From George Vernon

Monroe

To the editor: 

I ride a bicycle. A lot. Sometimes on the bike trail north and south of Monroe. The trail is tranquil and fairly well maintained. When you meet an oncoming rider, or pass a slower one, there is sufficient room for side-by-side bikes, but only sufficient. In contrast to a wider dedicated ATV trail like Monroe-Mineral Point, the bike trail would not permit oncoming ATVs to pass by one another without wheels in the shoulder on both sides.

It is folly to believe that a bicyclist meeting an oncoming ATV will have sufficient room on the trail to safely pass by. It is folly to believe that all ATV drivers will patiently and voluntarily reduce their speed and pull partially off the trail to accommodate an oncoming bicyclist or to pass one they overtake going in the same direction. Who do you think is going to “win” if a bicycle and an ATV can’t work this out? 

I have great respect for ATV operators, the vast majority of whom are polite and cooperative. But it only takes one. The OWI experiences of a minority speak for themselves. I infer that in most injuries and fatalities from ATVs, whether OWI or otherwise, the victim is the operator. That won’t be the case if there is mixed use of the bike trail. There is little enough space dedicated to quiet reflection, walking in nature or biking without apprehension about vehicle traffic. Let’s not spoil what we have.