Everyone in the world knows what a hiking trail is, except you
apparently.

Oh do they ? So, please enlighten me, how am I to determine a 'hiking trail' to which only the Sainted Ed and his compatriots are permitted access and a 'regular trail' which is to be shared ? I can, tracker like, look at some kind of spoor to determine which is which ?

Bicycles go much faster than anyone can walk, whether on a
street or on a trail. Many hikers have been struck by cyclists while hiking on
trails.

How many ? It's easy to assert this but, bereft facts, it's anecdote and hearsay. There have been NO reported hiker/biker accidents in, for example, Swinley Forest in the last two years and most trails are shared there.

What matters is the speed of the walker, not anything else.
Glad we finally agree on something! Now we just need to get bicycles off trails
the same as we got motorcycles off trails – and for the same reason - speed
differentials.

We didn't agree Ed ... provided that cyclists go past hikers at a slow speed and permit them space what does it matter what speed they do elsewhere ?

You mean you can’t refute it.

There is no need to respond to my every sentence. Only idiots
do that sort of thing.

So, you definitely can't refute it. Ad hominem is always when you've lost.

What works “just fine” for you does not work so fine for most
others. Come to Aspen, Colorado sometime to get a clue!

I already agreed with you that a case by case basis for deciding what works is required. You have to take into account numbers of people, type of the trail and many other factors. I have never been messianic that all trails should be shared.

An enlightened public will come to see this sooner than you
think, most especially when hikers and equestrians start suffering
injuries
and deaths from the activities of mountain bikers. We both agree that
it will
be a political process that decides the issue.

Well, for this to happen, there would have to be significant numbers of hiker/biker and biker/equestrian incidents. Your pal Vandeman trawls the net feverishly to find such encounters and highlight them but he comes up with barely any relative to the numbers of bikers and hikers.

Better to have a futile hobby than a reprehensible pastime of
ruining trails for hikers by desecrating wilderness and natural areas with the
loathsome presence of a bicycle.

Oh for goodness sake. How is the presence of a bicycle loathsome ? This is emotive rubbish. A bicycle no more 'desecrates' the wilderness than hiking boots, a backpack or a tent.

Nonsense! Everyone in the world now knows where you stand
although, like all liberal cowards, you choose to remain anonymous, never using
your real name. Only Mr. Vandeman and I have the courage of our
convictions.

I am happy to stand behind what I've said and it's pretty easy to find out my identity if you want to. However, it's totally immaterial to the argument.