Why I shouldn't (or should) be a roadie.

I've recently been doing mostly MTB trails riding instead or road riding
(due to moving 5 minutes away from the Bunya State Forest & I just couldn't
resist) but I've started to wonder in view of the increasing numbers of
psychopaths & druggies on the road (http://tinyurl.com/ysvoxg) why I just
don't stick to the trails all of the time?
Offroad also has these advantages:
* I don't have to get up early to beat traffic.
* Wind speed or direction isn't a factor because I'm shielded by bush and
traveling too slow most of the time for it to be too much of an assist or
nuisance anyway.
* I'm probably 10 times more likely to have a spill offroad but the injuries
are likely to be 10 times less severe.
* I can wear a camelback and still be a scene queen. :-)
* Less likely to get punctures from bogan droppings

I grew up riding on the road so I'm not frightened in traffic or anything
like that but common sense tells me that stuff happens. However, I really
enjoy road riding. Yes, I love the bikes and I love the thrill of the faster
speed but I can get that from MTBs to a similar extent so I'm not completely
sure what the attraction is. I just know that it's there and won't be easy
to shake (if I wanted to).
I was going to buy a reasonable quality road bike when I reach my weight
loss goal but I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a higher
end MTB instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and have
a choice.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

On Mar 29, 5:26 pm, "OzCableguy" wrote:
I've recently been doing mostly MTB trails riding instead or road riding
(due to moving 5 minutes away from the Bunya State Forest & I just couldn't
resist) but I've started to wonder in view of the increasing numbers of
psychopaths & druggies on the road (http://tinyurl.com/ysvoxg) why I just
don't stick to the trails all of the time?
Offroad also has these advantages:
* I don't have to get up early to beat traffic.
* Wind speed or direction isn't a factor because I'm shielded by bush and
traveling too slow most of the time for it to be too much of an assist or
nuisance anyway.
* I'm probably 10 times more likely to have a spill offroad but the injuries
are likely to be 10 times less severe.
* I can wear a camelback and still be a scene queen. :-)
* Less likely to get punctures from bogan droppings

I grew up riding on the road so I'm not frightened in traffic or anything
like that but common sense tells me that stuff happens. However, I really
enjoy road riding. Yes, I love the bikes and I love the thrill of the faster
speed but I can get that from MTBs to a similar extent so I'm not completely
sure what the attraction is. I just know that it's there and won't be easy
to shake (if I wanted to).
I was going to buy a reasonable quality road bike when I reach my weight
loss goal but I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a higher
end MTB instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and have
a choice.

What do you enjoy the most? That's the key. I ride both (and track)
and prefer road, but YMWV

I was going to buy a reasonable quality road bike when I reach my weight
loss goal but I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a higher
end MTB instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and have
a choice.


Buy a good bike of each kind and you will enjoy both even more. I do
both and it's 'horses for courses'. I find the fitness/exercise regime
easier to manage with road riding, but then I have very quite country
roads to do it on so it's much easier.
Halcyon

On Mar 29, 6:10 pm, Halcyon wrote:
I was going to buy a reasonable quality road bike when I reach my weight
loss goal but I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a higher
end MTB instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and have
a choice.

Buy a good bike of each kind and you will enjoy both even more. I do
both and it's 'horses for courses'. I find the fitness/exercise regime
easier to manage with road riding, but then I have very quite country
roads to do it on so it's much easier.
Halcyon

Yep, get both, then look for the variants - SS/fixie roadie, duallie
etc. You can't have enough bikes.

OzCableguy asks -

I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a higher end MTB
instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and
have a choice.


Your choice, dear boy.

Language is however important and some useful acquired language from the
trails is attached - best, Andrew (who carries some of these scars)


A Concise Dictionary of Mountain Biking



Acro-Brat n a little kid who rides trails considerably better than you ,

Air n. space between the tires and the ground - both tires must be off
the ground or it isn't "air"; said to be caught or gotten; large amounts
of air = sky

Auger v. to involuntarily take samples of the local geology, usually with
one's face - synonyms include -

Face plant

Soil sampling

Cranial disharmony

Horizontal track stand

Gravity assisted rapid dismount

Bacon n. scabs on a rider's knees, elbows, or other body parts.

Banana scraper n. low hanging branches, that redistribute by smearing any
food in your jersey pockets when you don't duck low enough

Boing-Boing n. a bike with full (front and rear) suspension; often
derogatory and offered by those with lesser amounts of suspension

Brand Whore n. a rider that will only buy high-end parts/gear with name
recognition - never seen with a generic or unbranded product, especially
clothing.

Bring Home A Christmas Tree v. to ride (or crash) through dense bushes,
so adding leaves twigs and branches to your apparel helmet and ears

Captain Crash n. a likely participant for a gravity assisted rapid
dismount, often presents with Bacon and a Sharkbite

Clotheslined v. the act of catching an upper body part (e.g. the neck) on
a low piece of vegetation, resulting in sudden separation of the rider from
their bike.

Death Cookies n. fist-sized rocks that knock your front wheel bike in
every direction but the one you want to proceed in.

Death March n. form of exercise that tests just exactly where you reach
utter exhaustion - first popularised in Bataan in WW2.

Fair Grunt n. an expression exclusively used nonchalantly by survivors of
a Death March, in hopes others will try it, fail, and revere them as bike
gods.

Foot Fault n. when a rider forgets to or can't disengage his cleats from
the pedals before falling over. See Horizontal Track Stand

Gutter Bunny n. a mountain bike rider who commutes on road, rather than
riding off road.

Honk v. violent expectoration of stomach content due to cycling exertion.

Impedimenta n. all the junk sold with a bike that impedes performance and
looks bad - such as those silly reflectors in the spokes. Quickly and
effectively removed with a Yard Sale.

JRA - expression universally adopted by those making warranty claims, often
presenting with a bike frame in 3 or more pieces and with only some parts of
the fork - acronym for "I was Just Riding Along when"

Mo n. momentum. "Aw, don't use your brakes on this - you'll lose too much
Mo."

Organ Donor n. rider without a helmet.

POD n. = Potential Organ Donor

'rhoid buffing v. descending a very steep hill and hanging your backside
over the rear wheel for balance offers the opportunity of polishing your
butt with the knobblies

Rockwell adj. the Moh scale of hardness applied to mountain biking -
measured by depth of scratches on metal or the number of stiches in flesh.

Sharkbite n. the mark that your large chainring makes in your calf or
other exposed body parts - impression often improved by getting grease in
the wound creating a semi permanent tattoo.

Snowmine n . an object hidden by snow on the trail

Spider Patrol n. the lead riders, always first to run into monster spider
webs.

Vegetable Tunnel n. path often chosen by the Spider Patrol heavily
overgrown with foliage; may or may not be the trail; often presents an
excellent opportunity to Bring Home A Christmas Tree.

VTT n. Velo Tout-Terrain, the French term for mountain biking; more
sophisticated than bush bashing

Vultures n. spectators who line up at dangerous obstacles in hopes of
seeing blood.

Wild Pigs n. poorly adjusted brake pads, as in "sounds like ...".

Yard Sale n. a horrendous crash that leaves all your various "wares" --
water bottles, lights, pump, tool bag, et al scattered up and down the trail
for some distance, as if on a widely arrayed display to attract passing
trade

OzCableguy Wrote:
I've recently been doing mostly MTB trails riding instead or road riding
(due to moving 5 minutes away from the Bunya State Forest & I just
couldn't
resist) but I've started to wonder in view of the increasing numbers of
psychopaths & druggies on the road (http://tinyurl.com/ysvoxg) why I
just
don't stick to the trails all of the time?
Offroad also has these advantages:
* I don't have to get up early to beat traffic.
* Wind speed or direction isn't a factor because I'm shielded by bush
and
traveling too slow most of the time for it to be too much of an assist
or
nuisance anyway.
* I'm probably 10 times more likely to have a spill offroad but the
injuries
are likely to be 10 times less severe.
* I can wear a camelback and still be a scene queen. :-)
* Less likely to get punctures from bogan droppings

I grew up riding on the road so I'm not frightened in traffic or
anything
like that but common sense tells me that stuff happens. However, I
really
enjoy road riding. Yes, I love the bikes and I love the thrill of the
faster
speed but I can get that from MTBs to a similar extent so I'm not
completely
sure what the attraction is. I just know that it's there and won't be
easy
to shake (if I wanted to).
I was going to buy a reasonable quality road bike when I reach my
weight
loss goal but I'm starting to think maybe I should be looking at a
higher
end MTB instead. I'd be interested to hear any thoughts on which code
other
cyclists prefer and why, assuming of course you have access to both and
have
a choice.

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com
I was riding MTB before I started road, and I still generally prefer
MTB riding. I have a fairly nice roady (older frame w/Ultegra bits), so
I don't feel bike quality is affecting my opinions. MTBing is just more
my thing. That said, I get out on the roady quite often as there is
nothing like going for a nice long hill ride on back roads with the MP3
player going.

I think the answer is to get both a roady and upgrade your MTB . What
are you riding at the moment, and do you feel it is holding you back? It
might just be because I race MTB whereas my road riding is basically
just training, but I tend to notice more difference upgrading my MTB
than the roady. As long as it works and is comfy I'm not really fussed
about the weight or other small performance benefits. If I had a few
thousand to buy a roady I'd probably go Tiagra level and spend the rest
on my MTB.


--
SomeGuy

On Thu, 29 Mar 2007 07:26:19 GMT, "OzCableguy"
wrote:

* I'm probably 10 times more likely to have a spill offroad but the injuries
are likely to be 10 times less severe.

Are there going to be people around if you have a bad one?
Traffic has its pluses.

"Donga" wrote in message
ups.com...
Yep, get both, then look for the variants - SS/fixie roadie, duallie
etc. You can't have enough bikes.


I like the way you think... ;-)

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

"Andrew Price" wrote in message
...

Language is however important and some useful acquired language from the
trails is attached - best, Andrew (who carries some of these scars)


A Concise Dictionary of Mountain Biking



Gold!

--
www.ozcableguy.com
www.oztechnologies.com

OzCableguy Wrote:


I like the way you think... ;-)

N + 1

i.e.: Man's gotta have a hobby. Correction, a Woman has gotta have a
hobby.


--
cfsmtb