C
chumbaracing
Guest
Got this e-mail today:
I apologize for the length of this email, but this is an important
topic to take note of for all of us here in the MTB community. I
welcome your comments.
TEXT-
A story just broke that has me infuriated and outraged. The parents
of Mark Reynolds, the mountain biker who was attacked and killed by
the mountain lion at Whiting Ranch Regional Park, are suing the
county of Orange stating that county officials "should have
reasonably known that the park was dangerous."
Let's consider for a moment the sport for which we, along with
Mr.
Reynolds, have such a passion. It is a sport that is rife with
inherent danger and risk. From the too fast descent down a rocky,
rutted single track, to trying to skirt the edge of a rain-rutted
section washed out fire-road, to ducking a low hanging tree branch
when you're barreling down a hill; our sport not only contains
risk
it invites it with open arms. With that risk that we invite into
our sport arises another: an inherent risk of death.
We don't really think about it too often but it's there, ever
present, the chance that we might fall off our bikes and crack our
skulls; the chance that we could plummet over the side of a cliff;
the chance that we could get run over by a car while crossing a road
section; and, yes, the chance that we could get attacked, and
possibly killed, by some type of animal on some section of
wilderness. This is our sport and this is the way we like it.
Now comes this lawsuit which removes all personal responsibility
which Mr. Reynolds had and states that, somehow, the county should
have protected him from himself. Guess what folks, there are only
two ways for the government, in this case, to protect us: 1) they
can wipe out the entire mountain lion population in order to make
things safe for us humans (forget the fact that we are in their
territory, no the other way around) or 2) they can close the park so
that no one can use it. Let's see, considering the money it
would
cost to defend lawsuit after lawsuit of people getting hurt on
trails (gee, that rut caused me to fall shouldn't have been
there…
that rock on the edge of the trail that I whacked my knee on was
wholly inappropriate…that sandy patch really knocked me off my
ride…
I'M SUING!) do you think it's completely outside the realm of
possibility that our local trails could get shut down as a result of
an irresponsible action such as this?
I feel for Mr. Reynolds' family, I honestly do. I grieved when I
heard about the attack that happened on a trail that I ride at least
once a month (at least when it's not raining all the time.) I
donated money to help both victims of this attack with their
medical/funeral costs. I even went to the bike rally held at Irvine
Park in order to memorialize this rider who – by all accounts
–
loved this sport as much as he loved anything in his entire life.
Now, instead of feeling sorry for the family, I feel nothing but
contempt because they are letting their personal grief and greed
undermine the very thing that their son loved doing the most.
Through this lawsuit, Mr. Reynolds' parents are not only
attacking
the county of Orange, they are attacking every person that make
mountain biking a significant portion of their lives; they are
attacking the advocates who work tirelessly to keep our trails open;
and they are attacking us.
At this point, I'm not quite sure what to do about this besides
send
this out to every person I know who might care, hope that, somehow,
we can reach the people who are about to perpetrate this crime
against our sport and, perhaps, get them to reconsider. I didn't
know Mark but, based upon his passion and dedication to this sport
that was exhibited throughout his life, my guess is that he would be
outraged by his parents' actions as well.
Regardless of where you live, this is an issue that you should care
about because frivolous litigation against those who mange our
trails is something that can literally cripple our sport.
Sincerely,
Chris Messina
[email protected]
I apologize for the length of this email, but this is an important
topic to take note of for all of us here in the MTB community. I
welcome your comments.
TEXT-
A story just broke that has me infuriated and outraged. The parents
of Mark Reynolds, the mountain biker who was attacked and killed by
the mountain lion at Whiting Ranch Regional Park, are suing the
county of Orange stating that county officials "should have
reasonably known that the park was dangerous."
Let's consider for a moment the sport for which we, along with
Mr.
Reynolds, have such a passion. It is a sport that is rife with
inherent danger and risk. From the too fast descent down a rocky,
rutted single track, to trying to skirt the edge of a rain-rutted
section washed out fire-road, to ducking a low hanging tree branch
when you're barreling down a hill; our sport not only contains
risk
it invites it with open arms. With that risk that we invite into
our sport arises another: an inherent risk of death.
We don't really think about it too often but it's there, ever
present, the chance that we might fall off our bikes and crack our
skulls; the chance that we could plummet over the side of a cliff;
the chance that we could get run over by a car while crossing a road
section; and, yes, the chance that we could get attacked, and
possibly killed, by some type of animal on some section of
wilderness. This is our sport and this is the way we like it.
Now comes this lawsuit which removes all personal responsibility
which Mr. Reynolds had and states that, somehow, the county should
have protected him from himself. Guess what folks, there are only
two ways for the government, in this case, to protect us: 1) they
can wipe out the entire mountain lion population in order to make
things safe for us humans (forget the fact that we are in their
territory, no the other way around) or 2) they can close the park so
that no one can use it. Let's see, considering the money it
would
cost to defend lawsuit after lawsuit of people getting hurt on
trails (gee, that rut caused me to fall shouldn't have been
there…
that rock on the edge of the trail that I whacked my knee on was
wholly inappropriate…that sandy patch really knocked me off my
ride…
I'M SUING!) do you think it's completely outside the realm of
possibility that our local trails could get shut down as a result of
an irresponsible action such as this?
I feel for Mr. Reynolds' family, I honestly do. I grieved when I
heard about the attack that happened on a trail that I ride at least
once a month (at least when it's not raining all the time.) I
donated money to help both victims of this attack with their
medical/funeral costs. I even went to the bike rally held at Irvine
Park in order to memorialize this rider who – by all accounts
–
loved this sport as much as he loved anything in his entire life.
Now, instead of feeling sorry for the family, I feel nothing but
contempt because they are letting their personal grief and greed
undermine the very thing that their son loved doing the most.
Through this lawsuit, Mr. Reynolds' parents are not only
attacking
the county of Orange, they are attacking every person that make
mountain biking a significant portion of their lives; they are
attacking the advocates who work tirelessly to keep our trails open;
and they are attacking us.
At this point, I'm not quite sure what to do about this besides
send
this out to every person I know who might care, hope that, somehow,
we can reach the people who are about to perpetrate this crime
against our sport and, perhaps, get them to reconsider. I didn't
know Mark but, based upon his passion and dedication to this sport
that was exhibited throughout his life, my guess is that he would be
outraged by his parents' actions as well.
Regardless of where you live, this is an issue that you should care
about because frivolous litigation against those who mange our
trails is something that can literally cripple our sport.
Sincerely,
Chris Messina
[email protected]
rotest:
