The Joys & Pleasures of Cycling on Trails

"Phil W Lee" wrote in message ...

Blackblade considered Fri, 31 Jan 2014
03:20:33 -0800 (PST) the perfect time to write:

I've never met a great saint; no, you don't
qualify.

Nonsense, you have met ME via this newsgroup. You probably
know ME now as well as anybody in this world. And you have to admit, I am no
ordinary saint.

You possess none of the attributes of a saint ...

I wouldn't go that far - he IS dead, at least from the neck up.

Better to be dead from the neck up than totally dead – which is what happens to many mountain bikers who take foolish risks by riding their bikes on hiking trails. Some such mountain bikers deserve to die on the trails because they are willfully ignorant of the danger, but others don’t. In fact, most mountain bikers simply don’t know any better about how dangerous it is to ride their bikes on hiking trails. Frankly, I feel sorry for them – especially for women and kids who don’t have a clue.

Actually, the fatality rate ... derived from data
provided by one M J Vandeman ... is 0.00123 per million miles travelled.
So, much safer than driving.

You are quite right about driving being about the most
dangerous thing any of us can do. However, mountain biking is actually quite
dangerous. For every death there are most likely hundreds if not thousands of
injuries. Is that your idea of recreation - to be risking life and
limb?

Yes, am quite prepared to take a relatively low risk in order to be active and enjoy my life. If I fall off, which I do periodically, then I view it philosophically as the price to be paid.

As it's my life and limb I am fully entitled to do so.

Particularly since the level of risk is determined entirely by you.

No one, not even very expert mountain bikers, entirely know what they are doing when they ride their bikes on hiking trails. Why is that? It is because hiking trails are designed for walking, whether humans walking or horses walking. They are not designed for wheels. It is why cyclists need their own trails specially designed for wheels ... and need to stay the hell off of trails for hikers and equestrians.

More bad news from the trenches:

�http://www.bicycleretailer.com/retai...s#.UsInhp3TnIU

Mid-Atlantic trails advocate and racer Scott Scudamore dies

Published December 30, 2013
by BRAIN Staff

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (BRAIN) Â* Scott Scudamore, a
mountain bike athlete, advocate, event organizer
and retail store employee, died Dec. 28 from
complications from a mountain bike accident he suffered in September.

Scudamore was retired from a 20-year Air Force
career and 21 years with Hewlett Packard. Besides
being active in the Mid Atlantic Off-Road
Enthusiasts (MORE), he worked part-time at Blue
Ridge Cyclery in Charlottesville and was a member
of IMBA's Regional Leadership Advisory Council.
He competed in triathlons and XTERRA events.

On Sept. 22, Scudamore crashed while mountain
biking with his wife, son-in-law, granddaughter
and other friends at Bryce Mountain ski resort in
Basye, Virginia. The crash left him paralyzed
below his neck. Although he made progress in
rehab in the fall, in recent weeks he struggled
with infection, delirium, and ultimately
pneumonia, according to a note left by his family
on Scudfries.org, a website set up to support him following the crash.

The family said there be two viewings at Thacker
Brothers Lake Monticello Funeral Home in Palmyra,
Virginia. The first will be Friday from 6-8 p.m.
The second will be Saturday, from 9 a.m – noon.

A funeral service will follow the viewing on
Saturday at 3 p.m. at Grace And Glory Lutheran
Church (683 Thomas Jefferson Parkway, Palmyra, Virginia.)

In lieu of flowers the Scudamores asked friends
to donate to one of Scudamore's favorite
charities, Trails for Youth or the Lake Monticello Volunteer Rescue Squad.�


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