Scott Martin

Time to confess : I've been mountain biking a lot lately.

Besides making me want to ride in baggy clown shorts and call everybody "dude," the off-roading has done something else: dramatically improved my road riding. Maybe it would do the same for you.

The biggest change is in my descending. After a few trail rides spent careening down rocky, sandy cliff faces with my butt buzzing the rear knobby, no paved downhill can faze me.

I used to be a timid descender, forever losing ground on group road rides. But now I feel confident and in control. And when I get dropped on climbs, sometimes I actually catch up on the descents. That's nice.

Mountain biking has made me stronger, too. I've always lacked the ability to click into that next bigger gear and muscle up a steep pitch or across a growing gap.

In the dirt, though, I'm often forced to power a harder gear than I normally would. Sometimes it's the sketchy traction. Or the extreme terrain. Maybe I just don't have time to shift down without losing precious momentum. Whatever -- the more I ride off-road, the friendlier I get with those little cogs.

Finally, mountain biking keeps me mentally fresh for the road, my first love. Off-road, I can stay fit, wrestle with new skills, explore unknown trails and recharge my batteries.

When road riding calls me back, I appreciate its beauties even more: the lightweight elegance of my skinny-tire bike, the Zen of a perfectly grooved pedal stroke, the cat-and-mouse of pack riding, the sheer joy of gliding down a country lane on a warm summer evening.

Hmmm, something tells me I'm ready to get back on my road bike.

______________________________________ Tell Scott what to ride at scottmartin@roadbikerider.com

page mise en ligne le 3 juin 2004 par SVP

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