Originally Posted by
NOS88
Truth be known, never had much interest or paid much attention to any non-road bike. For me off road means hiking... I felt a bit like I was guilty of doing nasty things to mother nature. I suspect this comes from my early childhood training of being in the woods and leaving as little or no evidence that I was there. I guess some might suggest I'm a roadie elitist.
for the longest time I was of that same mind. I still feel a little guilty when I ride in some places.
But, there are plenty of places where a mtb is quite comfortable and OK - like larger trails and fire, maintenance or loggin roads.
The other side is leaving as small a footprint as possible. Given riding on-trail so as to mitigate impact and with some consideration other users, mtb-ing can be compatible. Always thank others when they pass and give you equal room to pass as well. A smile goes a long way. And sometimes just stopping and letting them pass before they even get a chance to think about it, works great.
All means I get to see more and enjoy the trip/ride.
Thankfully there's always a road ride when I want to just get buried in the 'effort'. A nice complement.
I used to do quite abit of off-road on local stuff when the kids were really young. They would Hoot and Hollar on every bump, eyebrow and whoop. Can't remember havin a more fun time than when trapsin around with the munchkins...
I'm really stoked to have re-found the fun of any bit of dirt!
Now iff'n I can control my bike spending habits!