“My Horse Does Not Like Bikes…”

Those were the words spoken by an equine-astride woman on Saturday whilst a friend and I were headed south on the San Gabriel RiverTrail in the City of Azusa.  Can you imagine that?  Someone actually telling cyclists to get off the bike path so they could pass with royal fanfare?  I don’t think even Moses was that arrogant when he parted the Red Sea.  I know that society as a whole has become clinically narcissistic, but that was one, way over-the-top, selfish episode.

Initially, my thought on the brief encounter with Ms. “Ed” was, “Whatever.”  However, it was about a mile or so later that I let what I had just heard sink in.  And, that was when I became a bit disturbed about the encounter.  When we first saw the two horses coming opposite-direction, my partner and I moved as far to the right edge of the trail as possible to be safe, expecting a quick pass, and forever those riders would be out of our lives.  “No biggie,” I thought to myself.  Yet, the attitude of that rider was as if we were supposed to pull over, stop, and let her and her partner pass. 

Here is the brief, unedited commutation with this trail-fool: “You had better pullover.  My horse does not like bikes.  OK, I warned you.”

Wow, what supreme arrogance of one’s self, and what a foolish misunderstanding of the true nature of the B-I-K-E T-R-A-I-L.  Not that I mind horses, by the way, just don’t tell others legally using the trail to get off of it for your own, personal benefit.  Yes, it is a multi-use trail, however, I cannot locate a source which claims horses are allowed on the bike trail, period.  Far as I can discern, the entire San Gabriel River Bike Trail is a  “Non-Equine Zone.”

As for me, personally, I have no problems with sharing the trail with others and their chosen activities (even the runners who are dead-center in the middle of the trail and wonder why “Those darn cyclists” get so disturbed), but to have this kind of active, living, breathing stupidity just set me off, post encounter.  I mean, forgive me for using the bike trail for its intended purpose, Ms. Seabiscuit.

A true gauge of the moral compass of a society is how different people, doing different things all get along with each other.  Supreme arrogance and stupidity upsets the balance for all. 

Plus, last I checked, cyclists did not crap on the bike path.