Why is it called mountain biking?

Why is it called mountain biking?

I ask the question because even though the sport is called mountain biking I am guessing that most people who ride rarely have the opportunity to go to an actual mountain to ride. A mountain is classified as being a vertical incline of at least 2000 ft anything less than that is a hill (that’s what it said in yahoo answers)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20060627140139AAHqmaP

A more appropriate name for mountain biking would be off road cycling or even hill biking would be a more accurate name. But neither of those have the same ring to'em though.

Barley anyone rides on mountains but that is where most the NORBA national mountain bike races are held. Ski Mountains have out door recreation facilities to accumulate a crowd and land to ride on, so that where they have ‘em. I think it would be nice if more races were held on flatter courses (I am a bit bias because personally I am better on flatter courses). The only way I see this happening though is if the NORBA national organizers decide to use huge tents like the circus dose. That way they could have venues in any place with a big enough open field.


send a letter USA cycling saying you want big circus tents, they will know what you mean.

Mailing Address:
USA Cycling
1 Olympic Plaza
Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Why are some racers sore losers?

Why are some racers sore losers?

In my previous deep thoughts I examined different reasons people race and in this deep thoughts I will look deeper into one particular reason that it the one most commonly linked to being a sore loser.

Racers who fall in the sore loser category race because they like the sense of accomplishment that comes along with training and being better than others.

These are individuals often with type A personalities. They put an enormous amount of pressure on themselves to be successful, and to put themselves on a higher plateau than others. They are willing to dedicate a large portion of their time and effort into achieving the goals they have set. They may be more stressed out and more serious about achieving these goals because it means so much to them. Often times these are the fastest of the mountain bikers (or any sport). The problem arises when they don’t accomplish the goals they have set.

So much pressure was put on themselves that the let down can be very emotional. They may come strait out and show emotions such as being angry bitter or vengeful if they believe someone else was responsible for them not achieving there goal. There is a good chance the sore loser in question will take it out on others through sarcasm or criticism. Basically being a real dick

if the sore loser in question is bright enough to realize his/her behavior is inappropriate and restrain themselves entirely. no outward emotions will occur but inner feelings will still exist. The problem is still there but at least it isn’t involving others, which is a step in the right direction.

It’s possible to have a competitive personality and not be a sore loser (inner or outer). The problem only occurs because of personal insecurity’s and a weak ego. If the individual in question needs the status of being a great mountain biker to live up to the standard he/she set for themselves then the emotions of sore losers will come into play when a goal hasn’t been achieved. But if the individual in question is content with who he/ she is despite being seen as a weaker rider then the sore loser emotions may never come into play

Here is a strategy for decreasing your mountain biking sore loserness…

Find other things that interest you that you can set goals in and take pride in. Just about everyone has quality’s, or things that they admire in others and these are often times the same quality’s and things used to measure ones own self worth. Spreading out your self worth to several things will put less pressure on your self in one particular thing (mountain biking).

Bill Belicheck is a sore loser




I’m not sure what my next deep thoughts will be but I’m sure its going to be something very deep.

Why race? continued…

Why race? continued…

In my last deep thoughts I examined why we race and I came up with theses four reasons…..

#1…….So I can have some sense of accomplishment that comes along with training and being better than others.

#2…….So others will like and respect me, so I can have a bit more self worth.

#3……..To have fun

#4…….. To make money (not really a factor in mountain biking unless you are one of the top 5 in the nation)

To figure out witch category you fall in read from the list of descriptions below and find the statement that best describes you then match the # to the reasons above to find your motivation to race. (like a questionnaire you might see in a woman's interest magazine)

*I always try during a race but if I fall out of contention after getting a flat tire I can still enjoy myself……2

*I Don’t really care about training or how I finish in the race as long as I get to hang out with friends……..3

*my performance is the main predictor in determining weather or not i had a good time……..1

*As long as I made my sponsors happy……….4

I'm generalizing here, I realize that most people aren’t isolated to one category and combination of reasons to race most likely exist.

Most of these reasons are strait forward but I would like to examine one of these reasons a little closer. Reason #1, this is the reason that is linked to being the most skillful athlete but also the biggest sore loser. In my next deep thoughts i will delve deep into their complicated minds to understand why these racers feel so much pressure and have a greater chance of becoming sore losers.

pulling out the moutain bike

Pulled my mountain bike out for the first time since thanksgiving. I bent my cassette during that ride and I didn’t fix it or put lube on my chain after I was done riding. My drive train is a bent up rusty mess.

I put some lube on and went for a ride. It was 40 degrees today, that is pretty much my limit, I don’t ride outside when it’s colder than that.

Still a lot of snow up here in Maine, a lot has melted in the past week though.

why race?

Race season is soon approaching and it makes me think of a question I’ve asked myself quite often…Why do I race?

I find my self diving on average 6 hours most weekends of the summer to go to races, often times places that I would never go if there hadn’t been a race there, sometimes in conditions (very hot, raining) that I would normally never ride in, and After adding up the cost of gas , race license, normal wear on car, registration, it costs me about $75+ a week. Plus all the time involved, an entire day maybe more because the evening before the race you need to …

Find and Pack all race gear and food in car………..1.5 hours

Making fixes to bike to make sure it is race ready……….. On average 1 hour

Another less measurable cost is the mental one. There is less riding just to ride, when you race you do training rides that are sometimes not very fun and painful (hill intervals, LT intervals, sprint intervals) you may feel under pressure to train hard to perform at you personal best come race day.

Why would anyone want to put themselves through all of this?

Some may say that they want to find out how good they are. this is an ok reason for the first few time s someone races but after that you should have a good idea of how you stack up.

Professional athletes from more popular and lucrative sports often say they compete for their fans or God and country. I don't believe people who say that . There may be others that motivate these athletes to better themselves but in my opinion the root of why we compete is the same…

1…….So we can have some sense of accomplishment that comes along with training and being better than others.

2…….So others will like and respect us, so we can have a bit more self worth.

3……..To have fun

4…….. To make money (not really a factor in mountain biking unless you are one of the top 5 in the nation)

Depending on the person and the situation varying degrees of these four reasons
In future deep thoughts I will explain in greater detail just what these reasons mean and how to determine which reason is driving you to race and how it effects others around you.

The Whether Man (trainer review)

What a horrible movie. This movie is depressing, isn’t funny and I wish I could take back the hour I spent watching it (I turned it off before it ended). Nickolas cage plays a weatherman who feels he is under appreciated and cant understand why everyone hates him. Most of the problems he complains about seem trivial. The reasons he finds himself in problems (in most cases) is because of his own stupidity, the problems that aren't his fault are just sad and hard to watch. I watch movies to escape the crappy parts of reality not have them magnified.

Not only is this a bad trainer movie it’s a bad movie in general

1/2 can of Vienna sausage out of 5

bicycle commuters, not all peace loving hippies

I thought bicycle commuters were supposed to be the friendly, save the earth , peace not war hippie types. Theses guys didn’t get the memo.

one ring to rule them all

2009 is going to be a good season.

available in skymall magazine

Live Free Or Die Hard (trainer movie review)

Live Free Or Die Hard is an excellent film to watch while riding the trainer. Violence and action start off immediately and I don’t think there is even a five minute break without someone getting hit, shot at, an explosion or vehicle crash.

In this Die-Hard the stakes are higher, Bruce Willis need to save the entire country instead of just a building of people. Hackers have taken over the nation with acrobatic circus olay henchmen. Justin long (Mac guy) plays the good guy hacker who is a geeky unhero that gives comic relive to Bruce’s constant action sense. They can’t stand each other but they have to get along to save the country against insurmountable odds. You can probably guess how it ends, I will tell you anyway. He saves the country and Justin long and Bruce Willis become friends.

Yay for friendship!!!

I give this movie a score of 3.5 out of 5 cans of Vienna sausages

trainer (helpful tips)

My fist time on the trainer for the year, the trainer isn’t so bad if you have the right things to help you stay motivated and comfortable. Theses are the things that work for me….




processed meats: convenient sustained energy (spam & jerky but Vienna sausages are my fave)
Cape: anything to put over your back to soak up sweat .
techno: fast rhythm helps
bloody action movies: puts me in fast pace killer instinct mode

Is the build of an elite cyclist a healthy one?

Is the build of an elite cyclist a healthy one?

After coming across these photos on solo break blog i’m starting to feel ok about my problem of packing too much upper body on this winter. I'm still a skinny guy by most peoples standards but huge compared to these guys.


Pic: Tyler Hamilton using medical tape to hold his weak rib cage together

Pic: Michael Rasmussen using all his strength to put a sock on.


I think theses photos raise the question, is the build of an elite cyclist a healthy one. the gentlemen in these photos look like they are fragile and sick. No question that are incredible athletes and are super fast on their bikes but at what cost. They are so specialized for the sport of cycling that any muscles that aren’t needed to ride faster are considered useless oxygen sucking dead weight. I’m not a doctor but I’m guessing this must have some long term negative effects (lower bone density ? being more frail as a old man?) I don’t know for sure, I’m just saying it doesn’t look healthy.

grunting

I think I’ve been @ the gym with the grunters for too long this winter. In case you don’t know grunters are the huge guys that grunt when they lift weights. The grunts are like the screeches of the siren from roman mythology they draw you in and before you know it I’ve got packed on 5-7 Lbs of lean muscle. All on the upper body because that’s the way the drawing call of the grunters works.

So I’ve got this extra muscle that isn’t gong to do me any good on a bike and my fitness isn’t where it normally is because I’ve been lifting so much and ignoring my normal riding and cardio cross raining routine. My trip to visit my dad in WA DC was an eye opener, I found out just how bad my fitness is.
It’s time to turn things around and start riding again if I want to have decent fitness for the 2009 season.

Good buy grunters, time to join planet fitness.

WA DC riding

Did some riding with my dad in Washington DC. I got a free upgrade on my rental bike when the bike shop manager found out I was an influential photographer for the mid-Atlantic Spokes magazine. I wouldn't consider myself a photographer but one of my photos was asked to be used by someone who dose submit photos to spokes magazine and it ended up on the cover!!!. Just another thing to add to my resume. I'll put that between to 4th grade jump-rope champion and 2003 york ME pumpkin carving 2nd place finisher.






I haven’t rode outside in a few months , it was nice to get out again . My dad was in better shape than I would have expected. He has become a avid cyclist he recently lost 20 lbs and goes for 2 hour + rides when its nice out.




Felt a little weird being all race geared out on a unraced geared out bike in an unracing setting.

my dad and I laid the hammer down on all the other bike path riders. we showed no mercy, cutting off children in strollers and elbowing old men and woman and anyone who tried to pass us was put to the curb. just kidding

for the rest of the weekend see My Art Blog