left the house this evening feeling a bit pi$$ed with stuff and just wanted to clear my head with a good ride, phoned around the mates but of course they all have other comitments so just me, headed up to the local woods which is slowly developing a good mountain bike scene.
started to shoot around the normal loop enjoying at last dust trails, got talking to another chappy after a while who offered to show me some of his new peices of singletrack he had put in himself which were great!
such a great evening ride and has left me feeling so rejuvenated.

so why do other people ride ?

Because there is nothing better than flying down a twisty single track descent at speed and getting it right! The feeling of freedom is just awesome, the love of playing in the the countryside and night riding to the pub on a summers Friday night … shall I continue!!

Couldn’t live without MTBing! would do it every day if there were some decent local trails .. unfortunately where I live is shite!! roll on my move back to Wales!!!

As Munque-chicksays really,For me I find its the concentration you need to rail that perfect corner,or hanging off the back tyre as you drop into a mega steep gully.

Chillin out at the pub afterwards is always a great wind down, and I am very lucky to have toptastic like minded people to share it all with. 😉

being outside.

started riding originally as a means to get away from people and built up areas so my mates and i could have a smoke.
found that i’d sometimes be riding just to go have a smoke, or, as is now (more so) the case, going for a ride and then prehaps having a smoke. does that make sense?

but the big thing for me now is the buzz; when the endorphines and serotonin are released. be it after scaling a big hill, clearing a difficult obstacle, the sense of flying when going ‘fast’, sense of acheivement when you clear a techy downhill……

it’s just a drug, doing things that you enjoy. i’ve done enough drugs to know what constitues a good buzz and i can’t think of many drugs that compare with those produced naturally by the brain – even if you have to scare yourself poo-less to get it.
n.b. i know most drugs to not supply the happy feeling but allow the happy feeling to be more readily released.

it’s like my dad. he plays golf. obviously there is a social side as with biking, but he says he too gets a rush when he hits tohe ball on the sweet spot, chipping a ball cleanly – he is right shit at chipping, sinking a putt from 30yrds.

but i like riding the ‘fixed’ on the road too. think bikes offer a sense of freedom, not being constrained to where you can ride andconsequently end up.

oh, and because i can look at people in cars and feel superior.

because it makes me feel like I was thirteen again. You know, no work, no worries, no committments just out on my bike enjoying myself.

I ride for the feeling of getting it right.. I ride for getting it wrong and having another go.. I ride cos when I was young my bike was freedom, and not needing to rely on people to go where I wanted and I ride for the fact that nothing else gets you out into fantastic countryside with mates who can ride the same trails at their own speeds but still get the same fun 🙂

I like being outside in quiet open spaces
I like the feel of my body working
I like being slightly uncertain of the outcome
I like exploring and acquiring local knowledge I can later share with friends
I like my own company for a bit, and switching my frontal lobes off!
It’s something fun to do locally, not too expensive and healthy
Quite enjoy the fettling too
It’s therapy

yer i do love going out with friends and riding with them, but a lonely rode ride or a steady afternoon ride on your own can be very relaxing, you can just switch off and not have to worry about any one or anything…just you