Pedal Pushers - The Extremes On Mountain Biking
December 4th, 2008

You have enjoyed riding your bicycle as a child, and didn't mind riding in the dirt, even though it took forever to get the chain cleaned up afterwards. Well, by now you have probably grown up and you still wonder what it would be like to ride your bike in the dirt instead of the sidewalk. Well, there is a sport for you and it is called mountain biking. In its purest form, mountain biking simply refers to riding your bicycle on any surface instead of paved roads. Thus it is not uncommon to see mountain bikers on beaches, mountain trials, and any other bit of dirt road that may be in your neighborhood.

While most mountain bikes have similar features, such as the thick, wide tires and a suspension that will absorb the worst of shocks from rocks and uneven ground, there are also as many bells and whistles as you care to spend money on. Just like a car, a mountain bike may come as a base model or fully loaded, which also includes a rather loaded price tag.

There are a few safety precautions you will need to take in order to have an enjoyable ride:

Know how to fix your bike. While you do not need to know how to take it apart and put it back together blindfolded, it is advisable for you to know how to fix any broken parts and especially a flat tire. Since mountain biking will quite often takes you miles from streets and therefore from help, it is imperative that you can get your bike up and running yourself, unless you are prepared to carry it for a very long hike.

If you plan a long distance outing, consider joining up with a local club or a group of mountain biking enthusiasts. This way you will have others around you who can help you, even if you are a couple of days away from the nearest road or convenience store.

Always, always, always wear a helmet! It is so easy to fall off a bike on a paved road, but the risk is much higher when traversing uneven dirt roads and paths.

As with any sport, there are a number of competitions and races that avid mountain bikers love to compete in. Depending on your level of enthusiasm and skill, you may wish to consider participating. Since there are different types of competitions, everyone from the endurance freak to the speed demon will find a niche that will satisfy her or his urge to show off what she or he is made of.

For the survivalist there are cross-country races that may be as long 15 miles. While the start line will see a huge group of riders, very soon the selection process will begin when bikes begin to break down and rider may or may not be able to fix the bike quickly. In a true cross country race, outside assistance with respect to mechanical issues is not permitted. Thus you will be wise to come prepared with tools and whatever other parts you believe you will need to fix your bike once or twice along the way.

If you are a speed demon, you may enjoy the downhill races. While the path is short, the speeds that can be reached are incredible and proper handling as well as an ability to read the terrain quickly and accurately is required. Because of the high speeds that you will reach, it is easy to get injured and you will be wise to follow all the safety precautions required by the event promoter.

Of course, for those who do not really care too much for break neck speed or being left in the dirt, literally, when the rest of the pack moves past you, there is the endurance race. Promoters have recognized the popularity of car endurance races and applied these concepts to the mountain biking world. Teams of varying makeup will compete in time trials of either twelve or twenty-four hour duration. It does not matter who goes through the finish line first at the end of the race, but which team was able to do the most laps

---

Please use the form below to comment on this page:

Name:
Email Address:	(kept private)
Comments:
Let me know if my message is replied to:	yes
Please enter the digits 513 in the box. This keeps away spam robots:

PHP Warning: Unknown(): Unable to load dynamic library 'C:\Program Files\HSphere\3rdparty\PHP\PHP5\ext\php_curl.dll' - The specified module could not be found. in Unknown on line 0 PHP Warning: Unknown(): Unable to load dynamic library 'C:\Program Files\HSphere\3rdparty\PHP\PHP5\ext\php_gd2.dll' - The specified module could not be found. in Unknown on line 0 PHP Warning: Unknown(): Unable to load dynamic library 'C:\Program Files\HSphere\3rdparty\PHP\PHP5\ext\php_mysql.dll' - The specified module could not be found. in Unknown on line 0