6 Comments

While “Mountain Biking” has changed over the years, the reason I ride has not. Like you mentioned, not every ride is epic, and that’s just fine with me. I look forward to what changes will come and embracing the ones that suit me. The pleasure I get from being out in nature and one with my bike, regardless of what it looks like, will not change.

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Hear, Hear, Michael!

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I ride my bike on trails because I enjoy it. I don't compete, ride for speed, or stress it. I want to improve my skills so I can ride rockier trails, but I don't see myself trying a downhill trail or even ones built up with a lot of wooden skinnies or jumps, unless they are designed to safely improve my skills before I tackle a ridge or trail with actual rock jumps. For me the fun is being outside on the trail. Getting there a little more quickly than hiking, and stopping to see the sights.

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Lower skinnies can be fairly safe, though I once ripped a derailleur off!

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Yeah, we have a couple at our local trails. A riding buddy went to White Clay in Delaware and took a 6 foot fall off a skinny bridge when the rider ahead of him *stopped* for some reason, and yeah, I'm not gonna be doing that. I'll leave that to the young people who want the instagram clout.

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Whoa, stopping on a skinny 6 feet up in the air = yikes!

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