[Closed] Are you mountain biker, but not a thrill seeker?

I'm not a mountain bike, I ride one though.

Yep definitely more of an mtb rambler, or off-roadie as you put it 🙂

I'm not a mountain bike

Oops, copy-paste-edit error.

That's what I was just typing, I'm more of a mtb rambler then a thrill-seeker... I'd like to get braver though and take on more hardcore challenges 🙂

I've had my moment at being Rad, it's not for me.

Yep definitely more of an mtb rambler, or off-roadie as you put it

[url= http://mattchester.blogspot.com/2008/11/sunday-9-november.html ]Matt Chester described himself as a dirt roadie in a blog post[/url]. I think that best describes the riding I do - I even have drop bars on one bike now.

I confess to seeking thrills too 🙂 How shallow.

PS for a while after you make it you can go back and edit your post...

I suspect I'm more of a [b]mountain[/b] biker than most of the so-called thrill-seekers who seem content to circulate the same bit of spruce monoculture.

I'm not happy unless I'm scaring myself, dont see the point in going out otherwise. Apparently its a sign of my inner failing?

I just like cycling or as someone said, rambling about on a bike. I am not an adrenalin junkie or at all competitive. I just like bikes and the fun of being out ambling around on them.

Death or glory.

I wouldn't class myself as a thrill seeker at all.

For me, you can't beat those moments where you nearly lose it and recover.
The bits where you actually lose it are good too (unless they hurt a lot.)

Just ride because I like & enjoy it so won't be pigeon holed into any particular style.Same as I don't get this freeride,extreme xc,etc, etc.... bollox.I just ride my bike & try to ride up/over/across/down or sometimes even jump over whatever I come up against on the trail.Don't always manage it but as long as I'm having fun who cares.....

PS for a while after you make it you can go back and edit your post...

Didn't realise that I could edit the thread title too. Now KINGTUT looks silly 🙂

how [i]anyone[/i] riding a mountain bike could [i]ever[/i] define themselves as a thrill seeker is beyond me.

it's a colourful shiny push bike with chunky wheels, for god's sake 🙂

I guess people get their MTB thrills in different ways.

Some are happy to pootle round a nice smooth red route at a trail centre, while still being at the limit of their skills and experience.

Others aren't satisfied unless they feel like they're on the cover on MBUK.

[i]it's a colourful shiny push bike with chunky wheels, for god's sake [:-)] [/i]

I don't think that's relevant, it's what you [b]DO[/b] with it that incurs the thrills (if any)

I HATE "mountain bike rambling"! it's a lot of effort for absolutely zero fun! - sitting around on bikes chilling out and talking shit is good though.

well, simon, credibility as a 'thrill seeker' isn't enhanced by dressing like a clown in colourful lycra nor riding something which looks like it should be ridden by a twelve year old gangsta around a manchester housing estate.

though you may think differently. as i suspect you will...

Another dirt-roadie here. I ride a bike and ignore the trail surface as much as possible. Road, track, trail or scramble up/through stuff...its all good.

SSP

GW is right in my mind - bike-rambling is the epitomy of boredom for me. Its why I stopped riding the UK for a long time - I'd experienced the thrill of massively long alpine descents and couldnt find anything like it in the UK within sensible reach, so biking totally lost its appeal. I started kitesurfing instead - kitesurfing in (officially recorded) 28ft breaking waves off the south coast in a storm really does count as survival and then life in general seems dull afterwards.

they do kite surfing off mui ne in the central region of vn. it looks totally insane. i was asked if i wanted to try, but i value my beauty too highly. all credit to you for trying though. i wish i had your sense of immortality.

I suspect I'm more of a mountain biker than most of the so-called thrill-seekers who seem content to circulate the same bit of spruce monoculture.

Ooooh, get [i]her[/i]! 😉

Its not as hard as it looks, it just has plenty of places to make mistakes! No sense of immortality here, which is why it's fun I think - I just love the rush you (I) get when you're holding on with everything you have and still getting semi-drowned every few minutes. Cant really explain it. I think its about overcoming fears - I was very scared of going out at first but macho bravadoness sent me into the waves, at that point I realised I could survive, so went out further, harder, faster etc and every time you do something new/more dangerous and survive you get a massive endorphin rush, which spurs you on further. Was nearly drowned at least twice (wave breaking on head pinning me to the sea bed for quite a while) but as soon as you're out of it you've conquered it and need to move on to bigger.

I dont like heights though, I dont get the same endorphin rush from climbing/abseiling, I just get very worried and then glad to be down/up! Odd eh!

off-roadie

That describes, me, I think. Actually, I was riding my road bike off road the other day.

not really, i get the heights thing. skill can get you out of many sticky moments, but nothing can save you from gravity.

i'm hoping someone brings a hobbiecat to mui ne. that way i get the fun of the wind without the risk of [i]...waves breaking on my head pinning me to the sea bed[/i]. i think i can live without that sort of experience 🙂

[i]well, simon, credibility as a 'thrill seeker' isn't enhanced by dressing like a clown in colourful lycra nor riding something which looks like it should be ridden by a twelve year old gangsta around a manchester housing estate.[/i]

uh, do you know me ? I think it's safe to say I do not seek credibility as a thrill seeker...

Are you allowed to like both? I like to be out in the mountains away from it all and don't mind if there's a bit of road, forestry track or landy track. I also like to scare myself sh*tless on tooth rattlingly rocky descents and challenging myself to try bigger drops. My latest hyperventilation inducing challenge has been trying to learn to do rocky, cliff-edge switchbacks in Spain and Italy. Not quite got it down without squealing and swearing a lot though.

Sometimes I am, sometimes I am not.

[i]uh, do you know me ?[/i]

uh, why would i want to know you?

[i]I think it's safe to say I do not seek credibility as a thrill seeker...[/i]

uh, did I say you did? i was replying to your comment...

[i]I don't think that's relevant, it's what you DO with it that incurs the thrills (if any)[/i]

and my point was that if you look like a moron then [b]whatever[/b] you're doing you lack credibility. and, like it or not, thrill seekers do it to wow others, though they'll never admit it.

like it or not, thrill seekers do it to wow others, though they'll never admit it.

Not sure that's the case really. Its fun to tell people what you do and for them to look a bit amazed, yes naturally thats a bit of an ego boost, but its not the REASON I go out kiting. I saw kiting and thought it looked exciting. I spent 2 years teaching myself, virtually alone on a beach in high winds and cold water. None of my friends like that sort of sport and it just annoys my other half because I force her to stand about getting cold and wet. Bragging about it afterwards is fun, but you could simply lie about that and get the same effect - it doesnt explain why people actually DO the stuff.

SfB - your reaction to the Roosevelt quote says a lot about you and your prejudices I'd argue. I read it as a reaction against people who do nothing and prefer simply to critise/complain/say that things can't be done rather than advocating throwing yourself down a vertical slope to prove that they're 'macho'. You don't have to take the whole thing literally (particularly the 'almost died' bit) for it to have relevance beyond the obvious.

In fact, by getting out mtbing, taking your photos, and dare I say, even inspiring some other people to get out riding with your Bog Trotters group, you're actually one of the people that the quote is giving respect to and I suppose that you seem to suggest should be classified as macho - ie people who do get out and do stuff.

(and FWIW, I'm a moderate thrill seeker - you won't see me throwing myself off any big drops/etc but I do like a good bit of fast singletrack that pushes your skills a bit)

I kind of get it but dont ? If you go for a massive ride knowing the return down was going to be a thrill seeking epic yeah I can see that but for example took the mrs and nipper for a walk round some local woods that have d/h runs etc and for a good hour we were seeing this group of freerider/dh lads that basically camp up in the middle and one of them would basically do about 15 secs of riding on the bike to do a jump ( have to admit pretty big ball scarey stuff) then park up again?? then maybe 15 mins later another would do it ???

Hmmmm guess its what floats your boat

one mans "thrill" is another mans "comfort zone".

plenty riders can pull amazing shit on bikes virtually effortlessly and it's not often to "wow others" IME

Yeah it's all relative; 1st time I rode a Trail centre it was more thrilling than it is now - more fun now I suppose. Also, is it more thrilling to ride familiar technical stuff that's close to home or easier stuff hours into the middle of nowhere with light running out?

I was going to say that it's all relative, but I have just been beaten to it by GW and mudshark.
I would call myself a thrillseeker in that I like to try going as fast as I can on descents and getting my wheels off the ground occassionally on the way down.

BUT, what constitutes fast and scary for me is probably mundane for a lot of others. My erm, 'jumps' are very tame affairs over the features at trail centres that make it easier to jump than not. 6" of clearance is all I probably manage but it's good fun and I am cak at jumping so that feels about all I want to handle for the time being.
I also go to Chicksands every now and again and try my luck at the northshore and 4x course. But, I hardly jump on the 4x, while 12yr olds go rocketing past jumping all over the place. On the northshore, I scare myself enough on the basic stuff, let alone the high bits.

I just like to push myself at least a few times every ride and attempt things that i might not have attempted last time. Riding in the Sierra Nevada mountains last yr certainly opened my eyes as to how unskilled I actually am.

I like to try going as fast as I can on descents and getting my wheels off the ground occassionally on the way down

I don't like that bit.

[i]and my point was that if you look like a moron then whatever you're doing you lack credibility[/i]

that remark undermines your own credibility, even though I have no idea what you look like

[i]thrill seekers do it to wow others[/i]

I disagree, sharing the excitement afterwards is part of the fun, but at the time it stands for itself

[i]I suppose that you seem to suggest should be classified as macho [/i]

I was thinking more of those who fight for its own sake, and rely uncritically on someone else to tell them who to do it to.

Why do we always end up with some kind of personal confrontation on this website? ro v sfb (aggressor v victim respectively though the later is now counter punching)
I don't know either of you personally but PLEASE PLEASE.... sometimes this website reminds me of car drivers gesticulating wildly at each other safe in the knowledge they are actually safely cocooned in their car (office workplace etc) and isolated from the real world consequences of behaving like this.

Just reminds me why I ride solo and therefore conservatively as I cannot afford to have a major spill with no back up to get back on topic.
Peace you all

[i]I was thinking more of those who fight for its own sake, and rely uncritically on someone else to tell them who to do it to.[/i]

But that's a very narrow interpretation of one particular bit of a wider speech...

28 ft waves on the south coast? Coffeeking, I think you should try posting that claim on a surfing forum. 😐

[i]Why do we always end up with some kind of personal confrontation on this website? ro v sfb (aggressor v victim respectively though the later is now counter punching)[/i]

the evidence suggests that simon is neither defenseless nor an idiot and is perfectly capable of holding his own in an exchange of views.

you may well ask 'why do we have such precious souls on this website, who neither enjoy the opportunity for discussion nor have anything useful to contribute to the process'?

[i]that remark undermines your own credibility, even though I have no idea what you look like[/i]

i ride a colourful mountain bike wearing lycra, which is why i can state with certainty that such individuals have no credibility 🙂

[i]I disagree, sharing the excitement afterwards is part of the fun, but at the time it stands for itself[/i]

you are wrong, but that's never stopped you posting before, and i guess it won't in the future

I just like riding bikes. Big bikes, wee bikes, all bikes - they're just bikes. Riding bikes is fun.

28 ft waves on the south coast? Coffeeking, I think you should try posting that claim on a surfing forum.

Peak to peak, of course, off Rhossili not the south coast. Recorded by the electronic bouy thing in the bay (thats currently reading 2.3ft). And I did post on (kite)surfing forums at the time (couple of years ago).

Smee - riding a bike isnt inherently fun? Do you find exercise bikes fun? 🙂

I just like riding bikes around the countryside, be it on the road or off. I like looking at the views, chatting to my riding companions, having a mid/post ride pint, thinking about anything and everything as I pedal along, all that kind of stuff. Sure, there's a sense of achievement when I manage to get up or down something with some element of finesse or skill (or, sometimes, just alive) but that's not the main reason I'm out there.

I suppose that's why I don't really like trail centres. They're too much about 'what' you're riding, less about 'why' (apologies of that sounds a bit w@nky).

IHN - no apologies needed. What you're riding is why you're riding in my case.

If I didn't get an adrenaline rush when biking I probably wouldn't do it!

It's just good to be out, be a bit of a shame really if everything had to be on the edge all the time, although of course that can be fun, sometimes it's nice to just chill, take in the view and do some miles.

Cofeeking - yes exercise bikes are fun. Depends on your personal definition of fun though doesn't it.

I remember the 'tough' kids, on their BMXs or skateboards, being able to jump off things. I also remember the amount of injuries they suffered. I know people with bits of metal in them. And now they are approaching middle age, have problems with movement in some joints, etc.

i have been out biking, and seen people clear big jumps, and do stuff I have no intention of doing. I admire their skill and dedication, but see no reason why I should take such risks.

Mountain biking is a sport which sells the image of being 'extreme'. Indeed, most of these 'all mountain' and 'freeride' bikes are sold prcisely because of marketing hype, not because you 'need' one to enjoy the sport. Granted, they may enable you to feel confident tackling 'gnarlier' stuff than you might otherwise, but they don't actually make you any 'sexier', which is what it all comes down to, really, isn't it? Males vying for female attention, challenging for Alpha Male status, let's be honest.

Nothing wrong with that; at least biking is a healthier activity than fighting in pubs.

But biking is a sport that allows the 'ordinary' individual to compensate for their 'inadequacies', by buying fancy bikes.

I used to watch mtb vids, of people like Peaty and them, and think, 'ooh, I'd like to be able to do that, but I can't, oh, it must be because they've got better bikes than me'. Well, thankfully, I have matured a bit, and recognised that it's talent, and a lower fear of pain and death than I possess, that enables these guys to do what they do.

So, I realise what my own limitations are. Ok, so I may get a bit frustrated with that, and want to 'push myself' beyond my 'limits' (I'm sure that adjusting the travel on my fork from 100 to 115mm will make me mare 'rad'). And occasionally, I may come a cropper, and come back to the knowledge that I'm just an ordinary bod, who just likes biking.

I'll still buy shiny bits, to help delude myself a little bit more, though...

[i]the evidence suggests that simon is neither defenseless nor an idiot and is perfectly capable of holding his own in an exchange of views.[/i]

well, I do reject victim status, and I consider [b]ro[/b]'s personal remarks to be rather beside the point

[i]you are wrong, but that's never stopped you posting before, and i guess it won't in the future [/i]

I think it's more a matter of different people having different motivations. I think most of us enjoy showing off a little at times, but I know when I'm riding a scary section all my attention is on that, not how it looks.

I know when I'm riding a scary section all my attention is on that, not how it looks.

Heh - when I approach a scary section I am totally focussed on how it looks! (and not on my own good looks) 😀

(Although more often than not I will just hop off the bike and walk down lol.)

It has been said by most Bikers at some stage when talking about a particular ride "I left my Brain at the top of that hill" which we all take for granted means that the decent was in some way scary, and if your honest you where probably thinking either that's only a piddly little slope or f--king hell if he did that he must be crazy.
Which takes me into my point which is 'what is one persons most scariest decent is to another extremely easy', but if that person felt a buzz when doing it then great because no one else should criticize other people just because they do not do the same style of riding as themselves!

Oh and just to clarify I ride easy trails, long hard trails and technical trails and enjoy all immensely. 😀

Cofeeking - yes exercise bikes are fun. Depends on your personal definition of fun though doesn't it.

But is it the bike riding, or the fact that you're pushing your fitness that you enjoy? I would imaging you mean the second, therefore it's not bike that is the subject of your enjoyment, just the vehicle.

I remember the 'tough' kids, on their BMXs or skateboards, being able to jump off things. I also remember the amount of injuries they suffered. I know people with bits of metal in them. And now they are approaching middle age, have problems with movement in some joints, etc.

But (as someone who did those things) I dont remember ever considering the outcome, I just enjoyed the experience of doing them. It was undoubtedly partly to do with looking good at that point, as a kid you're easily affected by peer pressure. That said, I hated football and saw no reason to join in despite being called all the names under the sun for it. For me I'm fairly sure it's always been about pushing myself and my fears, not worrying about someone else and how it looks to the women. And I think the women like the confidence, not the skill or the "look".

Footstomper - I know where you are coming from but most of my riding is solo. I bottle quite a bit as I think when you look at something you just think you'll end up over the handlebars. I think if you see someone achieve a bit of trail, your brain tells you it is in fact possible and you have a go. And you also have people to instruct you as to how to approach the section too and learn.

The down side of course is if you actually clear the section then totally faceplant into soft dirt at the side of a trail, as i did at El Chorro when I cleared the slickrock but then lost control on the following bit of singletrack : D

[i](and not on my own good looks) [/i]

given the copious evidence that's just as well...

Oh my god. I almost can't believe some of things I have read in this thread. At least it serves to remind me why I only usually read the Classifieds.

[i]Oh my god. I almost can't believe some of things I have read in this thread.[/i]

Sheltered lives... such sheltered lives...

(and not on my own good looks)

given the copious evidence that's just as well...

Miiiieeeeaaaaoooooowwww!

Ooh, get her!

kunoichi - care to expand?

[i]kunoichi - care to expand?[/i]

never, NEVER, take the bait. it's just not worth it.

never, NEVER, take the bait. it's just not worth it.

Is that to him or me 😆

[i] given the copious evidence that's just as well...
Miiiieeeeaaaaoooooowwww![/i]

have you not [b]seen[/b] simon's daily self portrait blog ??

not that I'm averse to posting shots of myself:
[url= http://www.bogtrotters.org/rides/2009/4jan/DSC_0059_.jp g" target="_blank">http://www.bogtrotters.org/rides/2009/4jan/DSC_0059_.jp g"/> [/img][/url]

No, it would be a waste of my time and energy. And coffeeking, I'm not a he....

to you, coffeeking 🙂

I quite like thrills, and am happy to seek them occasionally. But a lot goes on my my bike rides besides looking for thrills. In any given ride I may choose, in no particular order, to seek: thrills, novelty, birds, companionship, a sun-tan, photographs, cake, that pleasant feeling of being quite knackered but not too far from home or somewhere interesting to visit.

🙂

"Oh my god. I almost can't believe some of things I have read in this thread."

No, me neither. Lots of 3rd partys getting worried about people who are perfectly capable of looking after themselves getting "insulted". Whatever is this forum coming to?

Novelty birds, Big Dummy? I don't believe I've ever ridden with you 😉

I have to feel scared, challenged or even defeated several times on a ride for it to be a truly great ride.

It can be by something fast or technical, up or down, or it might simply be the weather, length or pace of the ride but I don't get a massive amount of pleasure from riding easy familiar trails at a gentle pace. Obviously the social side of that sort of easy riding is still great, but in terms of the fun to be taken from the pedalling bit, I need to have some kind of thrill.

The odd time that I have been thrilled, e.g accidently getting air ( 'cos I have no skills to do it on purpose), or descending something tricky, then it's great.
Mostly I just like getting outdoors, meeting my friends, bird spotting, having banter and a giggle.
And CAKE.

I just like being out in the hills, but also like a challenge and the odd one or two bricking it moments. A challenge could be steepness/length of climb, technicality of climb or descent, or length of ride. Good to be a bit nervous from time to time, not all the time, but would not attempt anything I was not 95% confident of making - the 5% chance is quite enough for my advanced years.

If you don't push yourself a bit you don't get the personal satisfaction from getting better. Stuff I do routinely now would have had me walking or soiling myself 18 months ago.

[i]I have to feel scared, challenged or even defeated several times on a ride for it to be a truly great ride.[/i]

I'll remember that for the end of the month. I may send you up "the Ba$tard". 🙂

Oh, and what CaptainMainwaring said.

kunoichi - Member
No, it would be a waste of my time and energy. And coffeeking, I'm not a he....

Sorry, I had no way of knowing as your profile says nothing and you hang out in the classifieds so I've no way of finding out through conversation. Either way you dont seem overly capable of conversation (or maybe just dont play well with others) so have a good day. Hope you buy something I sell some day 🙂

If you don't push yourself a bit you don't get the personal satisfaction from getting better.

I used to love the fitness pushing fun, back then riding was fun just for riding. Then I lost the fitness and found the scariness, scariness is overpowering and fitness is vey hard to find again!

I pretty much agree with Big Dummy

I quite like thrills, and am happy to seek them occasionally. But a lot goes on my my bike rides besides looking for thrills. In any given ride I may choose, in no particular order, to seek: thrills, novelty, companionship, a sun-tan, photographs, cake, that pleasant feeling of being quite knackered but not too far from home or somewhere interesting to visit.

But I think theres one point he's missed out, and thats that mountain biking CAN give all these different experiences.

Alot of other sport arent so diverse for instance I like footy but I cant say I fancy popping out to spend 6+ hours playing footy.

I like being outdoors so maybe I could go and play golf for 6 hours but then I cant mid course try and do something daring which will get my adrenalin going.

The best thing about mountain biking is if you've got a bike that isnt too light/heavy you can use it for lots of different types of activity even just transporting your self around ! Where as other with sports/activities theres not so much variety.

kunoichi - your name kind of gave your gender away for me if we ever meet I only hope you dont live up to it!!!! as i suspect does Coffeeking when he googles it!!!

Hmmm, explains a few things.