I ride a hardtail. I used to ride and race mountain bikes all the time, but stopped when I moved to a more urban area where it takes 45-60 minutes to get to a trailhead. That said, I went riding with my mountain bike homies this weekend out in a small town PNW mountain bike haven and had a blast, as always. Despite having overall better fitness than the group, I am in terrible riding shape and have only logged probably 4-5 hours on my mountain bike in the two years I have owned it. I keep thinking I should invest in some better mtb shorts and a nicer (non-road) helmet, but the reality is that I probably won’t be on that bike again until fall.
Everyone should do it, if it interests them, and especially if you have friends to ride with. I think it’s important to keep interests diverse and something like mountain biking is a great way to develop some fitness you’ll never get skating. I don’t know about the rest of you, but in addition to frequently feeling burned out with skating, I must acknowledge that a day will come when I’m not going to able to skate at a relatively high level (for someone who sucks). It’s good to recruit other skills and talents in order to stay active and not fall into despair because you can’t or don’t want to skate. I know that I will lose my mind if I can’t be active in some way.
Lotta skaters getting into bikes lately. If you want to see what the top pros are riding, follow Golden Saddle on instagram.