It has occurred to me that one of the reasons why many of my friends who mountain bike don’t end up hanging out together, let alone riding together, is because there are so many styles of mountain biking. How many styles are there?
First, let me list one that’s not: Not quite grown out of the BMX, there are some riders who prefer huge gap jumps, double back flips, or doing “The Superman”. These are those who may be riding a bike with 29ers, but what they’re doing with that bike isn’t necessarily anything anyone would consider mountain biking. It’s only BMX stunts on a different bike. There are skateboards with fat wheels, which a kid can ride on dirt, and that action would be about as much like true mountain biking as all the BMX jump parks. When I do the jump parks, I think it’s a good workout, but it doesn’t give me much of a thrill. The parks are usually in the middle of a city with a parking lot and a convenience store right next to them. The mountains are generally far away. My point here, before I move on to true mountain biking styles, is that you might as well throw some pegs on that bike and call it what it really is: a fat-tire BMX.
One style is the style of “century” traveling, which doesn’t quite have to do with time. They call it a century because they travel 100 miles. This is indeed a hardcore type of mountain biking. These guys and gals plan a day and a route, then they just go and go and go. They don’t take a lot of breaks as they crank out the miles, however, they do bring plenty of food and water. They experience a lot of scenery along the way. They sometimes take trains and shuttles to get back home, or from home to where they start the ride. This kind of mountain biking is for people who love to travel long distance.
The style opposite to century riding is “downhill” biking. I don’t know why I put quotes on that. Maybe just to make the word stand alone. The quotes don’t mean it’s not like downhill—it literally is downhill. The reason it’s so different from century riding is that it doesn’t cover many miles and it doesn’t take long at all. Downhill mountain biking is the ADHD of sports. Depending on the trail and the skill of the rider, a downhill ride can last only a matter of minutes. For instance, one ride I like to do averages about three miles in ten minutes with the elevation change of around 2,000 feet. There are a few jumps on the trail, but you don’t jump super high unless you want to be in the trees. Trees are an essential part of the thrill. Trees make it so you can’t see too far down the trail, provide shade, and provide obstacles such as downed branches, janky roots, and piles of leaves with branches and roots and other things hiding underneath.
Adventure riding is a fun style of mountain biking, though generally unsanctioned because it involves traveling off every conceivable trail and making your own way through everything from cacti to bogs to log piles. It requires an excess of curiosity. Adventure riding can get a rider in trouble though, if the rider has no regard for the usual signs of occupied territory. Going over gates, around fences and other barriers, just to satisfy an unquenchable curiosity is a poor way to be an ambassador for the sport. Getting lost is another poor way to show people how we play. I would say, most of the people I know who go adventure riding obey the conventions of society and don’t travel on anyone’s private property. Now, if only all of them would.
Last, but not least, is the generic style of mountain biking. These are the people who want to go up the mountain, come back down, maybe catch a few pictures of wildlife, and have a good time enjoying the outdoors. These folks might go 5 miles, or they might choose to go 30 miles, whatever fits their mood for the day. They fit the mountain biking mold fairly well.
Whatever style you like, I hope you have a fantastic, safe time doing it.
Xenosthesia.com 