Trails and the Economy

MVSTA Leads Greening
By Ann McCreary

MVSTA LEADS GREENING
The Methow Valley Sports Trails Association has become a leader in the “greening” of the cross-country ski industry. MVSTA, which maintains one of the largest Nordic ski trail system in the United States, recently became the first cross-country ski system in the country to go carbon neutral.

Given MVSTA’s stated mission to operate trails in an environmentally sound manner, MVSTA staff and board began investigating viable ways to address the organization’s carbon emissions last year. “We researched bio-diesel for our five grooming machines, but the limitation of bio-diesel is low temperatures and we couldn’t afford to have the whole fleet of groomers come to a halt when it got really cold, so we started looking for alternative solutions,” said Jay Lucas, MVSTA executive director. Through a partnership with TerraPass www.terrapass.com, MVSTA calculated its annual carbon footprint by adding up and offsetting all emissions generated by trail grooming, transportation, and office energy use. Voila—carbon neutral!

Launched in 2004, TerraPass is the leading consumer retailer and marketer of greenhouse gas reduction offsets. TerraPass works by funding clean energy and greenhouse gas reduction projects throughout the U.S. and purchasing carbon credits from the Chicago Climate Exchange. Over 75,000 TerraPasses have been sold to individuals, families, and businesses to balance out the global warming impact of their flying, driving, and home energy use. Together, TerraPass customers have reduced more than 700 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, the primary cause of climate change. Every TerraPass offset purchase and marketing claim is verified by the Center for Resource Solutions, an independent, non-profit auditor.

MVSTA a non-profit organization that maintains the communities trails for year-round, non-motorized use, encourages their trail-users to take action as well. This fall MVSTA added a travel planning section to their web site,educating visitors about the TerraPass program that allows individuals to offset travel emissions. MVSTA development director, Danica Kaufman, shared her enthusiasm for the new program. “In the Methow Valley, the economy depends heavily on tourism, and TerraPass offers visitors who value the quality of our natural environment the opportunity for an ecologically-friendly vacation.”

In April, Kaufman and board president Don Portman attended the Cross-Country Ski Areas Association annual meeting in Colorado to share MVSTA’s story with other cross-country ski resort operators across the country. Portman, a primary instigator of the Methow’s Nordic ski trail system 30 years ago added, “Cross country skiing is all about enjoying the natural beauty of winter. Of course we want to do all we can to protect the environment”.

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Wildlife Encounters: Methow Valley Biologists Share Their Thoughts
By Soo Ing-Moody

Every once in a while you hear of a wildlife encounter gone wrong, where a hiker or skier is reported to have been attacked by some large animal while enjoying the great outdoors. Though these reports should be taken seriously—a  reminder of the fact that, while in the outdoors, we share the same ecological space with other species—it is also important to keep in mind that such threatening encounters occur in extremely rare cases.

The majority of wildlife encounters experienced while on the trails are much more indirect—sometimes only through a few telltale signs (sights or smells) hinting of their presence. And, on occasion, if you are lucky, you may even see one—from a respectful distance of course.

A discussion with Scott Fitkin, District Wildlife Biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, and John Rohrer, Biologist for the Methow Ranger District gives insight on what animals we could potentially come upon while hiking, biking, jogging, or generally enjoying the natural surroundings, along with some mindful advice on some pertinent “dos” and “don’ts,” and what to do if we should come upon a potentially negative encounter with one of the animals of the area.

“When you are on trails or in the backcountry and you want to see wildlife, definitely take binoculars and take the time and look around,” says Rohrer. “A lot of times it is easy to focus on where you are putting your feet, looking at the trail, and not looking at the scenery around you, so its easy to miss something.”

Appreciate the Small Things
“We tend to fixate on the larger animals, which people often term ‘charismatic mega fauna’ because they are showy, large, and fun to watch,” says Fitkin, “but, on a day to day basis, you are more apt to have encounters with smaller critters – rodents, squirrels, chipmunks, or bird species – and, they can be really rewarding. I would really encourage people to take the time and watch and just examine the behaviors of these smaller critters. They can really be entertaining and interesting.”

Among the smaller animals to be viewed in the Methow Valley are ground squirrels, lizards, frogs, salamanders, and snakes. And, since this is rattlesnake country, it is good to be aware of the potential that one may cross your path.
“Rattlesnakes are definitely poisonous,” says Rohrer, “but an interesting statistic is that of the 2000 people in the United States who get bitten every year, only about 6 or 7 die, and this is usually due to complications from illnesses they already had. Rarely are rattlesnake bites fatal on their own to a human.” Nevertheless, Rohrer does mention that the first line of defense after a snake bite is to immediately go to the doctor’s office for treatment.

Perhaps the best advice on how to avoid a snake bite is to simply give it a wide berth and leave it alone if you see one on the trail, be mindful of where you put your hands when climbing a steep slope, or where you put your feet, especially when going off trail.

“Unless you step on one, or step next to one and startle it, or try to handle one, the chances of a bite or strike are pretty low,” says Fitkin. The predominant local species of rattlesnake found in the Methow Valley is the Northern Pacific Rattlesnake, which according to Fitkin “rattle and hiss a little bit, but generally speaking are not that aggressive of a species.”

Other creatures to watch for in the Methow Valley area are the many birds which frequent the area, some year-round and some only seasonally. The Methow Valley is a well-known destination for birders travelling along the extensive Washington State Cascade Loop Birding Trail to view the many bird species that the state has to offer.

The Audobon Society lists ten viewing sites around the Methow Valley where varying bird species can be observed. “In the wintertime, on trails along the river corridor, like the Big Valley trail, and along a lot of the Community Trail, you can see river fowl, blue heron, and eagles – especially bald eagles in the wintertime,” says Rohrer.

Along some of these areas, trail users and birders alike can often view many bird species and their behaviors at various times of the year – making for some interesting interaction at times.

Especially fowl, like the Blue Grouse, can be seen right along designated trails, sometimes even displaying aggression in marking their territory in the spring. “They are generally not dangerous” says Fitkin, “but they can really startle you because they don’t move until you virtually step on them. And then they fly up from nowhere. I’ve almost hit a couple with my mountain bike.”

Expect the Unexpected
Another familiar and beautiful Methow Valley creature famous for its way of springing out of nowhere is deer.

“Deer can dash in front of bikers as well,” says Fitkin, “We often hear of deer encounters with a car, but there are also deer encounters on the trails as well and occurs typically when you come down a trail fast.”

But as Fitkin points out, deer can be a hazard for other unassuming creatures other than humans.

“Deer and dogs don’t generally mix well,” says Fitkin. “Deer can potentially be aggressive, especially when with fawn. From about first of June through the rest of summer, they can be pretty aggressive toward dogs when they are trying to protect their fawns.” To avoid an altercation with deer, he advises owners to have their dogs under some sort of control while on trails.

Another fairly common annual occurrence when deer have fawns is “people come upon a fawn and think it has been abandoned, so they pick it up and take it home and call asking what they should do with it,” says Rohrer.

“Well, the deer hasn’t been abandoned at all, but only left for a short time to enable the mother to forage,” explains Rohrer. “The fawns are usually well camouflaged and lie still until the mother’s return. So, when someone walks by and thinks they are saving this animal and picks it up, what they are really doing is taking it away from its mother and haven’t saved it at all.”

Whether with deer or other wildlife it is always good to use common sense and be respectful that you are in their natural habitat. Observing and enjoying them from a respectful distance is as much for your safety as it is for theirs—especially in the case of the larger animals of the area.

“I tend to see a lot of people that discount the danger of cougars and bears entirely, and I think that is naïve, but on the flipside I know people that are so paranoid that they are almost too afraid to go out and use the trail system,” says Fitkin. “The healthy attitude is in between. Use the trail system to the fullest extent possible, but be cautious and do things to minimize the risks.”

“Cougar encounters can occur virtually anywhere on a trail system,” adds Rohrer, “and the thing I want to convey about cougars is that there is an element of risk there, but it isn’t as dire as some people would seem to think. It is a fairly rare event.”

Nevertheless, Rohrer’s advice is to avoid jogging alone at dusk or dawn, particularly in areas where there are a lot of deer. “You are talking about a large predatory animal and there is an element of risk, so to minimize that risk people need to be cautious particularly at dawn and dusk when cougars are a little more active, especially if you are out alone in isolated areas, particularly jogging – hiking is probably not as much of an issue - but there is something about a running, moving person that can elicit a predatory response.”

If an encounter is imminent, knowing what to do can be critical.

“With black bears you want to scare away the animal and not appear submissive—and even more so with a cougar,” explains Fitkin, “If you come face to face with a cougar and it doesn’t immediately move away, then you want to make yourself as large and aggressive as possible. You want to scare that animal away from your presence. In the case of both animals you don’t want to run away or seem submissive. If you turn away you look like prey, or look submissive, which could elicit an even more aggressive response.”

When exercising caution with cougars and bears, it would be wise not to discount the ability for any animal to display aggressiveness if threatened. According to Fitkin, one particular animal to be aware of is moose.

 “Moose can be potentially more dangerous than any of the animals already mentioned – especially female moose with a calf, or in the fall when the bulls are in rut. Moose are very large animals —they are larger than any other animals in the area—so it is potentially quite dangerous if you are charged by one. And, they are not as intimidated by you as deer might be,” says Fitkin.

According to Fitkin, moose are on the increase in Okanogan County, including here in the Methow Valley. “We don’t tend to have many in the valley bottom,” says Fitkin, “but higher up the Chewuch, Twisp River, Lake Ann, Thirty-mile, Rendezvous areas, or even on the higher up Sun Mountain trails. Recent fires, particularly in the high country, are really enhancing habitat for moose, thereby increasing potential encounters with moose.”

Should you see a moose, or other seldom viewed animal, treat them as you would any of the other animals on the trails – with respect and distance.

Enjoy the Trails to their Fullest Potential
Whether you are a first-time adventurer of the Methow Valley, or a die-hard local, there is much to discover about the animals we live amongst on your next hike, bike, or ski.

Research is continually being conducted to better understand the wildlife which inhabit the areas we so love to frequent.

“I like to get out and cover some ground on the trails, but I am a big believer of stopping periodically to really absorb some of the environment – get your mini binoculars out, stop in a patch of riparian forest along the community trail, and do a little birding. Really take advantage of the fact that we really are blessed with a rich natural history and biodiversity in this watershed—there is a lot to see,” says Fitkin.

Heed the advice and you may just be rewarded with an unexpected viewing of a fascinating, and possibly seldom-viewed animal in its natural habitat.

Soo Ing-Moody is a sociologist and community researcher, a freelance writer and frequent contributor to Trails, owner of a new B&B in Twisp called Sojourns Guesthouse, and the mother of two busy boys.

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Activity Enthusiasm: Form & Fit - Five Common Errors to Ruin Your Cycling Season
By Pete Dickinson

One of the many advantages of valley life is the ability to switch fitness activities, almost overnight, from skiing to bicycling. A sure sign of the change from winter to spring is the noticeable increase of bicycles on valley roads.  After months of being relegated to the snowy Nordic trails, cyclists revel in clear pavement, or dry dirt.  This can lead to a medical condition known as “Activity Enthusiasm Syndrome,” or AES.  Symptoms may include a sore butt, numb hands, and painful knees.  Backs and necks can also become stiff and sore.  AES is a treatable condition if caught in its formative stages.  Early detection is crucial if AES is to be prevented from ruining a season, and stranding that new bike in its garage.

Starting to bike again in the spring and summer is not an easy task.  Your body is used to performing a lot fewer motions in your winter activities.  An hour of skiing might involve the equivalent of 1,200 steps.  By comparison, bicycling might take 10,000 knee revolutions on a two-hour ride.  This is obviously a very large change in stress to the joints, muscles, and nerves.  The human body is able to adapt to an increase of about 10 percent in activity; increasing activity beyond 10 percent risks injury, and the dreaded AES.  

It is difficult to keep your enthusiasm in check early in the season. But a slow start in your time spent riding will allow time for your body to adapt to the change in stress that cycling brings.  It’s not just increasing time too quickly on a bike that can lead to injury.  Cycling up hills provides much greater resistance to the legs than riding on the flats.  It takes time to be able to tolerate 10,000 revolutions with greater force.  A solid base of riding on the valley floor will allow your body a chance to get ready for the increased load of riding in the hills.

There are several other factors that create additional stresses on the moving body.  The aging process deposits a stiffer form of tissue into our muscles.  This causes greater stiffness, and can form a resistance to motion.  There’s a reason we get a little slower with age.  On the bike, increased stiffness in the legs can lead to more rocking of the pelvis on the saddle.  This is a factor in back pain on the bike.  Tight iliotibial bands on the outside of the thigh, gives a very characteristic type of knee pain.  A stiff back can make reaching for the handlebar drops difficult.  There are very specific solutions to each of these areas in the form of stretching.  Stretching is best done outside of the sport activity if you are trying to gain range of motion.  It is often difficult to take enough time to stretch before running or biking to make a difference in muscle length.

Making sure you and your bike are a good fit is also essential to preventing soreness and injury. Because people come in all different shapes and sizes, it makes sense that we need a bike to fit each individual shape and size.  It used to be that bikes came in only a limited number of sizes with no choice of size in your handlebars/stem/cranks/pedals/seatpost, etc.  There was no chance in getting a longer stem to fit your long arms, just bend at the elbow more, and don’t ask for longer sleeves on your shirt!  Now there is a wide range of sizes in every conceivable bike part.  The trick is in knowing what size is right for you. 

Luckily the science of bike fitting has progressed to the point where new tools of video analysis can help.  A picture is worth a thousand words.  Video analysis can slow down visible motion on the bike, and assess how any unusual movements or positions impact your pedaling.  Based on this information, specific recommendations can be made on how to make the bike fit you better.  This can also help identify positions or motions caused by stiffness in your body, or a misfit with the length or shape of your skeletal structure.  Better yet, you can change your fit on the bike, and compare how this changes your pedaling motion to your previous setup.  In this way, you can be specific about what is creating the change in motion or position.  Attention to detail is important when you are moving 10,000 times! (Joe Brown, owner of Methow Cycle and Sport, also addresses this subject in his article on page 11.)

I will now describe the top five ways to ruin the bike season.  The following common errors all have treatments and solutions to get you back on the road in fine shape.  It’s my hope that this can serve as your flu shot to prevent Activity Enthusiasm Syndrome this year.

Mountain Pass Mania
Living in the mountains, we look to return to the hills as soon as possible in our riding.  The nasty reality is that our body is not ready for heavy hill climbing until many weeks of riding on the flats.  Kneecaps are particularly vulnerable as pushing harder on the hills also creates more force across the knee.  Be sensible and enjoy the pastoral valley floor views before laying claim to the summits.  Follow the 10 percent rule for prevention of this AES.

Seat Height
The proper seat height has been a holy grail of sorts in cycling.  Common methods have included everything from specific fractions of leg length (Greg Lemond), to the “eyeball” method of placing the heel on the pedal with a straight leg.  Unfortunately, your seat height is based not only on how long your legs are, but also on the relatively lengths of your thigh and leg bones.  Video analysis can also assess how level your hips are during pedaling, a key indicator of seat height position.  Getting this wrong can throw off everything from the foot to the head. 

Weekend warrior
Yes, I know you are special.  The 10 percent rule really doesn’t apply to you.  Go ahead and sit in an office all week, then tackle that 100-miler into the wind with the road never going downhill.  Do I have to follow my own advice?  As a recovering AESer, I can admit that the truth hurts.  Moderation will go a long way to keeping you ready to go the next weekend.  Keep in mind that you can generally adapt to a 10 percent increase, but will usually react (negatively) to a greater than 10 percent change in duration or intensity of exercise.

Spouse’s bike
When upgrading to a new bike, it’s important to provide the proper rationalization.  I find that getting a new bike is in fact a unique opportunity for my wife to “upgrade” to my old bike, requiring me to get the new carbon fiber version.  I’m shocked, shocked, that there is a poor fit happening here!!!  It is not uncommon for me to find in my questioning of injured women, that they are riding their partner’s bike that was willed to them.  Much as it pains me to reveal this secret of gear acquisition, women rarely fit on their partner’s bike.

Top tube length
People do come in every shape and size.  I am often amazed at how short or long our trunks can be.  Ever sit next to someone and think they are six feet tall, only to see them at 5’5” when they stand!   The length of our trunk affects the reach of our hands on the handlebars.  Too long and our neck can hurt, too short and our back can’t stretch out.  Yikes, this is often caused by the spouse’s bike.  Luckily, adjusting the stem length and saddle position can help this.

Peter Dickinson, MS, PT, SCS is the owner of Winthrop Physical Therapy. You can contact Winthrop Physical Therapy with questions about health programs, training or injury at 509-996-8234, or email ankle@winthroppt.com.

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Art & Science of Cycling
By Joe Brown

As late winter moves into early spring, I hear familiar conversations begin to emerge. “I’m going to train more… train harder… put in more miles… do more races.” We, as mere mortal amateur athletes, are determined to somehow “fix” our many shortcomings in one fell swoop and conquer the cycling world over a period of several months. Just work harder, right? In a way, there is some truth to this premise. If we ride more, ride harder—we’ll likely become increasingly fit and hopefully more efficient on the bicycle. But to be sure, this is only one part of the equation. For us to become efficient and powerful cyclists we need to successfully integrate both the art and science of cycling.

The Art of Cycling— it’s about who you are
One can understand the art of cycling as your creative expression comprised of the human body and the bicycle—the interaction of living organism and machine. It’s about how we feel when we ride our bike, how we experience the world around us while on a bicycle. The art of cycling includes the exhilaration or fear we experience flying down a mountain pass or rocky technical descent. It also may include the crushing feeling of defeat and challenge of an epic day in the saddle. The art of cycling is also about the aesthetics of cycling —the simplicity and elegance of the bicycle, or the colors, styles and feel of new products, clothing, etc. How we challenge or drive ourselves to become physically and technically better cyclists is an art. But the art of cycling only plays a part in a sport that has developed an increasingly complex technology over the past few decades.

The Science of Cycling— why it matters
I recently had the opportunity to attend the Serotta International Cycling Institute (SICI) Cycling Science Symposium and Expo held in Denver, Colorado. SICI is the leading research and education organization for the cycling community. More than 250 attendees learned about the latest cycling performance research and products while networking with retailers, clinicians, coaches, clinicians and manufacturers.  Presentations were heard from world-renowned leaders in cycling science including Andy Pruitt, Maury Hull, Jeff Broker, Dan Empfield, Darrly Theleln and Jim Martin. Although the topics of the presentations were diverse, most were related to performance research, fit and biomechanics, and training and coaching.

I also participated in a number of practicums on bicycle fitting and came away with some important points to consider in my own practice. Why is proper fitting important? I find in my own shop that many cyclists simply accept that cycling is uncomfortable or even painful. Why would one go out and ride a bicycle if it hurts? It does not have to be this way! Proper bike fit is important for three discreet reasons: 1) comfort, 2) performance and 3) injury prevention.

A properly fit bicycle represents a marriage or partnership between the human body and the bicycle. It allows the rider to remain comfortable over varied terrain and conditions over long periods of time. A good fit also promotes and sustains efficiency. If we view our bodies as an integrated set of levers and motors—the more efficient we are, the more capable and likely to perform better we are. As we can all attest, none of us are getting younger. As we age, our muscle fibers are less elastic and flexible, our recovery is slower and our performance potential is reduced. These factors in tandem increase our probability of injury. Optimizing our respective position on the bicycle can buffer and certainly reduce some of the factors of aging and potential injury.

One interesting conclusion I have drawn is that proper bicycle fitting requires both the art and science of bicycle fitting. One can easily search Google results and find a wealth of ideas and mathematical formulas related to bicycle fitting. It is relatively easy to attain a good position on a bicycle. There are a few key angles and measurements, which anyone can measure and adjust. This is not a bike fit—it is a position adjustment. A proper bicycle fit takes into account the rider’s history, aspirations, injuries, flexibility and of course precise physical measurements. In addition to body measurements, one has to take into account the bicycle. Frame material, geometry, componentry and design—all are determinants of how well this “marriage” will work. Put a 65 year old person who hasn’t ridden a bike in ten years on a current year road racing bike and they will be in physical therapy within a month. This person doesn’t have the flexibility, muscle memory or development to tolerate the fit—the marriage is likely to fail.

Cycling as we know it is dynamic in nature. Our bodies are constantly moving, adjusting and compensating throughout any length ride. Moreover, the terrain, surface and environment change also. Proper bicycle fitting ought to take these factors into account. Our fit changes as we fatigue, gain fitness or age. In my shop, I insist that customers come prepared to ride as we go through the fitting process. I want to see how their position changes under different loads and applications. I can then measure efficiency improvements or decreases in a variety of positions. Finding maximum efficiency while allowing for comfort can produce dramatic results in short order.

One new development for bicycle fitting is video data capture. This can be conducted in two-dimensional or three-dimensional settings and offers a comprehensive window into the position, fit and efficiency of the rider and bicycle. By attaching reflective modules and electrodes on structurally definitive body parts, we can then capture the data and quickly analyze the compiled results. We can effectively gather angular data, power and heart rate data, in addition to body and bicycle measurements. We can then compare before/after results through video output allowing the customer to physically see the difference visually and quantify the efficiency and performance.

As a bicycle shop owner and once competitive cyclist, I’m very impressed and motivated by the level of professionalism and scientific relevance that has become part of our collective cycling experience. We can experience the art of cycling on many levels yet still absolutely benefit from the science as well. Consumers can benefit significantly from the science that is readily available at their local bike shop. At its best, this raises the bar for retailers—we have a choice whether to enhance the cycling experience of our customers or not. I believe we can collectively lead healthier lifestyles, perform better and have more fun on bikes.

Joe Brown owns Methow Cycle and Sport in Winthrop.


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