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.
Nice comment, Ferg. My perspective is that I recently had a nice 'soft' ride along an old railway line. I came to one of the old platforms, and rode up the ramp, and down the other end. I was tempted to take the hit and fly off the edge. It was'nt steep, but there was no angled runoff to make the landing a little more controlled and smoother. One day, one day...
