Pinkbike Poll: How Long is Your Average Mountain Bike Ride?
Joe Schwartz, Andrew Shandro, and Aaron Bradford push through the rain to climb and descend three of North Vancouver’s mountains - Seymour, Fromme and Cypress - all in a single day. - Sterling Lorence photo
How often do you ride your mountain bike? And when you do, how long are you out there for? Demographics are changing. People have shorter attention spans and many are time crunched. Outdoor enthusiasts are moving from longer, more leisurely forays into the backcountry to compressed, more focused activities. Climbing gyms and yoga parlors are full, and there's the e-bike thing.
The popularity of heavier, longer-travel bikes that favor the intensity of descending above the versatility of cross-country trail riding suggests that off-road cyclists are also evolving in that direction. The pervasive trend to carry less water and fewer (if any) spares supports the notion that mountain bikers are popping out for one or two-hour laps and that the all-day weekend ride may be a luxury. Strava and Trailforks ride reports seem to support that theory.
That said, there is also an upsurge of cycle-specific camping gear and bicycle designs. The BC Bike Race still sells out in a month, and our friends at Epic Rides have expanded their roster of 50-mile trail races - so there must be a busload of riders out there who still put in 200-mile-plus weeks.
= Bartek Wolinski photo
So, where do you fall into this equation? How does your riding style measure up in the larger landscape of the sport? I'd expect PB members to be up there near the top. I can't be the only one who is curious....
How long is your average mountain bike ride?
Ride times include stop and go on the trail and shuttle times. Answer all that apply.
How often do you ride?
Spring through fall. Select all that apply.
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157 Comments
So quit being productive, desk jockeys! Read every damn review, watch every "Must Watch", and stare at the Photos of the Day; And you, too, can ride every single day!
8 hours on pinkbike = 8 hours work
unfortunately from the perspective of your boss:
8 hours on pinkbike = 0 hours work
It's just personal choice and you accept that reality when you make that choice. And one tends to love their family infinitely more than mountain biking, much as I love it too.
There are plenty of condescending couples who look back at you thinking how sad you must be to never know the pleasure of having a family, which is equally wrong. It's just everyone making their choice and living their way.
But you are the lucky/wise minority.
If you think that most people can afford either time or finance-wise to ride whenever they want you are mistaken.
It’s called having your cake and eating it too.
Awaits down votes
To each his own: I have some great nephews and get all of the family time I want...difference is I also get to work 50-60hr a week and ride 5-6 days a week. Like others have said, I know what life style is right for me, and that has no bearing on what life style is right for the rest of you.
Anyway, nothing wrong with going on bike rides -- we need it. It's a worthwhile pursuit as far as recreation goes, but it's not the end-all and be-all of life.
I am thankful that my wife and I share the same interests in just about everything from bikes, to movies, to food, to animals and everything else we enjoy doing together. She really is likie my best friend and we share everything...including our love for hot women
One of those most important things is that both for men and women it is hard to see the person you date for what he/she really is. You will always project the image of your perfect partner on her if she starts ticking the boxes. Psychological projection is extremely common and can easily overwhelm you and your partner. Especially when you are horny in environment with few potential partners. Working where I work now, with lots of very different people of many ages, I see how I made a bad choice.
Also being single these days is not a problem. When you get kids and your relationship goes starts to go off the road, and you are above a certain level of income, your partner may easily become an obstacle rather than help. You suddenly realize that if you have let's say 2 kids, you effectively end up with a third child. And you become a third child sometimes. One that will not listen, no matter what, ill sabotage you and will make sure you feel like shit. A spouse can be worse than a worst teenager (that means you can be that too). In the era of Tinder, sorry, you don't need steady relationship, and in the era of unprecedented exchange of information, kids are not necessary for you to share your "genome". A professor shares more of his genom by teaching people than by making kids.
It's good if your spouse does ANYTHING. Any absorbing hobby is good. In this way you can exchange favors. Selfless love... you can go fk yourself with that. I realized that the only thing men and women are good at doing together is sex and romance. Getting in love is amazing, I fkng love it. But that's where I'd draw the line. A great emotional coctail, coming in someone. All great. The rest, I have no good example other than very few friends of mine. I am a selfish a*shole too but well...
As far as length: I ALWAYS enjoy the first hour of MTB. I usually enjoy the second hour of MTB. The third hour is iffy.....
Of course having two kids and a job did cut into my mountainbike time and I rarely go out on longer rides. Though I think even if I could, I wouldn't. I already need to put in hours a week of steady paced (z3 zone, I think) rides in. Doing the same on my mountainbike would turn me into a diesel. I don't want that. Steady paced longer rides have already been ticked off, whatever I do next to it should be short and hard. Just to retain the balance. Most of my mountainbike rides are about an hour, a pumptrack session on the BMX usually isn't longer than 30 minutes.
And it isn't just "family and work" eating into my time. To be able to keep riding for a good couple more decades, I also put time into strength training and stretching. Doing too many long rides aren't going to help you there.
2 trail rides a week of about an hour/hour-and-a-half.
Mostly seasonally dependent here in Ontario. I used to go all season, but age and health have gotten in the way. I used to trail ride 4-5 days a week, but moved further from all the trails and now it is a long haul just to get to any trails that I can do an hour of riding on.
Spend a huge portion of my waking hours thinking about biking though.
I was lucky enough to marry a girl who shares the same passion for bikes that I do. We don't have kids and spend most of our free time riding bikes. We both love DH bike parks and try to visit several different ones and of course hit our local park as often as we can. I am so glad that I can share this love of the sport with my partner. I have friends that are married and their significant other doesn't want anything to do with bikes. That is a real shame to see them beg and make deals just to get a free day to ride, but then they still have restrictions. (only 1 beer after the ride, then straight home. AND they are on kid duty).
Specialized Enduro Comp 29er by the way. FREERIDE LIVES AND IT'S GOT BIG WHEELS!!!!!
If I ride to go dig does that count?
If I session a small area does that count?
If its an epic ride or progression session on features that are at or near your limit then it's a real ride.
The rest is just bike life.
I wonder what the contributing factors are? People actually earning less per hour relative inflation? People choosing social media and binge-watching (can't believe this is social acceptable behavior btw) garbage rather than getting off their ass and doing REAL activities? People sleeping more? Video games?
I'm riding 3 times a week all year long.
During the week on Wednesday start my ride at 6am to be back at 8.30am. I don't work every 2 Friday so when I'm working ride from 6am to 7.30am and hen I'm not working I have a good 3h ride in the morning.
On week end I usually ride about 3h Sunday morning.
I agree about early ride in the mornings are key.
The hardest part is the night ride which last about 7 months a year here in the morning (at least at the start of the ride)
Every time I'm contemplating going out (shitty weather, responsibilities, life...), I remember those wise words and get the bike out.