The recent commandeering of the cross-country ski trails by an aggressive faction of fat bikers has stirred a return wave of support from the riders who respect the decision to keep bikes off the ski trails.
As far as we can tell, only one of the self-styled legends who have been leading the incursions onto the ski trails even lives in town. The nonresidents can’t even play the “aggrieved taxpayer” card. The visiting riders are not only not paying trail fees, they’re not paying anything.
Right and wrong are not automatically about the money, but taxes and membership fees are forms of the same thing: they’re the contribution an individual makes to the group treasury to support the aims of the group. Public-private partnerships are common in support of nonessential lifestyle enhancements like ski trails, skating rinks, performance venues, and more. Because a library is a public space, can you go in and dribble a basketball up and down the aisles? Should you? A ski trail system on a mosaic of public and private land is the same as that library: a space where proper etiquette and usage are understood by the grownups and taught to the unruly young.
It has been a great relief to hear from the grownups in the Wolfeboro and Tuftonboro fat biking culture.
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