I have to admit something. I absolutely love mountain biking. I started my illustrious biking hobby back in 2010 mostly due to a friend in my neighborhood who was (and still is) way into road biking. So I picked up a really cheap Schwinn road bike and started to get out a little and found that I actually enjoyed it. Not long after that I sold the Schwinn and picked up a used KHS road bike, with a little better components. I entered a couple of organized races and even rode in a relay from Salt Lake City to St George. Then winter came and then I deployed for six months. Before I deployed I had grand visions of doing all sorts of road bike rides/races when I got back so I bought a full carbon Raleigh the day after Thanksgiving and let it gather dust in my garage. I managed to sell my KHS to a friend who wanted to try out biking.
Some time back in either 2005 or 2006 I bought a decent mountain bike (for my skill level). It was definitely entry level but it worked fine for the once a year trip to Moab with my brother and our friends. Well, while I was deployed I was introduced to the world famous, award winning blog of Elden Nelson, AKA Fatty. I spent a lot of time reading Fatty’s blog and came to be interested in mountain biking through his stories. Here was a guy who did both road and mountain biking.
Fast forward to my return from deployment and I quickly started to scour the classifieds in search of a more advanced mountain bike. It didn’t take me too long to find it. A really nice looking Giant VT2, surely a full-suspension work of art. I still went out riding on my Raleigh but didn’t have much time to enter into anything structured. I managed to get out a couple of times on my mountain bike before winter hit in full force and I quickly discovered that I enjoyed the different challenges that comes with mountain biking.
Spring (2013) soon came and we made our annual pilgrimage to Moab, including two new riders, Chase and Justin. This trip is really what I consider my “conversion and baptism” into mountain biking. I felt like I had already had a bunch of MTB experiences by reading Fatty’s blog but to actually get out and ride trails I had never tried before was something entirely different…definitely an awakening in my soul. My Giant performed well despite having a broken shock mount bolt and a blown rear shock. After that trip I was hooked and committed.
I managed to enter four different MTB races in Utah through spring and summer 2013. As exhausting as each race was I still had a blast. After the racing season ended I decided that my Raleigh road bike was no longer the type of bike I needed or wanted so I put it up for sale and managed to get almost what I paid for it. The next decision I had to make was what to do with the money from the Raleigh. I still wanted to do some road biking so I quickly found a Specialized Allez Sport for a decent price. Here I was back to an entry level road bike, but really I didn’t care. It is still light years ahead of the original Schwinn. I was torn on whether I wanted to invest a bunch of money into my Giant or try to sell it and get a new bike. For the most part I was happy with the Giant but there was a part of me that wanted a newer bike. Deep down inside what I really wanted was a new 27.5” bike but I knew the price was way too much so I pretty much dismissed the desire. I decided to keep the Giant and just invest in fixing it up so I started to order a bunch of new parts- cassette, chain, shifter, dropper seat post, bash guard. Literally while most of the parts were being shipped, I found the most amazing deal on a brand new Rocky Mountain Altitude 27.5” full-suspension bike. Long story short, I managed to buy the Rocky Mountain and sell the Giant and either return or sell the parts I ordered.
So why the long story about my biking addiction? Mostly I want to document how and why I became the MTB addict that I am today. Unlike other types of addiction, I say that with an absolute smile on my face even as I think about how I can get in more riding before the snow hits.
