The Fun Factor

As RL and I were climbing Turnbull Canyon from the Whittier Side this past Saturday, another fellow mountain biker was riding behind us. He pretty much kept pace with us until RL slowed down a bit I kept going at the same pace. So then the guy asked me if RL was learning how to climb, to which I said no, we ride regularly. Then he goes onto saying how RL should be in better shape and should be powering through the climb and when he was RL’s age he was in top shape. So I told the dude that RL was riding on 4hrs of sleep and on a rig that is 10lbs heavier than he is used to, I then slowed down and stopped to wait for RL. The dude just kept on going.

So that got me thinking, WTF is it with some mountain bikers that think they are know-it-alls? Who the hell is that dude to be criticizing RL’s climbing abilities? If you are a regular reader, you know that the main premise of this site is recreational mountain biking, to me recreational=fun. We understand that our ‘relaxed vibe’ style is not for everyone, but every time we go out and ride, our main goal is to tear it up without killing ourselves, and that includes climbing a hill at a slower pace.

So to Mr. Spandex wearing mountain biker riding the Specialized Hardrock: Chill out, you may enjoy the ride….