Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking

On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 09:50:06 -0800 (PST), bluezfolk
wrote:

On Jan 12, 2:40 am, Mike Vandeman wrote:
alt.mountain-bike is moribund. Maybe turning it into a forum for the
TRUTH about mountain biking will save it?

Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking
Michael Vandeman, Ph.D.
Updated October 16, 2007

1. Why do people mountain bike?
a. They say that using a bike allows them to get much farther, in
the same amount of time, than they can by walking. They also maintain
constant pressure on land managers, to open more and more trails to
bikes. Of course, all of these trails are already open to them, if
they choose to walk. They also frequently claim that closing trails to
bikes "excludes" them from the parks. This could only be true if they
were unable to walk. Of course, they are able to walk. There's nothing
inherently wrong with bicycling instead of walking; we all like to
save energy, when it's appropriate. Use of a bicycle to replace
automobile use is obviously beneficial. However, by the same token,
replacing hiking with mountain biking is obviously not beneficial.
b. They are interested in the quantity of nature they can see,
rather than the quality of their experience. While riding a bike,
especially over terrain as rough as a trail, one has to be constantly
paying attention to not crashing. That makes it almost impossible to
notice much else. By contrast, a hiker feels the ground, hears all the
sounds and smells all the odors of nature and can stop instantly, if
he/she finds something interesting. The brain thrives on stimulation.
A biker has to travel several times as far as a hiker, to get the same
stimulation as a hiker. (And, by the same token, motorcyclists have to
travel several times as far as a bicyclist, and an auto user several
times as far as a motorcyclist, since they are enclosed in a metal
box.)
c. They are interested in thrills. Riding a bike on a trail,
especially a trail containing many obstacles, or a trail one is not
familiar with, is very challenging. (But if mountain biking is the
high point of your week, as it seems to be for many mountain bikers,
you must be leading a pretty dull life, off of the bike!)
d. They are interested in building mountain biking skills and
competing with other mountain bikers. The thrill of racing drives
people to spend more money on their bike, and ride it harder and more
often. Racing, up to and including the Olympics, drives a lot of
mountain biking. Of course, it is also extremely harmful to the parks
and natural areas that are used for practice! It is hard to think of
any other (legal) use of public lands, other than hunting, that is as
harmful as mountain biking.
e. They want to get to their destination faster (not considering
that the process of getting there is a major part of the enjoyment).
Once, when much younger, I was hiking along a very boring trail. The
thought came to me that if I had a bike, I could get past the boring
section of the trail, and to the interesting part much faster. But
about 2 seconds later I realized that if I could do that, so could
everyone else, and the place would be full of people and ruined. That
was the end of my (2-second) mountain biking career.

2. What is driving the sport of mountain biking? Besides the
attraction for participants, manufacturers and retailers of mountain
bikes and mountain biking accessories, as well as "adventure" travel
guides, make a lot of money from promoting mountain biking. Even some
auto manufacturers (e.g. Subaru) promote and sponsor mountain biking,
and try to use its popularity to sell more cars. The tourism industry
also promotes mountain biking, among other attractions.

3. What harm does mountain biking do?
a. Most obvious is the acceleration of erosion. Knobby tires rip
into the soil, loosening it and allowing rain to wash it away. They
also create V-shaped grooves that make walking difficult or even
dangerous. The mechanical advantage given by the gears and ball
bearings allow a mountain biker to travel several times as fast as a
hiker. Given their increased weight (rider plus bike), this results in
vastly increased momentum, and hence much greater horizontal
(shearing) forces on the soil. (Witness the skid marks from stops,
starts, and turns.) According to Newton, every action has an equal and
opposite reaction. Mountain bikes were built much stronger than other
bikes, so that they could withstand the greater forces they were
subject to on rough trails. These same forces, therefore, are being
applied to the trails! To give a definite number, the winner of a
20-mile race here in Briones Regional Park averaged 13 MPH (the speed
limit is 15 MPH -- where were the park rangers?).
b. A hiker must be very careful not to accidentally step on small
animals and plants on the trail. For a mountain biker, it is almost
impossible to avoid killing countless animals and plants on and under
the trail. They have to pay attention to controlling the bike, and
can't afford to look carefully at what is on the trail, especially
when travelling fast. And even if they happen to see, for example, a
snake, it is hard for them to stop in time to avoid killing it. A
hiker, when crossing a creek, will try to avoid getting wet, by
crossing on stepping stones or logs. Mountain bikers, on the other
hand, simply ride right through the creek bed, crushing any animals or
plants that happen to be there. Mountain biking magazines are full of
photos of mountain bikers throwing up spray, as they barrel through
creeks. Not only do bikes destroy animals and plants as they ride
across streams, they ride through streams stirring up sediment. The
sediment in the water interferes with the oxygen uptake by aquatic
life, for example, killing fish- and frog eggs. Young fish, insects,
amphibians, and aquatic microorganisms are extremely sensitive to
sediment in water.
c. Bikes also allow people to travel several times as far as a
hiker. This translates into several times the impacts, both on the
trail and on the wildlife (to say nothing of the other trail users).
Existing parklands are already inadequate to protect the wildlife that
live there. When they are crisscrossed by mountain bikers and legal or
illegal trails, their habitat becomes even more inadequate. Mountain
bikers frequently advertise rides of 20-50 miles or more. Have you
ever tried to walk that far in a day? In other words, allowing bikes
in a park greatly increases human presence in that park and drives
wildlife further from the resources that they need to survive,
including water, food, and mates.
d. Due to their width and speed, bikes can't safely pass each
other on narrow trails. Therefore, policies that permit mountain
biking also result in more habitat destruction, as trails are widened
by bikers (or by hikers and equestrians jumping out of their way).
e. Knobby mountain bike tires are ideal for carrying mud, and
consequently exotic plants, fungi, and other organisms from place to
place, resulting in the spread of exotic invasive species, such as
weeds and Sudden Oak Death.
f. Mountain biking is driving the very young and old off of the
trails and hence out of the parks. Even able-bodied hikers and
equestrians fear for their safety, and don't enjoy sharing the trails
with bikes. (The mountain bikers claim that they are simply being
selfish and "unwilling to share", but actually they have no problem
sharing trails with mountain bikers; it is only their bikes that are a
problem!)
g. Mountain bikes, which are obviously built to go anywhere,
teach children and anyone else who sees them that the rough treatment
of nature is acceptable. This undoubtedly has a negative effect on
people's treatment of nature.
h. In order to mitigate bike-caused erosion, park managers have
been resorting to extreme measures -- even in some cases putting a
plastic matrix or other exotic material under the trail (e.g. in
Pleasanton Ridge Regional Preserve, near Pleasanton, California)! It's
hard to imagine that this will have a beneficial effect on the park
and its wildlife....
i. Allowing mountain bikes in a park greatly increases the damage
to the trails, damage from "bootleg" (illegally created) trails, and
the problems of conflicts between trail users, and hence the cost of
maintaining the park. Considering how tight park budgets are, we can't
afford the extra costs of policing, and repairing the damage from,
mountain biking.
j. For the science on mountain biking and its impacts on wildlife
and people, seehttp://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7.

4. Mountain bikers claim that their sport has no greater environmental
impact than hiking. Is that true?
a.If you read the "studies" that make that claim, you find that they
don't really compare the impacts of hiking and mountain biking, but
only the impacts per foot. If, for a moment, we assume that the
studies are correct in their having equivalent impacts per foot, it
would still follow that mountain biking has far greater impact per
person, since mountain bikers typically travel so much farther than
hikers. Besides overlooking distances travelled, those "studies"
almost all ignore impacts on wildlife. And they don't study mountain
biking under normal conditions -- only at a very slow speed. Actually,
the comparison with hiking is irrelevant. It would only be relevant if
we planned to allow only one of the two, and were considering which of
the two is more harmful. In fact, no one is considering banning
hiking. We are only considering adding mountain biking. Therefore, the
only relevant question is, "Is mountain biking harmful"? (Of course,
it is!) There is only one truly scientific study that I know of that
compares the impacts of hiking and mountain biking. It found that
mountain biking has a greater impact on elk than hiking (Wisdom, M.
J., H. K. Preisler, N. J. Cimon, B. K. Johnson. 2004. Effects of
Off-Road Recreation on Mule Deer and Elk. Transactions of the North
American Wildlife and Natural Resource Conference 69, 2004,
pp.531-550.) Seehttp://home.pacbell.net/mjvande/scb7.
b. On its web site, IMBA mentions recent
...

read more

Obviously we have to many PhDs around, when they have to resort to
negative posting on usenet to be heard.

Telling the truth is negative? That must be the mountain biker
philosophy....
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 06:28:55 -0600, "DI" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
. ..
alt.mountain-bike is moribund. Maybe turning it into a forum for the
TRUTH about mountain biking will save it?

Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking
Michael Vandeman, Ph.D.
Updated October 16, 2007

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

Just some more of Vande****, don't waste you time reading it.

Afraid someone might learn the truth?
--

You wouldn't know the truth, only your Spam.

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...

Your message is even worse, because you state an opinion with ZERO
evidence.


Now there's a pot calling the kettle black ...

Since you provide no specifics, we have ot assume that you CAN'T, and
are full of it.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


You're post amuses me...you simpleton.
Liars figure and Figures lie! So there you have it...

Like I stated...you do the research. it is out there. You just state
altered facts. But like all your responses...you just flip out and
scream...EVERYONE ELSE IS A LIAR EXCEPT ME...and leave it at
that...because you are a dolt.

I agree with the pure habitat...offlimits to humans...lets start here
with the forum and you can start...once you're gone we will all follow
I am sure...LOL. You twit.

* Mike Vandeman :
Afraid someone might learn the truth?

Quite the contrary mikey. When you actually tell the truth we'll all be
more then willing to listen.

Jason

"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 06:28:55 -0600, "DI" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
. ..
alt.mountain-bike is moribund. Maybe turning it into a forum for the
TRUTH about mountain biking will save it?

Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking
Michael Vandeman, Ph.D.
Updated October 16, 2007

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

Just some more of Vande****, don't waste you time reading it.

Afraid someone might learn the truth?


Not from anything that you post !!!!


--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are
fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

On Jan 12, 10:02 am, Tom Sherman
wrote:
Mike Vandeman wrote:
...
1. Why do people mountain bike?...

To annoy Mike Vandeman?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia

It would seem that's the primary goal of the entire known universe.
Mikey's paranoia & megalomania are truly beyond the Earth. But: To the
topic of this thread: I was not aware that there are even SELDOM-ASKED
questions about mountain biking.

PMH

On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 16:08:39 -0600, "DI" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 06:28:55 -0600, "DI" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...
alt.mountain-bike is moribund. Maybe turning it into a forum for the
TRUTH about mountain biking will save it?

Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking
Michael Vandeman, Ph.D.
Updated October 16, 2007

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

Just some more of Vande****, don't waste you time reading it.

Afraid someone might learn the truth?
--

You wouldn't know the truth, only your Spam.

It's interesting that (1) my article is BY FAR the most popular
article in this newsgroup, and (2) NOT ONE mountain biker has had the
guts to respond with any specific facts or criticisms. You guys are
nothing but hot air.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 00:00:11 -0400, Jason
wrote:

* Mike Vandeman :
Afraid someone might learn the truth?

Quite the contrary mikey. When you actually tell the truth we'll all be
more then willing to listen.

Jason

You're ALREADY listening, obviously, or you wouldn't be responsing. No
one else generates so much response.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

On Sun, 13 Jan 2008 14:47:57 GMT, "Mike" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 12 Jan 2008 06:28:55 -0600, "DI" wrote:


"Mike Vandeman" wrote in message
...
alt.mountain-bike is moribund. Maybe turning it into a forum for the
TRUTH about mountain biking will save it?

Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking
Michael Vandeman, Ph.D.
Updated October 16, 2007

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande

Just some more of Vande****, don't waste you time reading it.

Afraid someone might learn the truth?


Not from anything that you post !!!!

You are lying. You wouldn't be responding if you wreen't afraid that
people might learn the truth from me.
--
I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to
humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8
years fighting auto dependence and road construction.)

Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of!

http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande