Mountain biking and scuba diving – Venn diagram

I dive, ride ,skydive (wingsuits) and ski. I agree with the reactive (mtb) considered (scuba) comments above and also trying not to die. The only crossover  is they’re all fun for me.

A friend of mine is a dive supervisor. On a recent job in the Gulf of Mexico one of his team had gone shopping & bought a Santa Cruz on the trip. Apparently he was going on about it non stop.

When this bloke was down on the ocean floor doing the job they clipped his bike on to the line and sent it down to him…

Tried a couple of introductory dives in the Med and am going again next month. It’s quite pleasant in warm clear water down to about 10m and if it all goes Pete Tong that big sky full of air isn’t too far away. Deep diving in UK waters in a drysuit with a torch doesn’t appeal at all.

Think in the 90s MBUK did a feature with a rider in a pool with scuba gear

I’m certain they did a feature about riding mountain bikes across/under the Channel. They had to fill the frame tubes with sand to remove buoyancy. They didn’t get very far.

I found it hard to get up the hills with all that gear on my back… plus the chafing!

Have a friend who does road riding, gravel riding and scuba. Was an MTB rider but he wrecked his shoulder in a nasty crash so doesn’t do much now.

I used to do scuba but it’s expensive and once I’d done a few big holidays in the usual places I sacked it off, tried free diving too and that was fun but eventually I got bored of the lots of driving places to go in the sea or a quarry for not much payback. The red sea was good and Norway was bloody brilliant as was scapa flow

One thing they have in common, the air ambulance is a charity recipient of both in the hope that you never need them

I’ve no desire to dive in cold water with poor visibility though.

I was same. Didn’t take long before I was in a quarry, in a drysuit, trying to navigate my way to the Stanegarth in sub 1m visibility and loving every minute of it!

A twinset soon followed and a few hundred dives later I was penetrating the wrecks at Scapa Flow. The gas bill from that trip was more than the trip itself so I bought an Inspiration Classic off eBay and went over the dark side.

I did a PADI course about 20 years ago. The swimming pool in Hampshire and the open water stuff in Egypt. It was great fun. A couple of dives in/around UK were great. Then kids and life happened and not been out since.

I was vaguely thinking it would be fun to pick up again but then a bike crash a few months ago (and the resulting broken ribs and a pneumothorax)  seems to have permanently ended my diving career.

I’m a Padi Divemaster – haven’t dived “professionally” for 20+ years, and recreationally for 5+ as UK diving needs perfect conditions to be fun for me and holidays are not fun with a non-diving wife.

Still got all my kit in the garage though.

Anybody want to buy a 25 year old scuba setup?

TBH, don’t ride much MTB these days either…

I was same. Didn’t take long before I was in a quarry, in a drysuit

I did some of this when I was learning on the BSAC course 20+ years ago. The highlight was a an old Ford Sierra in the bottom that you could swim around. I owned a car, seeing a rusting one in a cold quarry was not particularly interesting.

Similarly I once dived on the wreck of a ferry in Cyprus. I’ve been on lots of ferries, they are much better when you can sit on the deck in the sun with a drink

I did a PADI course in Aus (as everyone traveling does) in 1998, did a few dives there and then a few in Fiji but nothing since then.

Did a PADI Advanced qualification out in Koh Tao in the early 00’s. Loved every minute of it at the time – always been into natural history and really enjoyed getting my Jacques Cousteau on. Did it exactly once thereafter (admittedly a pretty cool dive on the volcano in Santorini).

No chance I’d ever attempt to resurrect it while still mountain biking – I barely have room for one expensive, time-consuming hobby in my life.

I’ve ridden a few times with a professional diver who liked to MTB when he was back in the UK from a job. Sounded like a Hell of a job, often requiring him to be at depth with a crew of other guys for days on end. His workmate was one of the guys who rescued the cook from that wrecked boat off Nigeria.

Used to dive. Took kids to Egypt a few times. To be honest it’s not for me. It was on my list of things. We did get buzzed by about 30 dolphins one day that was quite cool. But I really enjoyed watching the little stuff like the octopus etc

I used to work and live on a dive charter boat and I am mountain biker, never felt the need to draw a diagram about it.

I like to go on a diving trip once a year, but with the inflation over the past few years this year has cost me twice as much as 2020 and I won’t be able to afford to do so annually any more.

I like to go on a diving trip once a year, but with the inflation over the past few years this year has cost me twice as much as 2020 and I won’t be able to afford to do so annually any more.

BCDs have always been more susceptible to inflation. Although lead weight have dropped.

BCDs are soooo last year dahling, wings are where it’s at with the in crowd.

Unless you’re BSACer in which case you’re probably using an ABLJ and a home made wetsuit.