Apparently mountain bikes carry a lot more than just mountain bikers – your bike could be spreading invasive plant species! At least that’s what a 17-year old New Zealand student found – and he’s doing something about it with his invention dubbed ‘Didy-Go.’
Mountain bikes can become contaminated with an invasive algae called didymo and each time the bikes cross a waterway they can spread the algae to new areas. Kyle van de Pas, a mountain biker and student, came up with a convenient solution for washing down and decontaminating bikes and equipment which should slow the spread of didymo. And it’s not just mountain bikes that can spread didymo – hikers and other trail users can become vectors as well. Fortunately, Didy-Go can help them too.
Mountain bikers improving the environment – who would’ve thought? This is killing our reputation for being environmental scofflaws; next thing you know people will start using mountain bikes to reduce car trips 😉
