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SERIOUSLY?
I cannot believe those of you in charge of things at the Reporter actually thought the "furries" you wrote about in "Fluff Piece" [
] warranted being the lead cover story for the entire paper! With all that's going on in our community and in our world, you chose triviality over substance. Use some judgment. Get a grip.
SUSANNAH LIPPMAN
SANTA FE
SITTING AROUND
To the writer of "Right to Ride" [
]: I don't blame you for going bonkers sitting in front of a computer screen all day! As humans, we aren't designed to sit all day. We need to work physically as well as mentally. When we exercise we get a boost from endorphins; we clear our minds of negativity and we feel better about ourselves!
Going from a grueling sitting and staring all day to sitting on a roaring, big tires, gas-guzzling, noisy machine to ride through nature, we can't see what we disturb or destroy and we are not going to fix our frustrations or our national forests!
PS: I am neither a "Nazi" or person who would deprive others from getting in touch with nature as long as that touch is not destructive.
LISA BERNIS
SANTA FE
WRONG TARGET
Mr. Perry, you sound like a responsible OHV enthusiast, but you're pointing your guns in the wrong direction.
There's a whole lot of riders out there who don't stay on the roads, who don't have spark arresters, who don't slow down for hikers or livestock, who don't stop and turn off their engines to let a horseback rider go by safely, who do litter, who do cut fences, who do lots of damage to the environment. These are the guys who are ruining it for you and they're the ones you should be pointing your anger at.
As for horrible experiences, I'll tell you one. I'm a 57-year-old woman and I was almost severely injured and could possibly even have been killed by seven kids on dirt bikes who tried their best to freak out the young horse I was riding. He panicked so badly, we came within six inches of hurtling down a steep embankment sideways. This happened last winter. I will never again trail ride anywhere that I might possibly run into an OHV rider, which is just about everywhere these days. Not very fair to me, to say the least. In past years, while out trail riding, I have encountered OHV riders about eight different times. On seven of these occasions, I was the one who had to scurry off the trail as fast as possible while they just roared by, and yes, they saw me.
One time I encountered a lone rider who stopped and turned off his bike as soon as he saw me and did not turn it back on until I was a safe distance past him. So Mr. Perry, if you truly are the responsible rider you say you are, from my experience, you are part of a very small minority of riders.
I also have friends, including a long-time rancher up on the Mesa, who have had problems with OHV riders cutting their fences to tear around on their pastures. The horrible stories you requested are quite endless.
But obviously you'll never hear about them while you stare at a computer screen or while you are out riding your OHV.
SIVIA GOLD
ROWE, NM
NOT NATURAL
In response to W Perry's naive letter, "Right to Ride" I am glad that he is able to get what he needs from the national forests.
But however responsible he claims to be, the real issue remains the incompatibility of motorized vehicles with any other recreational activity in the forest. I also want to see if he understands that by calling everyone who doesn't agree with him on the issue an "extremist," he includes many local ranchers, hunters and sportsmen who know that these vehicles are fundamentally at odds with their use of the forests, not the other way around.
PAUL MARCUS
SANTA FE COUNTY
Correction:
Amnesty International Group 122 meets at 6 pm on the last Monday of the month at the main branch of Santa Fe Public Library. The Oct. 17 "Winners & Losers" column stated otherwise.
SFR regrets the error.
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