About Mountain Bikers
About Mountain Bikers on our steep Santa Barbara Trails:
Unlike many parts of the country with flatter terrain, our mountain trails
are dominated (about 80% of riders in our recent survey) by full downhill
bikes and fully armored riders. At least 2 professional downhill racers train
on these trails and the local downhill riders have an informal competition about
who can ride Tunnel Trail fastest, with good times being in the range of 11
to 12 minutes for the 6 mile run from the top to the Mission (2.5 miles of pavement
at the bottom). The following pictures are typical of riders seen on Tunnel
Trail during late morning hours on weekends during Sept., Oct. and Nov. of 2002.
All of these riders are wearing body armor under their jerseys and pants as
can be seen by close examination of the images. This is the appropriate attire
for this dangerous sport.
10-22-02 From the International
Mountain Biking Assn:
· The typical IMBA member (we now have 32,000 of
them), for example, is a 37-year-old man
· with an annual household income of about $65,000--a
profile that is perhaps older and more affluent than many people
would guess.
10-22-02 From
OUTDOOR RECREATION IN AMERICA 2001:
An Overview of Key Findings Presented to the
American Recreation Coalition Board of Directors
September 11, 2001
Off-road bicycling had a median age of 32 and mean of 33
Downhill skiers had highest reported household incomes ($67,000
median and $77,000 mean), followed by golfers ($58,000/$67,000),
hikers ($57,000/ $64,000), $55,000/$62,000) and off-road bicyclists
($56,000/$60,000)
10-22-02 American
Recreation Coalition, Recreation Facts Library, (1995-6)
A survey of mountain biking enthusiasts reveals that 88% of International
Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) members are males. The average
age of IMBA members is 38, and 84% have personal income above
$30,000. All the survey respondents owned one mountain bike, while
over half owned at least two bikes.
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