Uncle Dave
Mountain biker, or one who rides a mountain bike?
At work the other day, I was talking to a co-worker. She was explaining to me how she had just bought a pair of new climbing shoes and was heading out that evening to try them out. For her, this was a fairly new pursuit and she was plunging in head first. I asked her at what point she thought she might transition from being a person who climbed into a “climber.” The look of disgust suggested never, and she asked me if I described myself to people as a “mountain biker”.
The pause that followed was long and awkward. This proved to be a question that I had to put a lot of thought into answering. Am I a “mountain biker,” or just someone who mountain bikes? Over the course of the day I interrupted her several times to insert fresh nuance into my answer to a question that she almost immediately regretted asking.
For some, this definition is easy. One example happened earlier that same day, when I bumped into a guy that I encounter in the bike room at work every so often. I say that like I bump into him occasionally when I ride my bike to work, but it’s more like I occasionally ride my bike to work and when I do, I bump into him in the bike room. He rides to and from work, every single day. By my math this is at least a 40km round trip (and quite possibly more). On top of that, I think he rides his mountain bike when he gets home, more days than not. In one of our conversations he dropped that his wife rides as well, and they use much of their vacation time riding bikes. When talking to him about riding bicycles I feel fraudulent and inadequate. I’m confident of what his answer would be to the mountain biker question.
This is a similar experience to how I feel during most media launch events. These leave me gasping for air, as much during the post ride conversations as on the ride itself. My strategy is to tuck myself at the tail end of the climb and then try to wrestle some self respect back from somewhere mid pack on the descent. Once the ride is done, I’ll hide out in a corner and quietly listen to a dozen people who have ridden everywhere and everything. You could be standing down the block and you’d be able to make the call that all these people are “mountain bikers”.
Shit, even my average North Shore ride has the same effect. Just this past Wednesday I hitched myself to the back of a shuttle and halfway down as we paused at a trailhead, somebody asked me if it was my first lap. It’s 5:00 on a Wednesday! What the fuck else could it possibly be? Total “mountain biker.”
According to mountain biking, these are the people against whom we are supposed to judge ourselves. Find the fastest, the fittest, the strongest, and then line yourself up beside them and come to the conclusion that they’re better than you. Chew on that for a while, and then you’re supposed to wonder where you went wrong and what it is about yourself that prevents you from living up to these ideals. Once we process that and scrape ourselves off the couch, even if we manage to close that gap a little bit, all that extra riding we’re now doing just brings us in touch with a fresh bunch of people that ride even more and make us feel even worse about things. Eventually, there’s only one conclusion. If these people are “mountain bikers”, perhaps we are not.
Maybe it’s time consider that our terms of reference and our measuring sticks are just a tiny bit flawed? What value is there in judging yourself against the best and the brightest? I’ve never lined myself up beside the best in anything and come away feeling like that had been a fantastic idea. Post-ride dick-swinging contests are seldom the key to a healthily balanced mind state. You just get a bit sad and then you head home and sit in front of your computer and feel like an imposter with nothing interesting to say about riding mountain bikes. Though, that could just be me.
Maybe we need to take a broader look at things, rather than focusing on one isolated little category? Perhaps these insanely fit, talented and opinionated bike riders are really bad at their jobs or take horrendously smelly shits at awkward moments during the day? Maybe they would be in awe at the professionalism that we bring to the workplace, or our odourless, metronome like abilities in the bathroom? Why would we choose only one hyper specific category for reference?
I think what it is, is that we’re always driven to be the something-est. If we’re not the fastest, we can be the toughest. If not that, we can be the most dedicated or fastidious. Shit, there’s probably even something in being the most callous, or disinterested. I guess it makes sense that we want to stand out in a group, but it’s strange how powerful that urge can be, and how awkward it can feel if you’re clearly not the something-est at anything. Perhaps I’m only asking these questions because I hope to be the most cerebral, or neurotic?
Why I ask these questions is that as I get older, I’m starting to feel both more uncertain and more confident in what I am in this life. I’m uncertain because I’m discovering that I’m not really these things that I thought I was, and more and more I’m leaving behind that picture I had of myself in my 20’s and 30’s. So where does this leave me? What am I exactly? The confidence comes because the further that I get from these really specific definitions, the more likely I am to have a decent answer to those questions.
There’s danger present though, too. It’s far easier to shirk off riding for a week if you’re just a guy who rides mountain bikes, and not a “mountain biker.” If you’re not careful, you can find yourself a hop, skip and a jump away from becoming guy-with-a-fancy-bike-that-rides-twice-per-year. There’s not necessarily any shame in that, but there are years of ingrained mountain biking reflexes that insist we need to be anything but that guy.
Because that’s the problem, isn’t it? If an outsider asks us if we’re a “mountain biker,” it’s impossible not to think about all those other “mountain bikers” out there who would not-so-silently judge us on our answer. It’s like introducing yourself as an “investor” at a Berkshire Hathaway AGM, or a “golfer” at whatever Saudi Arabian breakaway golf championship they’ve rolled out this week. Most people don’t want to put themselves above their station, but neither are they too keen on giving the impression that they’re some kind of jackass that uses their long travel ebike to duff around on concrete walking paths, scaring small children and ducks.
So, depending on who is asking and when, my answer to the question of “mountain biker or guy who rides a mountain bike?” will likely be different. At times this answer will trouble me, and at other times it won’t. It’s near certain that I’ll sound like a bit of an idiot as I work through it.
More importantly, I feel like I still have enough authority to write about bikes and pretend that I know what I’m talking about. For now. But in turn, that becomes a question for you. Is there an audience for a guy who rides a mountain bike to talk about mountain biking? Or should websites like this be the exclusive domain of the mountain biker? Or are you all just secretly guys-with-fancy-bikes-that-ride-twice-per-year?
Sorry,
Uncle Dave
Uncle Dave’s Music Club
This is probably a bad time to bring this up, but I feel like I’m slowly becoming a back-in-the-day listener of music. You know. One of them “These new bands are just ripping off X!” or “I saw them back when they were just buskers down at the train station and they didn’t even have real instruments to play!” types. So, it gives me great pleasure to bring you a motherflipping, honest-to-goodness, heartstopping, hot off the presses bit of new-ness. Is this a new band? No. But it is a new song, and right now, I’ll take it. Better than that decade old shit I’ve been pushing lately.
Comments
TristanC
1 year, 9 months ago
There's a (imo) really good book by Julia Galef, The Scout Mindset, that approaches this question from another angle. The book as a whole is about focusing on a mindset of "what information is true," instead of "the information I believe in is true." I'm doing a bad job explaining it, but that's the general idea.
She has a lot of strategies to disassociate your self-worth from being "right." One of those is, "hold your identity lightly." The idea is, if you hold really tight to the idea of "I am a mountain biker," or "I am a Flat Earther," then you're more likely to defend the idea/subculture without regard for if your arguments or facts are correct, since you feel like your identity is under attack.
FWIW, I'm just a guy likes riding bikes. Could I imagine my life without a bike in it? Nope. Do I spend a concerning amount of my time either riding or thinking about riding? Yup. Do other people label me a "mountain biker?" Maybe, I haven't asked. Does it matter? Probably not.
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Bagheera
1 year, 9 months ago
To me, being a mountain biker is more about attitude than anything else. There are people way faster than me who are definitely "guys who ride bikes". OTOH, there are slow, occasional riders who most definitely qualify as "mountain bikers".
Can't walk through the woods without thinking of ways to session that tree stump? You're a mountain biker. Can't think of a life without a bike in it, however little it may get ridden? You're a mountain biker.
Could you walk away from it after backflipping that insane gap to excel at some other sport? You're a guy (or lady) who rides a bike.
Anyway, if you consider yourself a mountain biker, you are a mountain biker. Welcome to the family.
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MTB_THETOWN
1 year, 9 months ago
I couldn't agree more. I think of a guy like Martyn Ashton on GMBN who for years because of his injury probably only got to ride occasionally when they can get a crew together to help him on his adaptive bike (i hope he can get out more on his bowhead now, but i stopped watching gmbn years ago when became just ads so not sure). That guy clearly loves and lives for mountain biking. A guy like him is clearly a mountain biker, regardless of how much or how fast he rides (even without counting his obviously impressive past accomplishments). If you love mountain biking, you're a mountain biker.
Now I'm gonna go get one of the three mountain bikes I built in my personal bike shop ready for my 5th ride in 7 days so I'm ready for my next enduro race.
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lookseasyfromhere
1 year, 9 months ago
I agree. Over the last few years I've hiked a lot more than I've rock climbed, and I still say I a rock climber, and that I go hiking. Passion>frequency. If I see a rock formation across a canyon I wonder how the climbing is on it, not how is the hike to it.
Mountain biking I have passion *and* frequency, so I definitely call myself a mountain biker.
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Kyle Smith
1 year, 9 months ago
My favorite quote has to be "Comparison is the thief of joy", often attributed to Teddy Roosevelt.
It's a quote that cuts both ways. If you're constantly comparing yourself to people who are fitter, faster, or more skilled, than you're not giving yourself the space to enjoy riding. On the flipside, if you derive your sense of self worth by comparing yourself to people who you deem to be beneath you (cheaper bike, wrong clothes, etc.) then your joy is really just vanity-stroking.
Most of us fall in the first category, and I'm always trying to improve on that. If I see someone who can clean a techy climb or clear a tabletop that I struggle with, then I try to make my first thought one of stoke for them, rather than jealousy on my part. People in the second group are usually jerks, and I try to avoid them when possible.
If I compare myself to anyone, it's usually myself, which make progression so fun in this sport. But that runway is only so long, and I'm not getting younger, so I'm going to have to find another way to find joy in riding when the progression stops and I start backsliding.
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lookseasyfromhere
1 year, 9 months ago
Oh, man, this x1000. I love looking at stuff other people are doing and feeling awed by it, but it never diminishes how I feel about my abilities. I've been mountain biking for 4 years, and got my younger brother into it about a year ago. He's already handily kicking my ass on the trails. But we're still each others biggest cheerleaders.
Likewise with rock climbing. I have buddies who mope when they can't get something they see someone float up, and spray when they can clean something they see other people struggle on. I do my best to coax them out of that mindset, but that's just where some people live.
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Mammal
1 year, 9 months ago
Regarding aging/backsliding: You can always gauge yourself by your ability to reclaim previous benchmarks you've since fallen short of.
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Skooks
1 year, 9 months ago
Or (speaking strictly for myself here) you could accept the fact that you are actually getting older, slower, and more risk-averse but are having just as much fun messing around in the woods on bikes as you ever have.
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[user profile deleted]
1 year, 9 months ago
This comment has been removed.
Kos
1 year, 9 months ago
Do you check in on NSMB every morning?
Probably a mountain biker!
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fartymarty
1 year, 9 months ago
Are you on any of the NSMB forms? You're a mountain biker.
Is "jank" a phrase you're familar with and use? You're a mountain biker.
Do you talk to fellow riders about tyre treads and compounds and casing weights? You're a mountain biker.
Do you have a mental list of features you want to tick off? You're a mountain biker.
Do you read bike / parts reviews even if you're not looking to buy a new bike? You're a mountain biker.
If you've read this article... you guessed it you're a mountain biker.
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago
More importantly, this list is not exclusive. You can also be a mountain biker even if none of the above applies.
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fartymarty
1 year, 9 months ago
100% - it was more a "starter for 10".
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Ryan Walters
1 year, 9 months ago
I think everyone needs to stop getting hung up on labels, and just go out and do what makes you happy. I am a person who rides mountain bikes, but am I a "mountain biker"? I guess it depends on what your definition is. I certainly don't want to be defined only as a mountain biker, as there are so many other things in life that I enjoy. Among my other favourite things in the world, I'm a husband, a father, a snowboarder, a poor gardener, appreciator of old jazz standards, rocket builder, and closeted science nerd. Hell, I even like my job (maybe not quite as much as mountain biking). For myself, it's the variety that keeps things fresh and interesting. I know myself well enough that I'd quickly get burnt out if I were "just a mountain biker".
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Kurt Adams
1 year, 9 months ago
What job do you have ?!
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Ryan Walters
1 year, 9 months ago
I'm a machinist pretending to be a bike reviewer ;)
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RaineAnderson
1 year, 9 months ago
Right on Ryan, couldn't agree more.
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Skooks
1 year, 9 months ago
No matter who you are, there is always someone better, faster, more talented than you are. So what? What somebody else is doing has zero impact on me. I ride a mountain bike to spend time outdoors with friends and family, and to have as much fun as possible. I'm old and not very fast and I am most definitely a mountain biker.
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Kyle Doherty
1 year, 9 months ago
"Why I ask these questions is that as I get older, I’m starting to feel both more uncertain and more confident in what I am in this life. I’m uncertain because I’m discovering that I’m not really these things that I thought I was, and more and more I’m leaving behind that picture I had of myself in my 20’s and 30’s."
Try parenting if you want to take dissolution of your identity to the next fuckin level.
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ShawMac
1 year, 9 months ago
+10.
A paraphrased quote from Amy Bell at the CBC always keeps me sane. "It's ok to admit that kids ruin your life... you just get an entirely new one to work with".
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Cr4w
1 year, 9 months ago
It's a mistake to go into a gym and look at the gym deadlifting 600lbs and compare against that. You're at where you're at and you don't get from where you're at to a 600lb lift in one day. You get to you+1 then you+2 then you+3, etc. Along the way you work on the accessory stuff you need and now you're breathing better, your balance is better, your flexibility is better and suddenly you make bigger jumps to you+20, you+30, etc and you're noticing that all these improvements are having a positive effect in other areas of your life (in a nice big feedback loop). Riding is exactly the same. It doesn't help to compare yourself to Schurter or Semenuk or even the quickest guy on your local ride. You just need to get out a little more often than you usually do, a little longer than you usually do, to ride past the customary rest spot on the climb to get to you+1.
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Cam McRae
1 year, 9 months ago
What if you are someone who rides a mountain biker?
Asking for an acquaintance.
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ShawMac
1 year, 9 months ago
You are a Fu**ing Mountain Biker
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Kenny
1 year, 9 months ago
Nice one, Dave - and very timely.
The whole "impostor syndrome" concept has kinda recently become a thing it seems.
My wife asked me the other day if I ever feel it at work. I absolutely don't when it comes to my career, but I realized I totally do when it comes to biking.
In a wierd way that's almost part of the draw though, like the challenge for me it to try to get fit/skilled enough to pass as a mountain biker, when I'm really just an out of shape middle aged desk worker who's scared of heights.
Mountain biking actually has the potential to expose many of my weaknesses and insecurities in one fell swoop, which is why I see it as providing so much opportunity for self improvement.
I also think the feeling you describe are more prominent on the north shore/sea to sky where the average skill and fitness level is higher than average (in my estimation).
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cheapondirt
1 year, 9 months ago
I think imposter syndrome is a symptom of a highly individualistic culture where each is encouraged, expected, almost required - to define, curate, and promote their own identity.
It's a lot of work to be fully in charge of who I think I am, let alone who everyone else thinks I am. It's really a heavy responsibility.
But to me this one is somehow simple. I love mountain biking, so I'm a mountain biker. I don't have a problem telling anyone, "but I'm really not great at it." I think the enthusiasm is more identity-forming than skill level, or even the frequency of participation.
My situation is inverse to yours I think; my work is where I always feel a little on edge, as if I still need to prove daily that I'm capable and competent, even though I've got a lot of experience and regularly receive positive feedback.
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earle.b
1 year, 9 months ago
Just ride your bike when and how you want. You want to race and be fast, go for it. You want to ride slow and notice the slug slowly making it's way across a log? Cool do that. Do what makes you feel good. Life's too short get into focusing on comparisons.
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Kurt Adams
1 year, 9 months ago
More Uncle Dave please! Always a great read!
Can I also be a mountain biker who rides a bike ?
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Morgan Heater
1 year, 9 months ago
Humans have a natural tendency to want to belong to a tribe, and having a crew of like minded folks who like to play in the woods is a powerful thing, and really good for my personal mental health. I was a "serious" climber for decades, and age and injuries forced me to step back from that identity a bit, and it was pretty difficult. Coming out on the other side though, I still love climbing just as much, I just don't feel quite as defined by it. Feels healthy. Maintaining the relationships with my outdoorsy tribe is super key to my sanity though!
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Cam McRae
1 year, 9 months ago
These comments bring me a lot of joy, insight and entertainment. I've said this before, but thanks to all of you for being so thoughtful, generally polite, informed, curious, humble, and often hilarious. Of course this particular set of comments was inspired by typical Uncle Dave brilliance, with lots of humanity thrown in, but sometimes the comments turn thoughtful when the topic is less inspired, like below a helmet review.
It feels as though this is the reward for the penance we did when our bulletin board made the Wild West look like Kansas.
Thanks to each and every one of you!
PS - the comments we get on Facebook however, are the perfect example of what you get from Mark Zuckerberg's inspiration
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago
"it’s impossible not to think about all those other “mountain bikers” out there who would not-so-silently judge us on our answer."
Actually, it is pretty easy to not think about those exclusionary gate-keeping assholes. To me, they're the ones who are NOT "mountain bikers", because mountain biking has long been about groups of people taking bikes wherever they could, and being (arguably annoyingly) enthusiastic about getting more people to try it, because it's awesome.
Now, to be clear, we all make jokes with friends about "needing" new/better stuff to really enjoy or fully shred a certain trail or area, but really, good groups will bring along all kinds of bikes and riders. We might warn someone that their 15-year-old XC bike combined with their short experience isn't the best for the particulars trails in that day's ride, double check they've got an extra tube or 4, and alert them to the easy-out trails at the halfway point, but I've never seen anyone actually get shamed into not joining in because they or their bike aren't authentic-mountain-biker enough. And if I did, the shamer would get an earful from me.
The ones who only care about lining up and comparing often aren't "mountain bikers", they're racers who just happen to race mountain bikes. These are guys-with-fancy-bikes-that-they-got-only-to-(maybe)-win-shit-instead-of-mainly-for-having-fun. I have not and will not ever listen to them about what makes a "mountain biker".
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ShawMac
1 year, 9 months ago
_I think what it is, is that we’re always driven to be the something-est. If we’re not the fastest, we can be the toughest. If not that, we can be the most dedicated or fastidious. Shit, there’s probably even something in being the most callous, or disinterested. I guess it makes sense that we want to stand out in a group, but it’s strange how powerful that urge can be, and how awkward it can feel if you’re clearly not the something-est at anything. _
I have embraced that I am just plain mediocre at most everything I do. Not bad at anything I try, never excel at much. From fastpitch, to fencing, to sex, I am described as "not bad" with a shrug. Maybe because I am old and don't care now, I don't find it awkward. it doesn't stop me from trying to be better for myself though, but I don't try to be "something-est".
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Bikes
1 year, 9 months ago
Maybe not too strange. Hard to tell your kid “you’re so mediocre!”
Or “if you try really hard, you’ll still just be middle of the road!”
But that brings up what we value right? I want my kids to try hard for the self fulfillment it brings. But society lauds the best, not those that put in the effort (although the older I get the more I also will realize that “the best” tend to put in extra humane efforts combined with a blessing of genetics)
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Timer
1 year, 9 months ago
It's actually quite easy to be the best in a field, if you only make the field narrow enough. :-D Sure I was the best descender in a group of flatland gravel bikers.
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cxfahrer
1 year, 9 months ago
On Sundays I regularly take a walk in the park with my wife to a bridge where one can sit on the curb and watch people passing by. As to have a reason to get up again and make our way home, we define a type of cyclist passing by, when we will get up.
Most of the time it is "mountainbiker" - depending on how long we want to stay, it is e. g. "mountainbiker with a decent mountainbike and without a motor and with a helmet on" or, if we want to get home earlier, "mountainbiker with a lookalike mountainbike with motor and no helmet anyway".
Sitting there you may see a lot of folks that are look-alikes with seriously expensive equipment and a helmet, and also folks that look like they take their hobby very seriously but are quite underequipped. This is not a city where one would really need a mountainbike in the first place - more a gravel bike or commuter.
But on Sundays everybody lives their hobby and is a "mountainbiker", "gravelbiker", "hiker", or whatever they want to be over the week working in the office and dreaming and writing in websites and nerding about.
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Kelownakona
1 year, 9 months ago
You know when you are a 'mountain biker' when you look at someone else on a bike and you know right away its someone who just rides a mountain bike.
;)
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Offrhodes42
1 year, 9 months ago
I have always just called myself a cyclist. If it has two wheels I want to ride it. I prefer mountain biking. If the group of friends I typically ride with want to go on a long gravel ride I will just as happily do that. If my son wants to go to the bike park I will do that. If we want to ride to the market for a coffee I will do that.
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ShawMac
1 year, 9 months ago
Likewise. I am honestly happiest on two wheels. Trail bike, DH bike, Road bike, my fat ass cheap cargo bike with both kids strapped to the back... it is my peace.
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Deniz Merdano
1 year, 9 months ago
I live by an Ansel Adam quote; When you buy a camera, you are a Photographer. When you buy a piano, you own a piano.
I know mountain bikers without bikes, Digger for example, hasn't ridden a bike for a long time but still kept contributing to the Shore scene.
@JW with more building time than ride time.
Graham D who I see as the most mountain biker of all mountain bikers.
And I see people on mountain bikes, riding the most incredible single track on the planet and not feel any connection to the land, builder, maintainer or fellow riders. I believe there has to be a certain amount of self sacrifice to be a mountain biker, atleast on the shore. Rest of us, just own mountain bikes.
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earle.b
1 year, 9 months ago
What was that funny two wheeled thing that Digger was riding with us in the Lynn Valley Days Parade on Saturday? I think it was a bike.
You know Digger got back on a bike after his knee surgery a few years back? Rocky set him up on an ebike and he rides plenty. He's not lapping double blacks, but he's rolling on two wheels.
But your point stands that people can ride very little and contribute LOTS to the riding community. Plenty of volunteers out there putting in more time at events/advocacy/trail work than they are actually riding.
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Deniz Merdano
1 year, 9 months ago
Yes! I did mean to say digger rides now and has been a few years. Thanks for the clarification!
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Graham Driedger
1 year, 9 months ago
I'm not a mountain biker, I'm a fucking addict. Or lifer. It just keeps getting worse (better).
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Dave Tolnai
1 year, 9 months ago
I almost called you a mountain biker several times today.
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Graham Driedger
1 year, 9 months ago
I do resonate with what you're saying in this piece Dave. I don't want to be identified always as a mountain biker, but even worse, a dyed-in-the-wool bro. Yikes.
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Martin
1 year, 9 months ago
With all due respect for him, I'm not sure I adhere to this quote by Ansel Adams. I studied visual arts and I did use photography as a medium (and I own a few cameras), but I don't consider myself a photographer though. I also own guitars and I am not a guitarist, but I play guitar. Looking at it like that, I don't consider myself anything precise outside of being a human!
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LadyGravity
1 year, 9 months ago
Great article, I have been struggling with this for awhile. I had a major trauma in 2018, then Covid hit and all my mountainbiking buddies drifted away. Workaholic (leaving very little free time) and a bike that needed maintenance meant that the mountain bike started to gather dust. I've been spending much of my time on my gravel bike (and loving it) but getting out into the trails a lot less than before. Mountain bikes are my passion, so I guess I still am a "mountain biker", not one who mountain bikes. But when people ask me I struggle with the response and feel like a bit of a fraud. However, judging by the responses here I'm not alone in how I feel and I take comfort from that. On a related note I ran across another mountain biker in a course that I was taking and we probably completely bored the people around us by talking bikes, tires and trails for about 20 minutes, so I guess I am a "mountain biker" still!
Thanks for the great read Dave.
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Perry Schebel
1 year, 9 months ago
interesting thought. though it's an integral / essential part of my life, i don't externally present as a mountain biker (no stickers on the car, only have 1 bike related t-shirt, don't proselytize about it, etc). i guess i don't really identify as one?
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taprider
1 year, 9 months ago
I think of myself as a "mountain biker" that does 2/3 of my riding on the North Shore. But can I be a "North Shore Mountain Biker" if I have never aspired to the biggest hucks and highest skinnies?
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Skooks
1 year, 9 months ago
Yes.
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XXX_er
1 year, 9 months ago
I should point out there have been more than few people on the nsmb forum who didn't ride a bike
I have been a skier/ biker/ paddler for a lot of years but I can't sit in a boat anymore so I sold them all and I am a has-been paddler
sometimes you have to let things go
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FullSend
1 year, 9 months ago
If it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks, swims and flies like a duck - then it's probably a duck.
That being said; Why does everything need to have a label slapped onto it? Does everything you do have to become an extension of your personality? Just enjoy your hobby in peace and let others enjoy theirs.
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Morgan Heater
1 year, 9 months ago
What if you're a duck who rides mountain bikes?
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Martin
1 year, 9 months ago
I've been riding since I was 10 (now 39) so I guess I ride a mountain bike. But judging by his arm tatoo, this guy from the most recent Dialed episode is clearly a mountain biker (and will forever be). I have nothing against that commitment, but I personally don't publicly express my interest for mountain biking anywhere except on mtb forums or when riding with friends.
Thanks for the interesting read @DaveTolnai!
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Perry Schebel
1 year, 9 months ago
i'm just questioning his choice of tread pattern. begs the question, if one were to get a tire tattoo, which tread would you choose? as much as i love my assegais/dhr's, maybe something classic, like smoke/dart or gazzalodi, or c16/c23? hmmmm...
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Martin
1 year, 9 months ago
It would be a hard choice... I'd be torn between old classics and awesome modern tread patterns. Gazzaloddi is pretty cool and more "organic" for a tatoo. I think it would still be pretty usable and timeless pattern too. But I just couldn't choose and assume this choice for life.
His seems like his own pattern (if not, I don't recognize it), and I can't help but just analyse it endlessly.
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fartymarty
1 year, 9 months ago
DHR2 for me. It's a great rear tyre and very under-rated as a front. And not as obvious as a DHF. Saying that I've moved away from Maxxis therefore i probanly wouldn't get the tattoo (plus I don't have any others)
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Velocipedestrian
1 year, 9 months ago
Aren't the traditional pair the 'quarter of a 44t chainring' in black on the right calf (for the older heads), and the 'quarter of a rotor' in red on the left?
You don't even need to visit a tattoo parlour.
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93EXCivic
1 year, 9 months ago
Man sometimes I have to wonder to myself if I can even call myself a mountain biker. I have been so busy with house renovation, building a new garage, having a 3 year old at home I am lucky to get in 1 ride a week and trails here closing after rain (although I aim for 2). I can't remember the last time I did a ride longer then 2 hours. But with the house projects almost done (for now at least) hopefully I will get back to it.
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Cam McRae
1 year, 9 months ago
You are clearly (still) a mountain biker. Of the best sort!
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XXX_er
1 year, 9 months ago
talked about this subject with an old WW kayaking buddy , so we agreed for the most part mountain bikers are a pretty normal bunch,
whereas many paddlers have some degree of ADHD and some are really out there more eclectic for sure
I used to say I was a paddler but I wouldn't really say i am a mountain biker
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago
I wonder if the out-there level might have something to do with accessibility. Back when there weren't as many [good] biking trails around, when most people had to make a concerted effort to go almost on a "biking trip" anytime they wanted to ride, only the eclectic ones made that concerted effort to do nothing but bike, and that meant the kook ratio was much higher. Now that there are trails basically everywhere*, more folks can get into it without having to go full kook and live only to bike. Perhaps analogous to whitewater paddling because most people can't get to a good and runnable river in minutes, or even an hour's drive.
(*e.g.: I can ride out my garage and hit both a State Forest and a Town Forest within minutes. Within a half hour's drive in basically any direction, there are at least a half dozen individual areas each with at least few hours worth of [unrepeated trails]. Just a random town in New England. Trails are all over!)
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taprider
1 year, 9 months ago
going full kook
moto to live by
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Allan Maxwell
1 year, 9 months ago
On probably my first real gravel ride ever, I followed a trail builder off a HUGE drop with a smooth runout. The kind of drop where I wasn't sure if the bike or me were up to it. Later, I suggested that some kind of warning would have been nice. His response was, "You're a mountain biker!"
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago (below threshold) log in to show
Were they leading you? Towing you in? Was this a guided tour and they were the guide? If yes, then a warning is pretty compulsory. Otherwise, there is only one person steering your bike, and that's you, not the person in front of you.
I feel no compulsion to warn riders who chose to follow me all on their own. Unless it's pre-decided that I am in charge of choosing lines for anyone besides myself, it's literally not my problem if someone else decides to ride the same line immediately after me.
I also like to tell newer riders (the ones who might not be called mountain bikers by flawed people using flawed metrics) "Rider in front never has to say sorry." Except for the previously mentioned leading/guiding scenarios, that also applies for missing "warnings". If I'm first, I have to notice the low branch or slippery bridge all on my own. Why would I deny everyone behind me the improvement opportunity of learning to look ahead? Or saving a nice front wheel slide on wood?
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Cam McRae
1 year, 9 months ago
I tend to use the golden rule if someone is following me. Seems to be a decent guide.
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Cooper Quinn
1 year, 9 months ago
Man, do you quote Vos Mises and Friedman at people after they get hit in the face by a branch you could see but they couldn't following you?
I'm with Cam. Give people a heads up on things you'd want a heads up on if you were following. It's just courtesy, not some kind of "OOOOOOH YOU FELL OFF THE GIANT GNARLY ROCKFACE I HOPE YOU TAKE THIS AS A TEACHABLE MOMENT WHEN YOU GET OUT OF THE HOSPITAL!" thing.
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago (below threshold) log in to show
Why are you following so close that you can't see the trail ahead? What's the distance back that you can not be relying on me to keep you safe? Can I stop yelling about branches when you're 2 bike lengths back? 4? 10? I don't know how close you are anyway, I'm not your damn babysitter. Back off and ride your own ride.
If I catch a branch and know it's gonna whip back, I'll always give a heads up. That's too dynamic, accidentally changing the trail out from under the next rider. But the low fallen tree that you would see me duck under anyway, especially if you're so damn close that you allegedly can't see it on your own? Yeah, um, dodge that yourself.
It's actually not really about not speaking up, because there often is a cheeky "low bridge!" or "fun bridge!" call anyway. It's more about people getting pissed if you don't. That's imposing expectations. I didn't sign up to guide, we're just riding the same trails together and I happen to be in front of you, and suddenly you're telling me that you need my help just to know where to go? Nope.
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Justin White
1 year, 9 months ago (below threshold) log in to show
Von Mises would tell you that you should be paying me in order to get the most efficient warnings of looming cliff faces in order to maximize your return re: rides without injury.
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Allan Maxwell
1 year, 9 months ago
@justin White ...sorry if I sounded like it was a negative experience when exactly the opposite is what I was going for. I am, afterall, a mountain biker!
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Speeder1
1 year, 9 months ago
Fun reading. Yes I am a mountain biker cuz I just love it and it brings me so much happiness. I'm willing to share the stoke too which I think helps with the identification as a title holder. No need for some official certification and certainly no need for anyone elses approval. If you love riding and your willing to share your enthusiasm and stoke, your a mountain biker.
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Mark
1 year, 9 months ago
Ideally we should move away from labels altogether as they tend to pigeon hole people into some socially defined category that may not reflect who they really are.
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LadyGravity
1 year, 9 months ago
I'm going to have to disagree with you there, labels actually help me define who I am. But ymmv
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Velocipedestrian
1 year, 9 months ago
As long as we get to pick our own, and aren't limited to one, yes!
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Mark
1 year, 9 months ago
Far too often, both intentionally and unintentionally, labels get used to push people back and hold them down. Labels can be a positive thing, but I think in general they do more harm than good.
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rockford
1 year, 9 months ago
Man...great read. Thanks for your thoughts Dave, and for making me think. For me, I chased my identity through 20's and 30's. Mountain biker was one of the hats I tried on, but looking back, I definitely was not a diehard MTBer like others I met and rode with. Many outside of MTB would identify me as one for sure. But they don't know the people that I/we know that are the real deal.
After having kids, I've firmly adopted the identity of Dad, and worked on my identity as husband too. Those seem to pay pretty good dividends and are something I can be really proud to be, no matter whom the company.
I have picked up golfing again, but wouldn't call myself a golfer as I still suck at it like back in my 20's. Not that skill matters. I just don't relate to the "golfers" I see at the course. But I like the sport regardless.
I think I figured out though in what context I (and others) adopt a clear mountain biker identity. When among a group of mixed cyclists of all flavours, I then clearly identify as the apex species, the MTBer. Each cyclist has a primary identity, and then maybe does some other things. But you'll hear it on the trails - "I'm a road biker so this stuff scares me" etc. I have a gravel/road bike and a beater MTB that I ride for groceries, etc. And I love being those bikers too. But no matter what pedals I'm pushing, I'm always a card-carrying MTBer, dressed up like a different cyclist at times.
Seriously, great read. Thanks a million.
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