[mattmatt86]

I showed up today at 11am at isaqueena state park ready to put in a full day of work on our DH course. When I arrive at the area where our new drop and bridge are located I notice someone had torn apart all the slats on the bridge(roughly 30) and had dismantled about half of the drop. This pissed me off, but the real kicker is that almost all of our tools where stolen. 4 fiberglass shovels, 2 wooden shovels, a fiberglass Rake, two cans of mixed gas for chainsaws, large lopping shears, and a wheel barrow. We were able to rebuild the drop and bridge, but getting new tools is another thing.

The little money the club does have right now was going to be used for our Norba License and other fees in order to hold a race in April. Im just wondering if anyone has any ideas about getting some sponsors or companies to donate money to the club. We recently got an IRS account and are set up as a non profit organization so any donations would be tax deductible.

Any information would be helpful


Here are some pics of the drop and bridge.

 

[ridefast]

uhh...why were tools left outside in the first place?

i hate thiefs as much as anyone, but if the tools were just left there.....

 

[mattmatt86]

The tools were left out because we dont have any good way of transporting them too and from the trail. I guess we were just a little too trusting of other people, we had the tools out there since last September and this was the first time anything was taken. We had been talking about getting a lockable tool box but our club just doesnt have enough money. This incident could possibly set us back so much that we might not be able to hold a race this spring.

 

[Heavey Hitter]

I feel your pain at my downhill trails 4x4 yahoos constantley destroy my dirt jumps wooden jumps and leave broken beer bootles.People sometimes just got nothing better else to do,im hopen some sharpened rebar will take care of the problem. Cant 4x4 with flats carmas a mother

 

[dhbuilder]

pack em in.
pack em out.

unless you're on pirvate, secure property you have to expect just such a scenario.
and now that someone has scored heavily, words out and they'll be looking for more.

people steal for no other reason than they can.
you can never prevent a thief.

and when you build something that most others see as an abomination.
you'd better be ready to endure more vandalism.

it's a tough lesson to learn.

 

[aviatorsman]

uhh...why were tools left outside in the first place?

We were out working on the trail the night before until about 6pm and were planning on being back at it by Noon the next day (today). Also, our trail is in the experimental forest here at Clemson and there is no way back there by vehicle b/c of locked gates, so it seemed pretty safe to leave the stuff there overnight....but I guess not.

It's just a shame someone did this. They also stole a bunch of stuff from a shelter structure that belonged to an older man who is out in the forest all the time. It just hasn't been a good week for biking in Clemson. Just earlier this week my bike, a chainsaw and some tools were stolen out of my garage.

 

[mattmatt86]

I understand now that leaving the tools out there wasnt the best idea. I really feel like the only reason the tools were stolen was because the individual(s) wanted to prevent us from doing further work. When in fact, if they had investigated rather than destroying, they would have learned that we have full permission to do all the work and everything we do is being monitored by the forestry dept. We are now going to have to spend more of the club's money to have signs made that explain that we have permission to do all the work.

 

[ATOMICFIREBALL]

Prolly some hard-core environmentalist, or someone who hates bikes/or just freeride stuff?

 

[WSR Crash]

sorry sobs

 

[dhbuilder]

I understand now that leaving the tools out there wasnt the best idea. I really feel like the only reason the tools were stolen was because the individual(s) wanted to prevent us from doing further work. When in fact, if they had investigated rather than destroying, they would have learned that we have full permission to do all the work and everything we do is being monitored by the forestry dept. We are now going to have to spend more of the club's money to have signs made that explain that we have permission to do all the work.

been there.
before i came to windrock, we were vandalized and backstabbed by the local yuppie x-c crowd.
they couldn't handle their lack of skill thrown up in their faces.
therefore they destroyed what they couldn't deal with.
that was a lesson learned.
and now i control three times the amount of land they have.
and have a much more world class trail system.

it sounds like that may not be the case with you though.
sounds like just heartless vandals who aren't mt.bikers.
they could care less that you have legal right to be there.
they see it. they hate it. and you'll be forever at their mercy.
i wish you luck with the signage.
but that's just another way to draw attention to your stuff.

being on public land is alway going to be a drawback for you guys.

i know i may paint a rather bleak picture.
but i've been doing this off and on since 1985.
and have seen all sorts of resistance from a wide variety of people and groups.

and like i said earlier.
vandals and thieves can always get ya.
it stinks.

 

[Metal Dude]

"HIDE" the tools! mine were just stlolen from my personal DS course

Prob. some jealous xc guy who wants another 1/2 mile to add to his 25
mi. of trails who was mad he couldn't do the stunts.

Also plywood with nails punched thru hidden under leaves will cure the
4 wheelers been there done that also.

 

[ridiculous]

There will be some serious changes to the way we do things on this trail from now on. Yes it does suck that they destroyed and stole our stuff but I have every intention of completing this trail. A race would be great and may still happen but we owe it to ourselves to complete this first.

We'll go over the changes and put up ideas at this weeks meeting but talk about hit to the face.

I say we start by screwing anything that was once nailed.

 

[FCLinder]

Guys, sorry to hear this happened..... It really sucks to put your hard time into something and just gets messed up by some dumb a$$.... I know the feeling. When we had our DH trails here in Greenville we would build nice 30'+ jumps only to see it messed up by some dumb as kid or red neck in their 4x4 jeep by the next time we went out to ride.

 

[bizutch]

Hey Matt,

I don't think your incident and the other theft is related one bit. That was definitely XC riders torching you. No vandal is gonna gank all your tools AND go through the trouble of ripping up your stunts.

The vandal was specific to your stunt so obviously they think they are in control of what can be built there. First people to notify is the Forestry and let them know what happened. There are other groups who have permission to work out there and probably don't even know you exist. Communicate to the Forestry and ask them what other groups are out there. Then get the contact info of those groups and send them all a notice on your letterhead advising them of the incident and your authorization to build.

Hopefully, that will notify all the other groups that they can't screw with you b/c the Forestry Service will punish them. Make it a sincere letter of concern, not an assault or accusation.

Just say "Heads up. We got vandalized and all our tools stolen. Keep an eye out for us please."

And post those signs on ANY stunt for sure. Just print them on your printer and run them to the local print shop and laminate them.

Wouldn't hurt to call the local builder supply company's and ask if they will donate some shovels since yours were stolen. You can ask Lowes and Home Depot, but a local lumber and contractor supply is gonna be more open.

 

[GotMyGED]

Stolen tools and vandalism of trails make me depressed. But please dont automattically assume it was XC riders. I ride strictly XC, but I never look down on DH riders. When I go up to windrock and see what DHbuilder and the other guys have done, I am amazed. I look up to those guys as hard workers who have mad skills in both building and riding. I can only dream of riding stuff like that.

 

[mattmatt86]

My theory is that it was people on horseback. When I went out there friday afternoon the whole trail was covered with fresh horse tracks and horse sh!t. I believe they saw everything we were building and decided to come back the next morning on foot to do some damage. I have to agree with Butch, I dont think stealing the tools was the motivation. I believe the tools were only stolen in efforts to prevent us from building further.

I really dont think it was XC guys, every xc rider that stops by while we are working gives us praise and tells us they are happy to see this kind of riding in the area.

 

[bizutch]

My theory is that it was people on horseback. When I went out there friday afternoon the whole trail was covered with fresh horse tracks and horse sh!t. I believe they saw everything we were building and decided to come back the next morning on foot to do some damage. I have to agree with Butch, I dont think stealing the tools was the motivation. I believe the tools were only stolen in efforts to prevent us from building further.

I really dont think it was XC guys, every xc rider that stops by while we are working gives us praise and tells us they are happy to see this kind of riding in the area.

FYI, the riders that are nice to your face are the ruthless roadie snobs who despise us too. Not pigeonholing XC riders, I am a full time trail rider. But the people who tear down stunts and rip up jumps are usually the most passive and amicable to your face.

Mansell was that way. Chris Warren and those guys would build something and all the XC guys would compliment and say nice things. Then they'd go tell their buddies, come back and rip the stuff down. Warren and those guys had some epic hate battles for a long time.

I'm not trying to breed animosity among the ranks. Just letting you know that a person who's PC to your face may be a militant behind your back.

 

[mattmatt86]

Another reason Im hesitant to jump on XC guys is that the trail we are using for the DH course was nonexistent before we came along. Its not like we took an old XC or horse trail and put a bunch of stunts on it. We took a section of woods that was nothing and turned it into something. But I can certainly see your point about about people two faced.

 

[dhbuilder]

the horseback rider theory may be right on the $$$.
as much as it's hard to hide the evidence of their presence.

but butch is correct about the ones who smile to your face and shake your hand, being the ones who stick the knife into your back moments later.

 

[bizutch]

but butch is correct about the ones who smile to your face and shake your hand, being the ones who stick the knife into your back moments later.

We were banging out shuttles several years back, me, Joe Moore, Fred, Eddie and Fenell. We came up on a hiker, chatted with him. He was very friendly, bid us good day...sweet guy.

The entire trail from that point to the peak was booby trapped with logs on our next run down. He was ruthless too. He put them in every turn, nothing on a straight. Flipped crooked tree stumps and twisted logs in the trail every 50 feet. Must have taken him 45 minutes.

We had no idea, but at the top, Joe Moore said "Butch, let's pin it all the way down, you and me...as fast as we can" I was point man with Joe Moore pushing pace on my rear...fastest I've ever ridden in my life while doing 2 wheel drifts and bunny hopping.

As much as I hated that MF, me and Joe both agreed it was the most challenging run we'd ever done...and laughed about it.

 

[FCLinder]

Matt, look at your MTBR post. There is a guy that has gotten all your tools replaced for you. He is asking you to e-mail him at j@concretespecialtiesinc.com

MTBR Link: 15th post.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=271028

 

[dhbuilder]

how cool is that ?

 

[ridiculous]

Took care of it already. Seriously the man is a saint, thanks for the call Cecil. Hopefully we'll be back on our feet by sundown tomorrow. You guys have all been more than helpful. Hope to see you at a race

 

[drkenan]

If you guys ever need concrete work done remember to call concrete specialties...

 

[bizutch]

If you guys ever need concrete work done remember to call concrete specialties...

Concrete sponsor...could you imagine Joey + concrete sponsor???

 

[ridiculous]

good idea, make the stunts out of concrete then assholes on horses cant break them. BRILLIANT!

 

[clmsncyclist]

No doubt in my mind that is was those XC kids Bizuch. good call