new Michigan blog posting Mike Vandeman tripe as "info"

[datenschwanz]

Hey Michigan bikers, there's a new blog gogetoutdoors that is reposting Mike Vandeman's nonsense in your area.

You may want to let the blog author know that Vandeman is uh... not, how shall we say... a reliable source of factual information or rational commentary?

Just sayin'.

[mazzmond]

Looks like the author of the blog has a similar anti mountain bike agenda as Vandeman so I think the author doesn't care what Vandeman's past is, only that he supports the same agenda. Some people just really hate mountain bikes...not much we can do to change that except just be good stewards in regards to our sport to the public. In all the year's Vandeman has campaigned against us, the sport has only grown and will continue to grow. In fact Vandeman has probably helped us much more than hurt the community by inspiring people to be more pro active in building and maintaining our trails as well as be more politically active in the local government to support their use.

The state of Michigan has been using some money to expand and add some trails (whether this is a good use of tax money is personal opinion) and that seems to be the blog authors biggest gripe. Living in a community that is very pro cycling (all types) they've been constantly pushing trails and building more miles of MUP so this trend isn't going away because the population of cyclists is increasing.

If it wasn't mountain biking, there would be something else the blogger and Vandeman would be crusading against. They aren't going to be persuaded by rational arguments.

[Paladin54]

Link doesn't work for me. Do you have the url?

[mazzmond]

Gogetoutdoors's Blog

gogetoutdoors.wordpress.com

[tl1]

Except where they're not.

1) Is pretty much true and you'd experience this if you ever tried to hike a busy MTB trail like Pontiac Lake or Island Lake. There's a lot of oblivious MTBers that don't think twice of not announcing themselves and rudely blasting by you, missing you by inches as if you're merely an annoyance in the pursuit of their Personal Record Time. I sometimes experience pretty much the same thing with an added exhaust bouquet while riding in the snow, as snowmobiles blast by me when I'm on a bike.

2) Is pretty much well documented to be bunk. Horse riders do the most damage by far, hikers are second worst. Bikers can and do cover more ground than hikers but most (far from all) know not to skid or ride in mud causing erosion. Some are just way too busy being manly and rad to be responsible though.

3) Is certainly somewhat true. Most of us have been hurt or know someone who has been hurt riding MTBs. It's a fact of life given the higher speeds involved and all the trees, sticks and rocks present when you fall.

I guess that won't satisfy you much though if you're a fundamentalist anti-Vandeman party liner but it's really OK to admit that we as MTBers are not perfect angels and that we can indeed tell the truth.


The mountain bikers won’t tell you the truth:
1. The presence of large, fast-moving pieces of machinery (bicycles) on trails drives away all other trail users — a net harm.
2. Mountain bikers travel several times as far and as fast as other trail users, thereby causing several times as much damage to trails, wildlife, and wildlife habitat.
3. Contrary to their claims about the healthfulness of mountain biking, it is actually an extremely dangerous sport. Serious injuries and even deaths are common. Recently a 12-year-old girl DIED during her very first mountain biking lesson!
4. For more infomation, see Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking.

By all means, please protect our scanty remaining wilderness, but as official Wilderness — the highest protection available, and the only one that does the wildlife justice.
Thank you,
Michael J. Vandeman, Ph.D.

[Paladin54]

Thanks for the link.

I don't understand his beef with MTBRs re the proposed pathways by the DNR.

While I can see MTBRs supporting them. I don't see them pushing for them. We aren't interested in flat, paved paths. Yet he seems to think MTBRs are the driving force behind them.

He seems a kook

[ColorVoyeur]

That blog! I can never un-see that!

It was clearly created by a 4 year old, and the writing.. my god the writing was so bad.

People, if you want to be taken seriously, hire a professional to put out your message. Your inability to use crayons becomes very obvious when you decide to make a blog.

[sandmangts]

I have been actively seeking out Mike Vandemans posts and comments on articles for a few months. I have been debunking and posting information that proves he is wrong. Everytime he used his facebook account I just followed the link to his tyrades and posted links to his criminal convictions. I did it so much that he cancelled his facebook.

[shekky]

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j...PIr9mf2xS8QoJA

[Wasmachineman NL]

That blog! I can never un-see that!

It was clearly created by a 4 year old, and the writing.. my god the writing was so bad.

People, if you want to be taken seriously, hire a professional to put out your message. Your inability to use crayons becomes very obvious when you decide to make a blog.

Welcome to the Internet, Color.

[shenny88]

Except where they're not.

1) Is pretty much true and you'd experience this if you ever tried to hike a busy MTB trail like Pontiac Lake or Island Lake. There's a lot of oblivious MTBers that don't think twice of not announcing themselves and rudely blasting by you, missing you by inches as if you're merely an annoyance in the pursuit of their Personal Record Time. I sometimes experience pretty much the same thing with an added exhaust bouquet while riding in the snow, as snowmobiles blast by me when I'm on a bike.

2) Is pretty much well documented to be bunk. Horse riders do the most damage by far, hikers are second worst. Bikers can and do cover more ground than hikers but most (far from all) know not to skid or ride in mud causing erosion. Some are just way too busy being manly and rad to be responsible though.

3) Is certainly somewhat true. Most of us have been hurt or know someone who has been hurt riding MTBs. It's a fact of life given the higher speeds involved and all the trees, sticks and rocks present when you fall.

I guess that won't satisfy you much though if you're a fundamentalist anti-Vandeman party liner but it's really OK to admit that we as MTBers are not perfect angels and that we can indeed tell the truth.


The mountain bikers won’t tell you the truth:
1. The presence of large, fast-moving pieces of machinery (bicycles) on trails drives away all other trail users — a net harm.
2. Mountain bikers travel several times as far and as fast as other trail users, thereby causing several times as much damage to trails, wildlife, and wildlife habitat.
3. Contrary to their claims about the healthfulness of mountain biking, it is actually an extremely dangerous sport. Serious injuries and even deaths are common. Recently a 12-year-old girl DIED during her very first mountain biking lesson!
4. For more infomation, see Frequently Asked Questions about Mountain Biking.

By all means, please protect our scanty remaining wilderness, but as official Wilderness — the highest protection available, and the only one that does the wildlife justice.
Thank you,
Michael J. Vandeman, Ph.D.

Youre a ****ing clown. The earth is a worse place for you having been here.
By the way, its funny that the UCPD didnt make mention of you cute little Ph.D that youre apparently so proud of.... probably because it doesnt separate you from the rest of the low-life scum the police deal with everyday.

[007]

Hey . . . soooo ummmm, MV is NOT a poster on these boards, and what you quoted was someone reposting MV's commentary.

You can relax now!

[shenny88]

Hey . . . soooo ummmm, MV is NOT a poster on these boards, and what you quoted was someone reposting MV's commentary.

You can relax now!

DAMN!

[tl1]

DAMN!

Well...duh. I believe that you confused me for Mike Vandeman you flaming jack@ss. Then you gave me a flaming neg rep. to boot. You truly are unable to read and completely clueless. There's good reason I rarely read the Michigan board, too many dullards like you around.