Before MTbiking the best sport EVER "What did you do"

I road raced before I took up mountain biking. Started with my '89 Katana 750 commuter then raced my '91 GSX-R 750 for a year. I probably would have stayed with it but working two jobs at the time it was too much to spend a full weekend racing.
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Motocross for me. I grew up racing, realized I would never be a top pro so I quit when I got into college. I mountain biked for a bit after college but soon got back into moto and was racing quite a bit and going faster than when I was a kid (not sure how that happens).

Then I had a bad injury (broken neck). This pic was taken about 10 minutes before I went OTB at Glen Helen and woke up 10+ minutes later with a bad pain in my arm from the neck injury (neck never hurt).

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I started road cycling during my recovery and REALLY enjoyed it. Slowly I got more into it and started doing events that would challenge me (centuries, etc). I realized I sucked at climbing so I got a mountain bike to get good at the long sustained climbs. Once I heard about VQ a week before that years even and I knew that was the next challenge. Eventhough I could not make it up B* without stopping, vowed to sign up and finish the following April. The following year I made the finish without too many issues.... and I was hooked. Then came Over the Hump, Kenda Cup, Rwanda, etc and the rest is history.

A few pics from my many come backs.
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Oh and a new dirtbike may be in my future. I've got a big itch lately.
 
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I grew up a swimmer. From age 3 to 40 I swam competitively, both in the pool and open water. Swam D1 in college and also coached, some college and kids but mostly Masters (18+). Don't think I have any good pictures of that.

As a kid always rode bikes, that's how we all got around. Had some BMX (never raced) and some 10 speeds.
In high school my best friend's brother in law came out with these mountain bikes and I ended up buying one of that first year bikes. Wish I still had that classic that I bought directly from Sinyard out of his VW van.

Rode that around a bit and used it as my college bike.

Only really got into MTB about 10 years ago after basically quitting the swimming gig.
 
Ski racer in high school, college and Masters (i.e. has-beens and never was-es). Claim to fame? All conference collegiate Slalom and GS 1984, 85. Silver medal in Slalom in Masters Nationals (in my age division - 30-39) Breckenridge - 1997. Bronze in Worlds Masters Criterium SL in age group - Copper Mt. CO 1997. Last ski race was in 2003.

That's why I like to turn and go fast in sketchy conditions - and also why I can't jump worth a crap.

Whitewater Kayaking, Ice Hockey, Soccer, Tennis, Golf, Surf, Skateboards, Snowboarding, Guitar/Bass all held a high priority at one time or another in my life. No moto, no BMX.

This is a great thread. So many talents in your pasts/present!
 
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I was into road biking as a kid. I lived in the middle of nowhere, and it was the only way to get anywhere. I did my first century at 12 and kept doing them until I was 20 or so. I also played golf... 2 handicap by the time I went to college, and now I haven't swung a club in over 10 years!

Cross country skiing... That was easy to do growing up on Lake Erie. The damn thing was frozen part of the year... And provided a nice route to get away. And scuba diving when it wasn't frozen, and a few times when it was. You haven't lived until you've jumped through the ice. :thumbsup: Being on the lake, I always had boats: canoe, kayak, old ski boat, fishing boats... One of my favorites was to take the kayak out a couple miles and just watch the sunsets...

Fishing, hunting... basically anything outside. :thumbsup:

My back yard... I can remember when my neighbor put in that beach well in the center of the picture back in the 80s. o_O When I was a kid, I used to hit golf balls up and down the beach. If I was accurate, I kept the ball. :thumbsup: Many a memory on this beach...
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evdog said:
I did a lot of stream fishing for trout. And hiking/backpacking. Played hockey in the winter.
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You sound like me or Steve. As a kid growing up in the MidWest my sports depending on the season. In the summer I was on swim team, in the fall I played football, in the winter I played hockey. If I wanted to go anywhere, I rode my ten-speed Schwinn. I belonged to an amazing scout troop that would go canoeing or camping throughout the area; I have camped on islands in the middle of Lake Michigan, backpacked in New Mexico, canoed the Wisconsin River, tapped sugar maple trees for syrup and slept in dairy cattle barns, etc. I didn't realize how "rural" my upbringing was until I talk to my kids about it. I tell them about playing hide and seek in corn fields, or making forts in leaf piles, or sliding on ice through street culverts under the roads... and they have no concept of what I am talking about :)
 
I was a team sport kid....didn't play organized sports....but I always had a baseball, basketball, football in my hand. I was a skater for a while....was also a bmx'er for a while. Even turned into a gym rat for a while. Played raquetball daily for several years.

I always was active in one way or another.....never a couch potato.

Picked up mtn biking in 1994.....and it was history from there.
 
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