TUBA CITY, Ariz. — As a way to provide a source of ecotourism along with outdoor activities for those living on the Navajo Nation, students at Arizona State University are developing a series of mountain biking trails along with ‘pump tracks’ on the reservation.
The project has received support from ASU’s Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, according to organizers.
The hope is to have mountain bike trails reach as far north as Kayenta. So far, projects have included work in Shonto, Arizona and most recently in Tuba City, where ASU students have partnered with the Tuba City School District to build a pump track for youth.
“Our plans include building two large tracks and additional pump tracks,” said Peter Bugala a senior in computer science at ASU and co-founder of The Navajo Mountain Bike Initiative. “As well as utilizing a hardening agent for durability of the soil, which is being developed by Edward Kavazanjian, an ASU Regents Professor and the Ira A. Fulton Chair of geotechnical engineering at the ASU School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.”
In addition to the track, the group was recently awarded 30bikes from REI to benefit Navajo youth. The bikes will be used in Tuba City at the new track.
“I have not seen an over amount of bikes in Tuba City,” said Tuba City School District Superintendent Terry Maurer. “We have bike racks out front where students could park their personal bikes and I don’t see bikes there. I think if we get this started we could start seeing an increased participation in students riding their bikes to school, but I’ve not seen it yet, and that’s why I’m excited about getting the project back on track.”
Pump tracks are designed to increase bike handling skills without the need for peddling. Instead users use a pumping motion of the arms, shoulders and knees on the downhill side to build up force to move the bike along, according to Arizona State University’s Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) professional mentor Gregory Rodzenko.
Tracks are made of dirt and have the appearance of small BMX tracks.
According to Maurer, Tuba City schools are looking at ways bikes can fit into physical education classes once the pump track is complete. Maurer envisions a two week lesson on bike safety and usage with students using the track at their own pace.
“I would like to see it go all the way down to our kindergarteners,” he said. “We would have to definitely get some modified bikes because the bikes that are coming in are more for that third through fifth grader. Then with the junior high being so close as well that might be a potential for sixth through eighth graders.”
For high schoolers, Bugala said he would eventually like to start a racing team for competitions, if funding becomes available.
Both groups agree the bikes will be beneficial to students’ academic and physical development.
“Most students, after a small amount of training, can repair their own tires and do general maintenance,” Maurer said. “There’s that idea that you can feel self-fulfilled in that you can take care of your own equipment.”
The track is anticipated to open in April. It will be located between the elementary and middle school in Tuba City.
According to Rodzenko, the anticipated completion of the track comes after a near two-year hiatus of the project because of COVID-19.
Crews are expected to be in Tuba City in late March to assess the track’s condition and to finalize a plan, as well as provide a document to the school for the track’s operation and maintenance.
Mauer stated that once this track is complete he will be looking at space for another track for more skilled riders.
Stimulating the Navajo Nation economy
According to Bugala, the inspiration for EPIC’s “Navajo Mountain Bike Initiative” started with the closure of Peabody Energy’s Kayenta Coal Mine. During that time, Bugala and his colleague Alex Turner, an ASU civil engineering student, saw an opportunity to increase public health and economic development on the Navajo Nation.
In order to do this, they hope to increase mountain biking opportunities on the Navajo Nation.
EPICS sees several parallels between the geography in Tuba City and one of the country’s most popular mountain biking destinations — Moab Utah. They hope to have the Navajo Nation be able to tap into that outdoor recreation market, they said.
In the future, EPICS envisions pay-to-ride bike trails 8-12 miles in length for outdoor enthusiasts.
The group looking at land close to Navajo National Monument.
About EPICS
Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) is a community outreach program for all different disciplines of engineering. Their intention is to help students work on real world problems.
The program was founded in 1995 at Purdue University and has since grown to several different universities, according to Purdue’s website.
More information about the project is available at https://ewb.engineering.asu.edu/project/mountain-bike.
TUBA CITY, Ariz. — As a way to provide a source of ecotourism along with outdoor activities for those living on the Navajo Nation, students at Arizona State University are developing a series of mountain biking trails along with ‘pump tracks’ on the reservation.
The project has received support from ASU’s Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) program and Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez, according to organizers.
The hope is to have mountain bike trails reach as far north as Kayenta. So far, projects have included work in Shonto, Arizona and most recently in Tuba City, where ASU students have partnered with the Tuba City School District to build a pump track for youth.
“Our plans include building two large tracks and additional pump tracks,” said Peter Bugala a senior in computer science at ASU and co-founder of The Navajo Mountain Bike Initiative. “As well as utilizing a hardening agent for durability of the soil, which is being developed by Edward Kavazanjian, an ASU Regents Professor and the Ira A. Fulton Chair of geotechnical engineering at the ASU School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment.”
In addition to the track, the group was recently awarded 30bikes from REI to benefit Navajo youth. The bikes will be used in Tuba City at the new track.
“I have not seen an over amount of bikes in Tuba City,” said Tuba City School District Superintendent Terry Maurer. “We have bike racks out front where students could park their personal bikes and I don’t see bikes there. I think if we get this started we could start seeing an increased participation in students riding their bikes to school, but I’ve not seen it yet, and that’s why I’m excited about getting the project back on track.”
Pump tracks are designed to increase bike handling skills without the need for peddling. Instead users use a pumping motion of the arms, shoulders and knees on the downhill side to build up force to move the bike along, according to Arizona State University’s Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) professional mentor Gregory Rodzenko.
Tracks are made of dirt and have the appearance of small BMX tracks.
According to Maurer, Tuba City schools are looking at ways bikes can fit into physical education classes once the pump track is complete. Maurer envisions a two week lesson on bike safety and usage with students using the track at their own pace.
“I would like to see it go all the way down to our kindergarteners,” he said. “We would have to definitely get some modified bikes because the bikes that are coming in are more for that third through fifth grader. Then with the junior high being so close as well that might be a potential for sixth through eighth graders.”
For high schoolers, Bugala said he would eventually like to start a racing team for competitions, if funding becomes available.
Both groups agree the bikes will be beneficial to students’ academic and physical development.
“Most students, after a small amount of training, can repair their own tires and do general maintenance,” Maurer said. “There’s that idea that you can feel self-fulfilled in that you can take care of your own equipment.”
The track is anticipated to open in April. It will be located between the elementary and middle school in Tuba City.
According to Rodzenko, the anticipated completion of the track comes after a near two-year hiatus of the project because of COVID-19.
Crews are expected to be in Tuba City in late March to assess the track’s condition and to finalize a plan, as well as provide a document to the school for the track’s operation and maintenance.
Mauer stated that once this track is complete he will be looking at space for another track for more skilled riders.
Stimulating the Navajo Nation economy
According to Bugala, the inspiration for EPIC’s “Navajo Mountain Bike Initiative” started with the closure of Peabody Energy’s Kayenta Coal Mine. During that time, Bugala and his colleague Alex Turner, an ASU civil engineering student, saw an opportunity to increase public health and economic development on the Navajo Nation.
In order to do this, they hope to increase mountain biking opportunities on the Navajo Nation.
EPICS sees several parallels between the geography in Tuba City and one of the country’s most popular mountain biking destinations — Moab Utah. They hope to have the Navajo Nation be able to tap into that outdoor recreation market, they said.
In the future, EPICS envisions pay-to-ride bike trails 8-12 miles in length for outdoor enthusiasts.
The group looking at land close to Navajo National Monument.
About EPICS
Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) is a community outreach program for all different disciplines of engineering. Their intention is to help students work on real world problems.
The program was founded in 1995 at Purdue University and has since grown to several different universities, according to Purdue’s website.
More information about the project is available at https://ewb.engineering.asu.edu/project/mountain-bike.