I initially started mountain biking several years ago. I took the sport up because I’d stopped racing motocross and still wanted to get my adrenaline rush somehow.
In the beginning of my riding career, I rode an XC bike; mostly because there really wasn’t much in the form of great downhill bikes on the market yet. Back then, a trick bike might have cantilever brakes, 18 speeds, and perhaps two inches of travel. Obviously, they didn’t cost nearly what they do today, either.
As you might have guessed, the bikes were simple back then since the trails were basic, too. No big hucks and stunts like we have these days. Instead, nice single track was little more than a nice trail using the occasional log to ride over.
As the sport developed, bikes and trails improved in tandem. As suspension got bigger, so did the drops. In the area where I grew up, we were also blessed to have the Whistler Bike park less than 2 hours away.
The Whistler bike park might be the premier bike park available anywhere. They’ve been making trails there now for more than ten years and each and every year the park expands. Attendance also keeps climbing and the bike manufacturers are well mindful of this; hence why the bicycles keep improving each year.
Without the Whistler Bike Park, Im uncertain that I would have become such a fan of downhill riding. For the period I was out of Motocross, downhill definitely helped me to get my need for speed!
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