I have an XC bike and that's the type of riding I enjoy most, but I think the 'freeriding revolution' has really done a lot for the sport. When I started riding 4 years ago, I bought a heavy, full-suspension bike for the sole purpose of riding as much bumpy, root-covered ground as I could find. For a long time it was a lot of fun, and during that time I fell in love with being out in nature and just spending my day riding my bike and getting excercise. That type of riding certainly makes one feel as though they are still a 10 year old kid. In fact, if it hadn't been for that image in my head of flying around in the woods I probably never would have even started biking in the first place.

Over the years, my preference has gone from flying down hills to flying up them. I get a lot more enjoyment now from climbing hills and riding for long distances and never having to worry that the next corner may be the one that I wipe out on. I've also got into road riding much more, but with only one bike, I have to make sure mine is light enough to get me up half-mile long hills in under a day

I say to each his own. If you wanna be a roadie, then do that. If you want to ridie long distances and make it home in one piece each time, then go XC. And if you want to bounce around rocks and roots in the woods all day, then do that. As long as we're all riding, that's really all that matters. And if it takes an image of "fun" freeriding to get younger riders interested, then I see no reason to discredit it as a form of riding.