Section B·
Entertainment/The Great Outdoors
Thursday, September 3, 1998
From tents, boots,and packs,to lexan forks and freeze dried food. Great selection and the best prices.
this production is partially underwritten KCMO Neighborhood
through the generosity of HAR Block Tourist Development Fund
Cyclist: Helmets must fit right
Head protection prevents injury, study reports
Dan Hughes, a manager of Sunflower Outdoor and Bike Shop. 844 Massachusetts St., discusses the merits of various bike helmets. Humes will all healten, regardless of price, provided the right protection. Photo by Graham K. Johnson/KANSAN
By Sue Franke Kansan staff writer
Wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle may not make a fashion statement, but it could save lives.
A 1996 study by the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center in Seattle about the effectiveness of bicycle helmets showed that helmets decrease the risk of head injury by 69 percent. They also reduce the risk of severe brain injury by 74 percent.
"The important thing is to wear your helmet properly," said Justin Hawkins, Overland Park senior and former president of the KU Cycling Club. "It needs to be level on your head, not sitting back. If you fall forward, you will hit your forehead."
Dan Hughes, a manager of Sunflower Outdoor & Bike Shop, 844 Massachusetts St., said that a bicyclist should be fitted for a helmet.
"There should be minimal play from front to back and side to side, and the straps should be positioned properly so that the helmet doesn't slide off," he said.
Bicyclists who want to be safe should purchase a helmet that has been certified by the American National Standards Institute and the Snell Memorial Foundation. Hughes said these organizations conducted rigorous tests on the helmets to ensure that a force hitting the helmet is not transmitted to the brain.
To help protect bicyclists from head injury, helmets are lined with a foam, expanded polystyrene, that shatters and absorbs impact during an accident, Hughes said.
Bicycle helmets can cost from $30 to $130.
"The lower-cost helmets may be hot, uncomfortable and only come in two sizes and cyclists may not wear them, which defeats the purpose," he said. "A $110 helmet, however, may come in five sizes. It fulfills the safety standards, but with less material. It has bigger and better vents, it's lighter weight and more aerodynamic."
Hughes stressed that there was no difference in safety standards between $30 and $130 helmets. They all pass the same standards.
replaced every two years because they deteriorate through time and the foam used inside the helmets wears out.
Hawkins said helmets should be
In addition to wearing helmets, bicyclists must follow the same road rules as cars.
"On the road, if you want the respect of someone who is driving a car, you have to behave as a car would," Hawkins said.
He said rules for bikes included riding as close to the curb as possible in the right-hand lane, not riding against one-way traffic and using hand signals to turn and stop.
"Many motorists don't understand, that under Kansas law, bicycles are legitimate vehicles, and bicyclists have a right to be on the road," he said.
According to a 1993 study by The Johns Hopkins Injury Prevention Center in Maryland, motor vehicles are involved in 90 to 92 percent of bicyclist deaths and 12 percent of injuries. The study said that more than 900 bicyclists were killed each year in the United States.
Hughes said bicyclists also
Park gives students outlet for adrenaline
By Sam Mellinger
Konson staff writer
Now that the days of playing with toy guns and G.I. Joe dolls have passed, paintable could be the next step for University of Kansas students.
“It's for people that aren't afraid. For some people, running around the woods is just not quite what they're into. But for others, it's great."
Ken Farris
many have discovered the enjoyment of arming themselves with paintguns and shooting their friends, said Ken Farris, KU graduate and president of Dropzone, the painball park in Lawrence.
KU graduate and president of Dropzone, the paintball park in Lawrenc
"They love it," he said. "It's a huge adrenaline rush."
At Dropzone, 1029 Douglas County Road, teams of 10 to 15 people participate in four-and-one-half-hour sessions. After learning safety rules, teams compete in a series of 15-minute games waged on playing areas about the size of a football field.
"It was really intriguing," said
Seth Lindsey, Liberty, Mo., sophomore, who has played twice. "Usually we play a little capture-theflag game, but I was more interested in shooting people than getting the flag."
The fields have borders, and team members are distinguished by different colored streamers on their guns. The guns shoot about 285 feet per second, and players are instructed not to shoot from closer than 10 feet.
Once hit with the vegetable-oil-based ammunition, a player is
eliminated from the game.
"you're supposed to, but I'm not too good at rules," Lindsey said. "When I get hit, I pretend like I didn't get hit and just keep playing."
While the game features some definite war-like elements, Farris said he didn't think any players had delusions of being in Vietnam.
"No more than with something like football or chess," he said. "It's the competition. You and some friends get together and go
against some other people."
Farris said most of his customers were males, ranging from groups of high school students to groups of co-workers.
Farris started Dropzone in 1989 while he was a student at the University. After having a great time at a paintball park in Wichita, Farris was hooked.
"It was a lot of fun, and I realized there was no place around here to do it," he said.
Through the years, Farris has seen many people have similar reactions.
"It's for people that aren't afraid," he said. "For some people, running around in the woods is just not quite what they're into. But for others, it's great."
Count Lindsey among the latter. "I felt like I was the king of paintball the second time I went," he said.
RECYCLE
SUNFLOWER
Hit the Trail!
The great outdoors availis and there's no better way to experience it than from the seat of a bike from The Sunflower Bike Shop! As Fall approaches, the riding gets better and better and so do the deals as we close out all of our remaining 1998 inventory! Come see us in our newly remodeled space, and let us show you how much fun the great outdoors can be!
Sunflower has great bikes from:
Sunflower Bike Shop; 804 Massachusetts St.; Lawrence, Kansas; (785) 843-5000
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