Zorn on Mountain Biking

Here

"[George W. Bush has] kind of got the ultimate courses. You know, I'm not the only one there, it's not a duo. There's a group that he has ridden with over the years, and it's quite a group of experienced riders, and I'm a very small part of it. And he's there to work out and I'm there to work out, and it's been good. But I got to ride several times over the week, and you can get a lot done over a short period of time when you're on a bike on a single-track trail.

"You know what, in this area there are some tremendous trails. There not that difficult to find, but you want to have the right equipment when you go out, and it's a real thrill to be out in the state of Virginia. Even on the Maryland side there's some tremendous opportunity to, you know, to get on the dirt."

Comments

[I use my bike to go somewhere]

I never understood the whole mountain biking thing. My kids get a big kick out watching the bad ass mountain bikers puting their bikes on the back of SUV's to drive to a safe place to ride.

I have to hold this against Bush. I makes him look so silly. Zorn? Who cares. He's kinda goofy anyway.

[ibc]

I never understood the whole mountain biking thing. My kids get a big kick out watching the bad ass mountain bikers puting their bikes on the back of SUV's to drive to a safe place to ride.

"I never understood the whole hiking thing. My kids get a big kick out of watching the bad ass hikers throwing their knobby boots in the back of SUVs to drive to a safe place to hike."

So, essentially what you're telling us is that--aside from watching a Nissan Xterra commercial several years ago--you have no experience with mountain biking, and are raising your children to be averse to new experiences, too.

I mean, yes, the president's a douche-nozzle, but let's not lose all perspective here.

[Joe]

I hate being forced to drive places to ride mountain bikes when there are good trails right by my house, although they are "people choice trails". That's why I'm leading a trail work day this weekend :)

Sad that most of the places Bush rides are off limits to regular citizens and there are no legal places close to them that local residents can ride to.

[I use my bike to go somewhere]

@Ibc

As a matter of fact I have never been "mountain biking".

I have biked over the Canadian Rockies (on roads) and as a kid I would ride my sting ray over dirt piles in the vacant lot down the street, but I never had the pure mountain biking experience.

I do know that many must mountain bike because it is impossible to find a decent practical bike at any local LBS, and the drivers of SUV's tell me that I shouldn't be on the roads.

BTW, if you ever had kids you would know that what their father wants them to do is the last thing they will do. So maybe I'm actually turning them into extreme bicyclists. It'll be their choice either way.

[Washcycle]

Mountain biking is another form of recreational biking. I theorize that many transportational cyclists start as recreational cyclists. Thus I think it's an important part of advocacy. Even a cyclist who never rides his bike to go someplace brings positive externalities to other cyclists. For example, it is possible that without mountain bikers, your local bike shop would be closed.

I don't think it serves any of us at all to fight among ourselves over who is a "real" cyclist and who is not. Commuters, races, weekend trail riders, messengers, pedicab drivers etc...we all have similar interests.

[Joe]

I know a lot of people who's intro to bikes as an adult was mountain bike racing. They then expanded into commuting by bicycle and road riding.

By the way there is a trail workday this weekend:)

http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/calendar.php?do=getinfo&e=1194&day=2008-11-22&c=2

[Brendan]

I know a National Park Service archeaologist who's been called into Camp David to repair all the damage from the Preznit's mountain bike trails. Apparently, he had trails carved out all over Camp David and alot of them disturbed archealogical and historical sites. Indian graveyards? Probably not. Willful disregard for the law and American history? Probably.