Adventure and exploration as the essence of mountain biking

If you are in the market to buy a new bike, the most recent issue of Bike Mag is your crucial resource for gear research!  I have personally never seen such an exhaustive survey of current mountain bikes in my entire life!  The Bike staff approached these with reviews with the typically famous work ethic, and spent weeks riding and reviewing bikes.  Of course, I’m sure they enjoyed spending almost a month riding some of British Columbia’s finest singletrack! 

Since I am not planning on buying a new mountain bike any time soon (see my last post), the write ups on British Columbia singletrack were the ones that really got me daydreaming at school. New trails! Trails that I haven’t ridden, and of the world-famous caliber of B.C.!  Will I ever get to ride those trails?  That remains to be seen, but I sincerely hope so.  And if I make it to the age of 40, I’m pretty sure I will. My wife will finally say “All right, I’ve heard enough about this British Columbia!  Let’s go and get it out of your system!”  But of course, you can’t get singletrack and the thirst for exploration out of a true mountain biker’s “system.”

The insatiable thirst for exploration, to roll down trails previously personally unridden, is the most fundamental element of our sport.  Without trails to explore, destinations to travel too, and adventures to be had we devolve to simply those rednecks living back in the woods who refuse to drive outside of their county (except wearing lycra and peddling multi-thousand dollar pieces of aluminum and carbon fiber). 

The essence of mountain biking is embodied in exploration, in adventure. So go, click on the Trail Review Series link, find a trail that you haven’t ridden, get out there and ride something new!