hammerdownhurley

@JDFF: No one is asking all of the overly fit pro's and wannabes in my town to stop doing so many laps because they are impacting the trails. Perhaps we should limit the trails from the scourge of fit mountain bikers and keep the trails safe with us not so fit riders that can only do one lap. Aslo those skilled riders are clearly riding toooo fast which causes more impact axe them also. Surely the trails would be better off with mildly fit to unfit riders pushing their bikes up the hills and cautiously descending the downhills for their one lap. If you are top 10 Strava sorry you need to go ride the dirt bike trails. Solved

For pure spectator value I agree. But if you want to have people actually participating in the sports in any number to stay sustainable making tracks more gnarly is not the answer. Their is already a huge problem with accessibility to DH riding, it's is not a sport most people can just hop on a bike and do, it is "Exclusive" to experienced riders with good equipment in locations where tracks are available. There are relatively few mountain bikers, of them their are even fewer riders who could or have the interest in riding a proper DH track. Make tracks more gnarly you get less grass roots participation but you will have fun watching the 50 people on the planet who can ride said tracks even if it is just a side show like Rampage. In my opinion DH is hurting because of it's exclusivity and inaccessibility to more riders not because of TV ratings. Also why enduro took off. Most riders can imagine riding the trails they ride everyday at high speed and competing, very few want to ride or can ride a legit DH track as they stand right now. We did this in the 90's when riders bitched about tracks not being difficult enough, that is when freeride exploded and numbers and participation numbers at the races when from a few hundred riders per class to less than a hundred total competitors. Sustainability is being a viable sport not an exclusive extreme side show for 50 people.

Isn’t putting some requirement for the sport of mountain biking to “progress” just copying all of these other sports blind tumble down the mountain of progression at all cost? I have skied and raced DH MTB since the early 90's and have seen the sports “progress” Certainly they have progressed if you are judging progression by having ski/bike porn films made every year that blow minds and sell new skis. I have also seen just about every famous pioneer of free skiing die in the last 20 years. Not to mention the endless numbers of amateur skiers who die every year trying to be like them. Is that what we “need” to have for you to feel MTB has progressed? Are we only going to be happy when our few hero’s are lucky to last a decade “pushing” the sport? Will we only be progressing when Gwin, Semenuk, Zink and MacAskill are dead chasing the limits for our entertainment and to make people feel the need to buy a $10K bike every year? I would rather be talking with these guys 20 years from now about the glory days then eulogizing riders like them every year, like we do in skiing. Arne Backstrom, John Brenan, Sarah Burke, Doug Coombs, Fredrik Ericsson, Allison Kreutzen, Kip Garre, Jim Jack, Aaron Karitis, Magnus Kastengren, Shane McConkey, Chris Onufer, Jamie Pierre, Steve Romeo, Chris Rudolph, Tony Seibert, Andreas Fransson, JP Auclair... I just get tired and sad of listing the ski hero's we have lost. Mountain biking does have it's own roots Richard and you know them. It was the freedom and camaraderie of people coming together through a sport they loved. Sometimes competing, sometimes showing off to one another, but it was original mountain bikers disdain for the the artificial commercialism of other sports. People rode MTB because they loved MTB not to think that they are somehow changing the world risking their lives. Us old timers know that history and remember the sport slowly becoming less of a family of outcasts wanting to be different into a sport following many of the same traps as other sports and this desire to progress at all costs is just another idea stolen from other sports. Pushing the sport until our hero’s are dying is not progression. If that is the only way to get more riders or sell more overpriced bikes forget it! Mountain biking being a beautiful sport is not dictated by sales numbers or bike porn video segments it should be gauged by peoples love of the sport. I love to ride, my friends love to ride I don't need to feel some forced pressure to risk my life to call myself a mountain biker. I enjoy being able to run into my heroes from the 90's and talk with them about riding, they still all love to ride. Hans Rey, John Tomac, Myles Rockwell, Missy Giove, Brian Lopes etc I didn't feel like the sport was not progressing back then because these guys weren’t dying. Richard, do you remember how we felt when “earthquake” Jake Watson died? Is the sport only still “cool” when things like that become so commonplace that we get used to it, like skiing? If you can't get inspired by the sport of mountain biking anymore and it's pace of progression, perhaps that tells you more about yourself rather than the sport. I happen to still have my mind blown watching Gwin, Semenuk, Zink and MacAskill do their magic and would like to continue to watch them for years to come until they are old mentors and ambassadors for the sport.

Isn’t putting some requirement for the sport of mountain biking to “progress” just copying all of these other sports blind tumble down the mountain of progression at all cost? I have skied and raced DH MTB since the early 90's and have seen the sports “progress” Certainly they have progressed if you are judging progression by having ski/bike porn films made every year that blow minds and sell new skis. I have also seen just about every famous pioneer of free skiing die in the last 20 years. Not to mention the endless numbers of amateur skiers who die every year trying to be like them. Is that what we “need” to have for you to feel MTB has progressed? Are we only going to be happy when our few hero’s are lucky to last a decade “pushing” the sport? Will we only be progressing when Gwin, Semenuk, Zink and MacAskill are dead chasing the limits for our entertainment and to make people feel the need to buy a $10K bike every year? I would rather be talking with these guys 20 years from now about the glory days then eulogizing riders like them every year, like we do in skiing. Arne Backstrom, John Brenan, Sarah Burke, Doug Coombs, Fredrik Ericsson, Allison Kreutzen, Kip Garre, Jim Jack, Aaron Karitis, Magnus Kastengren, Shane McConkey, Chris Onufer, Jamie Pierre, Steve Romeo, Chris Rudolph, Tony Seibert, Andreas Fransson, JP Auclair... I just get tired and sad of listing the ski hero's we have lost. Mountain biking does have it's own roots Richard and you know them. It was the freedom and camaraderie of people coming together through a sport they loved. Sometimes competing, sometimes showing off to one another, but it was original mountain bikers disdain for the the artificial commercialism of other sports. People rode MTB because they loved MTB not to think that they are somehow changing the world risking their lives. Us old timers know that history and remember the sport slowly becoming less of a family of outcasts wanting to be different into a sport following many of the same traps as other sports and this desire to progress at all costs is just another idea stolen from other sports. Pushing the sport until our hero’s are dying is not progression. If that is the only way to get more riders or sell more overpriced bikes forget it! Mountain biking being a beautiful sport is not dictated by sales numbers or bike porn video segments it should be gauged by peoples love of the sport. I love to ride, my friends love to ride I don't need to feel some forced pressure to risk my life to call myself a mountain biker. I enjoy being able to run into my heroes from the 90's and talk with them about riding, they still all love to ride. Hans Rey, John Tomac, Myles Rockwell, Missy Giove, Brian Lopes etc I didn't feel like the sport was not progressing back then because these guys weren’t dying. Richard, do you remember how we felt when “earthquake” Jake Watson died? Is the sport only still “cool” when things like that become so commonplace that we get used to it, like skiing? If you can't get inspired by the sport of mountain biking anymore and it's pace of progression, perhaps that tells you more about yourself rather than the sport. I happen to still have my mind blown watching Gwin, Semenuk, Zink and MacAskill do their magic and would like to continue to watch them for years to come until they are old mentors and ambassadors for the sport.

I think the masses most are talking about are the masses of the mountain bike community, not non cyclist nascar people.

We did that in the late 1990's to create the sport you now know. and making things more exclusive doesn't always help things.