle color and features could identify him. His bicycle jersey could identify him. Other bicyclists could find him.

One of the news reports said that the person who called 911 was riding with the mountain biker who was alleged to have assaulted the woman, and that the mountain biker had been identified to the authorities.

If that is true, it confuses me as to why the authorities have not yet arrested that mountain biker --especially given the detailed and accurate account provided by the victim's sister in her online comment to the newspaper article.

[imscotty]

Here is a more recent article. Still no arrest.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/articl...to-6119944.php