Woman Caught by Camera Sabotaging Mountain Bike Trails

Was the sentence fair for the crime?

Most of the time trail hazards in mountain biking are a mere nuisance. Sometimes though, they can be perilous, and that’s when things start to get serious.

Stray trail dogs, hikers and horses can normally be forgiven in the grand scheme of things, but when sheer malice comes into it, it gets truly concerning. That’s what happened when British Columbia resident Tieneke Kraal started to sabotage her local trails on a regular basis – dragging rocks and logs onto the paths in order to try and slow the riders down.

Kraal is reported by CBC to have left anywhere between 10 and 40 logs on the Skull trail in BC, getting up between the hours of 4am and 6am every single day with her two dogs in order to do exactly that.

Tineke Kraal Placing Debris 2 from nsmb.com on Vimeo.

Full article: http://mpora.com/articles/65-year-old-canadian-woman-sentenced-film...

This sabotage went on for 2 years before mountain bikers finally caught her with motion-sensor cameras. She was "very sorry" and received a suspended sentence, 3 years probation and 150 hours of community service. They have stipulated her community service would not involve mountain bike trails for her own safety because she was worried mountain bikers would hurt her. Ironic.

This isn't the only case of sabotage on shared biker/hiker trails. I've personally seen odd logs on the path that don't look like they were meant to be there or naturally fell on the path. At the very least, it's an inconvenience. It could also lead to serious injury or be life-threatening.

The sentence seems quite light. I wish they did have her work with the mountain biking trails in hopes she would humanize the people impacted by her actions. I don't think there truly is a risk of mountain bikers hurting her.

The other discussion? Should there be shared trails? Is there enough space to comfortably accommodate both hikers and mountain bikers? I haven't seen very many trails wide enough to comfortably fit both groups.

Personally, when I hike, I avoid shared trails and opt to hike on hiking-only trails. As a mountain biker, I am not a big fan of shared trails. Why? I am going at a faster speed and sometimes there are a lot of hikers and they are spread all over the path. No matter how many times I yell ahead when I spot them, sometimes they don't move out of the way i.e. walking 3-4 people wide across the path and not paying attention to cyclists on the path. Even if there are strictly enforced laws about sabotaging shared trails, I don't know that it will solve the issue. Will that truly discourage people from sabotage? In the case of the women who go caught by a camera, she was visiting the trails at 4 am. She knew what she was doing was wrong and chose to do this in the dark to avoid getting caught.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joe Schmoe on February 1, 2016 at 7:31am

"Individual Initiative" = trying to kill people? K. You hate MTBers, we get it. You're clearly biased, and a troll. Good day sir.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on February 3, 2016 at 4:24am

It's always that balance, isn't it? On one hand, it's so great to see more people fall in love with riding a bike because they rode a fat bike or a Divvy. On the other hand, there is a ramp-up needed to learn about respecting trails (and when NOT to ride) or knowing how to ride with traffic and other bikes.

Some of this falls on the organizers of races and rides as well as the bike rental shops. When I was in New Zealand, I was completely unaware of their laws and guidelines until I went to do the activity. The educational information was a part of every activity - whether it was sea kayaking, hiking on the glacier, or riding a bike, they did a good job of letting us know what not to do (and what to do).

It also helps to have 101 clinics, workshops, events, etc. I learned about riding in a group by riding in a group and following the lead of more experienced cyclists. I learned about respecting the trails and when not to ride by joining the group for Palos riders.

I definitely see the point about not overtaking what is already a part of another activity. As I mentioned before, I am not a big fan of hiking on a trail I share with a mountain biker - I'd prefer to seek out other trails that don't share the path. I'm super glad there are other trails that don't allow bikes because I also like to hike and xc ski.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 3, 2016 at 5:44am

Agreed. It's important to remember that these are shared spaces and that irresponsible actions can ruin them for everyone.

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Permalink Reply by Rich S on February 7, 2016 at 7:05pm

I follow the Palos riders group and trail sabotage seems to be an issue there too.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on October 10, 2019 at 3:04am

we should just BAN ALL MTB!!!

pfffft

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Permalink Reply by curt(is) locke on October 10, 2019 at 4:30am

While keeping in mind the general level of Outrage Fatigue, clp is a certifiable Bike Nazi, in addition to being a troll.

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Permalink Reply by Yasmeen on October 10, 2019 at 4:56am

I remember this being that first argument I got into with him years ago and being like, who is this woman? Only to realize while he had a photo of a woman, she was a he and we've been locking horns ever since.

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Permalink Reply by Phillip Hutchinson on October 10, 2019 at 4:35am

There are only two known instances in which mountain bikers were killed by bears in North America. The vast majority of victims are hikers, fishers and hunters... not mountain bikers.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_A...