A mixed bag of cycling ability, an increase in the trails’ popularity plus the introduction of e-bikes has led to a rise in cycle-related injuries.
Yesterday the Otago Daily Times revealed cycle injury statistics in Otago had climbed in the past three years, and readers shared their experiences — and mishaps — on the region’s trails.
"As a not experienced cyclist I was terrified a biker coming from the other[direction] would knock me over. My partner also ended up with a gash in his calf.
"I took the turn too slow and my bike fell on top of me. My helmet definitely saved me any concussion, however the next day I was black and blue all down my left side and inner thigh.
"I had a bit of a fall while on holiday over the New Year’s break. Was having a lovely day at Cardrona before it all went a bit pear-shaped. Ended up with broken ribs and sprained finger after going over the handlebars of my mountain bike. It was a real shame as it cut my holiday short and stopped me exploring more of beautiful Otago."
Trail Journeys general manager Simon Stevens said it was important to keep injury numbers in perspective as the volume of riders had swelled.
"Think of it in ratios - I think accident numbers are down, but the volume of riders has gone up. The [Otago Central] rail trail numbers are up as well," he said.
The Lake Dunstan Trail had ticked over 110,000 riders or walkers since opening, with more than 500 users per day in the early days of January this year. Trail operators represented only 20% of the volume on the trail, with the bulk coming from people in the region, Mr Stevens said.
Pre-Covid, e-bikes had represented 30% of Trail Journeys’ hire volume but that had now swelled to 80%, allowing people who had not ridden for decades to get on a bike, he said.
Like many trail operators, the business went through a safety briefing with clients before they set out.
"If they can’t ride out our building and around our car park, they don’t go on the trails."
Most incidents the company encountered occurred off bike - people falling off when they stopped and scraping elbows, or the wife who rode into a bank while filming her husband.
Mr Stevens said he would like to see a trail certification similar to Qualmark implemented, indicating operators met certain standards so riders could differentiate from "cowboys" operating on the trails.
Last year Tourism Central Otago (TCO) and the Central Otago District Council (CODC) launched safety campaigns to educate people riding the region’s trails.
TCO head of destination Anthony Longman said riding 20 years ago was completely different from riding an e-bike now so education was key.
"It’s the awareness of the differences between the trails - the Roxburgh Gorge trail is equally, if not more stunning, than the Lake Dunstan Trail."
"[They] are designed to take people into amazing places . . . there’s a lot of opportunity for people to cycle a trail based on their skillset."
He encouraged people to find a trail that matched their ability and to work up from there.
