Poker, I just think you came on a little strong in the first post. People on this site are always looking for other's opinions, and you have the right to post when ever you want. You just have to look at you post as others might see it and be prepared for rebuttal. Most of us have had post that rubbed others the wrong way. I ride the canyons a lot too, my bike sits a inch lower than your and with floor boards, if I ride hard I scrape on occasions, not all the time but it happens. I don't claim to be an expert either, but I feel I can get through the turns at a good rate of speed with confidence. But like you and many have said here, you should never push yourself past your confort level.
Anyway welcome to the site, like I said if your ever up north send me a PM and we can get together for a ride. Now that we have a few people in the Colorado area, we were thinking about having a small get together next summer so everyone can meet each eachother.