MOUNTAIN BIKING
What is it?
Mountain biking is the sport of riding bicycles off road, often over a rough terrain, whether a specially equipped mountain bike or a hybrid road bike. Most mountain bikes share similar characteristics that underscore durability or performance in rough terrain. The durability factor means a far heavier bicycle weight to rider ratio than the regular road bikes.
Categories
Mountain biking has been broken down into 4 categories roughly:
-Cross Country
-Downhill
-Free Ride
-Trials/Street Riding
Each of these have different levels of difficulty and different needs when it comes to riding gear.
Benefits
This sport requires endurance, bike handling skills, and self-reliance. Mountain biking is, in some aspects, similar to trail running, and since it is often done so far from civilization it really requires extreme self-endurance. Riders learn to repair bikes and fix flat tires to avoid being stranded miles from civilization.[1] I think this helps with many aspects of health such as mental, physical, and for some emotional and spiritual. The first way is clearly physical because of all the work you do pedaling and such. The other ways are mental and emotional because I know that being outside just for a little bit helps me clear my head and can probably improve your mood too. For some people it helps spiritually because their religion IS nature and being in nature really makes them feel at home.
Equipment
The equipment needed to be a serious mountain biker:
- A mountain bike: mountain bikes have a much different frame than regular bikes, they have a smaller reinforced frame and wide rims.
- A helmet: you can just get a regular helmet as long as you get one because falls WILL happen.
- Glasses and Shoes-Glasses need to be light weight cycling glasses to prevent debris and shoes can be just worn according to comfort as long they cover your feet.
- Pump and Bike tools: the pump is obviously to inflate flat tires and the bike tools are to repair anything that should break or be messed up along your way.[2]
I hope this article has helped you understand something that is not so often around here and maybe get you interested in a new sport, because it has definitely made me more curious about it!!
Contributor: Sarah-Beth Billingsley