"Phil W Lee" wrote in message ...

Blackblade considered Tue, 6 May 2014 15:08:55
-0700 (PDT) the perfect time to write:
[...]

Edward Dolan wrote:

I am a stand-in for all hikers from time immemorial. You are a
stand-in for all scofflaws from time immemorial.

No, Ed, as you yourself admitted you are simply representing 'serious' hikers. The majority are prepared to share.

And even that is an empty claim.
He could hardly be a more serious hiker than my grandfather, who was a
founder member of the Ramblers Association, and took part in the
Kinder Trespass, which directly led to establishing hikers rights in
the UK.
It was a large part of the reasoning behind his choice of profession
(schoolmasters get longer holidays than are available to most
professionals, which allowed him to enjoy his hiking far more than
would have been the case if he had chosen any other occupation).
He campaigned tirelessly for the establishment of the long distance
trail network in the UK, was one of the first to complete the Pennine
Way, and did so every year from when it was first opened until his mid
80's - always packing his own camping equipment, as (in his words)
"the hostels are too close together to make a full days hiking, but
far enough apart that you can't sensibly reach the next one". He was
almost always leading a group.
I don't believe there was any area with enjoyable hiking in the UK
that he was not intimately familiar with, and covered every long
distance path in the UK within a year of it's opening.
After his retirement, he never took a holiday without a large hiking
element, including large parts of the Alps, Pyrenees, Dolomites, and
Scandinavia, among others, leading many of the hikes himself, both
here in the UK and abroad.
Yet he was entirely happy to share trails with cyclists, and cycled
many trails himself - and if mountain bikes had been invented in time
for him to have used them, he would indubitably have ridden an even
more extensive range of trails (there are limits to what is reasonably
achievable on a traditional sit-up-and-beg with a Sturmey Archer 3sp
hub).

I simply don’t believe you! Your grandfather did what I would have liked to do, but was not strong enough to do. He may not have been a solitary hiker like me, but there is no way he would want to share trails with a horde of mountain bikers. Perhaps an occasional cyclist, but not hordes of them. Trails are being abandoned here in the US by hikers because of hordes of mountain bikers taking them over. It is NOT possible to share trails. Even too many equestrians would ruin trails for hikers.
[...]

His idol has already been policed.
You'd think that would act as some form of education, but Dolan is
clearly ineducable.

More calumny from a former Asshloe poster who has at least learned to post SOME occasional content.
[...]

Mountain bikers are barbarians and have no right to be on any trail used by hikers – unless they want to get off their god damn ****ing bikes and walk like everyone else. When they crash and injure themselves, I rejoice! If and when they manage to kill themselves, I say good riddance to bad rubbish! Death to mountain biking!

“Tread softly! All the earth is holy ground.”
~ Christina Rossetti (Psalm 24),
from "A Later Life: A Double Sonnet of Sonnets"

Mountain bikes have wheels. Wheels are for roads.

Trails are for walking. What’s the matter? Can’t walk?

Ed Dolan the Great
aka
Saint Edward the Great