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.



Ed, you seem incapable of following a coherent train of
thought.

In response to my statement ... "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."

you wrote

"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."

So, yes, you most certainly DID try and claim that road cycling
was safer than mountainbiking a trail. Which, as you well know, is NOT the
case. Do you want to just debate yourself with your various contrary
positions ?

For heaven's sakes, almost all cyclists will be riding on
roads. To compare the two modes misses the mark. The only point I am making is
that biking on trails is dangerous whereas hiking on trails is not. The other
point is that biking on trails is stupid because of the nature of the accidents.
Getting hit by a motorist on the road is not quite the same thing as getting by
an obstacle in the trail and taking a tumble which can easily leave you
paralyzed or dead.

No Ed, since YOU raised the point regarding which was safer it's precisely on point. Firstly, hiking on trails is not safe as the 1.5million incidents attest. It is safer than mountainbiking in injuries and fatalities per exposure but certainly not totally safe. Secondly, you are quite right, getting hit by a motorist is very different to hitting an obstacle ... and massively MORE dangerous. Overall, road cyclists suffer less accidents and injuries than mountainbikers BUT many more fatalities.