Confessions of a mtbiker

[pk]

Ok, I'll admit it. I'm a closet roadie. Over half my time is spent strattling a 19 pound skinny wheeled machine on... dare I say it ... pavement! Ok, I've said it. And if you don' t like it, too bad! ;)

But there's a lot to be said for the road. Fitness, speed, visit new places, seeing spots in front of your eyes while pacelining at 25mph on a three-hour ride. Crushing and getting crushed on the hills. It's all good; it's all part of the wheel of life.

pk

[jaime]

I think my skinny tire bike has taught my fat tire bike to go a little faster!

[sizlinseagulsoup]

Almost all the riding I do now is road except for the weekly mountain bike races. The ease of road bike maintance is to addicting. Cleaning the mountain bike after a hard ride takes time whereas the road bike requires little maintance.

What I have learned is that every trail leads to a road eventually. ::)

[snemba-BR]

I'm not sure why mountain bikers feel compelled to "admit" they ride on the road. For those of us who don't live close enough to a trail head to make a daily ride possible, riding on the road allows us to get in better shape, see more things, and crush our non-road riding partners when we make it back to a trail. ;D What can be better than that?

[Ginger]

My favorite type of biking is mountain biking. I am a female and usually don't have anyone to ride with on the trails except on the weekends. During the week, I ride my Specialized Crossroads hybrid bike. I enjoy this. I don't need anyone to go with it. I stay shape and cross train i.e. brisk walking, running with my dog & swimming! Also I just took up hiking. Fall is my FAVORITE SEASON~~~ DAMM THOSE HUNTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Mt.A TODD]

I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them, Sam I AM! >:(

Holy Crap! What have I been missing! Reluctantly - I just got my first road bike. It's fricking awesome! I'm addicted, Speed Rules! Mountain Biking now feels like I'm on steroids!

Say, I do like Green Eggs and Ham! ;D


p.s. I'll still think all those Euro fashions look very Gay!

[biking viking]

Ah yes, but the question is PK, do you shave your legs too?

I used to call myself a mountain biker. Now I call myself a cyclist. I came to realize that I don't care what type of wheels they are..... as long as I have 2 of them under me and my legs are driving, I'm happy!

[pk]

Now you're really trying to embarrass me..... Guilty as charged!

Not sure I have much of an excuse for myself for my namby pampy legs..... except that it certainly makes it easier to find deer ticks crawling on them and all my cuts/scrapes heal faster..... Yeah, I know, it's a pretty pathetic excuse, but I guess I'm a pretty pathetic excuse for a mountain bikers. Sorry to let ya down! ::)

pk

[splat]

I just call Myself ( and have for years ! ) a cyclist. Been riding a road bike for 20 years ! The speed is addictive. I have been on the Mt bike about 15 years. It is funny, most of my roadie friends, who don't mt bike much if at all, call me the Mt. biker , while my Mt bike friend , who don't ride road bikes, call me the roadie. I just look at it it this way , if it has 2 wheels and you pedal it, I'll ride it ! , Maybe that is why I have 6 bikes :)

and I find riding the differnt bikes compliment one another quite well!

[biking viking]

Have no fear, PK. I am a leg shaver as well. Although, I have to admit that I only do it in the summer months. I figure the extra clothing in the winter provides the protection I need and adds extra warmth for non-biking activities (hiking, snowboarding, etc). That, and I'm just too darn lazy to do it all year 'round. Funny thing is, I get more teasing from my roadie friends when I don't shave then I do from my MTB friends when I do!

[Mt.A TODD]

I'm sorry for the dumb question, but WHY? Why do you shave your legs? How can leg hair affect with road riding? I have a hard time shaving my face, I can't imagine shaving my legs. Do you shave any other body parts? ???

[knucklebuste]

I think those outfits that the road bikers wear are absolutely ridiculous. I'd never ride on the road, and if I did, I'd have a regular t-shirt and my usual baggy down past the knees shorts and my vans. I don't understand why people would want to ride on the road and risk getting killed. Plus there is so much more to see in the woods. I just don't get it, but hey, if ya like it, more power to ya, but lose the shorts, please. There is nothing more disturbing than a man in spandex. Yeah my ass hurts and I have the answer. I bought a pair of padded undies. I put those under my cargo pants or my knee length shorts and my ass is good to go, but spandex?? Come on. Kevin

[sizlinseagulsoup]

Baggies are the most annoying thing in the world if you are pedalling with a high cadence for a long time. Plus LYCRA does not make a wicked annoying flapping noise when you are crusing at 60 mph down a hill.

[Mt.A TODD]

I have news for ya, baggy shorts on a road bike is retarded, way to hot, way to much wind resistance. So what if your ass hangs out, stay away from homosexuals.I realize your hardcore, but do you think Ricky Carmichael and Brian Lopes wear baggies on their road bike? no they wear ass hugging spandex! But let's get back to Road Riding, I never in a million years thought I would get into Road bikes. but let me give you some reason why it kicks ass. For one it is not always feasible to get all my crap together after work for a good offroad ride, time, commute, weather, whatever. But it is incredibly convenient to come home from work, throw on some spandex, fill my water bottle and go! any ride is better than no ride. Which brings me to point two, the WORKOUT!, Kevin you may have loads of fun in your orange room, pumping away on those wacky exercise machines, but I guaranty you won't be burning as many calories as I am. Dodging cars, zipping and zagging, getting hoots from cute chicks, jumping potholes, getting yelled at, I'm RIDING a bike, very very fast, it's fun!

[Big Game]

Why do you shave your legs?

1. Not so much for less wind resistance, but it makes the inevitable wipe-ouit related scars much easier to deal with (This works for mountainbike too).

2. Too liberate myself from the constraints of a world that tells me I shouldn't feel sexy. Try it yourself. You'll curse yourself that you didn't try it earlier.

[EVIL BOTA]

Well I'm guilty as well. I aways start my season off on the road.It takes me awhile to get out of the steak and chesse headlock after the winter. So riding on the road gets the extra weight off before I hit the woods.Today I checked my trip on my bikes and I've done 1900 miles on the road and 300 miles in the woods.I haven't ridden on the road in a month. Trying to get all the mtn biking in as I can before it gets to cold.Ofcourse I am gonna try to ride all year round for the first time.. Should be interesting to see if I can do it..
I tend to hibernate in the winter.lol

[sizlinseagulsoup]

Yeah, I have been forcing myself to use the trainer and spin in a high gear for an hour straight. It's really not that fun.

Evil - You picked a bad year to try and biking all season... it's suppossed to be a VICIOUS winter. Look how cold it's been already? Looks like super-fun trainer year!

[boingboing]

Riding all year??? Why bother Its almost time for the other season SNOWBOARDING!!!!!!!!!! (and skiing too. I just can't go nuts on skiis anymore after the knee surguries). Anyway; about this whole road riding thing I used to be a die hard road rider . I did a ton of distance trips and rode probably every day until I got a Mtn bike back in 94. Needless to say if my road bike was a horse I'd send it to the glue factory. Cars suck, Loose dogs suck and (after looking at that things thrown at you while riding thread) people can suck too. At least riding in the woods you work the arms as well as the legs. Best of all you dont have to dress up like wonder woman to go riding. Bong