Mountain biker Robert Marion from Mount Airy, North Carolina, bought a fat tire bike just weeks ago, but he translated his cycling skills to the beach strand to beat 60 cyclists from five different states in Wrightsville Beach’s second annual U.S. Open Fat Bike Beach Championships on March 12.
Spectators cheered and rang cowbells as competitors raced laps around a 1-mile, zigzagging course event organizer Shawn Spencer created on the beach in front of the Blockade Runner Beach Resort. The bikes’ large tires, originally designed for riding over snowfields, coasted over the soft sand as cyclists navigated various hills and ramps incorporated into the course.
Competitors either raced eight laps in the beginner division, 16 laps in the sport division or 24 laps in the expert division. This year’s participation was double last year’s and equally split between the three divisions. Marion and Jesse Piersol from Downington, Pennsylvania, were overall male and female champions.
Marion typically rides over rugged trails as a member of professional mountain bike team American Classic, but one of his team’s sponsors encouraged him to try the fat bike beach race.
While he was able to translate his skills to the soft sand, he did notice one key difference between mountain biking and beach biking: a mountain bike race, unlike a beach race, includes periods of coasting downhill that give the legs and lungs a break.
“There was no coasting out here today,” Marion said. “It’s a constant effort, the whole time.”
Mountain bike courses are also typically shadier and less windy. The fat bike racers contended with unseasonably warm weather for early March, with air temperature in the mid-70s, and an easterly sea breeze.
The mild weather did bring out crowds of spectators, some supporting a friend or family member and some curious beachgoers simply attracted by the unusual event. The spectators hooted for all the racers as they peddled past, but Marion’s wife, Philicia Marion, earned a few extra cheers for her bright-pink tires and wide grin as she cruised around the course on her way to winning the sport division.
“I was just having so much fun!” Marion said, still smiling after the race. Still, she admitted, “I can’t wait to take off my shoes and put my feet in the sand.”
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Bicycles should not be allowed in any natural area. They are inanimate objects and have no rights. There is also no right to mountain bike. That was settled in federal court in 1996: http://mjvande.info/mtb10.htm . It’s dishonest of mountain bikers to say that they don’t have access to trails closed to bikes. They have EXACTLY the same access as everyone else — ON FOOT! Why isn’t that good enough for mountain bikers? They are all capable of walking….
A favorite myth of mountain bikers is that mountain biking is no more harmful to wildlife, people, and the environment than hiking, and that science supports that view. Of course, it’s not true. To settle the matter once and for all, I read all of the research they cited, and wrote a review of the research on mountain biking impacts (see http://mjvande.info/scb7.htm ). I found that of the seven studies they cited, (1) all were written by mountain bikers, and (2) in every case, the authors misinterpreted their own data, in order to come to the conclusion that they favored. They also studiously avoided mentioning another scientific study (Wisdom et al) which did not favor mountain biking, and came to the opposite conclusions.
Those were all experimental studies. Two other studies (by White et al and by Jeff Marion) used a survey design, which is inherently incapable of answering that question (comparing hiking with mountain biking). I only mention them because mountain bikers often cite them, but scientifically, they are worthless.
Mountain biking accelerates erosion, creates V-shaped ruts, kills small animals and plants on and next to the trail, drives wildlife and other trail users out of the area, and, worst of all, teaches kids that the rough treatment of nature is okay (it’s NOT!). What’s good about THAT?
To see exactly what harm mountain biking does to the land, watch this 5-minute video: http://vimeo.com/48784297.
In addition to all of this, it is extremely dangerous: http://mjvande.info/mtb_dangerous.htm .
For more information: http://mjvande.info/mtbfaq.htm .
The common thread among those who want more recreation in our parks is total ignorance about and disinterest in the wildlife whose homes these parks are. Yes, if humans are the only beings that matter, it is simply a conflict among humans (but even then, allowing bikes on trails harms the MAJORITY of park users — hikers and equestrians — who can no longer safely and peacefully enjoy their parks).
The parks aren’t gymnasiums or racetracks or even human playgrounds. They are WILDLIFE HABITAT, which is precisely why they are attractive to humans. Activities such as mountain biking, that destroy habitat, violate the charter of the parks.
Even kayaking and rafting, which give humans access to the entirety of a water body, prevent the wildlife that live there from making full use of their habitat, and should not be allowed. Of course those who think that only humans matter won’t understand what I am talking about — an indication of the sad state of our culture and educational system.