"Blackblade" wrote in message ...

Edward Dolan wrote:

What you think you know argues strongly for it being a waste
of time since you are unable to think clearly about the simplest
things.

I don't make any great claims to erudition ... but I do know the basics whereas you clearly don't. No one with an ounce of statistical knowledge would ever try citing instances of a particular outcome without reference to the frequency in the population.

I only do that sort of thing if I take a number seriously, which I have never been able to do with any of your numbers. Common sense reigns supreme with me ... and your statistics be damned!
[...]

Nope, I tried it once, didn't like it and decided it was
stupid. I then stumbled upon Mr. Vandeman's posts on Usenet many decades
later and was confirmed in my thinking. You on the other hand have a stupidity
that is unconquerable.

I rest my case. Just because you don't like something doesn't mean it's stupid, just that you don't like it.

It means I am capable of changing my mind based on personal experience and the judgment of my betters. Too bad no one could ever say the same about you!

There is nothing to be said for what you
advocate since the world is full of zillions of miles of roads of all
descriptions which are ideal for cycling.

There is plenty to be said for allowing people to choose ... I
would far rather ride a trail than a road. It's safer, the scenery is
better, the air is cleaner and I am out enjoying nature.

The above statement is proof positive that you are steeped in
idiocy. It is more dangerous, there is plenty of scenery available on roads, the
air is the same everywhere and you are NOT enjoying nature ... you are
desecrating nature. Find another arena for your sport of mountain
biking.

No, Ed, you're the one showing idiocy here. The statistics for cyclist deaths on the road are orders of magnitude greater than for mountainbiking. You are advocating a much more dangerous activity simply because you don't want people to mountainbike. At the same time, you pretend that you're concerned about injuries and deaths to mountainbikers ... what hypocrisy.

Road cycling is indeed dangerous which is why I am a great advocate of bicycle paths. The only mountain bikers I am concerned about are the innocent lambs who do it thinking it is safe. They think it is safe because of scoundrels like you who advocate for it.
[...]

You are absolutely the greatest idiot it has ever been my
displeasure to encounter on Usenet. Here it is again, you dumb
jackass:

"In any event, road cyclists are not being seriously injured and dying from
hitting hazards in the roadway, unlike cyclists who ride trails." - Ed Dolan

You aren't showing a lot of greatness, or even comprehension Ed. Do you really not understand that the precise mechanism for injury or death is completely irrelevant ? Road cyclists are, mostly, getting killed or injured by being hit by other traffic, rather than hitting obstacles. However, they are being killed and injured at a massively higher rate than mountainbikers.

Road cycling has been around from the beginning. It is not something anyone can do much about. The solution is to separate cyclists from motorists. Bike paths are the answer, although they can sometimes create other kinds of difficulties. My argument is all about the precise mechanism of injury and death. I am not arguing that road cycling is safer than mountain biking. Nice try though! However, I am arguing that hiking is about a thousand times safer than mountain biking.

Do I have to spell everything out for you in words of one syllable ?

When I have to look up a word like “otiose” in the dictionary, I know I am dealing with a jerk.

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