Hi Dr. Vandeman,

I just stumbled upon your website, and I must say that I am disturbed by your opinions, enough so to take a moment out of my busy schedule to write to you. I can certainly appreciate your desire to protect wildlife and to promote conservation; however, your extreme views are so out of touch with reality that you hurt your own cause.

By looking at your website one could easily have the opinion that
you are anti-human.

You seem to attack the people, companies, and activities that bring
a greater appreciation for the outdoors and spark an interest in

You argue against responsible and sustainable land use, yet you
ignore things that do far more harm. Case in point, under your

They typically want more parks and less development.

Your arguments that mountain bikes do more damage than hikers are
simply unfounded and based on debatable, cherry picked data collected

In my opinion, this ruins your credibility. Mountain biking is
beneficial to the humans who do it (health, stress relief, fun, etc)

and the wilderness they do it in (wilderness advocacy, promoting
interest in conservation, promoting cycling as transportation, less

Under your passions you list camping and hiking, all while displaying a pair of hiking boots as something you do when you don't use your brain. Was irony intended here?

After reading your website, I understand that you are a selfish man
who wants the wilderness preserved for your own personal use and peace

It is obvious that your hatred of mountain biking is something
personal, and has less to do with its impact on the environment.

If you truly wanted to promote conservation, I believe it would better to study and advocate responsible land use rather than selectively demonizing one group or another in an attempt to ban them from the wilderness.

A selfish 'no access' approach is not going to work in the real
world. I'm sure you know that your beliefs are clearly in the

Happy trails,

Glen
(mountain biker / tree hugger)

At 12:34 PM 10/6/2009, you wrote:
Hi Dr. Vandeman,

I just stumbled upon your website, and I must say that I am disturbed by your opinions, enough so to take a moment out of my busy schedule to write to you. I can certainly appreciate your desire to protect wildlife and to promote conservation; however, your extreme views are so out of touch with reality that you hurt your own cause.

BS. I am far better informed than you, obviously. You LIE about the
science on mountain biking impacts, which I know like the back of my
hand. You don't know it, or you would be able to provide some
specifics.

By looking at your website one could easily have the opinion that
you are anti-human.

I just tell the truth, something that you know nothing about.

You seem to attack the people, companies, and activities that bring
a greater appreciation for the outdoors and spark an interest in
wildlife conservation.

Complete BS. Mountain bikers have NEVER been active in wildlife
conservation, and know nothing about it. All they have ever done is
lobby for more access for BIKES.

You argue against responsible and sustainable land use, yet you
ignore things that do far more harm. Case in point, under your
current interests you mention fighting mountain biking. Mountain
bikers tend to want to keep land open for recreational use, thus
preserving habitat by default, as opposed to being turned into housing
developments or clear cut.

That's not the choice that we have. Besides, mountain bikers love to
build & maintain trails, which DESTROYS habitat. You are truly
amazingly ignorant.

They typically want more parks and less development.

Building & riding trails IS development.

Your arguments that mountain bikes do more damage than hikers are
simply unfounded and based on debatable, cherry picked data collected
by groups that support your own extremist views.

That is a bald-faced lie. You have no idea what you are talking about.
I used the same research papers that IMBA used, plus one that they
deliberately ignored, because it was unfavorable to mountain biking.

In my opinion, this ruins your credibility. Mountain biking is
beneficial to the humans who do it (health, stress relief, fun, etc)

BS. Not when you take into account all the serious INJURIES & DEATHS
it has caused.

and the wilderness they do it in (wilderness advocacy, promoting
interest in conservation, promoting cycling as transportation, less
cars / pollution, etc), which you ignore in your arguments. It is
clear to me that without advocates, the wilderness will simply
disappear, and mountain bikers (and other trail users) are part of the
solution, not the problem.

BS. Mountain bikers have NEVER been Wilderness advocates. All they
have done is try to restrict the size of Wilderness, so they can
continue destroying it.

Under your passions you list camping and hiking, all while displaying a pair of hiking boots as something you do when you don't use your brain. Was irony intended here?

No. I don't wear lugged soles.

After reading your website, I understand that you are a selfish man
who wants the wilderness preserved for your own personal use and peace
of mind, free of those who annoy you (mountain bikers / other people),
which I find shameful.

That's a bald-faced lie & fabrication. I have never said that. In
fact, I have always said te OPPOSITE: I & other trail users have NO
PROBLEM sharing trails with mountain bikers, just not BIKES.

It is obvious that your hatred of mountain biking is something
personal, and has less to do with its impact on the environment.

BS. You don't know what you are talking about.

If you truly wanted to promote conservation, I believe it would better to study and advocate responsible land use rather than selectively demonizing one group or another in an attempt to ban them from the wilderness.

BS. I have NEVER advocated banning any group from Wilderness, only
BIKES.

A selfish 'no access' approach is not going to work in the real
world. I'm sure you know that your beliefs are clearly in the
minority, so teaching the mainstream to tread lightly is a better
approach and the only chance of truly protecting the wilderness. I'm
sure you can appreciate the math of this logic, considering your
background. In my short letter I doubt I have made much of an impact
on your opinions, considering the work on your website represents
years of extremist propaganda; however, everyone is entitled to their
opinion. In some small way I should thank you because I am now going
to be far more active in protecting my right to access to the
wilderness, both on foot and mountain bike. And like always, I will
do this responsibly, following rules and regulations, and in a way
that is sustainable and sets and example for others to follow.

You wouldn't know "responsible" if it hit you in the face. You only
know how to LIE, like all mountain bikers.

Happy trails,

Glen
(mountain biker / tree hugger)