fish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (05/18/84)
(oo)
The following flame has
been rated "R" by the
usenet flame association.
Those who dislike strong
language are advised to hit
the N key fast.
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(R)
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OK, you were warned!
The Illinois Prairie path is a bicycle path the runs through most of
DuPage County in the Western Suburbs of Chicago. I call it a bicycle
path because, according to the IPP's own statistics, 85% of its supporters
are bikers. The remaining 15% is made up mostly of joggers and just a few
HORSES: big, stupid, smelly, obnoxious HORSES.
Why do I hate horses? Well, it's bad enough that they shit all over the
path, but that's not the problem. It's their hooves. The IPP's surface
is made up of 2" rock (as a drainage base) covered with a layer of fine
limestone screenings. When a half-ton horse plods along such a surface,
it leaves pockmarks, and when enough of them pass by, the surface becomes
unsuitable for bikers. That's right, unsuitable; it's like riding over
a washboard with a jackhammer for handlebars.
Now, the IPP has been so damaged by horses in some of its rural sections
that I can't stand to ride it. My 90-psi tires don't soak up the impact
very well. WHY IS THIS? WHY SHOULD A FEW GODDAMN HORSES BE ALLOWED TO
F*CK UP THE PATH FOR THE REST OF US? WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE TO RIDE THE
DAMN THINGS AT ALL? WHY CAN'T THEY JUST KEEP THE DAMN THINGS ON THEIR OWN
PROPERTY AND NOT RUIN THINGS FOR EVERYBODY ELSE?
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not anti-horse. They are an important
source of glue and dog food, but it's high time people stopped riding
them!!!!!!!!!
If I've offended any equestrians, GOOD! F*ck you and the horse you
rode in on!
--
Bob Fishell
ihnp4!ihu1g!fishlee@unmvax.UUCP (05/19/84)
What a moron! Where are equestrians supposed to ride?
Living in the great "wild west" I should have plenty of places to ride, right?
Wrong! This place is starting to look like the rest of this poor overcrowded
country. One of the major horse paths here was turned into, you guessed it,
a bike trail. The other side of the irrigation ditch (where the bike path is)
is still totally suitable for riding horses. But, did anybody build a bridge?
Nooooo..
I ride a bike about 99% (every day) more than I ride a horse. But your
argument, to me, only proves that YOU are a microcephalic (Yow! Are the
horses gone yet?). Why don't you ask somebody to build a proper bike path
rather than flame the people who have, most likely, been using that path
for years before you ever showed your ugly face.
--
--Lee (Ward)
{ucbvax,convex,gatech,pur-ee}!unmvax!leefish@ihu1g.UUCP (Bob Fishell) (05/22/84)
>What a moron! Where are equestrians supposed to ride? >But your >argument, to me, only proves that YOU are a microcephalic (Yow! Are the >horses gone yet?). Why don't you ask somebody to build a proper bike path >rather than flame the people who have, most likely, been using that path >for years before you ever showed your ugly face. > >-- > --Lee (Ward) > {ucbvax,convex,gatech,pur-ee}!unmvax!lee A) If you have never seen my face, how are you able to discern its appearance? B) The path in question was a railroad right-of-way before it was a bike path. It was never a bridle path, and it never should have been. C) I don't care where the people ride the damn things. If they can breed an animal that doesn't crap all over everything and chew up the surface, they can even ride on the path. D) Personal abuse is the lowest breach of etiquette known to this net. You had ample warning the article was offensive, and if you didn't like it, tough. Use the "r" key next time, will you? By the way, I've gotten quite a few responses to the original article. Results: 67% pro, 33% con. -- Bob Fishell ihnp4!ihu1g!fish
res@ihuxn.UUCP (Rich Strebendt) (05/23/84)
> Why don't you ask somebody to build a proper bike path > --Lee (Ward) > {ucbvax,convex,gatech,pur-ee}!unmvax!lee Sorry, Lee, the Illinois Prairie Path is NOT the Illinois Prairie BRIDAL Path! As a resident of a subdivision through which the Path passes, I am very familiar with it and with the problems that the original poster mentioned. There are several places that require climbing up and down stairways in order to traverse the entire length of the Path ... carrying ones self and/or bicycle (or horse!) up and down the stairs. The original intention in building the Path was to provide a good place for bike and foot traffic ... not an equestrian exercise path. While I would not state the case as strongly as the original poster, I am also hacked off at the mounds of horse manure descrating the Path, and the hoof dents which make riding a bike on the Path a painful experience. There are alternatives in this area for riding a horse, so it is not absolutely necessary to ride a horse on this Path. I am afraid that I have no great love of horses (I prefer horsepower under the hood), so I have no great love of those who feel they must ride the animals, and who feel that they must ride them on this Path. I am willing, however, to listen to the comments of my equestrian neighbors ... there must be a way we can coexist. * * * * * * * F L A M E O N * * * * * * * The conclusion of the above quoted article makes me even more angry than riding over a ripe horse turd on the Path. > rather than flame the people who have, most likely, been using that path > for years before you ever showed your ugly face. The article up to the last sentence had my sympathy. I got the message that riding a horse in an urban environment is problematical too, and was willing to give serious consideration to the poster's point of view. The closing slam, however, turned me off completely. I am now firmly of the opinion that equestrians are as self-centered and selfish as their behavior on the Path indicates. * * * * * * * F L A M E O F F * * * * * * *
david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) (05/23/84)
Does 67% pro and 33% con mean that two people responded favorably and one unfavorably?
mbt@ihnp1.UUCP (mbt) (05/30/84)
As an avid reader of this group who has a large interest in
both horses and bicycles, discussion of this nature does
nothing for my opinion of fellow bikers or riders. Making
gross generalizations and throwing heated insults at each
other will do nothing to remedy either one's predicaments,
and only enforce the low opinions some people do not seem
able to moderate.
A vote for peace and an end to this useless discussion.
Maria Thompson