hunting

yesterday afternoon i went out to my favorite mountain bike venue to ride a little and to use the big open field to practice my throwing (i have mentioned that i have taken up disc golf, but i have not officially talked about it here, which i will, i guess, at some point...)

i was going to ride the new course, but as i was getting my bike ready i saw a little forty-ish woman get her bike out of her honda pilot and ride off.

that was suspicious to me, because typically people get their bikes down and then go into the shop to get their trail pass. granted, sometimes they walk over first and THEN get their bikes down, but this woman has "poacher" written all over her.

and i am the queen of the poacher catchers. i just like to say it: poacher catcher. poacher catcher.

so i rode off after her, after getting my trail pass.

actually, it IS my business. i don't pay for my membership; in return i do miscellaneous light trail work, i ride the trails in the uniform of the place, giving friendly directions, and i check for trail passes.

while i don't ride as fast as a lot of people and can't chase poachers, i know where all of the trails come out, and i know where they pass close to one another. i also know where to go stand in order to hear the sounds of riders echo.

in short, i can pretty much find anyone there.

except this woman. much to my shame, with all my skill in tracking and my knowledge of those trails, she was a phantom. i am in disgrace.

i have no tolerance for poachers, though, because that venue is somebody's bread and butter. if anyone cares to make the argument that things are rough for them and they can't afford the $6 to ride, my response is that there are four other trail networks within a fifteen minute drive that are free to ride.

go there.