Complaint(s)

scatman

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Dec 23, 2013
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Hey everybody, I need some help. I know what you are thinking, "That seems pretty obvious." I'm thinking one, or perhaps many BCPers might be able to tell me what my problem is.

I rode up City Creek Canyon this morning, still feeling a bit sore from my Lone Peak hike, and while heading up to the rotary parks, I was passed by several (more like 20) e-bikes. Now I've had issues with these since they started showing up on the road a few years back, but today I found myself at a heightened sense of resentment towards them. One gentleman, on a steep hill just after the two mile marker, rang his little Peewee Herman handlebar bell at me as he passed me on my left. WTF! He was all smiles as he offered me a "Good Morning." I'm not sure what I mumbled back to him under my breath, but I know it wasn't good. :) Then along about the 3.5 mile point, another guy passes me with an e-bike that has the fat snow tires on it. I believe this is the first fat tired e-bike that I have noticed. Of course, there is no snow to ride on/through on this hot day. I kind of felt like leaping/flying over, I pictured myself swinging over on a pole like the Pole Cats in Mad Max, and relieving him of his drivers duties. So what gives? I mean it is possible that in ten to fifteen years I might find myself using an e-bike. So why can't I get past this? Analyze away people, give it to me straight. What needs to happen for me to change my attitude? A swift kick to the head perhaps? A good smack with a shovel? Maybe bamboo shoots under my finger nails?

Now let me apologize to any forum users who may be riding e-bikes at this time. I am trying to do the right thing here.

My second issue is this: After riding up City Creek, I took my daughter down to the Beans and Brew located on the northwest corner of Liberty Park here in Salt Lake for a Mr. B's. A Mr. B's is a frozen coffee drink, think coffee milkshake, that I just love. It comes in three sizes - 16oz 24oz and 32oz. We always order the large and split it. Now we do this maybe twice a summer when the the day is going to be a hot one, one that is always over 100 degrees. It is a tradition for me that goes way back, except for last year during the pandemic. So I graduated college back in 1987, and starting in the summer of 1988, I began to go with a friend to what was then Grounds for Coffee, and order a Mr B's. The coffee shop had a lot of character to it too, with and island in the middle of the shop where you placed and received your order. They kept the inside a bit on the darker side, and they had bookshelves along the wall that contained books obviously, but also board games like chess, checkers and others. The crowd tended to be an eclectic one, which was one of the pluses for me. Motorcycle riders were a staple, along with some goths, and of course folks that wandered in from the park across the street. The outside seating always included patrons with their dogs, or maybe a parrot, and even once someone had a ferret.

Well, eventually the Grounds for Coffee became a Beans and Brew, but the layout of the shop didn't change one bit, nor did the clientele, and I still enjoyed heading down during the summer months for my favorite drink.

So in the summer, maybe it was even in the late spring of 2020, during the pandemic, the store closed for a few months to remodel. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but today when my daughter and I went down and I saw the inside for the first time, my heart sank. The inside reminds me of a fast food restaurant now. There are no bookshelves to be had; no one was reading, or studying, or playing board games. The shop was well lit now of course, and they seemed to be doing good business like they always had, but it just didn't seem right to me. The personal service that existed pre-2020 seemed more conveyor belt style now. I will say though, the folks sitting outside were the same eclectic crowd that had always frequented the old Grounds for Coffee, just seemed to be a few years older than they used to be.

So once again, put your psycho-analyst hat on and tell me why this matters to me. I know change is necessary, change is good, don't stand in the way of progress. Help! :)
 
What’s your gripe about the bikes exactly? The motor?

Don’t be so narrow minded. 99.999999% of bikers are rude a-holes on the trails, yielding to no one and always threatening to take out god’s chosen athletes (trail runners) on any given blind curve. The presence of a motor is irrelevant.

MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra) and their associates are a pestilence. Climate change is mother nature’s long-term strategy for their elimination.
 
Lighten up a bit there @scatman. I understand your irritation and my initial response to seeing these folks on e-bikes roaming around the bike paths of GTNP was contempt but hey, it's a multi-use path. When I read that the NPS was going to allow those on multi-use paths in all Parks or whatever the declaration was, my alarm bells went off a bit, but if they're limited to areas of existing bike use, so what? You and I (and most of us) will keep pedaling, keeping our hearts, lungs, and bodies strong(er), and the e-bikers can die of heart disease at some premature point in time. As EA said, "You will outlive the bastards".
 
What’s your gripe about the bikes exactly? The motor?

Don’t be so narrow minded. 99.999999% of bikers are rude a-holes on the trails, yielding to no one and always threatening to take out god’s chosen athletes (trail runners) on any given blind curve. The presence of a motor is irrelevant.

MAMILs (middle aged men in lycra) and their associates are a pestilence. Climate change is mother nature’s long-term strategy for their elimination.

Yes, maybe it is what the motor does. It propels people up the canyon with little or no effort on their part. Is that a bad thing? I'm struggling with that question. If I had a pair of hiking shoes that propelled me up the mountain, would I be okay with that? Doesn't propelling yourself make for a better experience? Doesn't feeling your calves burn on a steep incline mean something? What about the little aches and pains that set in over a long hike, or ride for that matter; being completely exhausted after a tough backpacking day, doesn't that gain you something? I know, I'm rambling. :)

City Creek has an odd/even schedule whereby cyclist can ride up on odd days, and cars and motorcycles can drive up on even days. Walkers, joggers, and runners can go up on any day they choose. So maybe my beef is that the e-bikes should be heading up the canyon with the cars and motorcycles?

I don't want to categorize all mountain bikers and trail runners. Some are good people and some aren't. I'm assuming by your reply that e-bikes are also on the trails? My observations have nearly all been on the road.
 
Lighten up a bit there @scatman. I understand your irritation and my initial response to seeing these folks on e-bikes roaming around the bike paths of GTNP was contempt but hey, it's a multi-use path. When I read that the NPS was going to allow those on multi-use paths in all Parks or whatever the declaration was, my alarm bells went off a bit, but if they're limited to areas of existing bike use, so what? You and I (and most of us) will keep pedaling, keeping our hearts, lungs, and bodies strong(er), and the e-bikers can die of heart disease at some premature point in time. As EA said, "You will outlive the bastards".

You're probably right @Outdoor_Fool. I could use to chill a bit. :) I'm not sure why it affected me so much today. Perhaps it was just the sheer number of them today, when normally I might just see one or two during my rides.

You make a good point about the multi-use paths.
 
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Not all are MAMILs. I have a very good friend who rides an ebike around Chicago in the buff - he tells me there's even a special day for it. It's called the World Naked Bike Ride.
 
It's all progressive.... Ebikes, changing the coffee shop, etc ........ What the world wants.....
 
It's all progressive.... Ebikes, changing the coffee shop, etc ........ What the world wants.....

I don't doubt that @Bob, just wondering why it gives me an uneasy feeling in my gut, and if it should. :)
 
LOL. Scatster, what you're feeling maybe is the homogenization of everything. Anything with character must be neutralized. People huffing and puffing up trails are passe, as are old coffee shops and such. All must be new and shiny and smile-inducing.
 
LOL. Scatster, what you're feeling maybe is the homogenization of everything. Anything with character must be neutralized. People huffing and puffing up trails are passe, as are old coffee shops and such. All must be new and shiny and smile-inducing.

Well, if you see me smiling just give me slap to the face. :)
 
Hey everybody, I need some help. I know what you are thinking, "That seems pretty obvious." I'm thinking one, or perhaps many BCPers might be able to tell me what my problem is.

I rode up City Creek Canyon this morning, still feeling a bit sore from my Lone Peak hike, and while heading up to the rotary parks, I was passed by several (more like 20) e-bikes. Now I've had issues with these since they started showing up on the road a few years back, but today I found myself at a heightened sense of resentment towards them. One gentleman, on a steep hill just after the two mile marker, rang his little Peewee Herman handlebar bell at me as he passed me on my left. WTF! He was all smiles as he offered me a "Good Morning." I'm not sure what I mumbled back to him under my breath, but I know it wasn't good. :) Then along about the 3.5 mile point, another guy passes me with an e-bike that has the fat snow tires on it. I believe this is the first fat tired e-bike that I have noticed. Of course, there is no snow to ride on/through on this hot day. I kind of felt like leaping/flying over, I pictured myself swinging over on a pole like the Pole Cats in Mad Max, and relieving him of his drivers duties. So what gives? I mean it is possible that in ten to fifteen years I might find myself using an e-bike. So why can't I get past this? Analyze away people, give it to me straight. What needs to happen for me to change my attitude? A swift kick to the head perhaps? A good smack with a shovel? Maybe bamboo shoots under my finger nails?

Now let me apologize to any forum users who may be riding e-bikes at this time. I am trying to do the right thing here.

My second issue is this: After riding up City Creek, I took my daughter down to the Beans and Brew located on the northwest corner of Liberty Park here in Salt Lake for a Mr. B's. A Mr. B's is a frozen coffee drink, think coffee milkshake, that I just love. It comes in three sizes - 16oz 24oz and 32oz. We always order the large and split it. Now we do this maybe twice a summer when the the day is going to be a hot one, one that is always over 100 degrees. It is a tradition for me that goes way back, except for last year during the pandemic. So I graduated college back in 1987, and starting in the summer of 1988, I began to go with a friend to what was then Grounds for Coffee, and order a Mr B's. The coffee shop had a lot of character to it too, with and island in the middle of the shop where you placed and received your order. They kept the inside a bit on the darker side, and they had bookshelves along the wall that contained books obviously, but also board games like chess, checkers and others. The crowd tended to be an eclectic one, which was one of the pluses for me. Motorcycle riders were a staple, along with some goths, and of course folks that wandered in from the park across the street. The outside seating always included patrons with their dogs, or maybe a parrot, and even once someone had a ferret.

Well, eventually the Grounds for Coffee became a Beans and Brew, but the layout of the shop didn't change one bit, nor did the clientele, and I still enjoyed heading down during the summer months for my favorite drink.

So in the summer, maybe it was even in the late spring of 2020, during the pandemic, the store closed for a few months to remodel. I didn't think too much of it at the time, but today when my daughter and I went down and I saw the inside for the first time, my heart sank. The inside reminds me of a fast food restaurant now. There are no bookshelves to be had; no one was reading, or studying, or playing board games. The shop was well lit now of course, and they seemed to be doing good business like they always had, but it just didn't seem right to me. The personal service that existed pre-2020 seemed more conveyor belt style now. I will say though, the folks sitting outside were the same eclectic crowd that had always frequented the old Grounds for Coffee, just seemed to be a few years older than they used to be.

So once again, put your psycho-analyst hat on and tell me why this matters to me. I know change is necessary, change is good, don't stand in the way of progress. Help! :)
I thought 1974 SLC was just about perfect. I’ve lived in 5 different states since then and have had these general kind of complaints about the way this whole Slinky has unraveled since then. You will notice a big uptick in your shit detector about the 60 year mark and thereafter you can rant about just about anything and people write it off as some crazy old man and ignore it. You’ll love it
 
I think maybe some of it is the look they give you when they effortlessly ride their ebikes to the top, which is kind of like they're somehow superior. I have a friend who used to run up the Rim Trail near Moab every day for exercise. He finally quit because he was tired of the looks people gave him, like he was an idiot. He was in law enforcement and wanted to stay in good shape.

ETA I know that look. I once ran up the trail to Hanging Lake just to see if I could. (If you haven't hiked it, lots of stairs.)
 
Egads man! Methinks wisdom has jumped up n smacked ya across yer kisser! I too, found major issues with what you experienced..( try a trekking pole in th ebikes spokes next time for a trill or two). The ole 32 oz drink that’s 20% less than two 16 ouncers has been used many times with me n my two girls…( along with no supersizing drinks at th burger shop cuz ya can walk over n refill th small ones for free)…where was I going with this?…ah yes change…I hate change as much as th next fello( crept if it is for $100)…

I am not a doctor, but I’ve cowboy camped numerous times…so, let me diagnose ya..

You, my friend, have a bad case of nostalgia( not to be confused with giardiasis) as nostalgia cannot be cured with antibiotics - or anything else for that matter..the only help for this…let me be clear…

is sitting over a cold brew and waxing poetically about the good ole days with another who has the same diagnosis…
so..the first beer’s on me! See ya soon..we can even sing Memories of the way we were if th brew pub has karaoke.
!LOL
 
I was right there with you on the Ebikes. I put the people who rode them in the same category as the folks who cheat there way through their workouts at the gym. (doing reps without any range of motion, towing themselves uphill with a death grip on the console, etc). Then a few months ago a friend insisted I try his bike. I swear it was magical, zipping along with minimal effort, the thing made you feel like a damn super hero! I've been toying with getting a bike to take me deep into some backcountry spots I'm a little hesitant to take my truck and popup camper. Before that ride I never would have considered an Ebike...now I'm thinking it might not be a bad idea.
 
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