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Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Writings on Riding
This is the place for monthy content from a few of our local members. Here you may find articles about events in the Triangle, interviews with local mountain bike leaders, write ups and editorials. Check back here often for new "news" stories. Want to be a regular contributer? Contact the webmaster at [email protected].



Naked Before the Mirror
Tammy Kaufman
 June 2003

I'll never forget my high school English teacher. Her name was Mrs. Revelle, and I used to hate her for the way she never cut me any slack, always pressing me for perfection with every assignment. Funny how things look differently now that I am an adult. That hatred has been replaced with gratitude for making me work so hard, to realize my potential and use it. I thought about her while I was riding the
singlespeed in the Burn 24 Hour Challenge. Curious how similar that bike and Mrs. Revelle are.

Each time I ride the singlespeed, with each lap, on every hill, I curse the lack of gears, forcing myself to stand and strain with every muscle in my body just to reach the crest, always pushing myself for more than I think I can give. And yet, despite the pain, I know with each agonizing pedal stroke, I'm gaining strength, learning to anticipate the trail ahead and carry my momentum; in essence, learning to ride all over again, to become one with my bike. The singlespeed is my best friend and my worst enemy. It liberates me from the drudgery of gears, trying to correctly anticipate a shift, the worries of a drivetrain. There is no chain skip, no mis-shifting, and a beautifully uncluttered bar and frame (well, except for the mandatory race streamers and colorful bell!). But it also strips me totally naked and holds me up before the mirror, exposing my every weakness as a rider, subtly reminding me that despite years of riding, I still have so much to learn.

The singlespeed is a tough and demanding teacher, accepting nothing less than my absolute best, lest I have to dismount and humbly walk a hill that I could easily ride with a granny gear. It makes no allowances for weakness, no coddling when I'm tired, and tolerates no whining, whimpering or complaining. After all, it was my choice to go the singlespeed route. Yet, I'm drawn to it like a moth to the flame. When I ride the singlespeed, I am consumed. Riding it requires everything of me - I have no time or energy to worry about my job, responsibilities, the mess we humans have put our planet in, or even whether or not I'm being dropped on the ride. It envelops me, smothers me, drowns me, while at the same time frees me, inspires me, and revives me. It is my hell and my heaven. I can't escape it's siren's call, and I don't want to. When I ride the singlespeed, we are indeed one.

I don't understand?
Tim Broyer

I'm going to go off here a little bit and if it offends you, good. If it makes you think, that's a little better. I suspect if your reading this than you are not the party it is intended to piss off since they probably don't read TriangleMTB.com anyway. I recently rode a tame piece of single track known in these parts as being great for beginners. I pulled into the parking lot to see tons of cars and lots of people getting ready to ride. It was 5 PM on a sunny weekday afternoon. I loved seeing so many people getting out and riding. It's what it's all about. Riding and having fun.

What I don't understand and completely irritates me was seeing people not wearing a helmet. It clearly states at the trail head, on this site as well as the park website and on the nice little trail map that HELMETS ARE MANDATORY. What part of mandatory do these people not understand? I saw at least three people out on the trail without a helmet. Why does it irritate me? Because the park is asking people to wear one. All it takes is one knucklehead (pun intended) to fall, bust his head open, sip through a straw the rest of his life and have his or her family sue the county to pay their life-long medical bills. The county then moves to shut the trails down or at the least, makes it even tougher to get new ones built. No to mention, you would totally ruin everyone's ride having to haul your dumb ass back to the parking lot so you can ride to the emergency room to get stitches.

Granted if your reading this you are probably wearing your lid every time you hit some single-track. Doesn't it irritate you? I try to be very friendly on the trail, stopping to help people with flats or mechanicals, saying Hi to folks and usually yielding the trail. Breaking park rules by not wearing a helmet isn't very friendly in my opinion, so don't expect me to stop or say Hi.

One more thing since I'm on the soapbox, stay off the trails if their closed or very muddy. You're just ruining it for everyone. Riding muddy trails and making alternate routes to go around mud puddles ruins the trail and speeds up erosion. There are trails that dry better than others. Stay off the wet ones until they dry out some more. Places like San Lee, Tar River and Fayetteville dry out very quickly.

 

MTB Exploitation in the Marketplace
Scooter

Don't get me wrong; I'd much rather write about trails, mountain bikes, and terrific rides. On the other hand, the only options for that right now are 1) rain, and 2) mud. So here goes... Something.
_____

The greatness of our beloved sport of mountain biking has not gone unnoticed by Madison Avenue. The marketeers have begun using mountain bikes to sell SUVs to impressionable young men. By impressionable, I mean if it looks cool enough, they want it.

The question is, what makes it look cool? Is it because something is truly The Rave? Or, is it because a crew of people who's job is to figure out what makes us hand over our money have been paid a huge sum to get us to do just that?

Consider the series of Nissan Xterra ads that have been appearing regularly on the centerfolds and inside covers of bicycling magazines. More importantly, the same series has been playing as prime time TV ads to reach a much larger audience.

One of these ads is entitled "Emergency Room". It shows a young guy in a gorgeous desert setting with his MTB in the back of his SUV, apparently reattaching his bicycle seat with duct tape(!). Moments later he's shown back on the bike, sailing off the side of a small cliff.

Am I the only one who's bothered by this advertisement? For one thing, he's riding alone, out in the desert, and grabbing Big Air. Do we really need to have this demonstrated as "cool" behavior? For another, does it make sense to climb inside a vehicle that's been sitting in the hot desert sun to fix a bike?

Another ad in the series is entitled "Tripod". It also takes place in a desert vista. It shows a guy leaning waaaaay out of the side window of his SUV, apparently supported only by his ankles, in order to take some video of a MTB rider flying overhead. This video could have been taken more comfortably on a chaise lounge.

From the angle the camera is aimed, this shot may not be a keeper either. I haven't seen much footage taken of riders from directly underneath, siloughetted against the sky. But of course the point of the ad is to sell you a thirty thousand dollar SUV so that you can have fun mountain biking.

What I'm getting at is if you're a young guy coming out of college and you need a car, don't take your cues from Madison Avenue. SUVs have their uses, but they aren't nearly as practical as the auto makers have been trying to get us to believe. Their high center of gravity makes them prone to rollovers, a risk that becomes greater if they're actually driven off road. Putting a heavy load in back, which is above the axles, increases the risk even further. As a result, most SUVs don't have much more cargo capacity than a sedan, and some have even less.

SUVs are classified as commercial trucks and therefore have lower safety, emissions, and gas mileage standards than cars. The vast majority of them are being marketed and sold as personal transportation, however, not as company vehicles. With the cost of gasoline in nonstop flux, think about how many trips to the desert you'll be able to afford if your vehicle could go two or three times as far on a gallon.

The choice of what to buy is completely up to you. All I'm suggesting is to make that choice based on what you'll be using the vehicle for most of the time, and how much practical value it will provide.

Throw a bike rack on any car, and you can be having a great time on the trail in as long as it takes you to drive there. Make that car buying decision wisely, and you may find that you have enough $$$ left over to get a couple of posh MTB's to put in your garage as well.