MTB My Way blog is a part of my mountain biking journey, the destination not known, the ride is the reward.
Well, here I go, round and round, where do I stop, I do not know. What I do know is that I have been bitten by the sport of mountain biking. Now there are several aspects to the sport including cross country, enduro, single-track, gravel, fatty, downhill and freestyle; as of this point, I have not tried them all and probably never will. Freestyle does not coincide with my aging body; I am not as flexible, and it takes too long to heal from injuries. Over the last few years, I have been increasing my biking activity to the point that I try to ride 2-4 days a week, mostly single-track with some downhill / bike park and fat biking, both the beach and snow. It has developed into a major part of my fitness plan and improving my overall health profile {more on this in another post}.
What was the trigger for increasing my riding? Getting a new bike! Who would have thought? 5 years ago I was riding local trails a couple of times a month and my bike degraded to the point that it was not worth the required repairs. I paid $350 and it was 15 years old; a 26er with a 3×8 drivetrain – with all those gears you would think life would be great, uphill, and downhill. My local bike shop recommended that I consider buying a new bike. Unfortunately, however, they would not let me take one for a test ride, other than around the parking lot, so I went elsewhere.
A friend recommended Carl Hart Bicycles where I “rented to buy” a bike and took it for a few days, it was love at first ride {todays mountain bikes are lightyears different than that of 15-20 years ago. In fact, if you are riding a bike that old, I urge you to test ride something in today’s standards. I was flying up hills that I normally struggled on and tore down the flats, then – airborne – sideways – tree – crash. Fortunately, my leg and head took the impact, no damage to the bike! ALWAYS WEAR A HELMET. I fell in love with the ride and bought the same model, next level up. It was a Trek Stache 7, 29+ hardtail with a 1×11 drivetrain. I still have this bike, but a full suspension bike gets most of the attention these days. My stable now consists of a hardtail, full suspension, downhill and 2 fat bikes.
There are several reasons that I have created MTB MY Way. This sport, like many other hobbies, can suck the money out of your wallet at an extraordinary rate and I thought some of my experiences might save some people time and money. I have and will continue to travel to mountain bike destinations along the east coast of the USA, and my experiences may give you some ideas on traveling. In addition, some people may think that certain parts of mountain biking are only for the young; while that may be somewhat true, you may be surprised at what you can accomplish if you practice and train, at any age. Lastly, I am tired of having my posts removed from forums and discussion boards because the administrators do not agree with my ideas on topics I would like to comment on!
Please enjoy MTB My Way.