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Mountain biking can lead a town to economic recovery, but will the town take a ride?
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The only noise you hear is the water rippling over rocks as the Lehigh River cuts through a steep valley near Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Bikers ride along a paved path that gently slopes at a 2 percent downward grade. The lush carpet of trees on the mountains eventually gives way to small picturesque town that looks like a place you’d see in the Swiss Alps. This little town of 4,800 supports two different bike stores that shuttle riders to the beginning of the Lehigh Gorge trail, as well as quaint stores, B&Bs, and several restaurants. The weekends are buzzing with activity as visitors plan their day. Jim Thorpe has come a long way from a depressed mining town to the biking center it is today.
The first time we came through Jim Thorpe, it was to raft. But we’ve been back three times since to mountain bike; staying in hotels, eating at restaurants, and shopping on Main Street. We spent plenty of money there, so I was surprised to hear about the anti-bike sentiment that has cropped up recently. Bike tourism seems to have lifted this town from its depression. Why would a town bite the hand that feeds it? “It’s animosity between the locals and the visitors,” said Tom Loughery, corresponding secretary of the Jim Thorpe Area Council. “Existing residents had no idea that the town had something special to offer. They complain that it now takes ten minutes to get across town and the restaurants are crowded.” Yet, they fail to recognize the improvements that have occurred as homes and buildings are renovated and tax coffers are filled.
No irony was lost when this town changed its name from Mauch Chunks to Jim Thorpe. Thorpe was a versatile athlete of American Indian descent who won two gold medals in the 1912 Olympics but had them stripped when it was learned he earned a minimal amount of money during college playing basketball. Although he played professional football and baseball, his later life was marked by poverty and alcoholism.
Mauch Chunks had once been a thriving coal and railroad town and in an attempt to create tourism, they agreed to let the widow of the disgraced athlete bury his body there and changed the name of the town. The tourists never came, but in the nineties, they did come, and it wasn’t to see Jim, it was to go biking.
But if the anecdotal evidence of the success of Jim Thorpe’s biking program isn’t enough, there are copious studies to support the effects of biking on the economy. Mountain biking was the fourth most popular adventure activity among all U.S. adventure travelers, according to a 1997 study completed by the Travel Industry Association of America and 60 million adult Americans bicycle each year. Bicyclists spend money on this recreation, which in turn creates jobs and brings revenue to communities. The Outdoor Industry Foundation published a report that stated bicycling contributes $133 billion annually to the U.S. economy.
The potential exists to help declining towns be able to capitalize on their natural gifts. Not every mountain biking center needs spectacular rolling rock trails like Moab, Utah, or the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains that Durango, Colorado, offers. Woodlands and flatlands can be developed into biking arenas. Plus, the trails can be cleared with volunteer efforts using free labor and a small amount of inexpensive tools. In Jim Thorpe’s case, timber roads and coal mining roads had already been cut through the woods.
Looking for alternative sources of income, West Virginia aggressively pursued bike dollars in the early 1980s when it sponsored races and reaped the benefits by establishing itself as a bike mecca. In fact, in West Virginia, the Hatfield-McCoy trails that were opened in 2000 have proven very successful. After a decade of work to build community support and agreements with 20 different landowners, the shared-use trails have added $51 million to the economy, drawn 303,000 visitors, and created 1,572 new jobs. But for all this effort, there are still opponents to biking. “The nature Nazi’s think they are saving the world from mountain bikes,” said Matt Marcus as he described his experience with the Department of the Interior. Frustrated words from a bike enthusiast who just wants to see the local economy reap the benefits of cyclists. Marcus is the owner of Blackwater Bikes and the president of the West Virginia Mountain Bike Association.
“Anti-bike groups claim that bikes cause erosion and trail widening,” said Drew Vankat, Policy Adviser for IMBA, or International Mountain Biking Association, “when in fact research has shown bikes cause no more impact than horses.” Vankat has been at the forefront of a recent battle with The Forest Service in Colorado. The new director in Denver proposed eliminating bikes on the Monarch Crest Trail based on research done before mountain bikes were even invented. These trails have allowed mountain bikes for the past 20 years “They don’t want to lose pristine nature and feel if you allow bikes, it will open up the flood gates.”
The backlash has been felt by Jim Thorpe as well. “The state of Pennsylvania outlawed biking on state game lands and while only four trails were affected, the perception was that there was no more biking in Pennsylvania. That was in 2004, and it really hurt the economy. We’re working hard to gain them back,” Loughery said.
What’s interesting to note is that the pro-bike contingent seems to have hard numbers to back up their arguments. New stores, increased tax revenues, revitalized towns are all cited. As for the opposing view: If letters written to local papers are a representative of the fervor of some of the local opposition, it can get emotional. In Jim Thopre, letters complained that bikes intrude on their space, clog up streets on weekends, and slow traffic when their cars have to share the road.
To be fair, not every cyclist is courteous. I have been known to fuss at other cyclists while riding. Some refuse to ride single-file on the road or ride around a puddle while off road, causing the trail to widen. But the benefits far outweigh a few examples of bad behavior.
The Forest Service argues that if you let bikes in, you should then allow four-wheelers. So, they want to take the position of no-wheeled vehicles at all. It’s an easier decision. The Forest Service is under siege from powerful companies like Kawasaki Motors, which has a lot of money. The bike manufacturers do not have the deep pockets to fight for inclusion, only grass roots campaigns. Without doubt, ATV’s are noisy and pollute with their fossil-fueled engines, but equating human-powered bikes with a trail-eating ATV makes no sense. The Forest Service should be able to take a stand.
These depressed regions have an opportunity to recreate their image and character. The rebirth can come in the form of mountain bikes and if the pro-bike groups can overcome the naysayer, these towns can transform their economic fortunes. And while mountain bikers might not have the same glory as a railroad or coal baron, it is fresh money into a depressed community.
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