mitb>reading>profiles
 

This is the place to share your thoughts and experiences of mountain biking with all of us.
No man is an island- or in John Prescott's case, a continent- other people are what make mountain biking the insane amount of fun it is, and without even noticing, we are influenced and learn so much from other riders. MiTB is designed to reflect the views and interests of all uk mountain bikers (that's you lot, unless you're from somewhere other than Britain and reading this site. What's the weather like there?) but this more than any of the others is your section. So tell us about yourself- just put your own answers to the questions below in an e-mail (with a picture if you can) and have your say.
       



Name: Chris
Lives: Wimbledon
Rides: Klein Attitude
How Long Riding?: 12 years		  
       
Favourite place to ride?
The best place I've ever cycled is the Picos de Europa, in Northern Spain - rugged but beautiful scenery, and some fantastic descents. Since moving to London, I've started discovering some good routes on the North Downs.
First Bike: Raleigh Strika!
First MTB: Alpinestars ('weight of a tank' model)
How did you start MTB'ing?:
Growing up in Bracknell, there weren't exactly many mountains nearby - but there's some fantastic riding in a place called Caesar's Camp and in the surrounding Windsor Forest. Its mainly fire track routes, although there are a few bits of singletrack scattered around. I got my bike at the same time as a couple of friends and together we started MTB'ing there.
Best Thing about MTB'ing?:
I enjoy it for lots of reasons, but mainly for the fun of descending and getting away from it all into the hills.
Worst Moment MTB'ing?
I've been fairly lucky - my worst bike crash was on (well, off) the Raleigh Strika at the tender age of six. But the worst I've had mountain biking happened a few years ago... There's a nice piece of singletrack on the edge of Wimbledon Common, and about two thirds of the way down an even nicer bump off which you can get some decent air. Each time I went down it, I tried to get more and more air. This worked for a while... I landed hard, burst both tyres and limped back home.
How do you see the future of mountain biking?
In an ideal world, a more enlightened attitude to access - and, given my limited mapreading skills, Global Positioning System as standard on all bikes.
       
Name: Mark
Lives: Reading
Rides: Cannondale M500 hardtail
How Long Riding?: 12 years		  
 
Favourite place to ride?
Has to be my old 'manor', Windsor Forest in Bracknell and Crowthorne. Fantastic ups, downs and singletrack and used to be three minutes from my house. I'm feeling very homesick now! For big old day rides, you couldn't do better than the Lake District.
First Bike: Metallic purple Raleigh Chipper (a baby Chopper)
First MTB: 1992 GT Karakoram. Rigid and 28 lbs of steel, but it rode like a dream and got me hooked overnight.
How did you start MTB'ing?:
Two of my friends bought mtb's while we were at school. I didn't get it at first, but they seemed to be having so much fun I wanted a go. So I rode the local forest on my Peugeot roadie bike, probably knackered the wheels but it was enough to convince me to get my GT.
Best Thing about MTB'ing?:
It must be the freedom. Just that feeling that wherever you are, you can get somewhere else really quickly- or you can stay there all day. Everything is open to you- roads, trails, footpaths and tracks unpassable to everyone else, andthat's a reallynice feeling.
Worst Moment MTB'ing?:
Sounds silly, but I'd just got a new chainset,brakes and spuds, and on the first ride I got about two minutes into the forest and was bitten by a dog! I had a permit to ride and my leg was bleeding, and it's owners blamed me! They accused me and all mountain bikers of ruining the forest, but thought they had the moral high-ground with their devil dog attacking people on bikes!Itstillannoys me, some people don't deserve to use the countryside.
How do you see the future of mountain biking?:
Bikes are pretty well sorted already. I'd like to see more trails and tracks opened in cities and more of the countryside open to us too. And for rigid bikes to come back into fashion...
 
Name: Toby
Lives: Budapest, Hungary
Rides: Cannondale F500 & Condor road bike
How Long Riding?: 12 years		  
 
Favourite place to ride?
The Ridgeway- the fast, smooth bits. Bridleways in Windsor Forest, Berkshire (nb: open to all traffic!) and the dirt tracks in the mountains of Northern Spain.
First Bike: Probably a red boy's racing bike, 'til the forks (pre-dating Cannondale by ten years) did a 'Lefty'!
First MTB: Wicked fluoro-green Muddy Fox Courier in 1990 (the day Mrs T resigned, and still remember each pawprint!).

How did you start MTB'ing?:
No idea really, I'd just got a job, didn't have a bike and it seemed the way to go...
Best Thing about MTB'ing?:
Got to be the freedem to travel where you want to, plus the exhileration, fitness and fun with your friends. Or that line of dust on your forks after a perfecy day's summer riding.
Worst Moment MTB'ing?:
My first big ride, aged 16, getting lost in the rain for five hours in a forest the size of Clapham Common- and realising I had just been cycling in circles...
How do you see the future of mountain biking?:
Unsure- not completely certain that such a thing exists anymore. Since I started, mountain biking has become incredibly fragmented- and unless there's some sort of cohesion I'm not sure it will continue. The resurgence of BMX and skating mean fewer kids will be enticed into mountain than there were in the early 90's. Losing the spirit of adventure, fun and counterculture with which it all began.