"Blackblade" wrote in message ...

Edward Dolan wrote:

Mountain biking ranked low on the list compared to hiking in
terms of popularity. That is all I was interested in.

But was more popular amongst first time participants and the young .... which means that, over time, it will grow relative to hiking. More people are taking up mountainbiking than hiking.

It is going to turn around rather quickly when the dangers become ever more apparent. Only a minority of fools engage in extreme sports.

You remind me of a bulldog that gets hold of some little
thing, however irrelevant, and then wants to hang onto it forever. Notice how I
move on, never stumbling over stuff that doesn't matter.

How does the aforementioned statement not matter Ed ... it directly contravenes your point about mountainbiking going away ... it's growing relative to hiking. The report confirms that there will be more new bikers and less new hikers so, over time, mountainbiking will overtake hiking if that trend continues.

I do not see that ‘trend’ developing at all. I see it going in just the opposite direction for many and various reasons. You need to look up the word “fad”.

Where are we right now on this thread? I am proving that
mountain biking is not as popular as you think it is and it is also far more
dangerous then you think it is. That is the subject of this thread - the
so-called "joys & pleasures", or is satire wasted on you?

No Ed, you're not proving that. Firstly, I never stated how popular or otherwise it was ... and, frankly, I don't particularly care. You just grabbed a statistic that you thought backed you up but, because you couldn't be bothered to read the rest, failed to notice what I've just pointed out.

The statistic did back me up. Trends don’t interest me since they are subject to interpretation. I am not a futurist.

Secondly, I already know what the risk is; 0.00123 killed per million miles travelled ... using data from your dear pal Vandeman who has a strong bias against mountainbiking so the real figure is likely significantly lower.

Your reliance on statistics is meaningless since it is impossible to measure with any confidence what we are concerned with. All the reports from the field are far more reliable because they involve real people in real situations.

Lastly, for satire to work it needs a common understanding. As I, and many others, genuinely do enjoy the Joys and Pleasures of cycling on trails the irony is lost on us ...

At least you recognize an attempt at satire when you see it. After all, if the “Joys and Pleasures” are coming from me, then you know I am meaning just the opposite. Most of your peers are way too stupid to know even that little.

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