Aggressive riders?

[chickabonita]

Wow lady, I have to give you snaps for lovin that stuff. I personally do not care for any kind of steep or technical downhill or boulders for that matter. I see girls like you on the trail (or perhaps it is even you, since you are in Ontario and I am in OC). I would be the girl whose in your way, I pedal along to the beat of my ipod, enjoying every bush with flowers and bird that flys overhead. Hey, if you ever happen to pass a blonde on a blue Kona with skulls on her helmet, that's me! Stop and say hello!

[limewave]

I would love to give it a try, but there isn't much riding like that by us. Not a boulder in site.

I am getting into xcountry racing this year. I like riding fast and pushing myself to my limits. I'm also competitive--mostly with myself. I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

[nerdgirl]

Wow lady, I have to give you snaps for lovin that stuff. I personally do not care for any kind of steep or technical downhill or boulders for that matter. I see girls like you on the trail (or perhaps it is even you, since you are in Ontario and I am in OC). I would be the girl whose in your way, I pedal along to the beat of my ipod, enjoying every bush with flowers and bird that flys overhead. Hey, if you ever happen to pass a blonde on a blue Kona with skulls on her helmet, that's me! Stop and say hello!

Haha! Wouldn't that be funny if it was me! I don't claim to be badass, but I definitely am trying to get there!

Do you ever make it out to the IE? My favorite places are Marshall Canyon and Sycamore Canyon (in Riverside). However, since it is summer, Marshall & Sycamore are being left to weekdays after work, and weekends are for lift riding at Big Bear (and a vacation to Mammoth Mtn Bike Park). I generally don't ride in OC. Did Fully Loop a couple times, but it just doesn't feel like "real" mountain biking to me, not even XC. I know lots of folks love it though. I did El Moro last summer, and there was so little payoff for the amount of climbing done. I don't mind climbing if I've got a good payoff (Marshall Canyon is a perfect example of the climb being worth the payoff).

What trails in OC are you riding? One of my friends is trying to convince me to do some crazy *** trails out there that are steep and loose.

Thanks for posting! Made my day!

[crazycanuck]

Nerdgirl...I prefer XC enduro events and shorter distance XC club races. I don't have the b*lls to do downhill

I don't do fireroad & notice quite a few of the newbies here ride on that. Ugh..that's not real mountain biking.

Real mtn biking is finding sweet singletrack with all sorts of twists n turns (that you'd expect in Western Australia).

There are some awesome trails around & love it when i "get it" I wanna go back to Pemberton (south west western Australia) and do the BIG berms and smash em!

Am impatiently awaiting my elusive Titus Racer X frame/fork Grrrrr....4 months of waiting...Better be worth the wait!!! Next time i'll order a Yeti, would have been here by now and they have a better distributor that doesn't forget to order bikes.

[Tuckervill]

Why is fireroad not "real" mountain biking? That's a rather uncharitable opinion there, CC.

Karen

[nerdgirl]

uh oh! Controversy! LOL

I get what you're saying about the fire roads and trust me, in So Cal we have *a lot* of them because wild fires are a natural part of the environment here (though sadly some of the most destructive have been arson). I know a lot of people don't think of them as "real" mountain biking. Considering I'm more of a "gravity oriented" rider, I know that some people say the same about XCers and call them "roadies on dirt." (I think it's the Lycra wearing and obsession with racing and bike weight that elicits that response). I have to admit, I've seen some women's XC races where even the pros were using their brakes in spots that made me laugh and say, "Omg, you're using your brakes there? Seriously?"

I personally prefer trailriding/downhill. However, I acknowledge that fire roads really serve a practical purpose. They are good for helping less than brave people discover the sport. They are good for helping people develop cardio. Around here, some of them get you to the sweet singletrack. And, in my case, after I flew 4' from my bike going downhill last November, they were good for rehabbing my separated shoulder, torn shoulder tendon, massive hip contusion and, the most injured thing of all-- my confidence.

There are even some fire roads that are pretty great. One of my favorites is in Big Bear, California. I admit, though, I like it because it is barely big enough to be considered a fire road, doesn't really look like one, and rides more like a double-track. Heck, one of the most badass double black diamond trails in California is Kamikaze, in Mammoth. That is basically a "how fast are you willing to go" road where those guys reach speeds of up to 60 mph in 2,000 feet of vertical. Scary!

So that's my 2 dinars. Hope I haven't offended.

[MartianDestiny]

I ride mountain for the reasons you do, but I guess my adrenaline threshold is lower because a good technical XC/trail course does it for me right now, and is about all I feel safe doing in my current state of riding alone. I'd like to try downhill riding at some point I think, but I'll never be one to get big air.

There is some "in between" and not all us XCer's are cruising down nearly paved fire-roads for the scenery

Well made flowy track with a few technical challenges thrown in taken at 15-20 mph....O so much fun!!!

[Zen]

I don't do fireroad & notice quite a few of the newbies here ride on that. Ugh..that's not real mountain biking.

You haven't seen our fire roads.