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Useless....
I knocked out a couple of dam laps this afternoon and came across some idiots on moto's stopped about half way up heart break hill with a busted chain and obviously no tools apart from themselves. Rather than confront them and potentially knuckle on with the boneheads I thought do the "proper" thing and call the cops. So about half a K down the track I sat down and called Frenches forest police station and explained where I was, what I was doing and the prime situation these idiots were in that would aid in their apprehension.
I first tried to explain to the officer where he would need to be in about 10 minutes to catch them (the parkway's fire road entrance to the dam) I was astonished that despite my clear directions and explanation he had next to NFI. Maybe a guide dog is in order considering it is about 2kms from his office, pretty Lame....
He then informed me that they can never seem to catch them as when they get sprung they just speed off. Well this cat would be going nowhere fast with no chain, but alas he wasn't the least bit interested. This was blatantly obvious
My grandmother could have caught him in her slippers and dressing gown for christs sake...
I also informed him that in approximately 15/20 minutes they would be at the entrance to forestville oval (where I have seen them come from before) Also not interested. I said that these guys seem to frequent this area behind the houses on many an afternoon.
Also not interested and or powerless to do much so it seemed...
He complained that they just can't seem to catch them and it had been a problem for the last 2/3 years.
I asked if they still had the trail bikes at Frenches forest station like they used to catch all the moto's at red hill when I was a kid. He replied no that they got rid of them about 4 years ago. Great decision that one...
Soon staplers, pants and cars will be abolished as well. Soon they'll all be going commando, there will be a mule parked at the front door a tub of perkins paste for all to share !!!
I wonder what are they using these days to access tricky area's and catch idiots like these?
A sturdy pair of rockports and a butterfly net? WTF?
As we all well know we mountain bikers get tarred with the same brush and often blamed for the damage moto's cause. It appears we are powerless to stop this using "proper" means... pisses me off quite frankly.
Any suggestions as to what could/should be done are welcome.
This is the second call I have made regarding this in the last few months and jack shit has been done. I was informed that It was noted in the system. Sick... great system.
Disappointing....
Fankles.
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Boys in blue are probaly hocking back a few O rings at the nearest krispy kreme...
Is there a number for the Council Rangers? I see them around often enough and they could perhaps pounce on them with their errrm BatCycle???
Besides that, you can try what i did and I took a photo of one of the motos pretending that their rigs looked 'rad' and it was what i wanted... then forwarded to the cops.
Last alternative is pretend you're a little old lady saying that you were almost run over by one of them .... worked a treat in Appin when i put on the granny smith voice on and cops were around within minutes
Stuff like this needs to be revealed by the popular media. The cops hate being revealed for the bafoons they are. Try calling the local rag, a major rag plus a tv station or to and see if they are interested...
... boneheads. Words (at least printable ones) cannot express the contempt I feel for beat cops. You basically have to commit the offense right in front of them to get their interest. It's like they go through their working life with this wire frame stapled to the front of their heads, and if what they see doesn't fit in the frame then they ... go back to stirring their coffee.
I was assaulted a few years ago and reported it to the police immediately. Because there was no injury they did nothing, despite the guy very effectively putting me in fear of my life. He is a known ice addict and has an evil reputation and his threatening and violent behaviour was escalating. The stupid female copper undertook to call back with a COPS number from their incident tracking system but never did, and ignored all my follow-up. When I showed her my surfboard with the guy's fist imprint from where he swung at me and missed, she just laughed and said "This isn't CSI!".
Damn right it isn't. Those guys are conscientious.
The wire frame seems to be limited only to incidents where somebody has actually got seriously hurt, and speeding / drink driving offenses. Everything outside that seems to get an "um, yeah, ok, zzzzzzzzzzz" response.
Eventually there was a news report about a series of assaults at Narrabeen and I responded to the request for help in locating the perpetrator. I basically joined the dots for them and through my contacts got them the information that enabled them to find him and arrest him. He was up on 39 charges.
Long story short, the detective stuffed up the chain of identification in a fundamental way and as soon as the loser got some decent legal representation courtesy of legal aid, his SC put his finger on the issue. The prosecution went into damage limitation mode and he got off with a slap on the wrist with a wet noodle.
Unimpressed.
am not surprised - when we found the man that had died in Oxford Falls, the police had NO idea where we were even though, we too, gave clear directions for them to enter the bush - in the end we had to ride out to greet them on the road as they seemed to find the entry to the bush was 'a secret garden' which was there to elude cops...how can they not know where Lizard Rock or Morgan Roads are?
When we had an assault going on in my house and I called them - three times, they said they would hurry up if 'something' happened, considering there had already been a punch up and a door break in which they heard on the phone I was unclear as to what else they required.
However! in the Frenchs Forest defence, they are very short manned, dee why are a little more pro-active, though not much...when I called about a car on fire in Red Hill as I had seen the kids strip it and drive off they asked why I called them...
But! on the upside, when my moronic house mate (not george) managed to lose my eleven year old half blind, tottery, deaf dog in the middle of the night, the policeman at Frenchs Forest, who was clearly not doggie offered to send a car around to look for him, which I thought was very sweet.
Next time just ring and say you saw guys on motos acting suspicious and taking photos over someone fence, then you later came across them on the trail looking at photos that, at a distance looked like kiddie porn....
(Justin: Not sure I see the connection or find this funny? I get your point though.)
Are we talking about a couple of school kids here?
If so it may be a bit of over kill calling in a swat team anyway.
Probably best to grow a pair & have a quiet word with them.
We talk about community but often forget that it's the smaller more personal things we do that really make a community
I got a fright when descending a section of the dam a few weeks back.....two fully grown men on motorbikes came zooming up the track...right near the Wakehurst.
thought of calling police/rangers too....but knew they would disappear in moments.
Sorry to dissapoint you but was climbing up a hill not conducting a census...
They looked mid 20's to me but I could easily be wrong as moto gear and full faces don't aid matters.
Chances are a "quiet word" with a group quite clearly in the wrong place would not likely be that quiet nor constructive.
Thank you for your "useless" comment captain community.
you nearly always make me laugh out loud - love your sarcasm
taking people on out in the bush - not a sensible idea. There was a story a while ago of a confrontation where a MTBer was pushed off his bike by a horse rider. Growing a pair whilst on your own in the bush in any situation =/= a sensible move.
Please, please do not put yourselves into any sort of confrontation If you are on your own, or even in a group, nod, smile, wave and move on. If they are doing something illegal then remember the details and call the rangers / police once you are somewhere safe.
Ref: Easy Rider
I've confronted a moto rider at the top of our local loop. I was nice and explained to him why he shouldn't be riding in a NP. He told me to get f#*ked and sped off. A few days later the prick confronted me in the local supermarket and started yelling and carrying on, threatening to cut me up or some such jive. Unfortunately for him I was with my little girl so I couldn't react too much. I say unfortunately for him because he was then left to deal with my (not so) little brother. My little brother is an animal. He grabbed the guy, dragged him out to the carpark and beat him like he stole something. I have the misfortune of seeing this guy around the neighbourhood and he avoids me like the plague! I've never seen him ride in the bush again either! I DO NOT RECOMMEND GOING DOWN THIS AVENUE. IT'S TOO STRESSFUL AND REALLY NOT A GOOD EXAMPLE OF "JUSTICE", THOUGH IT MAY SEEM LIKE IT.
OK, here's my solution. Now that summer is upon us, we begin to see the re-emergence of that dismal creature "the firebug". After the Black Saturday fire's down in Victoria, and this summer apparently being "the worst on record", the authorities would love to smash anyone even remotely suspected of burning/arson.
Over the last couple of years there have been arsonists who use moto's to get in, start their mischief, and get out again quickly to watch their handiwork unfold. As an upstanding member of the community you would only be doing your civic duty if you were to inform the authorities that the motorbike rider you just passed "may" have been involved in suspicious activities, such as lighting fires.
You just can't be too careful these days. Hey, if it works for the terrorism hotline...
your brother! That is hilarious!
With the horse incident - as you know I ride a horse and I have sooooo often wanted to push an ignorant MTB rider off - sadly, it seems to be almost impossible as I have contemplated it reguarly - at red hill (where the moto riders are nicer!)
...I suggest the rider and the bike rider were, perhaps, both on foot for that one!