Another big contributor to the breathless mysticism of that era was the fact that a lot of what was going on was communicated only by word of mouth, unless you were there to see something happen in person. Every ride was a chance to discover a new trail or even a new line or stunt - let alone the rides where you would successfully navigate something terrifying for the first time. But other than the annual release of the latest NSX or Kranked or NWD (and, later, others), there was an element of mystery about everything that perfectly matched the dark and misty environment where it was all taking place. There were so few riders in the late 90s and early 00s that I remember how strange it was to actually bump into another rider on a lot of rides - particularly if it was a weekday afternoon in November. Someone would pop out of the fog and drop in and you'd be left wondering 'who the hell was that?'
Rumours constantly dominated the local MTB gossip and often you didn't care whether it was true or not that something happened - just being in on the latest tale of someone's antics was often enough to feel a part of it. What a time.
Oct. 22, 2021, 10:40 a.m. - Pete Roggeman
Another big contributor to the breathless mysticism of that era was the fact that a lot of what was going on was communicated only by word of mouth, unless you were there to see something happen in person. Every ride was a chance to discover a new trail or even a new line or stunt - let alone the rides where you would successfully navigate something terrifying for the first time. But other than the annual release of the latest NSX or Kranked or NWD (and, later, others), there was an element of mystery about everything that perfectly matched the dark and misty environment where it was all taking place. There were so few riders in the late 90s and early 00s that I remember how strange it was to actually bump into another rider on a lot of rides - particularly if it was a weekday afternoon in November. Someone would pop out of the fog and drop in and you'd be left wondering 'who the hell was that?' Rumours constantly dominated the local MTB gossip and often you didn't care whether it was true or not that something happened - just being in on the latest tale of someone's antics was often enough to feel a part of it. What a time.