Mountain Biking

Mountain Biking

Overview

Mountain biking is a extreme sport. It is a hybrid between motocross and BMX riding. It is by far my Favorite sport. Riders love to build there own jumps and ride them with buddies all day until its too dark

History

Mountain biking originanated in Kamloops BC. The original riders include Wade Simmons, Brett Tippie and Riche Schley. All of these riders still ride today. The person who invented the mountain bike is very debatable as many have claimed it.

Rules

While there is no written rules in Mountain Biking there is many unwritten rules that riders need to respect. • Respect the Trails or Jumps• Fix what you destroy• Be respectful of others and there ridingThere are many race events and slopestyle events that have there own specific rules. Weather it be the type of armor or how you are judged it can change

Types of Bikes

The type of riding you like to do can drastically change the bike you ride• Dirt Jumping – Only suspension in the front (around 4 inches), one brake,

one gear• Slopestyle – Suspension front and rear (4 inches on both), 2 brakes, 5-6

gears• Cross Country – Suspension front and rear (5-6 Inches on both), 2 brakes

(20-30 gears)• Downhill - Suspension front and rear (8 inches on both), 2 brakes, 9-10

gears)

My three bikes for 2011 (Left to Right: Dirt Jump, Slope style, Downhill)

Safety

The safety equipment people use is personal preference. Many people use a lot and some use little. Full face helmets are becoming more and more popular and neck braces now available. Some people will wear shin and knee pads, and some people will wear just knee pads. Its all what people choose to wear

Safety Issues

Mountain biking is an extreme sport. The risk is very high. Getting hurt is constantly an issue. I have gotten 2 concussions, broke both feet and broken my leg. The sport is just so fun I couldn’t stop. The energy rush of flying through the air can not be compared to anything else for me

Where to ride

There are many places to ride your bike. The forest seems to be the most popular. There are many developed trail networks all over Kelowna. There is also a bike park. Many secret locations also exist.

Types of Riders

Mountain biking is a very diverse sport. There are the weekend warriors who just ride for fun, Tuesday night cross country riders who like the exercise. The dirt jumps who build jumps and ride. Downhillers require shuttles or chairlifts and the free riders that ride skinnies.

Proper Technique

When riding something new you always want to make sure you know what your riding before you ride. If you go off something blind you could end up in trouble

Style

Developing style into your riding is something that many riders strive to do. Maintaining proper bike control while riding makes your riding fun as you develop skill to move your bike around and be more playfull

Tricks

Riders add in tricks to what they do for fun and to train for competitions. There are so many tricks that everyone does there own unique moves. Many rides try really hard to just huck tricks everywhere which isn’t favored in competitions, you need to be a solid rider

Digging

Digging and maintaining jumps is some of the most important part of our sport. Most of the time nothing is given to us and we have to build it ourselves. Building gets you respect in the community and allows more opportunities. Some riders dig more than the ride. Its part of the sport so do it.

Sponsorship and Promotion

Many of the top riders have sponsors that give them budgets for travel and competitions. Being a sponsor rider for many Companies like Transition Bikes, Silver Star Bike Park, Deity Components and Cyclepath Kelowna I know my role in properly representing companies all over the World

Harrison Mendel 1st Place Junior Advanced (Top level for under 15)

Web Videos

After being injured I took up cinematography. Helping my friends out with videos on the internet to promote themselves. This is huge in mountain biking and the Videos produce a lot of viewsVideo of Me before injury and Silver Star Bike park (Red Jersey, Red Helmet, Green and Blue Bike)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ln-L8Al9JtE&feature=related

Video I produced of Jeremy Weiss Bas van Steenbergenhttp://www.pinkbike.com/video/233784/

Video I produced of Jeremy Weiss (filmed while in full leg cast and crutches)http://www.pinkbike.com/video/215968/

Credits

All photos in presentation of Harrison MendelPhotos by• Mike Kirk• Kai Wendt• Bryce Piwek• Matt Butterworth• Brad Walton• Laurence CE

Cinematography by • Harrison Mendel• Matt Butterworth