It has come down from on high that cyclists are now 100% required to wear one of these inane articles of "protective" clothing if they want entry onto Fort Jackson.
Several folks got turned away this morning...
For me...
Who cares? After nearly twenty years of riding on the Fort, I have avoided like the plague for the past few months. There are only so many loops of that place that one can do. Wanna know the location of every bump and pothole? I can draw you a map!
And before people take umbrage with what I've said, or the decision itself, know this...
Fort Jackson is one of the very few military bases in the good ol' US of A that allows non-military personnel to enter it's borders, and explore freely, with little more than a photo ID. It is, ostensibly, a foreign country to all of us. They don't have to let us on AT ALL!!!! Try riding out to Shaw or McEntire, and see if they let you on post. Not gonna happen! Cruise on down to the beach and see if you can get onto MCAS Beaufort. Unless the airshow is going on, you ain't getting in!
In all honesty, Ft. Jackson is the ONLY military base I've ever been on that didn't require :
A) A member of the military to be in your group
B) Special permission from the base brass
Sure, it's a nice place to ride, and if you feel that other places around here are just too dangerous, then by all means, jet on over to Lowe's and pick up a vest. Or give it until the middle of next week, because I feel confident that the shops in town will be stocking their shelves with every hi-vis vest, jacket, shirt, etc., that they can get their grubby little hands on.
If not, there are places around, that are CLOSE by that have better roads, similar (or less) amounts of traffic, similar (or better) terrain, and are just as easy to get to as Fort Jackson. Google Maps is your friend!
And if you go, and get turned away, don't bitch at the guards. Those guys are just doing their jobs, and have enough crap to worry about without someone in lycra complaining...
K?
That being said, we're riding tomorrow @ 0900 from the corner of Greene and Laurens. Come on out and see some of the very roads I was talking about!
Namaste
2 comments:
I tried for a few years to get SPAWAR to open their borders without having a full blown security clearance. Not happening. Marrington is open, but you pay for an annual pass that does little more than do a criminal check.
I'm sure there will be righteous indignation among the masses because of the vest issue. I can hear the cries of 'I pay taxes...' ringing thru Shandon...
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