I guess that makes three things the guy's done right.



"> That was a cool story. Now we just need him to smack some of the BLM
> employees upside the head and open up _every_ park in the US to MTB'ing.
>
> --
> Slack


This is going to be a l o n g thread....although I agree and loved the
story....
 
Slack wrote:
....
> That was a cool story. Now we just need him to smack some
> of the BLM employees upside the head and open up _every_
> park in the US to MTB'ing.


The "parks" that are generally closed to mountain bikes are
managed by the National Park Service, not the BLM. The BLM
does manage some National Monuments, in particular, those
created for political and legacy-building purposes by the
past President, and those tend to be fairly restrictive too.
But trails on most BLM lands are generally open to mountain
biking, unless the land has a special designation such as
Wilderness or National Monument.

The NPS has a completely different mandate than multiple-use
land management agencies, the FS & BLM.

Of course, the President needs to sign any Wilderness
bills that are passed by Congress (hmmm, any of THOSE
in the works?). And President Bush hasn't been going nuts
with the Antiquities Act like Slick did.

Nick Danger, Third Eye
 
"MattB" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Raptor wrote:
> > http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-08-13-bush-bike_x.htm
> >
> > But really, "A little slice of heaven" in Crawford, TX? Pull the other

one.
> >

>
> I don't know what to say to this. On one hand, it's a great example of
> an active lifestyle for an older guy with a bad knee. On the other,
> well, did I say it's a good example for Boomers to stay active?
>


My sentiments exactly with the following addition. I really hope those mtn
bikers that have contact with the President are lobbying him for better
trail access.

Greg
 
"Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has covered
the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's mountain
passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who finished fifth in
the Masters category at the 2002 World Championships of 24-Hour Solo
Mountain Biking."

That just goes to show that racing doesn't have jack shiite to do with
mountain biking. The President doesn't race, yet he whipped that
reporter's ass.

JD
 
JD wrote:
> "Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has
> covered the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's
> mountain passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who
> finished fifth in the Masters category at the 2002 World
> Championships of 24-Hour Solo Mountain Biking."
>
> That just goes to show that racing doesn't have jack shiite to do with
> mountain biking. The President doesn't race, yet he whipped that
> reporter's ass.


I kinda doubt it, but it's nice to think so. (Whole point of the article
was "you don't pass the Prez".)

To me, it DOES add some credence to the piece that the author is actually an
experienced rider, and not just some fairly fit reporter who got an invite
to tag along or something. When this guy says that W rides at a pretty
strong pace, it likely means just that.

Cool.
 
JD wrote:
> "Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has covered
> the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's mountain
> passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who finished fifth in
> the Masters category at the 2002 World Championships of 24-Hour Solo
> Mountain Biking."
>
> That just goes to show that racing doesn't have jack shiite to do with
> mountain biking. The President doesn't race, yet he whipped that
> reporter's ass.


Tells me that the reporter has a job, and the Pres. spends all his time
riding.

Shawn
 
"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> JD wrote:
>> "Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has covered
>> the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's mountain
>> passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who finished fifth in
>> the Masters category at the 2002 World Championships of 24-Hour Solo
>> Mountain Biking."
>>
>> That just goes to show that racing doesn't have jack shiite to do with
>> mountain biking. The President doesn't race, yet he whipped that
>> reporter's ass.

>
> Tells me that the reporter has a job, and the Pres. spends all his time
> riding.
>


320 days of vacation as of that ride in his 5 years in office. Must be nice.
 
"cc" <[email protected]> wrote:

>
>"Shawn" <sdotcurry@bresnananotherdotnet> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> JD wrote:
>>> "Sal Ruibal is a 51-year-old sportswriter for USA TODAY who has covered
>>> the Tour de France six times and ridden most of the Tour's mountain
>>> passes. He is an experienced mountain bike racer who finished fifth in
>>> the Masters category at the 2002 World Championships of 24-Hour Solo
>>> Mountain Biking."
>>>
>>> That just goes to show that racing doesn't have jack shiite to do with
>>> mountain biking. The President doesn't race, yet he whipped that
>>> reporter's ass.


It's all a great right wing conspiracy, I tell you - GWB is secretly
racing in the pro ranks under an alias. ;-)

>> Tells me that the reporter has a job, and the Pres. spends all his time
>> riding.

>
>320 days of vacation as of that ride in his 5 years in office. Must be nice.


Uh huh... get used to it. Have you noticed that GWB is popping up all
over the country while "on vacation", and continues to hold down a
pretty impressive agenda while "vacationing on the ranch"?

These days it should be pretty obvious that you don't actually have to
be in the office to get anything done (something that I hope would be
obvious to anyone using a computer to opine on a.m.b...). ;-)

I suspect that the trend toward presidents spending less and less time
in the White House will continue - and regardless of their political
leanings, that's not a bad thing (though I'm sure it will continue to
create plenty of internet and blogger fodder, right and left).

Mark Hickey
Habanero Cycles
http://www.habcycles.com
Home of the $795 ti frame
 
Bill Sornson wrote:
> To me, it DOES add some credence to the piece that the author is actually an
> experienced rider, and not just some fairly fit reporter who got an invite
> to tag along or something. When this guy says that W rides at a pretty
> strong pace, it likely means just that.
>
> Cool.


And if it's to be believed, 20 mph on a mtb is pretty damn fast. I
wonder how long Shrub was able to *maintain* 20 mph.

--
--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall

Conservative dictionary:
Judicial Activist: n. A judge who tends to rule against your wishes.
 

>> 320 days of vacation as of that ride in his 5 years in office. Must
>> be nice.

>
> Uh huh... get used to it. Have you noticed that GWB is popping up all
> over the country while "on vacation", and continues to hold down a
> pretty impressive agenda while "vacationing on the ranch"?


I was very "impressed" when his agenda included going to a NASCAR race.
Very fitting.

I would be very happy if he just took the whole rest of his term off, and
keep the hell away from a microphone!

Axis of evil my ass. What a moron.
 
"JohnH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>>> 320 days of vacation as of that ride in his 5 years in office. Must
>>> be nice.

>>
>> Uh huh... get used to it. Have you noticed that GWB is popping up all
>> over the country while "on vacation", and continues to hold down a
>> pretty impressive agenda while "vacationing on the ranch"?

>
> I was very "impressed" when his agenda included going to a NASCAR race.
> Very fitting.
>
> I would be very happy if he just took the whole rest of his term off, and
> keep the hell away from a microphone!
>


Yeah, or five minutes to talk to a distressed mother of a soldier who died
in the unjust invasion of Iraq, who is camped outside of his ranch.

> Axis of evil my ass. What a moron.


You mean Rumsfeld - Bush - Rove ? That axis ?

Well, at least W slapped congress in the face and ushered in John Bolton.
Now we won't have to worry about the rest of the world thinking we are the
sole drivers of world politics. There will be no question.

Bolton:

The point that I want to leave with you in this very brief presentation is
where I started is: there is no United Nations. There is an international
community that occasionally can be led by the only real power left in the
world, and that's the United States, when it suits our interest, and when we
can get others to go along, and I think it would be a real mistake to count
on the United Nations as if it's some disembodied entity out there that can
function on its own. When the United States leads, the United Nations will
follow. When it suits our interest to do so, we will lead. When it does not
suit our interest to do so, we will not, and I think that is the most
important thing to carry away tonight.

The League of Nations was a failure because the United States did not
participate. The United Nations would be a failure if the United States did
not participate and, in fact, I remember as vividly as though it were
yesterday, right after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Jim Baker said to me, we're
going to make this United Nations work, or we're going to find out whether
it is the League Nations or the UN. And that's the fact. And if you don't
like it, then I'm sorry. The United States makes the UN work when it wants
it to work, and that is exactly the way it should be, because the only
question, the only question for the United States is what is in our national
interest. And if you don't like that, I'm sorry, but that is the fact.

What a diplomat.
 
JohnH wrote:
>
>
> Axis of evil my ass. What a moron.


N. Korea? Yeah, they might have a nuke, and might use it. Evil.

Iran? Same.

Iraq? Toothless. But an easy target, with a stupid leader.

Hit the weak sister to scare the stronger targets. But only works if
the weak sister is totally pacified.

See the crappy position yet?

Iran would have been the better target. The population actually
supports the U.S.

E.P.
 
Mark Hickey wrote:
>
>
> These days it should be pretty obvious that you don't actually have to
> be in the office to get anything done


Politics is about face-to-face.

Crawford ain't D.C.

So, take those two, and figure out that yes, indeed, Crawford is a
vacation. Maybe not compared to *your* vacation, but a politician's
vacation.

Get real.

E.P.
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> Mark Hickey wrote:
>>
>>
>> These days it should be pretty obvious that you don't actually have to
>> be in the office to get anything done

>
> Politics is about face-to-face.
>
> Crawford ain't D.C.
>
> So, take those two, and figure out that yes, indeed, Crawford is a
> vacation. Maybe not compared to *your* vacation, but a politician's
> vacation.
>


Exactly. If you're ready to lead the nation, you should be ready to work at
least six days per week. In your office.
 
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> JohnH wrote:
>>
>>
>> Axis of evil my ass. What a moron.

>
> N. Korea? Yeah, they might have a nuke, and might use it. Evil.
>
> Iran? Same.
>
> Iraq? Toothless. But an easy target, with a stupid leader.
>
> Hit the weak sister to scare the stronger targets. But only works if
> the weak sister is totally pacified.
>
> See the crappy position yet?
>
> Iran would have been the better target. The population actually
> supports the U.S.


Except for the fact that they're ten years out from nuclear capability.
Therefore we must treat them even more like children, and state that they
are not responsible enough to even set up civilian nuclear power. Maybe the
idea is that if you pronounce nuclear "nukular" enough times, the public
won't pay attention to the difference between the words "power" and "weapon"
following it.

That brings up a more important point: why should a nation with thousands of
nuclear weapons have any right to act as the enforcer of non-proliferation?
We're not just holding, we are actively building AND developing. Who are we
to talk?
 
cc wrote:
> "JohnH" <[email protected]> wrote in message


>> I would be very happy if he just took the whole rest of his term
>> off, and keep the hell away from a microphone!
>>

>
> Yeah, or five minutes to talk to a distressed mother of a soldier who
> died in the unjust invasion of Iraq, who is camped outside of his
> ranch.


You mean the mother he already met with over a year ago, and who praised him
afterwards? The one who USED to have a photo of the President kisssing her
on the cheek on her website? The one who now tells a completely different
account of all that, while posing for pics with impeachment and chickenhawk
signs all around her, and yet claims she just wants to meet with him? The
one who said:

"I now know he's sincere about wanting freedom for the Iraqis," Cindy said
after their meeting. "I know he's sorry and feels some pain for our loss.
And I know he's a man of faith."

The meeting didn't last long, but in their time with Bush, Cindy spoke
about Casey and asked the president to make her son's sacrifice count for
something. They also spoke of their faith.

. . . .

The trip had one benefit that none of the Sheehans expected.

For a moment, life returned to the way it was before Casey died. They
laughed, joked and bickered playfully as they briefly toured Seattle.

For the first time in 11 weeks, they felt whole again.

"That was the gift the president gave us, the gift of happiness, of being
together," Cindy said.

?

http://www.thereporter.com/republished

The one who now says that America isn't worth fighting or dying for? (And
that's one of the less outrageous things she's said lately.)

I bet her son is spinning in his once-flag-draped coffin.