(B)East Coast or (B)West Coast?

Fully Rigid, 2/19/23

Ready for a great big yawn?!

East/Beast Coast or West/Best Coast? Which is better?

I grew up in Pennsylvania and started riding bikes in the woods not long after I learned to ride a bike. With regard to what we now call mountain biking, Michaux State Forest is where it all began. The trails there are classic East Coast mountain biking. What does that mean? Hold on.

Okay, I found some (tiny) photos:

East Coast Mountain Biking is:

Roots, Rocks, Tree Canopies, Humidity, Rocks, Roots, Short/Steep Ups followed by Quick/Short Downs, Streams, Roots and Rocks, Tight Singletrack, Forest Roads, and then add in some more rocks.

I’ve been living on the West Coast for 10 years and before then made some trips out west to ride. There’s a lot of classic mountain biking on the West Coast. What does that mean? Hold on.

Okay, I found some (big) photos:

West Coast Mountain Biking is:

Larger Mountains, Deserts, Different Kinds of Rocks, Bigger Climbs, Longer Descents, Less Humidity, Wide Open Vistas, Fire Roads, Singletrack with less odds of your bars clipping a tree, for the most part.

Which is better?

We didn’t even talk about the inter-mountain West, you know, the Rocky Mountain region. Is that West Coast? Nah.

Having lived in the Midwest, I can attest there is great riding there: southern Indiana, the UP of Michigan, north-central Arkansas (which is the South, actually, ain’t it?!), central Wisconsin up Lake Superior way.

We needed that break.

Which is better, east or west coast?

When it comes to mountain biking and the debate about which region of the USA is better, there is only one answer.

( _______ )

Yawn.