We compared cycling injury risks of 14 route types and other route infrastructure features.
We recruited 690 city residents injured while cycling in Toronto or Vancouver, Canada. A case-crossover ...design compared route infrastructure at each injury site to that of a randomly selected control site from the same trip.
Of 14 route types, cycle tracks had the lowest risk (adjusted odds ratio OR = 0.11; 95% confidence interval CI = 0.02, 0.54), about one ninth the risk of the reference: major streets with parked cars and no bike infrastructure. Risks on major streets were lower without parked cars (adjusted OR = 0.63; 95% CI = 0.41, 0.96) and with bike lanes (adjusted OR = 0.54; 95% CI = 0.29, 1.01). Local streets also had lower risks (adjusted OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.31, 0.84). Other infrastructure characteristics were associated with increased risks: streetcar or train tracks (adjusted OR = 3.0; 95% CI = 1.8, 5.1), downhill grades (adjusted OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.7, 3.1), and construction (adjusted OR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.3, 2.9).
The lower risks on quiet streets and with bike-specific infrastructure along busy streets support the route-design approach used in many northern European countries. Transportation infrastructure with lower bicycling injury risks merits public health support to reduce injuries and promote cycling.
Visitation to recreation and protected areas is increasing globally and in many regions, including Europe, so is research on visitation. But who, where, what and how is the research done and what are ...the trends and key research gaps? The systematic quantitative review of 758 oral abstracts from the first seven conferences on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreation and Protected Areas answers research questions on methods, goals and locations presented in the last decade as well as discussing trends and recommendations for the future. These major multi-disciplinary conferences are held every two years in different countries in Europe. Most (72%) of the research was from Europe, predominantly from countries where English is not the dominant language. Nearly every abstract was from terrestrial natural areas, often terrestrial protected areas (56%), with only three marine studies. Most abstracts (85%) were in the social sciences, either assessing visitor profile data along with motivations, satisfaction and experiences or focused on psychological aspects such as the attitudes, perceptions and behavior of visitors. Environmental research (32% abstracts) was mostly on vegetation, wildlife and landscape features with limited research on aquatic systems. Technology is driving research, with the analysis of big data from social media transforming where and how visitors can be monitored. Important gaps remain including research from countries and regions with large protected area systems and high levels of visitation including in Asia, South America and Africa, as well as some countries in Europe such as France.
The article describes the previous trends in this conference series on outdoor recreation. The findings suggest that future conferences could:
●enhance the attendance and representation of researchers from parts of Europe so far under represented and different parts of the world such as Asia, the Russian Federation and Africa to make the conference truly international,●strengthen the relevance of the conference for practitioners and managers, and●communicate the value of research, including how new methods and technologies can enhance sustainable decision making.
Mountain biking is an increasingly popular outdoor activity on the extreme sport continuum. Extreme and high-risk sports have been investigated using a variety of motivational theories with sensation ...seeking a dominant theme; however, behavioral and motivational homogeneity within these types of populations should not be assumed. Recent studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of extreme sports and similar outdoor activities. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of mountain biking participants, their engagement methods, and perceived benefits to mental health and well-being. This was a cross-sectional survey and participants were recruited via social media. An online questionnaire specific to the domain of mountain biking was developed. Analysis of the full sample (
= 1,484) and of three independent paired sub-samples was conducted using SPSS. The sub-samples compared the results of males and females; younger and older riders; and those who have recently engaged in downhill mountain biking and those who have not. The results have succeeded in identifying some disparities in mountain biker characteristics and engagement methods. The results suggest that some riders found pleasure in higher risk engagement. The study proposes various explanations for the disproportion of women in mountain biking. Irrespective of the confounding factors related to rider characteristics or engagement methods, mountain bikers reported copious benefits to mental health and well-being related to their engagement. There was a high reported usage of mountain biking as a coping strategy. As such, this study provides insights that could inform the development of outdoor activities as interventions for mental health.
Interscholastic youth cross-country mountain bike racing in the United States has grown significantly over the past decade, yet little is known about the risk profile in this age group. Aiming to ...protect participants, we implemented a prospective, longitudinal injury surveillance system for the purpose of better understanding youth mountain biking injuries and implementing safety measures. Data were collected during competition years 2018–2020, totaling 66,588 student athlete-years. Designated reporters from each team received weekly emails with exposure and incident report forms. Variables analyzed included demographic, rider-related, trail-related, and other data. Injury characteristics during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 were compared to the years 2018 and 2019. More student athletes participated in the 2020 season (25,261) than in prior seasons (18,575 in 2018 and 22,752 in 2019). During competition year 2020, overall injury proportion was lower (1.7% versus 3.0% in 2018 and 2.7% in 2019). Variables associated with injury, body part injured, type of injury, time-loss, and disposition following injury were similar between all years. Despite the pandemic and resultant changes to competition, student athletes continued to ride their bikes and become injured, but the proportion of injuries differed. This report details injury characteristics in youth mountain bike racing, including a comparison of before and during the pandemic.
To our knowledge, no study has investigated the reliability of the time to exhaustion (TTE) test during constant-load trials in Olympic distance cross-country mountain bike (XCO-MTB) athletes. Thus, ...the aim was to analyze the reliability of the TTE test at intensities above peak oxygen uptake (VO
2peak
) in trained XCO-MTB athletes. Fifteen male XCO-MTB athletes (mean ± SD: age 31.5 ± 6.6 years, stature 174.0 ± 5.4 cm, body mass 67.2 ± 5.1 kg, VO
2peak
64.5 ± 4.7 mL·kg
−1
·min
−1
) completed 2 TTE tests on the cycle ergometer with 4 different intensities above the maximal work rate in the incremental test (W
max
) (105%, 120%, 130%, and 140% of W
max
). There was moderate reliability between TTE tests at 105% (intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) = 0.81,
p
≤ 0.001; coefficient of variation (CV) = 9.1%; standard error of measurement (SEM) = 18.3%), and 120% (ICC = 0.88,
p
≤ 0.001; CV = 6.6%; SEM = 9.3%) W
max
. For intensities of 130% (ICC = 0.53,
p
= 0.018; CV = 9.2%; SEM = 15.8%) and 140% (ICC = 0.56,
p
= 0.012; CV = 12.2%; SEM = 13.5%) W
max
, the reliability results proved to be questionable. In addition, no significant differences were found between the 2 TTE tests in all intensities (
p
> 0.05). Caution should be taken when assessing TTE above VO
2peak
or when using it as a performance indicator, given its moderate to questionable reliability.
As a popular adventure sport worldwide, mountain biking provides a range of challenges and opportunities for participants. This paper aims to understand whether experienced riders actively search for ...'flow experiences' that can manifest themselves in a range of euphoric feelings, varying from the loss of awareness of time to sub-conscious control over actions. Exploring findings from research undertaken in New Zealand and England, the paper suggests that committed riders do encounter and can describe a range of flow characteristics when riding, although the findings conclude that such experiences are considered to be by-products of participation, rather than motivational factors in their own right.
Mountain biking is a highly demanding sport, but beneficial for physical and mental health. ...there are certain sociodemographic and psychological characteristics of cyclists, particularly those who ...practice it in the Peruvian highlands in the Huarochirí province. ...this research aims to analyze the psychological and sociodemographic characteristics of mountain cyclists who practice this sport in Huarochirí, specifically between the towns of Huinco and San Juan de Iris (Lima-Peru). Keywords: Mountain biking, well-being, self-efficacy, anxiety, mental health, extreme sports. 1. La provincia de Huarochirí cuenta con 15 centros poblados siendo su capital el pueblo de Matucana (Garayar, 2003) y contando como uno de los principales atractivos turísticos el Bosque de Piedras o Meseta de Markahuasi conocido por una forma pétrea denominada el Monumento a la Humanidad; al que se puede llegar desde el pueblo de San Pedro de Casta (Andares, 1999) y en donde también se puede practicar ciclismo de montaña. Incluso, el 33,8% de los ciclistas de montaña reconoce tener problemas de salud mental como estrés, depresión o ansiedad y el ciclismo es su estrategia para afrontarlo.
Abstract
The sport of Enduro is the newest International Cycling Union sanctioned discipline in mountain biking. There are a number of studies reporting mountain biking injury to date however there ...are none detailing injuries in Enduro. The aim of the present study was to determine the rate, severity and nature of rider injury during the Enduro World Series. Rider injury, and race and practice exposure data were recorded prospectively during 10 events across the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Incorporating 2010 riders (males 90%; females 10%) from 46 countries. 8.9% of riders were injured with mean 12.3 days time-loss per injury. Racing injury incidence was 38.3/1000 hours and practice injury incidence 3.6/1000 hours (p=0.01). The shoulder/clavicle (12.8% of all injuries), hand (9.0%) and head (9.0%) were the most injured locations. Concussion injury was the most frequent diagnosis (7.4%), and shoulder/clavicle fractures caused the greatest burden (442 total days lost). Of those with concussion 28.6% continued racing, and 42.9% reported no time-loss (i. e. time off) post-race. In conclusion, the rate of injury during EWS race events was comparable to Downhill racing. Targeted injury prevention strategies around rider concussion education and rider qualification criteria may help to reduce the risk of injury in Enduro.
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