No longer a mountain biker.

[Bearbonesnorm]

*Apologies in advance for this one - it doesn't really go anywhere.

I've considered myself a 'mountain biker' for the best part of 20 years, for the last 8 years it's been how I've made my living ... but at weekend I realised that I might not be a 'mountain biker' anymore :?

While out riding for the weekend I bumped into a group of maybe a dozen riders. They were in a forestry carpark having a breather and being fed and watered from their Landrover driving support crew. I did the obvious thing and stopped for a quick chat. It was difficult to get much out of any of them, no one looked that happy even though the sun was shining and they were out on their bikes but I did learn that they were riding 130 miles from Cannock to Aber' over 4 days, staying in B+B ... I did have to stop myself asking what they were going to do with the extra 2 days

Anyway, as I was chatting I noticed the bikes they were riding, the clothes they were wearing and their attitude towards the tracks and trails they had ridden. It was at this very moment that I realised that these people WERE mountain bikers and we came from very different moulds ... it seemed that the exact things that defined them as mountain bikers were the very same that stop me being one.

Sorry to ramble, I thought I'd forget all about it within half an hour but I haven't ... maybe it's an age thing

Anyone else feel slighty displaced by the accepted image many people have of 'mountain bikers' ? ... oh, and strangely being a 'mountain biker' seems to have nothing whatsoever to do with riding bikes on actual mountains.

[firedfromthecircus]

Absolutely know where you are coming from.

Mountain biking ain't what it used to be (quite literally).

[burty]

that will be chase to coast , day two is a leg busting 28 miles according to the site , and will cost you the best part of £350.
I think I will have to pass on this one

[Bearbonesnorm]

day two is a leg busting 28 miles according to the site

No wonder they all looked tired.

[johnnystorm]

day two is a leg busting 28 miles according to the site

No wonder they all looked tired.

You would do riding a 6" travel bike with the seat dropped, and decked out in pads and a full face lid.

[slarge]

Cannock is the same - the vast majority of people who ride their bikes there of a weekend seem to stick to the MTB trails and are wasted after 7 or 8 miles.

There's a fairly small percentage who want to explore, and ride all day out in the hills without stopping at every clearing to talk about how they nailed the last kerb drop.

[Ray Young]

Stu, you ride a mountain bike in the hills and in twenty years time I'm sure you still will be, just because you haven't followed the mainstream doesn't mean your not a mountain biker. Also, too many poser's and holier than thou types in mainstream mountain biking if you ask me, are they mountain bikers?

[Pyro]

I know what you mean exactly. I grew up in the Lakes, riding decent distances in proper mountains, often on a patently unsuitable 70-quid-mail-order-special BSO.

I haven't ridden much this year for various reasons, but when I have it's been decent jaunts into proper natural-ish trails, rather than laps round yet another trail centre. That's not to say the trail centres don't have their purpose - they keep all these people off the properly good natural trails.

Mind you, all you divvies who can't function without your Garmins and Brytons and assorted satellite paraphenalia - you're doing it wrong. :)

[JohnClimber]

that will be chase to coast , day two is a leg busting 28 miles according to the site , and will cost you the best part of £350.
I think I will have to pass on this one

http://www.chase2coast.co.uk/

Bloody hell, they were maybe embarrassed about parting with £350 for such a "rad" ride.

A lot of my mtb club are taking to road bike, others are buying downhill bikes for riding Antur Stinog.

I'm getting too old for dodging cars on road bikes or the glory of 2 seconds in the air and 6 months in traction.

We should call ourselves "mile eating off road bike riders"

[ericrobo]

Yes I know where you are at... I don't want mtb'ing to become too popular, that means more rules and regulations... all I want is to be able to ride good trails in good country without the masses being there (selfish, elitist.. ? I don't give a sh1T about that. In my twenties I walked in the Lakes a lot (and rock climbed too) and when you met someone on the hill you probably knew them or had seen them before, and you always said "Ow do" or had a chat... but now there are so many you look away (rats in a basket syndrome... overcrowding, bite one another's ankles)... All I want is for Wales to adopt the right to roam the same as Scotland, because that will put pressure on the English ramblers (a powerful body who probably do NOT like mtb'ers). It's funny because Wales have an eye on tourism and the economy (it gets everywhere)... If there are to be more of us, then we do need more tracks... if not we still need more tracks... END of rant ! All you need is yourself and a few mates and good tracks....

[tommid]

I've always tried to not pigeon hole myself and have always regarded myself as a cyclist.

Part of me says live and let live, but part of me despairs at modern MTB'ers.

[Cheeky Monkey]

It's just people on bikes. Just because they're on bikes doesn't mean they've anymore part of the same group than anyone else.

Ths is all a bit STW, eh?

[ScotRoutes]

Conversely, I can't get enthused about going out for short (sub 2 hour) rides at the moment. In fact, anything less than 5 hours and I just tend not to bother. I know this is generally a BAD thing for maintaining fitness.....

[rudedog]

It's just people on bikes. Just because they're on bikes doesn't mean they've anymore part of the same group than anyone else.

Ths is all a bit STW, eh?

I agree - I love multi day bike packing adventures but I also really enjoy going to a trail centre - as you say, it's all just riding bikes.

[greenmug]

I have an interesting perspective here, being an owner of a bouncy bike and can enjoy an hour at the local trail centre (Stainburn) but also a Salsa El M to get lost in the hills for days. I was talking about this kind of thing with a biking mate and was reminded that if "trail centre only" folk were to venture futher it could be a problem since one of the best bits of the wilderness is the solitude. So we should encourage tehm to do more and more rad things, within the permieter fence of the trail centres.

Also, to be fair, they are out on a bike. Surely they are instantly 99% better than folk who think a good saturday is one spent down the Harvester drinking lager?

Final thing to say is the bikepacking this year has become a branded catagory within mountain biking. I'm sure some of the old timers would say it used to be just folk who went a bit further and stayed on the hill overnight. Now it seems you have to have all the kit to be 'in'. Not much difference really, just a different catagory.

Interesting to note that mountain bikes wasn't a label that came from them being designed for mountains. It was the name of the first shop over in Marin that built and sold off road bikes. Not sure why they chose the name but it stuck. The orignal bikes were for hurtling down dirt tracks very fast (like the repack races). So funnily enough trail centre lovers are closer to the orignal than people like me who are happiest peddling to the middle of no-where and staying out beyond when everyone else has gone back home.

Right, I'm off to buy some Alpkit, fiddle with GPX files and weigh my titanium teabag strainer.

[Bearbonesnorm]

Ths is all a bit STW, eh?

Oh no CM ... if it were, I'D bE tYPinG LikE THIS and I'd also be looking to blame someone / everyone for something or other. I feel the 'problem' lies at my feet, meeting the other riders was purely the catalyst. I actually wish I could have taken them with me ... watching them ride up the A44 in convoy, producing an ever growing tailback with the Landrover tailing them was a little sad

I've always tried to not pigeon hole myself and have always regarded myself as a cyclist.

I know what you mean Tommid. Over the years mountain biking got sub-divided countless times - XC, DH, Enduro, All Mountain, Freeride, Park, Slopestyle, Aggressive XC (???) and I never felt the need to define or describe myself as any of those things, I was just a mountainbiker. I don't have a road bike or commute so I never really thought of myself in terms of 'cyclist' ... maybe I should.

Interesting to note that mountain bikes wasn't a label that came from them being designed for mountains. It was the name of the first shop over in Marin that built and sold off road bikes. Not sure why they chose the name but it stuck. The orignal bikes were for hurtling down dirt tracks very fast (like the repack races). So funnily enough trail centre lovers are closer to the orignal than people like me who are happiest peddling to the middle of no-where and staying out beyond when everyone else has gone back home.

That's flare wearing hippies for you

Right, I'm off to buy some Alpkit, fiddle with GPX files and weigh my titanium teabag strainer.

:D

[BRP]

It's all just about creating memories...So long as you're having fun, and riding a bike, you can call yourselves whatever you want. :D

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDUe9BFPrzg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enX4Ad1Zb5A

[Tanglefist]

Right, I'm off to buy some Alpkit, fiddle with GPX files and weigh my titanium teabag strainer.

Ah, the bikepacker's mating call.

[Andrew]

What about calling yourself an all terrain biker as the use of ATB seems to have fallen out of favour.

[rudedog]

What about calling yourself an all terrain biker as the use of ATB seems to have fallen out of favour.

I think a Fatbike is more ATB than a 'mountain bike'.

[didnothingfatal]

What's in the CamelBak: Lucozade Sport or Powerade


Match with far away stare photo!

Obviously he fell for the branding!

[rocklobstercat]

I use the term Adventure Cycling. I have friends who are happy to ride 8 miles in the local woods jumping six feet in the air on a 40 lb mountain bike and freewheeling downhill at 30 miles an hour over roots and tree stumps. They call themselves mountain bikers. I am also a mountain biker but that kind of stuff isn't my bag. I think mountain biking is a broad term which covers quite a lot. I love to get out and not think about time, distance, speed or competing. Just enjoying the simple pleasure of riding through natural landscape away from the rat race. I think there can be a lot of bull***t behind any subject so I try to ignore it.

[Ray Young]

I had a ten year break from mountain biking due to ill health and must admit I was very suprised at the divesity of it all after I came back to it. Many years ago one of the first events I ever entered consisted of an xc race, a downhill race and a trials course with scores from all three counting towards placings. Everyone used just one bike to do all three disciplines because there was only one style of "mountain bike" to be bought back then, and they were all rigid.

[ericrobo]

"Just enjoying the simple pleasure of riding through natural landscape away from the rat race. I think there can be a lot of bull***t behind any subject so I try to ignore it."..... Brilliant !! I second that.

[alansmout]

I wonder if this has anything to do with the amount of marketing for mountain bikes now? It seems there are loads of different categories and if you don't have the right kit you don't fit in?

Think about the image you see from online videos or footage of the TDF. For MTB its all downhill riders, hence the assumption that you need full body armour and full face lid. Like wise for road riding, all decked out in lycra and on 3k of carbon bike, cos thats how the pros do it. I've seen lads riding the ridgeway near me in oxfordshire in full on downhill kit. Its basically dirt track for miles and a cyclocross bike would do the job!

I was over badbury clump near faringdon today with the wife and boy and hadn't intended to ride. After seeing the tracks I decided to give it a go ( wife even suggested it!). Problem was I only had a 24 inch bmx in the car I use for pump tracks. I got some right funny looks when I rode up and was the only one without full face helmet and armour. Didn't stop me having fun!

Same with road bikes, I've got a battered 1997 cannondale road bike and have gotten all sorts of looks from lycra clad riders on expensive bikes.