MV's same old tirade has been published in the September 2003 issue of Backpacker magazine. Page 26
asks the question: Should mountain bikes be allowed on hiking trails? Of course MV says no. His
argument against bikes is the same as always; only the bikes are banned, not the bikers Mountain
bikes run over animals, etc..
Seems to me he would put his somewhat prolific pen to work in support of something that really makes
a difference to the planet. The rampant consumption of oil causes more environmental damage in a
week than all the mountain bikes in the world have since their invention. Oh well, he probably
drives a Hummer....
The credit for his editorial lists him as Former Chair, Wildlife Committee, San Fransisco Bay
Chapter of the Sierra Club. I think maybe I'll let my Sierra Club membership elapse after seeing
that one. I wonder what George Dubya's position on mountain biking is?
BTW, Backpacker magazine is published by Rodale Press, the same people that publish
Bicycling magazine.
Seriously though Mike, I do respect your dedication and your work toward a cause you apparently
believe in. But have you ever heard of the Pareto principle? The "vital few?" For the benefit of
some readers that may not have, the Pareto principle states that the vast majority of problems are
caused by a vital few causes, all the remaining causes are the trivial many. When looking at
environmental concerns, surely mountain biking must be in the trivial many when there are millions
of cars on our highways and plenty of coal fired power plants.