Read this for the truth! Are you really a mountain biker? There’s an increasing number of people converting from road cycling to mountain biking. This is a good thing and not really surprising considering how little is being done to improve safety for cyclists on our roads (why did Cycling South Africa not focus on this before creating a week-long Tour of South Africa for a handful of pros?). I call these converts dirt-roadies because even though they are riding a mountain bike, they’re not really mountain bikers – well not initially. Some of them graduate to being mountain bikers, but many just remain dirt-roadies – here’s why: Mountain biking is first and foremost about fun and freedom. For a mountain biker, the purpose of every ride is a good time, not a fast time. Dirt-roadies are eternally fixated on speed or riding faster than someone else. To them, a fast time is a good time and they won’t start a ride without a gadget that will measure their physical performance on one or more levels. Sure, there is a place in mountain biking for racing and performance measurement and we have the world-class pros and packed racing calendar to support this. But why should every ride become a race? Mountain biking is also about the challenges of riding over varying terrain and natural obstacles like ruts, rocks, roots, steep climbs, sharp drops, long stony ascents or descents, switchback turns, river crossings, mud, thick sand, low branches etc. Dirt roadies feel justified in complaining about this. This is mountain biking, not club cricket. It’s meant to be challenging, unexpected, stimulating and sometimes scary… Mountain bikers embrace variation in terrain. Mountain bikers do not need kilometres and kilometres of man-made manicured trails and smooth singletrack to keep them smiling. Mountain bikers expect the unexpected. Mountain biking is about enjoying the outdoors. And being the outdoors, this includes taking whatever the weather conditions and incorporating them in the experience. Mountain bikers do not complain about rain or heat or wind, they appreciate this is part of being outdoors. There is appropriate clothing for all weather conditions and choosing the right gear and consuming the appropriate nutrition goes a long way to improving the experience. It’s called planning ahead. Mountain bikers are good at planning ahead. Like I said earlier, I welcome the conversion of road cyclists to mountain biking. I just want to see more conversions from dirt-roadie to mountain biker. It’s not difficult and actually leads to a far less stressful life. Promise. Sean Badenhorst Editor - Tread Magazine
