Ride Report Palm Canyon Epic no more?

How is "blocking a path" considered violence? Unless there is a threatening action, verbal or physical, they are simply in the way. Just go around them.

 

Try riding in a thong. They will ignore you.

 

Palm Springs, wearing a thong might get him a date not ignored.

 

You're impeding their free movement. Similar to protesters blocking a road. If you try to go around them and they move so as not to let you, then would you consider that violence? What if they surround you and say they are waiting for the authorities to arrive but don't allow you to leave but aren't physically threatening you or harming you? Is that violence?

 

No. Googled legal definition of "assault" states-

"There can be no assault if the act does not produce a true apprehension of harm in the victim. There must be a reasonable fear of injury. The usual test applied is whether the act would induce such apprehension in the mind of a reasonable person."

Basically, you must have reasonable fear of injury for the term "assault" to apply. This example would not cause me to be fearful. Now, if they were to swing a trekking pole at me to stop me from passing... yes.

 

I wasn't speaking of assault or a bunch of legal definitions that have little to do with reality. I was speaking of violence. If some hippie protesters block my path or some hiker upstarts try to block me from going down a trail. I might treat it as a violent threat and spray them in the face with mace. A good lawyer will keep the baby-boomers off the jury and noone else would convict me. You want to protest or make a statement you stand on the side of path/trail/road quietly holding a sign. Once you're disturbing the peace or impeding traffic you're no longer peacefully asserting your 1st amendment rights. Critical Mass riders (never rode in LA so they maybe more congenial but in Chicago,they block lanes of traffic, run red lights, in 2001 when I rode with them a motorcyclist ran a few of them over and didn't even get a ticket) take note. Opened my eyes to the hostile and violent nature of these activist movements. They care more about disrupting people's lives they deem as morally wrong than any cause. Same with these hikers.

 

Hypothetical situation. Say a bunch of Sierra Club dorks surround you when you're riding a popular trail named after a pie. They form a tight circle around you and start chanting anti-mountain biking slogans and yelling at you about some silly bobcat habitat and you can't escape their circle because they're all a bunch of obese middle-aged hikers with big quads and bellys. Isn't this akin to kidnapping? I realize some cops got in trouble at UC Davis for spraying people with pepper spray when a similar situation happened but cops are held to a higher standard. A normal person going about their business would get off in such a situation.

 

Or if you're at the bottom of a canyon and the only way out with your bike is down a path they are blocking. High cliffs all around you. One way out and some enviro is standing there blocking you. No cell reception. What do you do? Just stand there and wait them out. Or are they committing a violent act and you are within your rights to charge into them and knock them down if they don't move or mace them? Would you be charged with assault if you did so? After all there is no fear of harm. Say you have tons of food and water and aren't in any danger of starving or dying of dehydration. You just have to sit there and let them block you? Genuinely curious.

 

How can they can't put up a sign prohibiting an activity wthout citing the statute you might be breaking or which agency is enforcing it? If the sign is legit, then sign itself might be out of specification in accordance with public signage standards.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't one of the charges against OJ and the reason he got such a heavy sentence because he blocked those guys from leaving which the Nevada courts consider kidnapping?

 

I'm not a big guy... and by no means a fighter. I wouldn't sit there and "let them block me". And blocking isn't what i would call violence. But, it would take violent actions to detain me.

 

Getting back on topic, was anyone able to verify with BLM the validity of these new sign(s)?

 

If the signs are illegal, aka fake, then they might make a great yard ornament. I agree that it's ridiculous that it says 'mountain bikes' only. What about motos? Cross bikes?
Has anyone ever approached the trading post to chat with them about the cash cow they are ignoring? It might be worth a try. Money talks y'know.

 

Bring you Chicken, fox fur, rabbit feet, and goats. They will talk.

 

I e-mailed James Foote (National Monument Manager) at the BLM office in Palm Springs and he said he would look into it.

 

I haven't got a call back yet, I just called again, got a recording, left a message, I'll call a little later today.

 

Interested to hear what the official explanation of this is as well. I came upon that sign 5 feet before the turnoff for Indian Potrero and was stunned. Turning around at that point could be a death sentence.

 

I would think that if it was an official sign, they would have attached it to the already existing trail marker and not stick a new pole into the ground.

 

Fixed it:

 

Whoever made the sign did a good job. Pretty legit post and sign. Matches well with the one behind it. Must have been a PITA to get a post digger way out there.