Downhill Moutain Biking

Downhill mountain biking is a sport that has seen a blossoming in popularity over the past fifteen years. There are many different styles of mountain biking - cross country mountain biking, freeride mountain biking, single speed mountain biking, to name a few - but the rising popularity of extreme sports and the colorful personalities of some of its athletes has helped to shove downhill mountain biking into the mainstream sports consciousness of an international audience. Downhill mountain bikes, downhill mountain biking gear, downhill mountain bike pictures and movies, and downhill mountain bike magazines have all been marketed to satisfy the hunger of this audience.

Imiagine standing at the top of a ski trail in the summer time. There's no snow, but there is a huge hill stretching before you, winding down thousands of feet of altitude before it reaches level ground. Now, imagine that snow-less ski slope covered in logs, rocks, trees with thick, sinuous roots that jut out from the ground at odd angles, hidden holes and divets in the ground, escarpments that drop you 50 vertical feet before you meet the next patch of solid gruond, and mud sinkholes waiting to suck you in - this is what an ideal downhill moutnain biking course is like. Downhill mountain biking requires the utmost technical precision and athletic ability from the cyclist in order to navigate all these obstacles. Jumping, turning, sliding, skimming the ground, all while inching your downhill mountain bike down the mountain, faster and faster each minute, the downhill mountain biker must complete their run with speed and style. A clean downhill mountainbike run - one where the cyclist's feet never touch the ground - is ideal, and awarded points by judges in downhill mountain bike races and competitions. Downhill mountain bike races also focus on the speed it takes each cyclist to descend the trail - the fastest time wins - as well as the style in which each cyclist does so.

As you have probably guessed, downhill mountain biking is serious endeavor, not to be taken lighly.