Hug a mountain biker
Had cyclists been welcomed to the public lands, just imagine how much further along we all might be toward preserving and protecting the dwindling wild places we all love. I can’t fault traditional trail users for their early suspicions or their initial dismissal of mountain biking as a passing fad, but today I am astounded and dismayed by the failure of some trail users and some conservation organizations to recognize that mountain bikers represent the greatest injection of outdoor enthusiasm and voting power that the conservation constituency has seen since John Muir invited the masses to outdoor worship. The bicycle is, rightly so, the darling of environmentalists worldwide. Treating it otherwise can only hamper conservation efforts.
Daniel Greenstadt
San Diego, California