FINDING FREEDOM AND ADVENTURE BY BIKE
If you think back to why you started mountain biking, or just riding any bike, what was the driver? For riders who picked up a bike later in life, it may have been for fitness or for socialising. It could even be for competition, if you’re a runner with knees that are blown out but you still have a competitive urge. But for a lot of us, when we started riding bikes when we were younger, it was freedom. Freedom to get places on our own, to go further than we may be foot, and freedom to experiment as well.
Bikes and cycling can be all these things. They’re a reason to see friends and be social, a way to improve or maintain fitness, and there are countless ways to be competitive on a bike. But freedom is at the core for why so many people ride. Bikes have been used as symbol for freedom for a long time, and it is easy to see why. Once we are in the saddle of a bicycle, we dictate everything that lies ahead. We choose the trail, we choose the pace. We choose when to stop, and when to push
