cycommute, I wasn't assuming anything about your riding preferences. Look at my post that you quoted, I said "unless I am", as in me. That's why I said my bike wasn't designed for that.
When mtb riding, mileage is really a moot point because the terrain varies so greatly. According to my Strava, a 2 hour ride might have over 3,000ft of climbing in it. So from my experience and based on my riding, a 14 mile mtb ride is close to a 42 mile road ride. Again, miles are a poor indication of effort exerted. I think I could do an easy ride on the mtb or road for 4 hours and exert less energy than a hilly 2 hour ride and cover more than twice as many miles.
I like a lot of what you say and think you bring some good information to the forums but, unless I am misinterpreting your last post, you sometimes seem to want to stir up an argument. I don't, but appreciate the exchange of different opinions, knowledge and life tales. That is the reason I enjoy forums like this one.
We can differ in opinion, but no need to defend any differences. Thanks for the other posts, I enjoyed them