Once Upon A... Bedtime Story.

Once Upon A Time… in a land far, far away, where there were only Two Wheels, fat tires and bit-chin single track, there lived the Mountain Riders. Here in this land we would call them mountain bikers. And these mountain riders existed in groups. The Doers, The Talkers, and The Others.

The Doers did what doers do. They did things. Built trails, created bit-chin single track, reworked old logging roads into sustainable routes, and they rode their cycles with fat tires, and hydrated.

The Talkers, well they talked. Only the talkers knew what they talked about. And they too rode their cycles with fat tires, and hydrated.

And the Others, who knows? The only thing known about them is that they also rode, and hydrated.

And life rolled along……

Then one day there was a new creation in their world. Not some new suspension technology or some trend to ride with no gears or suspension. It was a virtual world, a great electronic communication network, and it worked really fast. This e-talk thing spread far and wide in the land of the cyclist with fat tires. The Talkers could talk, the Doers could put the word out about doing. Big rides formed, big trail maintenance sessions happened, some of the Doers talked and some of the Talkers did. The Talkers especially loved this e-talk network thing. This could have been their Golden Age!

This e-talk thing was however, anonymous. And it didn’t take long for some of the Talkers to start complaining about the Doers and what they did. Arguments started in the e-talk gathering places. Arguments where logic no longer needed to apply, and only faceless printed comments remained. Badgering and badmouthing became the norm for many of these cyclists. The Doers would do and some of the Talkers would judge, protest criticize, grumble, whine, whinge, carp, find fault, nitpick, nag, moan, murmur, object, and knock. It would only take a spark to flame and result in a wildfire.

Why the Doers did what they did was probably because they wanted to ride better trails and bit-chin single track. Why some of the Talkers said what they said could only be speculated. Perhaps jealousy, or greed for attention. They were mostly unidentified, unnamed, unsigned, unspecified, unknown, secret, mysterious, shadowy……. Anonymous.

Eventually the Doers took heart to the knocks and moans. It only took a spark to create a wildfire. Although they largely tried to ignore the e-talk thing they became disheartened by the incessant nag and stopped doing. Then the trees fell, the weeds grew, the rain washed and the wind blew. Many trails became unrideable to the bicycle. Only the bushwack continued.

And The Talkers talked..... But The Doers did not do. And The Others, well who knows? The only thing for sure is that nobody could ride, for there was no longer any bit-chin singletrack for which to ride upon. The trails simply died.

And this is what happened Once Upon A Time in a land far, far away, where there were only two wheels and fat tires…. with knobbies!

The End.