At least 200 mountain bikers fell ill after the Test of Metal mountain bike race in Sqamish, BC on June 16 and health officials think the cause may have been bacteria in mud out on the race course. Riders could have ingested the campylobacter bacteria after drinking from mud-caked water bottles or eating mud-contaminated food during the race (or perhaps even from wheel spray). Lovely, eh?
Apparently campylobacter causes diarrhea, fever, and vomiting and it’s usually associated with horse manure. Bikes often share trails with horses so it’s kinda surprising this doesn’t happen more often. Maybe it’s time to invest in a Camelback?
[…] After hundreds of mountain bikers at the Test of Metal mountain bike race fell ill last month a doctor says race organizers should have cancelled the event. “Our future advice to the race organizers is to inspect the route prior to the race to ensure it is not littered with animal feces, and not end the race at the horse ring. If there is any horse poop, they have to remove it.” […]
[…] It seems crazy to me that people still see mountain biking as a new and unknown activity. I mean, people have been raising these concerns for years – and yet mountain bike trails do exist all around the world. Fortunately in Roanoke they’re listening to IMBA and in Asheville they recognize that ATVs and horses shouldn’t be allowed to use the new trails for environmental reasons (remember all the bikers who got sick from horse crap in Canada?). […]