Re: Backcountry Meetings

Man am I ever going to enter a snake pit on this one, but I've got to admit to being both a backpacker and a mountain biker. That's right, I ride one of those nasty contraptions (although not as fast as I used to, I've noticed that age equates to slower healing).
The solution I see is cross pollination between the groups -if you're a backpacker, seek out local mountian bike clubs and meet some of the members - most of 'em are pretty good folks, don't want to see trails closed to them and are willing to listen to your concerns. Go on a ride or two with them - you might enjoy it (it's just another way to get into the woods, after all). If you've got the legs and lungs try mountain bike camping - it allows you to get deeper into the woods in a weekend than you could by foot and can be a lot of fun (and a lot of work - a loaded bicycle on rough trails takes strength and skill to control). You also might just introduce some of the mountain bikers to backpacking - a friendly invitation to a weekend trip can make people sensitive to your perspective of velocity on the trail.
As for horses - there are some multi-use trails near to where I live which the horse set seems to feel they "own" - I just step off the trail and let 'em by - I figure they've got "right of weight" plus most of the locals aren't accomplished riders and I'd hate to see someone (especially a member of my family or myself) get injured because they can't control their horse.
In short, with a good attitude and a sense of compromise we can all get along out there. The alternative (closing trails and making people into "outlaws") just isn't that attractive, at least not to me - after all - depending on the numbers, it just might be hikers that are banned.
As for night riding - it adds a new dimension to trails that you've been on in daylight and can make the mundane intersting again - sort of like rock climbing a route using a headlamp at night that you've been on a number of times in daytime.