Why you ride

[Rorschach]

I’ve really enjoyed spending time out on my bike in the bush recently and even though I don’t do many kms or jumps or anything, I really enjoy riding as it helps me clear my head and not think about what’s bothering me, and only concentrate on what’s in front of me. Helps me get some perspective after the week. No, I’m not fast or a good climber or descended and I’ve got all the gear and no idea but I don’t care, I just like getting out.
I was in a shitty mood after work on Friday and all day yesterday but after a shit nights sleep I was up at 5 this morning to head to the hills and I feel so much better for it. I’ve got other stuff going on (see Black Dog and LTIH), but this is the best antidepressant

Why do you ride?

 

[Cardy George]

I ride for the thrill of being on "that" edge. Not the huge jumps as such, more the knife edge of grip and speed and reading the terrain and everything that comes with it. I really enjoy it in the car too, but the consequences of fucking up are much more expensive. Easier to achieve when we lived in the hills, but there's still some excitement to be found around our area.

I also take a bit of guilty pride in being the hard man of the club. I'm not the fastest, but I can ride further than anyone else, and more often too.

 

[Asininedrivel]

Mountain biking ticks so many positive boxes for me I'd probably be a pretty different person without it. I mostly suck at riding, have the body positioning skills of a sedated cow, tend to land wheels up after any jumps and am normally a pretty cautious person not given to risk taking. Yet I also (really) like exercising, love nature and enjoy my own space, and mountain biking offers all that in spades, particularly the opportunity to challenge myself and progress, becoming better less shit in the process.

A fun ride is enough to put me in a good mood for a week.

Plus as an enthusiastic nerd, the nerding opportunities bikes offer are substantial.

 

[ashes_mtb]

For me, I think it’s a positive connection with riding as a kid that motivates me to ride. That sense of freedom. Without it, I don’t think the rational reasons (fitness, mental health, socialising etc) would get me out there.

 

[Cheka]

I was talking to a mate the other day about just this whilst sipping our Old Fashioneds. He asked if I missed not being able to ski (snow) and I said that I do but if I never got to ski again it would not bother me however the thought of not being able to mountain bike would be devastating.
I enjoy the physical effort up and down. I love being in nature. I enjoy the solace of a solo ride. I love the camaraderie of a group of like minded people when riding with a group. I love the banter. I love turning up somewhere new and being welcomed by strangers and shown around their trails. I enjoy reciprocating this on my home trails. I get a thrill watching my wife challenge herself on what many would consider easy trails. Travelling together with our bikes is awesome. I appreciate the positive effects on my mental health one ride can make. And I really enjoy a post ride beer.

 

[The Reverend]

Whilst I'm questioning it a bit at the moment after injury and stupid crashes recently, it's something I've done and enjoyed for the following reasons.

Connecting with mates,
Being outside
Physical effort and exercise
The thrill of descending
Focus + being present
Newness and exciting new trails + locations
Feeling a well sorted bike under you.

It's always a balance though,
Risk
Expense of broken / damaged kit
Suffering climbs when something isn't right
Injury


The pros usually outweigh the cons thankfully..

 

[Sethius]

Easier than running.
Less likely to do stupid shit in the car.
If I can crash, it's my fault and no horse/other factor to blame.
See cool places others won't.
Because it's fun.

 

[Coopz]

I like getting off the beating track. Mtbs are a great exercise platform and despite a few big stacks I still think they are safer than road bikes (and 10x more fun).

 

[ForkinGreat]

I like getting off the beating track. Mtbs are a great exercise platform and despite a few big stacks I still think they are safer than road bikes (and 10x more fun).

Interesting, I've had a number of hard stacks on the MTB resulting in hospitalization, and none on the road bike. maybe I've just been fortunate, but I believe a lot of it is being sensible and managing risk factors, and riding defensively - expect every vehicle to do something stupid or just not see you.

There's risk with both, you can die on both. No elbow and knee pads on the road bike, but there is the possibility of that one time that I might leave a bunch of skin on asphalt and get bruised pretty badly, or some khunt plow though me and it's game over. I know there are some roads I just won't ride, due to lots of blind corners, habitually wet, worn and shiny surface, lack of sealed shoulders etc etc
Pick your time, pick your road, pick your conditions....

Both require concentration. You can't be "somewhere else"

 

[Shorsau]

I’ve spent pretty much the last two decades (up until covid hit) living and working in Indonesia and whilst I kept myself relatively fit, I hadn’t ridden a bike whilst living up there. I started working from home in Adelaide in Feb 2020 and am still plugging away at it until now.
I bought an old ATX 2 in 2020 and started riding on the beaches here to exercise my pup and to get out of the house. I’ve never done any DH and at 55 am too old to learn now, but I recently bought a Ti hardtail and am slowly building the km up on trails, feeling the benefits from it daily. It’s been a godsend to have cycling as an interest for me as it is truly a time for clearing the head and thinking things through.

 

[yuley95]

I really enjoy riding as it helps me clear my head and not think about what’s bothering me, and only concentrate on what’s in front of me.

This is the number one things for me. The cool things is there is lots of others too.
I think the regular connection with bush/nature is really good for my mental health and is really good for perspective and reminding yourself of what’s beautiful in the world (while a bunch of ugly shit swamps us at every other turn)
I love challenging myself to clear sections or jumps/drops and sometimes it takes me a while to get there but it’s always so satisfying. I think there is a saying about ‘do one thing that scares you each day’ which i think has something to it. I probably dont do something that scares me each day but every now and then, i overcome a pretty significant fear to hit a feature that my logical brain know’s i can almost certainly probably maybe do. And when i land, I’m always stoked and i reckon i take that with me in to other parts of my life.
Then there’s the tinkering and doing practical things with my hands. My job is comms and advocacy. It’s more intangible sort of stuff so servicing my fork lowers or building a wheel can be really rewarding.
I often ride alone as not many of my mates ride but there are a couple and getting to hang out with them and talk shit while riding bikes is always fun.

 

[Sethius]

Interesting, I've had a number of hard stacks on the MTB resulting in hospitalization, and none on the road bike. maybe I've just been fortunate, but I believe a lot of it is being sensible and managing risk factors, and riding defensively - expect every vehicle to do something stupid or just not see you.

There's risk with both, you can die on both. No elbow and knee pads on the road bike, but there is the possibility of that one time that I might leave a bunch of skin on asphalt and get bruised pretty badly, or some khunt plow though me and it's game over. I know there are some roads I just won't ride, due to lots of blind corners, habitually wet, worn and shiny surface, lack of sealed shoulders etc etc
Pick your time, pick your road, pick your conditions....

Both require concentration. You can't "be somewhere else"

Couldn't do road. Used to run a shop in Geelong. 100 percent of staff had been hit by a driver. Best one I saw, driver shaving her legs whilst changing between her phone, razor and coffee. Breaky bowl whilst driving was common too coming in from Torquay.

 

[ForkinGreat]

Couldn't do road. Used to run a shop in Geelong. 100 percent of staff had been hit by a driver. Best one I saw, driver shaving her legs whilst changing between her phone, razor and coffee. Breaky bowl whilst driving was common too coming in from Torquay.

100% understand.
It never fails to blow my mind at what selfish, stupid cunts people can be.

If someone kills another road user because they were texting, eating or whatever, that person should have their driver licence revoked permanently AND go to jail.

 

[rextheute]

I just like riding my bike , it forces you to focus on the present .
Sometimes you can lose track of time and just go with where the trail may take you ( flow )
- wanky but you know what I mean .

It also takes me back to being a child and just going where I want without having to concern myself with being somewhere else .

Come home , sweaty , scratched and tired , but so happy

 

[Scotty T]

Humans have still not invented anything better than a bicycle.

When I got my first geared bike at 18, I was looking at a road bike, but our local shop said I should get a mountain bike because it still had gears so I could ride it long distances for transport but also ride on dirt tracks. Best decision ever.

Edit: to answer the question more directly, I ride for fun, and it's just what I've always done.

 

[caad9]

I have ridden bikes in all forms for my entire life and at various stages I have loved riding them for different reasons.

I'm now in the back half of my 30's and I would say the feeling of freedom a bike offers is the one constant throughout the years.
There is very minimal constraint on it.

With kids to work around now, I lean on nature for the escape, however that has always been present, it just feels more important when the opportunities are limited.

 

[Plankosaurus]

all of the above, and i've probably ended up a whole lot less dead than i would have if i kept riding motorbikes *

* a good mid week solo XC ride is excellent for brain decompression

* a weekend shuttle with some mates gets the blood pumping and releases tension

* a solid stack helps you remember you've got finite time to have fun (until we upload into the matrix...)

* taking kids out for a ride, any ride, any time, shows you how good life can be when all that enthusiasm bubbles over the top of the pot

and the fitness and wellbeing all that ties together is priceless. I've gone through a few phases, havn't stuck out any of them anywhere near this long.

 

[gippyz]

For the thrill and relaxation (in nature). I don’t ride for the fitness as it takes much less time to do that on a roadie or by running. My work is fun but extremely stressful. I finish most weeks in cranky mood mainly because of work and the lack of time to decompress throughout the week. MTB is perfect as I’m in nature, away from all the bad shit in life, no cars and drivers to argue with, and have to focus on the stuff in front of me 100% if I don’t want to stack. Also, that feeling of having conquered a hard feature is sooooo addictive.

 

[Squidfayce]

to give me a reason to get out into nature. I feel like going somewhere for a walk feels a bit wasted. Going for a ride through, I'll drive wherever. Like a number of people it ticks a lot of positive boxes. Mental health, exercise, nature appreciation, getting some D (vitamin, that is).

 

[frenchman]

To egg on my mates to do dumb shit and be outside their comfort zone. Seeing someone Riding away from a death case or somehow surviving a massive overshoot without dying is the absolute best.