As most of you know Gastro,Highrevs,Hambone Girlscout and I did a little riding last weekend. We had a couple of things happen that I found strange. On Fri. we were in Pisgah riding a trail and came across 3 riders on XC bikes and they make comments like " look at those long travel bikes" and when they saw Girlscouts hardtail,"thats one of those heavy bikes with a big fork" On Sat we ride up on a group of XC guys in their team kits and one make a comment"damn freeriders". What is up?? We were justout trail riding minding our own buisness. Doing the same kind of riding I do here all the time with no problems. Have any of you guys ever had a problem like this? Who flippin' cares what you ride or how you ride. Ok I feel better now,end rant. Oh, old fat guys should not wear full lycra team kits,kinda made him look like a deformed soccer ball.

Around here, if you mountain bike, you are just in a big group. We don't really fight with the style of riding. Its more of a skater + Bikers = Brawls at the local skate park.

Ive never seen it here, I'm sure these guys weren't local. Just seems kinds strange to me.

that sounds pretty retarted
down here that doesnt happen

Dont tend to see it much over here, you occasionally get a stuck up bunch of riders who think they own the trail but who cares, ignore them, your trail as much as theirs, we're all bikers.

I can imagine it being a pain in the ass though, especially if your considerate enough to acknowledge them.

As for bikers vs skaters, I do both, so that doesnt bother me.

+1

We had a tight group of eight who knew what we were doing, they were a seething mass of 40 uncomfortable looking riders who, by the looks of things, had no idea what they were even doing there.

I maintain they were just jealous, especially after we all killed that log ride right next to them on R. Creek while they were traffic jammed pushing up the hill. That or when girlscout led the wheelie brigade up the old airstrip.

Around here the XC guys are ******s, if they find one of our freeride trails, they'll spend a day taking it down rather then riding.

Hmm, haven't really ran into many other riders on my Dawg yet. Be interesting to see some XC weight-weenie reactions. I consider my riding style more XC than anything else, but I love a few jumps and DH here and there. Plus, I don't worry about weight since I don't race anymore.

...And we a were very,very good looking bunch of riders.

black/white, gay/straight, fr/xc....

Where is the love?

Ditto!

Not here. Most of the xc guys also dh etc.

There are some hardcore old school xc guys that might make fun of you for needing a long travel bike on such a such trail. But speaking from experience, anything *can* be ridden on a xc steed. Just depends on the skill level of the rider. These guys would smoke you and then offer you a smoke talking about the good ole days on modified beach cruisers etc...they don't hate, they just want the young to remember To them everything is xc...some is faster, slower, bigger, badder...but still just good ole trail riding.

Oh I find the whole skater thing pretty comical. They have some good points about bikes in parks. Unless the park is big enough or designated for bikes, it really is dangerous for both to be in the same area, especially for the unaware newb

this is true. back in the day (for me, early to mid 90's) it was just mtn biking. Do some people really think that we would stop and walk our rigid bikes over a drop or jump? And of course, we had to walk our rigid xc bikes down any hills we came across.. right! Don't get me wrong, new bikes can do some crazy new things. I am mainly an xc rider because I have lost some fearlessness I had as a youth in bmx and mtn biking, but I think what freeriders are doing is totally sick.
I picked up a new bmx plus the other day, holy crap, the things guys are doing on bmx bikes now is amazing compared to the early 80's when I was racing and trick riding.

See me, at my age and in my position I xc because thats all I can do in my situation. I would love to try freeride and jumps. It all is fun as long as Im on a bike in the dirt.

To me it's all still mtnbiking. I was joking with a friend at the lbs yesterday about doing and adventure race.He's a hardcore XC racer (24hrs of pisgah solo champ) I just ride for fun but we still have a blast.

Ironically I can't ride with people good at xc. I am very...humbled. I can ride dh with pros and am more than willing to walk stuff I can't ride...but xc I always feel more pressure if I slow them down.

Not a relfection on them, but on myself.

I just about never ride with the XC racers for the same reason. That was the big joke about us doing a race.

the only problem i have ever had is with hikers. bikers are pretty united here cause they dont want things shut down and numbers help things stay open. i dont like riding with xc'ers uphill at least because i dont have a bike with the geometry to go up steep hills. so i gotta walk it. but then its all good when i get to point it downhill

I see a few people up there know what I am talking about. Been in any brawls yourselfs?

There are definitely some XC people who are more uptight than others. I find this out the hard way on our shop group rides. The really good xc guys (racers most) are pretty cool. It's the 'tweeners' (the ones who aren't fast or good bike handlers enough to be good racers but better than the purely recreational riders) who seem the most uptight. I get myself in more trouble, because I like to screw around (carry wheelies on climbs, play flattraker on the fireroads and stuff) and gawd forbid if I disrupt their cadence - - or pass them on a descent when I get tired of poking behind 'em - - by my antics. I find I much prefer riding with teenagers and early-20s riders. They still know how to have fun and not take themselves way too seriously.

Kinda sounds like how a lot of you guys treat/feel about road bikers. In the end we are all BIKERS, and most of all PEOPLE.

i find myself saying the same thing about roadies when im ridin the road on my mtbike. its just something about them... them buzzing by with a grin and saying like "hello" its like wtf dood i dont know you, if i wanted to i could roll with you but i dont .. psssshhh

for me as far as I'm concerned the hardcore XC guys around here are also hardcore roadies and what i've figured out is that they are big D-BAGS, my buddy is an XC runner converted to biking because of his knees, so he buys a road bike and rides more than anyone I know, he rides with no shirt and jean shorts or baggy cargo shorts and is a good rider, but gets crap from the spandex wearing, weight weenie types, also a couple times riding the same trails the weight weenie XCers ride on my bike they give me looks and mutter **** towards me and I then just smoke em downhil