Mountain biking, not just a sport

"If you ride a bike, you're my friend."  

                  

     Gary Fisher (inventor of the mountain bike)

Mountain biking is the sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain.

Mountain biking can generally be broken down into multiple categories: cross country, trail riding, all mountain, downhill, freeride and dirt jumping. Although the majority of mountain biking falls into the categories of Trail and Cross Country riding styles.

Mountain biking can be performed almost anywhere from a back yard to a gravel road, but the majority of mountain bikers ride off-road trails, whether country back roads, fire roads, or singletrack.

Why mountain riders are unique?

Because riders are often far from civilization, there is a strong ethic of self-reliance in the sport. Riders learn to repair their broken bikes or flat tires to avoid being stranded miles from help. Many riders will carry a backpack, including a water bladder, containing all the essential tools and equipment for trailside repairs, and many riders also carry emergency supplies in the case of injury miles from outside help.

 

Equipment and Gear (Basic)

• Bike: Mountain bikes differ from other bikes, primarily in that they incorporate features aimed at increasing durability and improving performance in rough terrain. Most modern mountain bikes have some kind of suspension, 26, 27.5 or 29 inch diameter tires, usually between 1.7 to 2.5 inches in width, and a wider, flat or upwardly-rising handlebar that allows a more upright riding position, giving the rider more control.  
• Gloves differ from road touring gloves, are made of heavier construction, and often have covered thumbs or all fingers covered for hand protection. 
• Glasses with little or no difference from those used in other cycling sports, help protect against debris while on the trail. Filtered lenses, whether yellow for cloudy days or shaded for sunny days, protect the eyes from strain.
• Shoes generally have gripping soles similar to those of hiking boots for scrambling over un-ridable obstacles, unlike the smooth-bottomed shoes used in road cycling.
• Body armor and pads, often referred to simply as "armor", protect limbs and trunk in the event of a crash.
• Helmets provide important head protection.
• Hydration Systems are important for mountain bikers in the backcountry, ranging from simple water bottles to water bags with drinking tubes in lightweight backpacks (camelback)
• GPS navigation device sometimes added to the handlebars and is used to display and monitor progress on trails downloaded from the internet or pre-made mapping systems, record trails on the fly, and keep track of trip times and other data.
• Pump to inflate flat tires.
• High-power lights based on LED technology

 Types of mountain biking

• Cross-Country (XC) generally means riding point-to-point or in a loop including climbs and descents on a variety of terrain.
• All-mountain/Enduro (AM) bike category typically provides 125-170 millimeters of rear and front suspension travel and stronger components than XC models, while still providing overall weight suitable for climbing and descending on a variety of terrain.  
• Downhill (DH) is, in the most general sense, riding mountain bikes downhill. The rider commonly travels to the point of descent by other means than cycling, such as a ski lift or automobile, as the weight of the downhill mountain bike often precludes any serious climbing.
• Four-cross (4X) is a sport in which riders compete either on separate tracks, as in Dual Slalom, or on a short slalom track, as in 4X.  
• Freeride, as the name suggests is a 'do anything' discipline that encompasses everything from downhill racing without the clock to jumping .
• Dirt Jumping (DJ) is one of the names given to the practice of riding bikes over shaped mounds of dirt or soil and becoming airborne.  
• Trials riding consists of hopping and jumping bikes over obstacles, without touching a foot onto the ground.  
• Mountain Bike Touring or Marathon is long distance touring on dirt roads and single track with a mountain bike.  

 

 INJURIES

Injuries are a given factor when mountain biking, especially in the more extreme disciplines such as downhill biking. Injuries range from minor wounds, such as cuts and abrasions from falls on gravel or other surfaces, to major injuries such as broken bones, head or spinal injuries resulting from impacts with rocks, trees or the terrain being ridden on.Protective equipment can protect against minor injuries and reduce the extent or seriousness of major impacts, but may not protect a rider from major impacts or accidents.

 

Altough this sport represents a wave of risk, not preventing the large number of fans that exists around the world, because every day that a cyclist out for a ride on his bicycle recognizes the world differently, can see unknown landscapes, experiences never lived and above all, you can save each time within your mind and heart as if every time I left out the last time you did.

I only can say for my experience, that not all gopro can save special moments.