In part 1 of this series , we asked the following questions:
This in reference to an article from Mr. Troy Duffin of Avid Trails. One of the reasons he mentioned for his belief sharing was hard was that of the speeds of mountain bikers in relation to hikers. Here is the relevant part of that quote: We need to accept that hikers, runners, and horses generally move at under 10 MPH (and often at 2 MPH or even slower), while aggressive cyclists often top 30 MPH. This is a massive speed differential, and creates substantial safety issues. Is this a true statement? Do all trails see these type of speed differences? Lets find out as we discuss the speeds of mountain bikes and why they obtain the speed they do in part 2 of "Can hikers and bikers share successfully on trails?" Travel back in human history a bit. On the plains of Africa, most things moving with any speed toward you were doing so to gnaw on your face. Therefore, built into our DNA, through the survivors of any face gnawing, is an internal speed limit on items we see. Items traveling below a certain speed could be reckoned with. Items traveling above that speed were almost always a danger and usually came with sharp pokey and chompy bits. While few of us reading this article speed a lot of time on the plains of Africa walking among the beasts, the fact is that internal speed limit is still there, call it a paleolithic constant. That constant is triggered when we are walking and see something coming toward us at about 3-4 times our own speed. Even today, on a trail, if the conscious part of our brains goes, “Oh, its a guy on mountain bike”, the unconscious parts of our brains are going, “Danger! Predator!”. This explains why those that talk their dislike of shared trails often use terms like “nervous”, “uneasy” and “guarded”. What they are trying to express is that paleolithic constant kicking in. As they come across another user, in this case a mountain biker, that fight or flight response is triggered subconsciously. If this happens in their hike more than few times the more primitive parts of their brain will just stay at full alert, even when no other users are around. Combine this older age, maybe with a fear of injury, a lack of understanding in how best to share and the result is an anxiety borne out of the fight or flight response being triggered with every passing use.
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