Dear So and So

[Trek420]

Dear Family of cyclists on the MUT,

I know you love riding.

I know you love your family.

Can you please find a more reasonable, sensible, less idiotic and moronic way of doing it than the one I saw you demonstrate today?

Lots of options to choose from depending on age and ability of the fruit of your loins: trailers, trail-a-bikes or the less equipment intensive formation of a parent in front, parent in back and the 3.5 children or however many there were riding in between parental units.

Whose bright idea was it to tie the entire party and their bikes together with ropes as if you're heading for an assault on Mt Ranier, ice picks in hand, crampons on the boots, all set for crossing the crevasses?

Yet there you were in formation at the side of the trail your Walmart bikes each tied stem to stern with nylon rope.

I hope I don't read in the news tonight any one of a myriad of disasters I could imagine:

little Timmy falls, drags entire family into Lake Washington ...

little Sally strays left and knocks out blind runner and her dog ...

Or maybe this was some 20/20 experiment like the "What Would You Do?" series and I should have stopped to ask "Uh, are you sure you want to do this??"

I hope someone does.

I hope one of you looks up, sees a trail-a-bike and says "Honey? Can we get some of those?" Maybe a cycling family will stop and show you the ropes so to speak.

I regret not stopping to talk with you but hope you get the idea for your and my safety.