When does mountain biking, or any pursuit for that matter, transcend being just a simple hobby that you take part in when you have some free time and become a way of life? And are there certain boxes that must be checked for this to take place? It obviously should go without saying (
yet we'll say it anyways to stifle any thoughts of elitism) that it doesn't matter whereabouts riding a bicycle places on your list of life's priorities, but rather that you simply enjoy being out on a bike, yet there is something truly inspiring about someone who shapes their life around the time they devote to their sport. The most obvious example that comes to mind of such dedication has to be how some surfers approach life, with it being a readily accepted thing to ditch work/family/commitments to sleep in their van and spend hours in water that is often so cold that certain body parts want to shrink right back up inside of you, all because the waves are decent. When was that last time you smeared vaseline on your face to keep the freezing wind from burning your skin during an ocean swim in sub-zero conditions?
Living out of a van as a privateer chasing the World Cup circuit is quite the lifestyle choice, one that New Zealander Eddy Masters made last season. Dedication personified.
While our sport doesn't require coating exposed skin in vaseline, many of us do go to great lengths to allow for maximum saddle time, and building your life around riding is surely a sign that it has passed from being a hobby to a lifestyle, isn't it? Choosing to live in a location that is close to world class trails, a decision that greatly shapes other factors in your life, has to be one of the most obvious examples of extreme dedication to two wheels. That might mean that you work in a profession that isn't your ideal job, or maybe it means leaving your family and loved ones behind to move to the ''promise land''. And speaking of the ''L'' word, many a relationship has been sparked when two like minded souls discover a shared love of singletrack - sometimes it is the sacrifices that one makes to be able to ride, and sometimes it is the blessings that come from a life devoted to playing in the dirt that signal how mountain biking has slowly become a way of life for you. Of course, more than a few relationships have also gone downhill because one half of the team would rather sit on a bike seat than sit on the couch and cuddle, a fact that also shows where mountain biking fits in relative to other things in one's life.
| In the end, though, it doesn't matter whether you skipped your grandfather's funeral because the conditions were Velcro-like hero dirt, or if you would rather spend a sunny Sunday with your family or friends on the beach than turning the pedals over; mountain biking is what you get out of it regardless of how important it might be to you. |
While the earlier analogy to surfing offers the most obvious example of one's dedication to sport, it also carries the stigma of elitism and everything else that comes with the generic "hardcore" misconception when viewed from the outside. That sort of "I'm better than you" attitude, be it concerning fitness or the size of your gonads, is one that I personally can't stand. News flash: no one cares about your KOM, how high that drop was, or what new parts you just spent your life savings on, but those points are often thought to go hand in hand with someone who places riding above all else. In the end, though, it doesn't matter whether you skipped your grandfather's funeral because the conditions were Velcro-like hero dirt, or if you would rather spend a sunny Sunday with your family or friends on the beach than turning the pedals over, mountain biking is what you get out of it regardless of how important it might be to you.
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Step two: Blow said finds on bike parts
Step three: Be broke
Step four: Repeat steps 1-3
Biking makes me happy, forget my worries, conquer my fears and feel free. It keeps me in shape and teaches me, while showing me where the boundries are and taking me to the edge. After a crash I get up and do it again until I get it right
Imagine somewhere near Sedona, La Fruta, or another land of never winter, just keeping it simple. Maybe in the summer you pack it up and move to your other burger flipping job in Hood River or Kamloops for a half year. I would flip burgers in a good riding town to cover life and bike fixing if I could live in a van and ride. My wife disagrees though, so house and yard is a must. I still wonder if it would have been better for my kids to grow up in a dirt patch though. Less hooked into the world and all that.
Be a Van Nomad. I would if the woman found it acceptable. Heck, we might do it if the economy crashes and leaves us broke. Sometimes homeless just means you are free.
If this means living in a van or working in bike shop then so be it - at least i am more happy than any miserable office worker that has a horrible life cause he/she did what everyone else told them to do as opposed to doing what they wanted to do.
:-)
Yea they all think I'm the. crazy one...
See ya lads I'm off to the woods!
I just counted 120 people whose numbers are in my phone. Sixty-one ride, so I just squeaked in above 50%. I thought it would be higher.
After twenty years of riding I have a whole heap of friends that are more than just riding buddies. I have lived in their houses, gone on non-MTB trips overseas, parties, get-togethers, borrowed hedge trimmers and all sorts of stuff, and I even met my wife through riding.
The only reason I have time to write this is that I just got home from work (after ducking in to say g'day to the boys at the LBS) and I'm stuffing some food into my face before going out on a training ride (hills tonight - yippee!!).
Without riding my life would be very different, and I'm betting it would be worse. Riding makes me happy, and the people I've met through riding make me happy too.
Spent most of your time and money on bikes.
If you don't ride, you are definitely fixing something on your bike or just cleaning it. No matter if it is already cleaned to shine.
Miss Friday parties, so you can get up early Saturday morning and go shredding.
Read Pinkbike while you are at work.
Read Pinkbike while you are not at work.
You don't know what's new on cinemas cause you are watching 'Seasons' for a 5467437 time.
Does that sounds as a hobby to you? Don't think so.
Sometimes y feel that i'm thinking more about bikes that ride bikes! But It's the priority now, The high School, etc. Otherwise I keep drawing bikes hours in the school, I don't know, but I love bikes so much.
Articles like this Motivate me so much! LETS RIDE!
Now screw you all. I'm off for a ride.
Racing every weekend and decided to build a DH frame.
Got a chain ring tattoo.
Started a bike company.
Moved and travel solely based on where to ride.
Last year moved into the "Coach" full time, minimizing drive time to all those rad riding locations and giving me an office at the trail head.
Yea, it's a lifestyle. I wouldn't pick anything else.
It's cold and snowy a good five months of the year where I live/want to live, and those five months are definitely the hardest for me to get through.
For some, it's our livelihood. For an even smaller few (maybe? I don't know how all of you feel about it), it's our life blood- not just what we do but really who we are.
Got my h/c down to +1, but didn't feel real.
And talk about elitism, suddenly I'm being asked to play in members tournaments, watching these overweight fat cats going on how "his" team won.
I got tired of the bulls it, and returned to my first sport, that I got started in some 40 years ago, and I couldn't be more happy.
Better quality of people, who don't care if you show up at the park in a older rig, they know your in it for the thrill.
And besides "if your not living life on the edge , your taking up too much room !"
besides its a better bang for the buck.
But yea I'd say its just a hobby...
Racing every weekend and decided to build a DH frame.
turn my parents garage into a bike studio.
Started a bike company.
Moved and travel solely based on where to ride.
lived in my van for 10 years travelling
Last year moved into the "Coach" full time, minimizing drive time to all those rad riding locations and giving me an office at the trail head.
Yea, it's a lifestyle. I wouldn't pick anything else.