an extremly boring woman ranting about mountian biking

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an extremly boring woman ranting about mountian biking
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flag sherdforlife
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 21:57 Quote
Just came across this. You don't get more anti-mountainbiking than this woman...

The destructive impact of mountain biking on forested landscapes
Kristyn Ferguson, University of Waterloo, N2L 3G1 Waterloo, ON, Canada
e-mail: kristynferguson[at]hotmail.com
Published in Environmentalist (200Cool 28:67–68
DOI 10.1007/s10669-007-9146-0
Published online: 4 December 2007
 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2007

It is a beautiful late summer morning in an Ontario forest. Sunlight just barely glints through the thick mat of leaves which create the canopy, and the air is warm, moist and smells of earth. Birds hop about the forest floor, weaving around the clumps of understory vegetation which thrive in clusters and colonies of bright green leaves. The dazzling yellow flowers of Solidago flexicaulus (zigzag goldenrod) are flecked across the landscape and can be seen standing out amongst this sea of emerald. The vibrant blue fruit of Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh) peeks out amongst the plant’s foot-shaped leaves. The air is alight with the buzz of bumblebees and honeybees as they travel from flower to flower, carrying loads of fresh pollen. Here and there a leaf flutters to the ground as a gentle breeze strokes the tops of the tall sugar maple trees. Aside from these noises, the forest is quiet.

Suddenly there is a different sound: the loud snapping and cracking of branches and the distinct rustle of leaves being kicked up. Mountain bikers roar through the forest, disregarding the world beneath their wheels. Birds and wildlife hustle away in flustered terror as this ride continues. Saplings are being taken down with each twist and turn off the bike, and delicate understory plants are wiped out underneath the biker without a murmur of defense. The silent and deadliest effect of this attack is one that does not lament in the form of felled branches and leaves, but merely lets out a gasp of suction and surrender. It is the soil, which is being pressed firmly beneath the heavy weight of the rider and their bike, becoming compacted and compressed. These sounds and sights are those of war; and it is being waged on a forest which has no defense, no strategy, and almost no one to stand up for it.

To some, the effects I have described might seem minimal. Surely to mountain bikers they are just small casualties which are simply expendable for the tradeoff of a great ride. However, what is really happening is complete havoc, and it is being inflicted on this forest with no two ways about it. The soil compaction I described has a plethora of negative effects associated with it, including the creation of an impossible medium for certain native species to grow in. It can also decrease soil permeability which leads to less water being absorbed into the ground for seed germination, soil health, and use by plants. However, the worst consequence of soil compaction has to be the provision of a tough growing environment which can only be exploited by opportunistic invasive exotic species, just looking for their chance to thrive in this forest. Invasive species are one of the fastest growing and most problematic issues Ontario forests are facing today. Freeriding serves simply to create more and more opportunities for these plants to grow and out compete native egetation. With prolific growth and efficient reproductive strategies, coupled with lack of natural predators, invasive species only need a small window of opportunity to push past native species in a natural setting and take off wildly, dominating the forest and decreasing biodiversity.

The aggressive tearing and turning up of soil from the wheels of mountain bikes, most simply described as soil disturbance, also has an abundance of negative effects related to it. When soil is disturbed, the valuable upper layers of the soil become susceptible to erosion (soil loss), which is a dangerous force when juxtaposed with the relatively massive amount of time it takes nature to create just a centimeter of topsoil. Loss of soil from erosion also means a loss of the nutrients contained in this soil which are greatly needed in the balance of forest nutrient cycles. Soil disturbance also allows for the previously described invasion of non-native species, as it creates a soil environment not desirable to some more delicate native plants, requiring specific conditions to reproduce and grow.

Above these problems, the most visible and devastating is that of actual physical damage to plants and trees. Young trees (saplings and seedlings) are without question one of the most delicate entities in a forest setting, and one crushing blow from a mountain bike can be enough to end their short lives. Native understory species, once knocked over or ridden over, may be damaged to the point of nonrecovery in a particular growing season. Any plants which have been purposely placed in the ground for restoration efforts are extremely sensitive to environmental changes; and the risk of a transplant not surviving is greatly increased in the face of damage from recreational biking.

As a graduate student working in the field of restoration ecology, this last point hits home the hardest with me. Working in a section of the Natchez Hills forest tract in Kitchener, Ontario, I have spent a great deal of time carefully transplanting native vegetation into areas which have been destroyed by frequent mountain biking. I have firsthand knowledge of the sensitivity of transplants, that are trying there hardest to make it in a new environment of soil, surrounded by new neighboring species. Basically it is a tough enough life as it is, and if a set of wheels comes near these plants it is almost a guarantee that they will be killed.

In Natchez Hills a previous restoration effort erected fences and signage to help deter mountain bikers from certain highly sensitive sites in the forest which were in the process of being restored. So far this has been an effective means of keeping mountain bikers away from these particular sites, but the bike tracks that traverse the length of hill directly outside to the fence are what really rub me the wrong way, because it shows that the message is simply not getting across. This summer I witnessed one of these riders, plummeting down a hillside covered with thriving native vegetation, taking out plant after plant with a huge smile on his face, completely oblivious to the real damage he was doing. It made my stomach churn.

I want a message to reach recreational riders who think they are ‘outdoorsy’ types, simply enjoying nature and experiencing the great outdoors. That message is: you are not enjoying nature, you are destroying nature. The damage done by wheels in forests is so unbelievably vast and far reaching, and the effects can last for years. An invasive species incursion due to unsavory conditions for native growth can last a lifetime, if there is no effort to control these species and they are allowed to take over the majority of a forest floor. The thriving populations of the invasive Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard) and Chelidonium majus (greater celandine) in Natchez Hills are an indicator of just how far this damage has gone, and how long it might be before this forest is a properly functioning entity again.

Whether it be by means of legislation to ban mountain bikers from forests permanently, at the cost of major fines or worse, or by means of freeriders getting this message from forest advocates like myself, something needs to change. Restoration efforts are a step in the right direction, but they cannot survive in the face of continued belligerence toward the forest by those who, for the most part, are blissfully unaware of the exact harm they are causing.

An unspeakable amount of effort is pouring out of conservation and restoration disciplines to help save what is left of Ontario’s forests. This movement needs all the help it can get, and the first step is removing continuous disturbance. So to all freeriders who insist on habitually riding in forested environments, heed this message: find a trail and don’t let your wheels stray from it, even for an instant.
END
flag norco-six
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:07 Quote
tell tha bitch to shut up
flag
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:09 Quote
She over exerted the effects of mountain biking. Its been proven mountain biking does less erosion than hiking really.. Unless we're talking full out DH racing on a set course.
flag norco-six
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:11 Quote
in the famus words of the movie road trip ( from the dog of all things)
tell that bitch to get in there and make my some pancakes
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:13 Quote
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.
flag signorvince2
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:13 Quote
sherdforlife wrote:

It is a beautiful late summer morning in an Ontario forest. Sunlight just barely glints through the thick mat of leaves which create the canopy, and the air is warm, moist and smells of earth. Birds hop about the forest floor, weaving around the clumps of understory vegetation which thrive in clusters and colonies of bright green leaves. The dazzling yellow flowers of Solidago flexicaulus (zigzag goldenrod) are flecked across the landscape and can be seen standing out amongst this sea of emerald. The vibrant blue fruit of Caulophyllum thalictroides (blue cohosh) peeks out amongst the plant’s foot-shaped leaves. The air is alight with the buzz of bumblebees and honeybees as they travel from flower to flower, carrying loads of fresh pollen. Here and there a leaf flutters to the ground as a gentle breeze strokes the tops of the tall sugar maple trees. Aside from these noises, the forest is quiet.

Suddenly there is a different sound: the loud snapping and cracking of branches and the distinct rustle of leaves being kicked up. Mountain bikers roar through the forest, disregarding the world beneath their wheels. Birds and wildlife hustle away in flustered terror as this ride continues. Saplings are being taken down with each twist and turn off the bike, and delicate understory plants are wiped out underneath the biker without a murmur of defense.

That's as far as I read. Her facts are wrong, so I decided not to read any more. Trails don't have saplings and plants growing on them! And what about the bear that shits all over those understory plants? Where's the article about the deer that eats the plants?

God dammit!
flag Bomber-Man-8825
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:15 Quote
i donno about you guys, but i think she makes are sport sound more awesome than it already is
flag dkidd
O+
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:16 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.

You are my new favorite person.
flag norco-six
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:17 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.
sum how if a chick can say that he chimny needs cleaning but i dont think anyone on this site will have a nuts to lol i know i woulnt tap that shes a bitch
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:17 Quote
dkidd wrote:
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.

You are my new favorite person.

Beer
flag signorvince2
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:18 Quote
norco-six wrote:
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.
sum how if a chick can say that he chimny needs cleaning but i dont think anyone on this site will have a nuts to lol i know i woulnt tap that shes a bitch

Just think of all that untapped aggression...she'd just take it out on you. Big Grin
flag dkidd
O+
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:19 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
dkidd wrote:
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.

You are my new favorite person.

Beer

So I'm in BC... if you're closer to On. than me, it's your duty. Have fun...
flag Hummeroid
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:20 Quote
All the aggression and grossness would be canceled out by the "Ultimate MTB HERO" status you would achieve. Straight up LEGEND.
flag shondo
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:20 Quote
Hummeroid wrote:
I've never read anything that made me think the author needed to get laid more than that. Seriously, someone take one for the MTB team and rock a one nighter.

you first. i bet she has big front teeth.
flag norco-six
Posted: Mar 25, 2008 at 22:20 Quote
dkidd wrote:
Hummeroid wrote:
dkidd wrote:


You are my new favorite person.

Beer

So I'm in BC... if you're closer to On. than me, it's your duty. Have fun...

alberta HA i win
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