"Phil W Lee" wrote in message ...

Blackblade considered Tue, 11 Feb 2014
01:14:22 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:

Trends come and go the same way fads do. What is going to kill
mountain biking are all the deaths and injuries. Mountain biking is not
considered an extreme sport, yet it racks up deaths and injuries just like most
extreme sports. The vast majority of people in this world do not want to risk
life and limb for a mere recreation. Only an extremely stupid minority of fools
want to do that.

Well, IF there were all these deaths and injuries then you might have a point. However, the statistics don't back you up ... Mountainbiking is relatively safe ... a rate of 1.54 per 1,000 exposures is less than soccer, rugby, american football, road cycling etc etc etc. (http://emj.bmj.com/content/early/201...9.086991.full).

So, once again, you're incorrect; mountainbiking produces injury and death statistics nowhere near 'extreme' sports.

According to the British Medical Associacion, most cycling trauma is
associated with motor traffic.
And even taking those motor traffic cases into account, cycling is far
safer than NOT cycling. Which means than off-road cycling must be FAR
safer than not cycling, right? After all, it represents the safer
side of something which is already very safe indeed.

What you say may very well be true, but there are accidents ... and then there are accidents. The kind of accidents road cyclists suffer are true accidents related to the presence of motor vehicles on the same roads as bicycles. The kind of accidents that off-road cyclists suffer are accidents that never need to happen since they are related to the cycling itself on an unsuitable surface apart from any conflicts with others.

We need to keep our focus on mountain biking accidents due to riding on trails and not compare it with accidents which exist in other universes. Hikers do not suffer the kind of accidents that cyclists suffer on trails because hiking is truly safe, something that mountain biking truly is not.

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