What does mountain biking mean to you ?

geordiefreerider

Obviously we all LIKE it due to the fact we're on here in the first place, but for me it's my main passion, partly it's because I suffered a bad knee injury some years ago which stops me from running/playing football/hiking etc.

If im stressed a ride can relax me and make me forget my worrys, I enjoy being outdoors, I love the buzz I get flying downhills doing jumps getting muddy etc.

I love fixing and tinkering with my bike, I get just as much enjoyment stripping the bike down or fitting new parts in the workshop that I made especially for the bike with a few beers and some tunes on.

I love the fact that I can just jump on and go from my front door whereas other extreme sports like windsurfing or kitebuggying or rockclimbing you tend to need to travel to the location using another form of transport.

I love those summer rides on a hot day stopping off for a pint or two after a ride.

Nothing comes close to mountain biking as an interest for me and im just curious what it means to other people - probably similar to my own outlook I would imagine.

supersonic

My life!

From riding fast technical trails, to pootling along enjoying the view, from fixing them covered in grime, to studying the physics of suspension.

I enjoy, therefore I am.

geordiefreerider

I hear ya sonic !!!

cgarossi

I work in IT and I sit at a desk all bloody day. It drives me mad!

If I could get a job that pays as well in a bike store I would be there in a flash.

For me though, I have been biking on an off since I was 14. Its getting out the house and taking in the views. Climbing that ascent I never thought I could manage and cashing in the effort with the invevitable downhill. And its also about the community, generally everyone seems to be happy and will willing stop and talk about the rides they've been on, swapping routes and giving advice. It can be solo, but at the same time, social.

mongoosed

It's just good to leave work and go into the countryside,the peace and quiet then the thrill of scuttling downhill,i love it.

Anonymous

tis a private thing for me, i enjoy to ride on my own with no pressure. i also love mtb kit and for me, is as much a part of the hobby as riding.

wish i lived somewhere that i could ride easier as i need to travel to ride off road.

delcol

for me it's about escape it's were i loose myself and i find my self it's the adrenline rush nailing that down hill choosing that line,. the sense of acheivement nailing that climb, cleaning that jump you been eyein up for weeks..

destressing, i work for a big comany i am a supervisor and it comes with a fair amount of stress being in charge of complete numpties who cant follow simple instructions, having to stick o ruels ect,
family life those of you who have wifey and kids and even worse (evil lippy cocky) step children will know of the sress of family life (more so the step kids)

mountain biking is were i can leave all this behind i can forget the everyday crap and find myself it just me my bike and the trail,..

even the commute to work i love it's the de stress tool for me on my way home and keeps me sane till the weekend when i can get out in the hills,..

i even love tinkering stripping and rebuilding building a new bike or just fitting new parts to any of my bikes,..
just as long as it involves bikes im happy.....

Surf-Matt

It's about getting out there and burning off some energy. About being able to go almost anywhere. It's about having something I can fix and tinker with.
It's about blasting out those morning cobwebs several times a week.
And it's about shaving those extra grams off to try and make the bike go faster. So it's partly about ordering bits and waiting for them to arrive and fit.

I'm cack at going downhill fast although I still enjoy it so to me it's more about blasting up hills at full pelt and hammering along singletrack as fast as possible. It's about a wonderful form of transport but it's not my only (or main passion) - there's running, surfing, weights, walking, playing with our baby boy and all sorts.

I went "off" MTBing a bit in the Winter but a decent win in an off road tri (one section was MTBing) totally reignited the passion and I'm LOVING Summer riding as much as possible.

And wife loves it too and kicks butt downhilling - she really is very quick indeed.

Chaz.Harding

A hefty bill!!

For spares / repairs / new bikes / new bits / bling (although not for a loooong while )...

lesz42

getting fitter, freedom, just cycling sometimes

rain or shine ( like shine better) its all good, being alone or in a group, all has a different feeling!

stubs

I dont walk too well because of an old motor bike injury so my MTB is my way of getting into the country.

Last night I went for a blast before it got dark and I took a little used heavily overgrown bridleway past a meadow. I was cursing the nettle stings when out of the corner of my eye I saw a white flash.

It was a Barn Owl hunting in the dusk I sat memerised for about 10 minutes watching the ghost bird quartering the field occasionally hovering then carrying on till it hovered one more time then folding its wings back it dived disappearing into the long grass. I sat and waited not daring to breathe till I saw the owl rise up with something dark wriggling in its right claw and fly away across the field to the farmyard in the distance where it must have its nest, vole for supper kids.

I carried on my ride in the gathering dusk gob smacked by the beauty of nature red in tooth and claw.

sparrowlegs78

Mountain biking means i am getting out and about after a nervous breakdown 2 years or so ago, it's also helping me to get fitter both mentally and physically to get back to work. it also means i get to meet other people where as usually i don't go out as i'm too scared to, but with my bike, i can cope as i have my means of escape close to hand :oops: .

I just love being out on my bike as it's time to get my head straight and just enjoy life again too.
Caz xxxxxxxxxx

Tel39

stubs wrote:

I dont walk too well because of an old motor bike injury so my MTB is my way of getting into the country.

Last night I went for a blast before it got dark and I took a little used heavily overgrown bridleway past a meadow. I was cursing the nettle stings when out of the corner of my eye I saw a white flash.

It was a Barn Owl hunting in the dusk I sat memerised for about 10 minutes watching the ghost bird quartering the field occasionally hovering then carrying on till it hovered one more time then folding its wings back it dived disappearing into the long grass. I sat and waited not daring to breathe till I saw the owl rise up with something dark wriggling in its right claw and fly away across the field to the farmyard in the distance where it must have its nest, vole for supper kids.

I carried on my ride in the gathering dusk gob smacked by the beauty of nature red in tooth and claw.

Awsome story there fella, your very privileged! Only seen one once and they are amazing fliers, seem to glide and swoop so effortlessly! Watched a Buzzard doing
something similar last night while on my local trail, though a bit more clumsily!
But yeah love MTbing as it gets me out in the fresh air and countryside.
Its muddy and wet a lot during most of the year but blimey is it fun

lawman

its the buzz for me. the adrenoline junkie in me craves it. snowboarding, playin guitar ..... they just cant match ye old bike

it kicks me up the arse and i feel alive whenever i ride. i spend all week lookin forward to a ride and i just cant wait for the next. ill spend hours thinkin of upgrades and hours tinkering, but unusually i rarely clean my bike lol

the fact it gets me out the house, off the computer/xbox, keeps me fit and geuinely releases me from every care i have is the greatest feelin ive ever had and sittin in a pub with your head legs and arms still buzzing from the last descent is awesome. im coming to think i was born to ride a bike ........

supertwisted

It's about still being a kid at the age of 30.

naefearjustbeer

supertwisted wrote:

It's about still being a kid at the age of 30.

Make that 35 for me! Its fun life need lots of fun and outdoor sports are the way I get my fun. Snowboarding Kayaking and out on my bike.

geordiefreerider

Yeah I like seeing the old wildlife, I saw an otter the other day swimming across the river derwent, unfortunately it was one of those days I didnt have my camera, I see deer and all sorts which isnt likely to happen sat at home !!

geordiefreerider

sparrowlegs78 wrote:

Mountain biking means i am getting out and about after a nervous breakdown 2 years or so ago, it's also helping me to get fitter both mentally and physically to get back to work. it also means i get to meet other people where as usually i don't go out as i'm too scared to, but with my bike, i can cope as i have my means of escape close to hand :oops: .

I just love being out on my bike as it's time to get my head straight and just enjoy life again too.
Caz xxxxxxxxxx

Fair play, I kinda feel like im close to having one myself, lost my job had to sell the car going through the courts to try to see my son (not goin for the sympathy vote here ) and if it wasnt for my bike I can honestly say I would of broke some furniture by now !!!

Daz555

It provides me with the excerice I need to keep in trim and fit for football, and it gives me my required dosage of adrenalin to keep me smiling.

FSR Si

sparrowlegs78 wrote:

Mountain biking means i am getting out and about after a nervous breakdown 2 years or so ago, it's also helping me to get fitter both mentally and physically to get back to work. it also means i get to meet other people where as usually i don't go out as i'm too scared to, but with my bike, i can cope as i have my means of escape close to hand :oops: .

I just love being out on my bike as it's time to get my head straight and just enjoy life again too.
Caz xxxxxxxxxx

Pretty much the same as me, Well done on getting back out there 8)

blister pus

fantastic erections

geordiefreerider

while riding ?

blister pus

I'm a bloke I haven't mastered multi-tasking yet.

_Ferret_

escape
stress relief
fitness
adrenaline rush
excitement over new parts
feeling like I'm 12 years old again
conversation with like minded people
annoyance for the girlfriend
the wildlife
competetivness (spelling please?)
socialising
It's basically the thing that I need to equal out all the rest going on in my life.
I also see it as utilising man's greatest invention (the wheel) to it's full potential!

Anonymous

It's who I am, and it's what makes me, ME.

I started riding stupid things when I was a small child, trying to use the piles of earth at the local building site as vert ramps and so on, trying to jump across streams, then rivers, then garden walls and so on.

Then when I was about 13/14, my father got me into mountain biking properly, and later on took me to Coed y Brenin, which changed my entire outlook on life. It was such a life-affirming pleasure to be riding those trails, seeing views that took my breath away, and to be sharing those moments with my father.
My father later fractured a vertebrae in Coedy, and sadly never rode much after that.

in a few years, after finishing my A-levels, I got an apprenticeship as an electrical fitter, a job which I hated. I had no energy or enthusiasm for riding, and started smoking and drinking heavily, as well as smoking pot and taking e on the weekends.
I never felt like myself, and there was always something missing. A series of failed relationship left me very close to the edge, and I had nothing that could take me away from it all.

Then a few years ago, I got back on my bike, and realised what it was I'd been missing for all those years. I've never looked back.
It's bought me and my riding friends closer again, and I've even met some long-lost riding buddies.

Without mountain biking, without Coed y Brenin, without Sian & Dafydd, without my dad...
I wouldn't be me.

geordiefreerider

Awesome ^^^^^ , sometimes when your in the middle of nowhere and you've put some effort into getting there and find a nice view or see wildlife you wouldn't normally see the effect, on me anyway, is almost spiritual, I was out the other week and got caught in a thunderstorm on top of weardale and I felt so alive it's hard to explain !
I was soaked to the bone, tired and starting to get hungry but none of that mattered I was doing what I loved - If I wasn't able to ride I would go nuts !!

deffler

For the past 18 month, Ive been battling with severe depression. In 2008, I had 11 month off work as I couldnt cope with it. In Oct 2008 I bought a cheapy Apollo :oops: thinking it would get me out of the house. It stayed in the shed until Apr this year when I decided to commute to work, I found a route which was mostly off road.
Now when I arrive at work, I have a quick shower and feel ready to take on the day, I have a very stressful job working for a bank :oops: , the commute home gets rid of the stresses of the day so when I arrive home Ive totally forgot about work & can switch off & relax.
This coupled with finding Bikeradar has got me more interested in the sport, last month I ditched the BSO and got myself a Genesis Core20 which is my pride and joy. Im always on the look out for new accessories & clothing although im not in 'the know' enough yet to upgrade parts of my bike however Im slowly learning thanks to BikeRadar & its members. (mostly Supersonic, Nicklouse & Naveed ( )
I plan to devote more of my sparetime to MTB and im hoping to complete the C2C sometime soon. Its also helped me stay in shape with football training starting next week hopefully I wont be blowing out of my ar5e after 2 mins

Anonymous

what does it mean.. good question.

it's the zone feeling, that feeling of being one (can I say that) with the bike.... shouting at the climb when it's getting the better of you... smiling with the down when it gets fast and you think (but you're not going to) you are gonna come off....
the out of breath feeling when the adrenaline hits at the bottom of the hill and you cant even take a drink from your bottle then you smile and laugh to yourself...

the mental thoughts that go through ya head also,,, just the other week I was going up a steep climb and it was getting the better of me, then I thought "fook me, my grandad fought in the war ffs". mental thoughts like that pop in for no reason.

then when you get home, showered and sorted its the come down which is ace.....
the next day I am always in a great mood too....

all in all a brilliant sport....!!!

.blitz

Mountains. Bikes. That's all I need.

llamafarmer

I love the utter escapism it provides - when your legs are screaming on a long climb or you're scaring yourself silly on a rocky descent or nailing a sweet bit of singletrack - none of the stresses of everyday life matter, it's just you and your bike and the trail ahead.

You can push the limits of your bravery, go for an all day marathon ride or just cruise to the pub with your mates. There's the thrill and nerves of a new trail where you don't know what's around the next bend and the pleasure of your favourite local section where you know every rock and root like the back of your hand. Oh and the beautiful places it can take you...

Best sport ever!

el loco pollo

For me it's about getting into that zone where everything just flows, usually on strecthes of great singletrack. It's just me on my bike. Everything else leaves my mind; my work, money worries, family issues, I'm so free.

Also what a great hobby, it's top fun, pretty dangerous and good for the health, if not for the pocket. I can't think of a better hobby.