Daily Globe Health & Fitness January 2017

HEALTH & FITNESS

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• Friday, January 20, 2017 • D3

A four-season experience Fat-tire biking craze pedaling into Worthington

By Gordy Moore Daily Globe WORTHINGTON — What has two wheels and can easily handle snow, dirt/gravel, pavement and more?

Chances are it’s not the old Schwinn road bike you have in the attic, and it likely isn’t your run-ofthe-mill mountain bike, either. What fearsome two-wheeled device can take on all kinds of terrain in all seasons? It’s the tank-like fat tire bike, otherwise known as a “fat bike” or “fatty.”

These bikes, which burst into widespread national popularity in around 2012-2013, have tires that are at least 3.7 inches wide, with most featuring four- to fiveinch tires. These versatile bikes lingered in the shadows of the industry until 2005, when Bloomington-headquarted Surly Bikes launched their famed Pugsley fat tire bike. Since then, the industry has grown exponentially, and fat bikes are now standard offers at most independent bike shops — and even some chains like Scheels — in northern states like Minnesota, Wisconsin and South Dakota.

Although relatively more costly than the average bike — with entry level models costing around $700 to $900 and mid-range bikes from $1,000 to $2,000 — fat bike sales have exploded as consumers take to these multi-use cycles.

With the recent opening of the first-ever multiuse winter trail in Worthington and the expansion of trail grooming to Prairie View and the Minnesota West campus, options for fat tire bikers and skiiers abound.

Although the burgeoning trend in fat biking may not appear to have fully reached the Worthington area, there are in actuality at least several local enthusiasts.

A family ride: Jaycoxes see it, try it, love it For Kristin Jaycox of Worthington and her family, their first-ever exposure to fat biking was in the Black Hills of South Dakota, while out on a family trail riding excursion.

“We were riding on the Mickelson Trail, on our regular mountain bikes, and would see groups on the fat tire bikes and thought it looked really cool,” said Jaycox.

After this first spark of inspiration, a chance foray to a bike shop brought them even closer to purchasing their own “fattys.”

“We were up in Marshall for a basketball tournament, and we stopped by the bike store just to see if they had one,” Jaycox explained. “They did, and we thought it was really cool. We did end up buying them out in Spearfish, as that’s where we do most of our riding, but as for our local area, Marshall, Mankato and

Sioux Falls are your best bets to find one.”

Worthington, at this time, does not have an independent bike shop or a distributor of fat tire bikes.

What came as the biggest surprise to Jaycox and her family with the fat tire bikes after checking them out in Marshall and later in Spearfish was simply how unintimidating they are, despite rugged looks.

“We thought we’d try them out, and at first I was a little leery — I thought they would be heavy, but they aren’t.

They’re lightweight,” Jaycox enthused.

Besides their weight, it was the general versatility of their new fat tire bikes that surprised the Jaycoxes the most.

“The plus is that you can use them on different surfaces you aren’t as comfortable riding on with a regular-tired bike,” Jaycox said. “You can go out in ice and snow, in rain, and feel completely comfortable.

This past summer, when I wanted to bike, I would go out on my fat tire bike.

In the summer and in the winter, it can honestly take the place of your regular bike.”

At this point, the Jay-

ON COVER:

Joe Von Holtum took this photo of his fat bike in Centennial Park in Worthington last winter.

cox family has as of yet only seen one other group of fat tire bicyclists in Worthington. That’s not surprising, given that Special to the Daily Globe there are only two other Chad and Kristin Jaycox pose with their fat bikes on

BIKING: Page D4

a trail in the winter in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

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D4 • Daily Globe • Friday, January 20, 2017

BIKING From Page D3

confirmed owners in the city.

“This summer when we did that disc golf event, a couple came by on fat tire bikes, and that’s the only other group I’ve seen around here so far,” said Jaycox.

In terms of the feel of a fat bike compared to a mountain bike, Jaycox noted a few key aspects of the ride.

“I would say is that we need to keep the fat tire bikes in a lower gear, as you tend to be on surfaces where you need that — it tends to ride better in the lower settings,” Jaycox detailed. “It doesn’t seem like you’re riding a bike that’s as big as it looks.

It feels like a regular bike and is for all ages, really.”

As for what to wear when doing winter fat biking, Jaycox recommends “pretty much the same gear as downhill skiing; a ski helmet, goggles, balaclava, snowpants that are tight at the bottom, gloves and hiking boots.”

Thus far, the fat tire biking experience has been an entirely positive one for Jaycox and her family.

“It’s a fun sport, and it’s something you can do all year long. It’s kind of a different perspective on things. One time I rode down to the boat landing north of us (on the road), rode the lake to Vogt Park, and then rode back on the road.”

Veteran enthusiast, fat biking evangelist While the Jaycoxes are relatively more recent fat biking converts, Worthington area resident Joe Von Holtum has owned a fat tire bike since 2013.

Von Holtum described his path to fat tire biking as a logical and “natural pro-

gression” in his search for an engaging, challenging individual sport.

“I was looking for an individual sport — I used to play a lot of paintball and wanted something that could keep me in shape without having to rely on a ton of other people,” Von Holtum explained.

This desire led to an “impulse buy of an entry level mountain bike” at Scheels of Sioux Falls, but every time Von Holtum stopped back in at Scheels and independent Sioux Falls bike shops, there was something that caught his eye.

“I saw they had these bikes with just giant tires, and curiosity finally got the better of me in December of 2013, and I’ve had a rotating stable ever since,” Von Holtum said.

For Von Holtum, already an avid mountain and regular biker, “the appeal was that I didn’t have to cut my riding season short. You have a lot more terrain and opportunity to ride with a fat bike.”

Fat tire biking, in Von Holtum’s estimation, has 001366033r2

definitely been an excellent way to stay in shape and exercise in addition to pure recreation and sport.

“It’s a surprising workout, analogous to an intense mountain biking session,” he said. “It’s every bit as difficult as mountain biking in some circumstances and considerably more difficult than others. I would rate it as more difficult overall in terms of intensity as compared to mountain biking.”

In the winter, the quality of the workout can vary with changing snow conditions — something that Von Holtum enjoys experimenting with.

Additionally, in winter fat biking, the already low pressure of the fat bike’s huge tires (only 8-12 psi) is often lowered even more. For reference, the average mountain bike’s tires take an air pressure of 20-30 psi, with traditional road bikes having tire pressures of 70-80 psi and above.

“The tire pressure thing takes people by surprise,” Von Holtum said. “In wintertime, I will drop it (the pressure) as low as one psi. What you’re real-

ly interested in is finding float, analogous to a snowshoe. You want to increase the surface area of the tire and glide over the top of the snow.”

One main reason the Jaycoxes and other Worthingtonians may not have seen Von Holtum out and about on his bike is that he most often bikes in the Worthington area on an 80-acre family tract or on minimum maintenance roads.

“I have the good fortune to have 80 acres available to me outside of town; I got a pair of snowshoes and I walked in a trail manually — you have to do something to the deep drifts — it’s not fun that way,” Von Holtum said. “I like to be out in the countryside.

I’ll ride minimum maintenance, unplowed gravel roads — I’ve gone from outside of Ocheyedan to Lake Bella and back, and I love Indian Lake.”

According to Von Holtum, the Sioux Falls region what he described as an “incredible fat bike scene — all four of the major bike shops there sell fat bikes. They have a fat-bike cyclocross race,

as well as a few groomed trails off their bike paths.”

Of course, as one of Worthington’s pioneering fat tire bicyclists, Von Holtum was involved in the purchase of the trail groomer and has been pleased with the new options within Worthington.

“I have done the it (Olson Park Trail) the previous couple weekends, and I was actually really thrilled with how well it turned out,” Von Holtum said. “Given the facilities we have, I’ll be more likely to be in town and out and about, and I’ll be encouraging others to get out, too.”

Beyond Von Holtum and the Jaycox family, a co-worker at Bedford bought a fat bike independent of Von Holtum — the two now ride together — and Von Holtum has also brought his fiance into the sport. It may seem like fat bikes are most used in the winter,

but Von Holtum said he uses it often in the summer months as well.

“In the summer, I tend to treat it as a rigid mountain bike; I like it for longer gravel rides. A lot of people will buy them as their four-season bike, and will use it for just about everything you can use a bike for,” said Von Holtum.

Worthington’s fat biking scene, at this point, is still nascent, but Von Holtum hopes that more Worthington-area residents will try a fat bike out and get hooked, too.

“I would really encourage people to give it a try. I understand that the investment is kind of significant, but it’s a vehicle, it’s sporting equipment. it would be cool to see more people on them, for sure, and I try to encourage people as best as I can.”

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Daily Globe

Help for the head Sanford Worthington Medical Center offering treatment for concusssions

By Ryan McGaughey rmcgaughey@dglobe.com WORTHINGTON — For individuals who have suffered concussions, Kaylee Koob and Kyle Rockwell are here to help.

Koob is a doctor of occupational therapy and Rockwell a doctor of physical therapy at Sanford Worthington Medical Center. Both are ImPACT concussion certified, which is part of the hospital’s effort to treat patients who have had concussions.

Sanford Worthington Rehabilitation sees post-concussion symptom patients who have had sports injuries, accidents, falls and occupational injuries.

The attitude toward — and treatment of — concussions have changed markedly over the years, thanks at least in some degree to the revelations about the devastating impacts they’ve had on numerous now-retired professional football players.

A concussion is a blow or a jolt to the head. The injury keeps the brain from working normally. Symptoms of a concussion may last less than a day or may linger for months, or longer.

Concussion symptoms may include headaches, vomiting or nausea, trouble thinking normally, memory problems, trouble walking, dizziness, vision prob-

lems, fatigue, mood changes and changes in sleep patterns.

“Sanford provides the testing in the fall to student-athletes at Worthington High School and Heron Lake-Okabena High School,” explained Glenn Johnson, rehab supervisor at Sanford Worthington Medical Center. “We have it as part of athletic eligibility meeting before school starts, and provide physicals and ImPACT (Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test) testing to any student participating in a sport.”

Should a student be injured at any time over the course of the year, Johnson said they’ll receive another ImPACT test.

“Your post injury ImPACT test will then be compared to the baseline — the test at the start of the year,” he said. “That’s not the final determination for going back to their

sport; it’s just one of the pieces of the puzzle.”

Johnson noted that Sanford Worthington Rehabilitation is working with local health care clinics, providers and the school district on the concussion treatment program.

Koob explained that concussion care begins with a trip to a primary care provider, who then refers patients to Koob and Rockwell for treatment and return-tosport exertion testing.

“Your local provider would do the full assessment,” Koob said.

Those patients, when referred to Rockwell, will be observed, and are typically subject to vestibular (balance) and vision tests as well as exertion therapy to observe concussion symptoms more closely.

Rockwell will also check for any lingering neck issues, as they are also a common symptom in concussions.

“Most of the athletes I see come in when they are getting ready to return to a sport,” Rockwell added.

“They’ll do some exertion activities such as riding a bike, agility drills and some sport specific drills. As long as they can do everything without concussion symptoms, then they’ll be cleared.”

Rockwell added that a non-contact practice, followed by a full contact practice, is usually recommended for patients after they’ve completed his drills. Then, if they’re still free of symptoms, a joint decision will be made by Rockwell and the patient’s medical

• Friday, January 20, 2017 • D5

provider for a return to sports.

“If you need occupational therapy, your provider would look at vision and cognitive aspects and then, if they believe it’s necessary, refer them to me,” Koob said.

“It all depends on what the patient’s needs are,” she continued. “If you come in and are unable to find your words, have trouble multitasking or concentrating, or have issues with vision or paying attention, I will see you for occupational therapy.”

Koob’s work as an occupational therapist encompasses taking her patients through what are known as zones one through five.

“The first zone would be the next day, which means staying at home and resting in a minimally stimulated environment,” she said.

“They want you to rest your brain and let it heal. By zone five you’re resuming regular activ-

ity — it all depends on the person.”

When you receive a concussion, your brain needs time to rest. As a result, you will need to modify your daily activities such as schoolwork or the amount of time spent playing video games.

“I’ll re-assess weekly or sooner to see where you’re at — if you’re doing better or worse,” she said. “As you move through the zones, we’ll add more visual exercises, more cognitive exercises or whatever the needs are.”

Koob noted that the program is designed, in part, to serve the needs of schools and their young athletes.

“We’re letting schools know this resource is available, as teachers are usually the ones who see changes in their students firsthand,” she said.

The bottom line for both Koob and Rockwell is simple: concussions

SANFORD: Page D6

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D6 • Daily Globe • Friday, January 20, 2017

Ryan McGaughey/Daily Globe

Physical therapist Kyle Rockwell and occupational therapist Kaylee Koob treat concussion patients at Sanford Worthington Medical Center.

From Page D5

and their symptoms shouldn’t be ignored, and should always require medical attention.

“If you tore your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), you’d come in and see me,” Rockwell said. “If you’ve injured your brain, that’s just as important as any other kind of therapy.”

“If you think you’ve sustained any form of a concussion, go see a doctor,” Koob added.

“Too often, people underestimate the effects of a concussion.”

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