by 
Tuesday has come and gone and I couldn’t think of a single thing to write. I’m pretty worked from my trip to Cave mountain and I have been spending the entire day just chillin’ and organizing my life before I check back in to reality tomorrow. I’m sure everybody can relate to that awful feeling of going back to work after spending so much fun time away. Tired of being cooped up in the house, I met up with the local Tuesday night race. I didn’t race, I just went for the beers. But it was great to see everybody in one place and high on bike stoke. Happy on tacos and beer, we parted ways. They all headed home and I went for a little ride around town on my touring bike. Life seems pretty good these days.
I got to thinking about how this is my 20th year of mountain biking. Two decades, 7,305 days, or just under 2/3 of my life. Either way you slice it, it’s the longest relationship I have ever been in. It has been a great ride so far. I pedaled a little more in the 95 degree night and got to wondering. Why do I still do this? I don’t really race, so it’s not a competitive thing. I don’t particularly care for riding in groups, so it’s not a social thing. Even though I love my commute, I’m not super militant against cars. It’s not a hippy environmental thing. So why, after all these years, do I still obsess over this same toy I have played with since I was a kid?
I was scrolling through some pictures tonight as I was waiting for sleep, and I think I got MY answer. It might not be yours, but I’m pretty sure it’s mine.
It takes me places.
*Video that goes along with that picture
Just two of the amazing places my bike has taken me this year. Where did yours take you? How about we use the comments section for something cool for a change? Post up a link or a story of a kick-ass place your bike has taken you lately. Brag a little, show us what ya got. (plus I need some ideas on new places to go)
Keep it dirty…
by 
That second pic looks like something out of a fairy tale.
Thanks!
Burt
I often ask why do I keep riding,, for me it has been a touch over 20 years,, and when I boil it all down I come to the same reason,,, like you it takes me places, and over those 20 years I have met some amazing people.
OK ya got it… here’s my favorite road ride in the Vercors. Just got back from this what a blast. Anybody who wants to cross the pond let me know, I have rides to share. Typical road ride= 3 hours, 5 cars, 3 tractors…I’ll let y’all know more about the dirt later, this year I finally brought my MTB.
Shit all the linkz were deleted. Here’s the linkz..http://vimeo.com/44322560#at=0 and http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/us-mtb-legends-reunite-in-alpine-resort/013.
I ride so I don’t get a DUI, and so I can be alone, and so I do wheelies, and look at nature, and make dirt fly. And like you Deer-tay, I ride so that non-bikey people don’t think all of us 2-wheelers are self-absorbed hippy dicks. #occupybikeseat
I ride because without it I would be a shell. I have devoted everything I do to bikes. They are my livelihood and my escape. People always say don’t make your passion your job, well why the hell not? I prefer to do rad shit. A long time ago I decided I wasn’t going to do things that were not fun. It hasn’t always worked out awesome but bikes can make tough situations a better worse.
Lately due to my relocation, every trail is new. I spent 6 hours finding out what the Colorado trail has to offer,on Sunday, and think I am going to keep tapping that well. Once the lady is done with school, in two years, I am going to ride the whole thing. Dirty, you are invited.
Thanks Dirty for the post: just what this site needed right now.
Why do I ride? Shit, I’m gonna be lazy and just cut and paste Angry Buddhist’s first paragraph above. Never one to let anyone do my talking for me, AB absolutely nailed how I feel about the most beautiful sport.
Again, thanks.
Been riding 20with years, almost exactly half my life. Now it takes me places with my kids. No damn video games for them. Not always the most scenic, definitely not challenging (I ride my full rigid 1×9 ), but they get seen differently, especially when you have to look at obstacle vs. a 20″ wheel instead of a 26/9.
fights, hangovers, peelouts, hammers, shinners, broken shit, concussions, crossbar-to-the-throat, 10-stairs, lips, landings, waterfalls, mountains, lakes, logs, cacti, puke, chrome molybdenum, 6000, 7000, 6Al-4V, spray paint, front brakes, skids, air, dirt, grease, rubber, collar bones, ankles, watermelon, fuck, shit, piss, satan, death, life, whiskey, weed, beer, brothers and sisters.
I bought my first mountain bike when I was 14. I’ll be 38 in a couple weeks, and each year I fall more in love with two wheels. Twice this year I’ve ridden over 100 miles offroad…and LOVED it. I really enjoy hearing from my friends how crazy I am…and I really enjoy taking new people out for a ride. I love that my wife rides with me.
I leave Friday for a two-week road trip west…I’ll be riding in the Badlands, Black Hills, Jackson Hole, and Grand Targhee. Some people go to the beach. I go to my soul.
I totally agree with Dirty, but allow me to spin his words a little bit. It IS competitive; every ride, I want to go just little farther and a little faster. It is social; on average, riding with your buds is more fun than riding alone. It is an anti-car, hippie thing; I save money and get stronger every time I leave the car in the driveway and ride instead. Riding is all these things and more: freedom, sweat, pain, endorphins, thrills, tranquility. I’m out to ride.
I don’t know what God is, but I know what it isn’t. I ride because that is when I feel closest to nature and when I feel closest to nature I feel more connected as a human being. Riding bikes is my church, it is my counselor, it is where I go to escape the rat race known as life. If it weren’t for cycling and the places it has taken me I would not have my wife, my kids, my friends, and my life.
Wind in hair. Fast and quiet. I get stronger. Pavement? Dirt? Lunar Regolith? YEAH.
…wanted a bike as a kid – entered a contest & won a bike & rode it for years ’til it got stolen…bought a ‘not nearly as cool’ funky bike & fixed it up & rode it ’til i left home @ 17…
…hitch hiked to so-cal from eastern canada & traded for a beater to ride to the beach to get high with the locals & watch the sunset…
…ended up in nor-cal where i traded for another beater which i fixed up & rode everywhere…
…got a serious reputation as ‘a bike guy’ around here…
…didn’t own a car ’til i was 40 years old & now @ 63, i still love the fuck out of a bike ride…dirt, pave, cx, townie, whether it’s a hammer, a slow cruise or just down to the store…
…my car is fun but my bike(s) are my life…
I ride to be a better person within myself.
My life is better when I am spending some time on the bike.
Few weeks ago my roadie took me over Guardsman’s Pass in SLC. Hardest thing I’ve ever done on the bike but worth every square pedal.
I ride my bike every day because it beats getting fat in my car.
Self-portrait.
Sh*t! There was supposed to be a photo attached.
Oh well.
Because at 34 and the father of 2 small children, I’m not done getting gnar.
From this past weekend:
http://m.flickr.com/photos/brintseyes/7397744664/lightbox/
The same reason the dog does anything, because its fun.
[IMG]http://i1142.photobucket.com/albums/n606/pointindog/100_0750.jpg[/IMG]
ur style is right on, DB.
bike-luv is self-luv, and it’s healthy.
more fotos, please, ur loc-ays are the best
that lake powell vid is so dope.
not sure why, but the wrong pic was linked up. here it is:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brintseyes/7397744664/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/44798850@N00/
some of my finest suffer-fests….late to the party I know…. my bicycle has taken me to some magic spots over the last 25+ years… thought I’d share a few if anyone can be bothered….