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"Mountain biker injuries soar"
Evolution at work....
Mike http://www.canada.com/theprovince/ne...a-546726fef714 Mountain biker injuries soar Up to 30 people a day show up at clinic with breaks, bruises Kent Spencer, The Province Published: Wednesday, September 10, 2008 More people than ever are flying through the air on their mountain bikes -- and dozens are ending up at Whistler's health clinic with scrapes, broken bones and worse. Dr. Fern von der Porten said yesterday that 20 to 30 injured bikers come to the Whistler Health Care Centre on busy summer days. "The injuries are mainly cuts, wrist and collarbone fractures. Less frequently, there are head, chest wall and spine injuries," said von der Porten, 33, a physician with a sport medicine specialty. "People who know their ability level are rarely seriously injured. The ones that scare me are the beginners who try to keep up or the people who believe they are better than they are," she said. The number of injuries is a result of a phenomenal growth in mountain biking, fuelled by powerful new bike springs and chairlifts that whisk riders to the top of the hill. Terrain on Whistler Mountain, once used only for skiing, has been sculpted with bike trails, wooden platforms and jumps. "Bring a lift into the picture and you have an enjoyable outing," said sports action photographer Sterling Lorence of Vancouver. "Whistler is the world's No. 1 bike park by far." He said the new springs, which compress up to 20 centimetres, cushion riders on the bumps and launch them on the jumps. "The bikes are so well suspended they give you a false sense of speed," he said. "But dirt and rocks aren't snow. The trees don't bend. You take a tumble and plant your shoulder harder than you thought you would. "Over the years, there have been catastrophic accidents. I've seen the world's best break arms and dislocate shoulders." There is also a feeling of invulnerability brought on by the goggles, gloves, jerseys and pants which enclose bodies in a protective skin. "The equipment provides a football player's sensation of invincibility," Lorence said. "And people don't respect warnings of steep terrain." Construction worker Sean Cooper, 24, separated his shoulder during a tumble on Saturday. "It was a lapse in judgment," he said. "I carried too much speed off a bridge and missed the off-ramp, digging the bike into the ground at an angle. It was definitely one of the more painful things I've done. "The sport is dangerous, but you accept those risks. I do it for the adrenaline rush and to burn off a little steam after work." Rob McSkimming, a vice-president of resort owner Intrawest, said there is "some risk involved." "It depends on how much as a rider you want to absorb it," he said. McSkimming said bike technology has improved over the years. "A bike's hydraulic disc brakes are like a car's. You need them," he said. Up to 2,000 riders are on the hill at one time. The majority are thrill-seeking young men who pay $49 for a day-lift ticket. Summer income from the bikes has grown to rival golf course revenue, but skiing tops the bill with up to 27,000 daily on the slopes. -- I am working on creating wildlife habitat that is off-limits to humans ("pure habitat"). Want to help? (I spent the previous 8 years fighting auto dependence and road construction.) Please don't put a cell phone next to any part of your body that you are fond of! http://home.pacbell.net/mjvande |
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"Mountain biker injuries soar"
On Sep 10, 9:25*am, Mike Vandeman wrote:
The number of injuries is a result of a phenomenal growth in mountain biking, IOW, your campaign to rid the world of mountain biking has been a failure. Maybe that's because you cannot be taken seriously? The first time I Googled your name I discovered you yourself are a mountain biker and now I read that you cut down trees? You phony. |
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"Mountain biker injuries soar"
On Sep 10, 1:51*pm, Yukiko wrote:
On Sep 10, wrote: The number of injuries is a result of a phenomenal growth in mountain biking, IOW, your campaign to rid the world of mountain biking has been a failure. Maybe that's because you cannot be taken seriously? The first time I Googled your name I discovered you yourself are a mountain biker and now I read that you cut down trees? You phony. Failure is a key component of Mikey's life. He was a irresponsible owner of an invasive specie (cat). He let his cats out so they could kill native song birds and other native creatures. After one the cats got run over by a car, he wrote a bizarre eulogy and blamed the driver for running over the cat. Mikey had to blame someone else for his stupidity. At one time Mikey belonged to the Sierra Club but, was thrown-off the board for his strange viewpoints. After failing at the Sierra Club due to him being incompetent, he tried to blame others on the board for his removal. Mikey even joined a cult and has a vasectomy hoping that the leader would assign a woman to him however, once again his planned failed. Then Mikey tried MTBing and sucked at that too. Now he is hating MTBers for failing at MTBing. By bicycling on pavement he can easily keep his balance on this adult tricycle. The only things he is good at is stealing from his employer by surfing the internet during working hours and being a troll. Trolling allows him the chance to interact with people that aren't paid to wait on him. Employees at the stores he shops at must cringe when they see him enter the store and laugh at him after he leaves the store. |
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