Colorado - wow!

Frank

Sasquatch
IMHO this doesn’t surprise me and happily the bounty is not to kill mtbers. Having visited that area of Colorado, I asked why the resort I was skiing at was closing considering how much snow they had and it was still snowing daily. They replied that it was an agreement with the Arapaho (IIRC) so as not to disturb the elk migration….apparently a big deal there.
Rouge trail building hurts us all with regards to our access and standing in the trail use community and I guess the Hunters finally took a stand. Hunting has been around longer than cycling and we should remember that we can’t just take over lands and push other users out.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
I stopped reading when the hunter supposedly claimed that elks were 'suffering' because of bikers, it couldn't get better than that...I know there may be a logical explanation and I am not against hunting in the least, it just gave the whole thing a less than serious perspective in my eye (the good one that is).

I actually went ahead and realized how the studies show the impact of disturbance on elk population. That to show how ignorance (in this case mine) sometimes gives you a completely wrong perception of an issue. Still not sure if an elk cow would rather be disturbed by a mtbiker or shot by a hunter...I guess the difference maybe in the sheer numbers?
 
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graveyardman67

Well-Known Member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
A similar thing happened in Jim Thorpe years ago (like 20+). The town was really pushing the MTB scene and had some decently developed trail plans. But the hunters began to take exception and really put the kibosh on any further development. I don't think many people go to JT much as a bike destination these days.
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
A similar thing happened in Jim Thorpe years ago (like 20+). The town was really pushing the MTB scene and had some decently developed trail plans. But the hunters began to take exception and really put the kibosh on any further development. I don't think many people go to JT much as a bike destination these days.
These stories genuinely intrigue me. The study mentioned in the article as one of the reason for MTBs being disruptive and dangerous to elks communities was actually based on disturbance of elk cows by hikers (the disturbance causing the cows to abandon the calves which would die as a result). I would find interesting to study the impact of an number of hunters equal to the number of hackers or MTBers, a study most likely not going to be used by hunters.
 

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
A similar thing happened in Jim Thorpe years ago (like 20+). The town was really pushing the MTB scene and had some decently developed trail plans. But the hunters began to take exception and really put the kibosh on any further development. I don't think many people go to JT much as a bike destination these days.

Back in the day, JT Was spoken of the way we talk of KT today. I never got there so I can't say what it was like. But if you look on TF, there are almost no legal trails left. I understand there are apparently off-map trails, but that's all local lore kinda stuff. The bikers definitely lost that fight.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Jim Thorpe was awesome. Super cool stuff up there back in the 90's. Now I guess they just sell ice cream and train rides?
 

stb222

Love Drunk
Jerk Squad
A similar thing happened in Jim Thorpe years ago (like 20+). The town was really pushing the MTB scene and had some decently developed trail plans. But the hunters began to take exception and really put the kibosh on any further development. I don't think many people go to JT much as a bike destination these days.
Yes, probably the biggest failure in our region from a mtb access perspective. I did notice dirt sculpt had a new project up there, so maybe gaining back some momentum but likely never meeting the potential it had.

Hunters are also one of the groups that caused a lot of problems for mountain bikers at Baldpate because someone built a rogue trail through a ravine that the hunters liked and they would get videos of them carrying tools in on their wildlife cameras.
 

mattybfat

The Opinion Police
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I have probably 2 dozen trips to JT with 3 mtb festivals. That Cannondale shop probably took the biggest hit even in good times as it was always packed. I first hit JT in '87-'88 with the rail trail ride. I do remember some off bounds trails that were super fun off the north side of town that lead to town being the culprit of problems.
 

jShort

2018 Fantasy Football Toilet Bowl Lead Technician
Team MTBNJ Halter's
I stopped reading when the hunter supposedly claimed that elks were 'suffering' because of bikers, it couldn't get better than that...I know there may be a logical explanation

If you didn’t stop reading, you would have read the explanation
 

serviceguy

Well-Known Member
Reading is overrated. Everyone knows that.
Yes, but not as overrated as writing. LOL

One think I noticed at work is how the first few words of a post/e-mail are not only setting the tone, but sometimes the only ones being read by the intended recipient. I tried to adapt and put the bottom line right at the start, but being the airhead that I am I often forget important points and add them later…they usually go unnoticed. I also tend to edit my posts a lot, mostly due to my broken English.
 

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
Esp if there is a spelling/translation error.
😉
 
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