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I don't know why I like it, but I know I like it. The same way I love to be powered up on a windsurfer blasting across some ocean swell, trying to stay just in control, knowing that it's just me, a bit of simple machinery and the elements. And I hope to be doing both of those things next week in Tarifa. Ooh, it's good to be a pensioner these days!
roverpig
Full Member
Over thinking is what I do best 🙂I’m not looking for justification for what I enjoy though. I know what I enjoy about riding my mountain bike and it’s rarely the downhill bits. I’m just trying to understand what motivates other people to take part in what, on the face of it, looks like a pretty stupid activity.
Well it only looks stupid cause you are comparing it from your own perspective. Like i said it's about abilities.
Other than that's it's just a buzz and an adrenaline rush.
Guess you just get your adrenaline more from the uphills.
Different strokes init.
It's the tunnel vision. Just focusing on the trail and getting to the bottom in one piece. Last year I rode New York New York for the first time wlth my brother. I gave it all I had and by the bottom I was absolutely buzzing. When my brother finally rattled out onto the fire road he was almost in tears.
Everything that's already been mentioned is true and I guess some people are wired up to enjoy risk and some aren't. No shame in it. I (briefly) felt terrible for dragging my bro down NYNY when he clearly hated every second. I also wanted another go, immediately!
That said I do have a risk ceiling, I'm aware of my company's sick pay limitations and my mortgage repayments 😂
What's weird is I'm generally risk averse, but stick me on a bike...
For whom a ride becomes more enjoyable if they have flirted with disaster.
do many people flirt with danger or disaster? i’d have thought that most folks would only ride something they think that they can ride safely. you can ride something that scares you without it being dangerous.
thinking about it, i stopped riding on the road because i consider the risks higher than i’m happy with. or do i mean consequences? if a car hits you, you are buggered and the accident would possibly been outside of your control.
i think i now understand your question!
Friday fails.
As much as my initial reaction to the OP was "Whaaaaaat?!" I think it's an interesting one to think about and probably is different for a bunch of people.
Without knowing your background OP and what else you enjoy, it's harder to draw parallels.
You know that feeling when you are surfing and just catch a wave right, the rush of the speed and precise timing, riding that as long as you can? Or, I dunno, riding a really fun roller coaster that doesn't terrify you?
But anyway, for me riding a bike fast downhill has a same feeling for me. You can't do it when you are pedalling constantly, your weight goes wrong and the bike stops feeling lively underneath you. This isn't to do with risk, adrenaline or being scared.
Adding difficulty is the fun challenge. Can you still get that feeling while riding harder trails, without the rough bits making you stall and ruining the feeling? Will it feel even better if you go even faster? What about the floaty feeling of jumps and being in the air? Happy to agree everyone finds their own level though.
This helps explain it. As a beginner I rapidly went from stage 1 to stage 2. Now the joy is in getting to stage 3 and sometimes stage 4. Depends on the trail and depends on the day. Trails that are too hard for me push me back to stage 2 but suffering stage 2 makes me appreciate stage 3 more.
Flow happens in stage 4. Normal life has far too little of this!
Adrenaline is definitely a part of it but isn't something I seek out, as they usually immediately follow a massive "oh sh!t" moment. It's a glorious feeling when it happens though.
I suspect there are 2 reasons people enjoy MTB:
1) A feeling of control. I believe people inherently know that there's almost nothing that, as an individual, you can fully control but MTBing provides a sense of being able to choose how much control you have from total (flow trail) to minimal (tech trails beyond your ability). I wouldn't be surprised if this is the core of feeling satisfied with how you ride a section of trail where you controlled the bike just right.
2) Experiencing G forces. Most people enjoy the sense of G force; G force and noise creates the sense of speed for boy racers, kids enjoy being thrown in the air by their parents, some MTBers like the feeling of pushing through berms or holding on through long corners
The pub is more often toward the bottom of the hill than the top.
Adrenaline rush and essentially putting yourself in a more risky situation (risk level is obviously subjective to the individual). As others have mentioned numerous times, the flow and that fantastic feeling of nailing each obstacle on the trail at pace.
And finally…
To quote one Dr J Clarkson
“The Speeeeeeeeeed!”
Thanks to the OP for starting this thread. I have some descents that I love and some where I just fall apart. Just back from a couple of days in the Qs & Exmoor and I definitely didn't have my downhill pants on - Bin & Weacombe were as good as always but a couple of Exmoor descents had me off and walking at times - steep, loose and steppy just didn't feel at all comfortable. Naturally MrsP was fine - she's a far better descender than me(*) and was waiting at the bottom, brakes barely used, knowing that I was having a bad time of it. So why thanks to the OP? Well rather than feeling bad about being "rubbish" I managed to get into a state of accepting that this was just my pace on the day, that other people probably felt the same as me on these trails, and that was absolutely fine.
(* but she's a rubbish climber so I get to wait at the top!)
I love fast downhills most of the time, you can often catch the pure joy of being in the moment and trying to master something challenging and exhilarating. I think of the times we’ve gone down trails at places like Revs in a train, fast but not on the edge and the massive smiles of joy on all our faces at the bottom, just such good fun. Even shorter, easy flowy trails, when you get it right, don’t lose any speed and they do just flow. 🙂
I also enjoy kayaking, climbing and car sprints / hillclimbs / trackdays… but nowadays it’s mountain biking that gives me enjoyable excitement.
That bit of fear makes you want to do stuff again. My 8 yo went down a steep descent the other day and launched herself off a big rocky drop off she hadn’t done before. She said, “wow dad, that was scary, I’m not doing that again”. Then she went straight back up to the top and did it again. Big smiles.
I enjoy just pedalling and forcing myself faster uphill, but the downs. It's about being in control of the out-of-control (just) and completely concentrating on the moment so all of life's stressors disappear. The bike is there just to get me down to the bottom of the hill 99.9999% of the time. I'll take the 0.0001% on the chin/shin/knee/elbow/other random body part
what is it that they are enjoying?
The moment and reaction? Climbs for thinking time, descents and singletrack flow for a state when you only react and feel. No thoughts. It's a unique state. So many of us need more of that in our lives.
for me, the technical challenge of steering/maneuvering an inherently unstable vehicle down an (largely) unsuitable track in a way that's controlled, predictable, and precise. By which I mean the right bit of input at the right time to make it "just so" Throw into that the added fun/fear of a technical obstacle like a rock roll, or a drop off, switch back etc which adds timing and technique into it as well. Then do it again with more flow, more agility, more control, more speed (if you want) It's knowing that you're not just hanging on, but controlling and understanding why the things you're doing are effecting the way the bike behaves underneath you. It's a constantly developing skill that you can never really reach the limit of. As some have said already: Addictive
And that you're out in the fresh air, with all the the sights ,sounds, smells, of ever changing seasons and weather just adds to the pleasure.
@Robz and also @cheifgrooveguru pretty much sum it up for me.
It's all about the flow for me I think.
Probably worth saying that flow exists at a number of levels. Yes on a DH it is most intense, and there is the highest shot of flow-reward, coupled with the adrenaline etc.
However flow is not just a dh thing. For me, the whole ride, or day, or biking weekend can also have a flow to it. Every perfect moment effortlessly leading to another perfect moment. No time wasted, everything enjoyed.
I guess it's a reason why I am just as happy (maybe moreso) doing a lovely gentle gravel ride with Cafe stops and a bivvy at the end, as I am lapping DH on the ebike.
So many reasons about adrenaline,pushing boundaries, or even 'living life to the limit' problem solving , and yet come on near daily to whine about 'Broke me forks', tore off a pedal or 'fell off and injured myself' looking for tea and sympathy.
Maybe for the justification of spending thousand upon thousand of pounds on a once a week hobby 😕
interesting observation. are the people talking about adrenaline also posting about breaking parts?
Alexa: Does adrenaline break EBike motors? 😉
'What's enjoyable about riding a MTB down a hill?'
Is this sport for you?
Some of the flow thing when MTBing is similar to the groove thing for me, when playing bass. Operating beyond consciousness.
A pretty good comparison, actually - I’ve been doing both for a very long time. Hopefully my bass playing is more consistently accurate than my riding sometimes is otherwise no more gigs for me......
I guess it depends on what kind of hill, the view ,time of day and how hard you worked to get up said hill
Maybe being stuck in a transport office during a crisis-shortage , then spending 3 hours to get to the top of one to watch a sunset then ride back down in the dark ... then thats my answer
for me, the technical challenge of steering/maneuvering an inherently unstable vehicle down an (largely) unsuitable track in a way that’s controlled, predictable, and precise.
Yep, all about the control and precision.
