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There has been a lot of talk throughout the years about the title mountain biking and whether someone who doesn’t ride in the mountains can claim to be a mountain biker. To answer this, let’s look to The American Heritage College Dictionary for the definition of ‘mountain’.
“Mountain—A natural elevation of the Earth’s surface having considerable mass, generally steep sides, and a height greater than that of a hill.”
This definition gives some validity to the non-‘mountain state’ riders who call themselves mountain bikers. I claim to be a mountain biker and I ride trails where the only elevation you encounter is the occasional river rock that jumps out of the water at you and tries to get you wet. I have ridden in the Rocky Mountains, which are enormously larger than the normal hills here in Michigan, but, I work just as hard here as I do out there. I would challenge any ‘mountain state’ mountain biker to come and ride at Owasippe in Western Michigan and see if there is, as the dictionary defines, a considerable mass that has generally steep sides and heights greater than that of a hill. As far as I’m concerned the majority of mountain bike trails in any state has raised elevations, winding paths, and requires that the rider be in some degree of shape (other than round). Folks, let’s spend more time riding our bikes and less time flapping our jaws at who can or can not call themselves a mountain biker.
Besides off-pavement bicyclist just doesn’t sound as cool.
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