Stoke Diminishment

Sasquatch9billion said:
Like when some a-hat on the freeway decides they’re brilliant because they decided to use the shoulder as a lane to bypass everyone.
Click to expand...
Good analogy.

I think it brings me back to my motorcycle days. There were always a few people who just had a ton of money they were willing to burn, and would love to spend it on making their motorcycle faster. Whether or not they were skilled, they just destroyed you down the straight and then acted all superior about it. I never minded losing to a superior rider. Hell, I finish in, or near last place in every XC race I do today. I don't mind losing. I just hated losing to smug people who bought their way to victory (those same people often cheated, and at some point would get caught).
 
Danimal said:
MTBR is still around?
Click to expand...
OH yeah, going strong. Lots of information on that site!! Been on that site for years.

As for our situation, as @Walleye stated its good to hear from many different hooligans and see their exploits or whatever the topic is! I think snake said something about being kids here. When I get on the bike and ride with some of you guys I feel like a KID again!!! It's a great escape, to joke around , give ea other a hard time, etc. That's what happens here when we post stuff. I think @Mikie has that spirit of fun, and not taking ea other so serious! Hope we can encourage others to come back, and let's do more group rides dang it!!!
 
Sidewalk said:
I have become more and more introverted over the past few years. I am less miserable now. I pop on here once in a while and look, but that's about it. I really don't want to socialize.

I make less and less stuff public on Strava. And really, the only reason I still use it is because I track my mileage on equipment because I am OCD about stuff.


I stopped posting on there after I got a warning, or temp ban, after posting something that was an irrefutable fact (not an opinion), but it wasn't popular with some people so must have been reported.

If facts aren't welcome, than neither am I.


I always leave that stuff public on my social media. Let them be a fool for all to see.

I wish I wasn't like this, but eBikes have diminished the enjoyment I get out of riding. If they are around, it ruins my ride.
Click to expand...
I appreciate your honesty on all fronts.

Fortunately for me, I don't get too agitated about the mo-peds. Unless they are doing something extra douchy. Their existence does give me a smug sense of superiority (un-earned and undeserved, but I feel it nonetheless). Hey - we all gotta feel validated somehow, right?

How about we all start posting up some of our favorite pics of former Hooligans and Hooligals on this thread.
 
Probably the funniest series of posts was when Chris P Bacon joined the site back in 2014 or so.

Rox Mark and Me.JPG

That was Shitty...
 
Hi!
(The following is great sitting on the toilet reading material)…
Thanks for a very important thread @Walleye!

My name is @Mikie! And I started this Site September 9th 2013.
I hand built the original Site using some cheesey free app in effort to create a new mtb forum experience. I was mostly competing with So Cal Trail Riders because I felt the user experience was going downhill fast (pun intended).
There were Trail Nazis, Helmet Nazis, Skid Nazis, Nazi Nazis, you name it. People were flaming others and getting flamed for flaming others.

So when people slowly started joining imtbtrails the golden rule was… well, the golden rule, and, it was golden. :inlove:

The honeymoon lasted about 7 years (hmmm, anyone ever hear of the 7 year itch? It’s a term that started when divorce became socially accepted and popular).
We had all types of stuff to talk about. But like @herzalot stated, how many times can you discuss chain lube?

For me, violators of no personal attacks, politics, eBikes, and even at times religion got the best of me. The day of my drunk and disorderly rage rant personally offended some to the point they left, or… drove a wedge to this day. Personally… I have never recovered from that and have since felt like an outsider on my own Site. I will forever apologize for that major void in my leadership. I broke a major golden rule in my own leadership training that I taught at Northrop Grumman (Never get Angry, Never Make It Personal).

The straw that broke the imtbtrails back was Covid. Take the vaccine, don’t take the vaccine, and quarantines. It was so in our face it was unavoidable, both politically on the site as well as physically without group rides. We traded trail invites for selective texting and then posted up in “I Rode My Bike”. Many felt left out.

We have lost that Group Ride vibe. :(

To be honest, I got so depressed about the Site I asked @Faust29 to Administrate. Bad actors on the Site had just wore me down. Never a good time when you have to correct your friends or even worse… ban them. :cry:

I have had several companies reach out asking to purchase the Site and I would tell them to Eff off as this was more than a Forum, it’s family! However, the last few years, I actually considered it.

With the recent lay off and forced retirement, the outpouring of funds to maintain the Site was overwhelming. It actually rekindled some stoke and I started capturing video of my trail network.

In regards to the eBike thingy. As I mentioned before, two things happened. One, some of my close friends started riding them and I had to make a tough decision. Was I going to choose principle over my love for my friends? I decided over time that my love for my friends was greater than my hatred of eBikes. Two, the mountain bike vibe in Northwest Arkansas is huge and it is vast. Far beyond what it is in California. City planners make decisions based on how it contributes to the mtb community. Here, nobody cares what you ride, everyone is just stoked about mountain biking and everyone is big on trail etiquette. Most of the time I don’t even look to see what people are riding anymore. Group rides I observe are almost always a mixed bag of equipment.

Last…

If I have said it once, I have said it a dozen times. The magic to hold this Site together are Group Ride invites and Group Ride, Ride Reports. Nothing can take the place of face time on our favorite trails. As keyboard warriors it’s easy to lose that personal connection and makes it easier to disrupt Forum harmony.

The “I Rode My Bike” thread is a great thread but it is easy to get lazy and not post up a real ride report. Take the time to write ‘em! And readers? Reply!!!

mtbr is a commercial project, it’s just a lot of people posting on a Site. What makes imtbtrails different is the relationships and actual trail time together. If we all exhibit attractive behavior online, people will join again, and some even return. We love mountain biking, let’s get back to that and loving our friends. If that stays our focus, the stoke will return and the people will show up.
 
Last edited:
Mikie said:
Hi!
(The following is great sitting on the toilet reading material)…
Thanks for a very important thread @Walleye!

My name is @Mikie! And I started this Site September 9th 2013.
I hand built the original Site using some cheesey free app in effort to create a new mtb forum experience. I was mostly competing with So Cal Trail Riders because I felt the user experience was going downhill fast (pun intended).
There were Trail Nazis, Helmet Nazis, Skid Nazis, Nazi Nazis, you name it. People were flaming others and getting flamed for flaming others.

So when people slowly started joining imtbtrails the golden rule was… well, the golden rule, and, it was golden. :inlove:

The honeymoon lasted about 7 years (hmmm, anyone ever hear of the 7 year itch? It’s a term that started when divorce became socially accepted and popular).
We had all types of stuff to talk about. But like @herzalot stated, how many times can you discuss chain lube?

For me, violators of no personal attacks, politics, eBikes, and even at times religion got the best of me. The day of my drunk and disorderly rage rant personally offended some to the point they left, or… drove a wedge to this day. Personally… I have never recovered from that and have since felt like an outsider on my own Site. I will forever apologize for that major void in my leadership. I broke a major golden rule in my own leadership training that I taught at Northrop Grumman (Never get Angry, Never Make It Personal).

The straw that broke the imtbtrails back was Covid. Take the vaccine, don’t take the vaccine, and quarantines. It was so in our face it was unavoidable. Both politically on the site as well as physically without group rides. We traded trail invites for selected texting and then posted up in “I Rode My Bike”. Many felt left out.

We have lost that Group Ride vibe. :(

To be honest, I got so depressed about the Site I asked @Faust29 to Administrate. Bad actors on the Site had just wore me down. Never a good time when you have to correct your friends or even worse… ban them. :cry:

I have had several companies reach out asking to purchase the Site and I would tell them to Eff off as this was more than a Forum, it’s family! However, the last few years, I actually considered it.

With the recent lay off and forced retirement, the outpouring of funds to maintain the Site was overwhelming. It actually rekindled some stoke and I started capturing video of my trail network.

In regards to the eBike thingy. As I mentioned before, two things happened. One, some of my close friends started riding them and I had to make a tough decision. Was I going to choose principle over my love for my friends? I decided over time that my love for my friends was greater than my hatred of eBikes. Two, the mountain bike vibe in Northwest Arkansas is huge and it is vast. Far beyond what it is in California. City planners make decisions based on how it contributes to the mtb community. Here, nobody cares what you ride, everyone is just stoked about mountain biking and everyone is big on trail etiquette. Most of the time I don’t even look to see what people are riding anymore. Group rides I observe are almost always a mixed bag of equipment.

Last…

If I have said it once, I have said it a dozen times. The magic to hold this Site together are Group Ride invites and Group Ride, Ride Reports. Nothing can take the place of face time on our favorite trails. As keyboard warriors it’s easy to lose that personal connection and makes it easier to disrupt Forum harmony.

The “I Rode My Bike” thread is a great thread but it is easy to get lazy and not post up a real ride report. Take the time to write ‘em! And readers? Reply!!!

mtbr is a commercial project, it’s just a lot of people posting on a Site. What makes imtbtrails different is the relationships and actual trail time together. If we all exhibit attractive behavior online, people will join again, and some even return. We love mountain biking, let’s get back to that and loving our friends. If that stays our focus, the stoke will return and the people will show up.
Click to expand...
:inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove::cool:
 
Haha, the dog and I are back! We are still riding the daughter's beach cruiser on the floop, dropping in! But adding Ripmo rides at oaks, dog park, el moro plus all of the floop again. Golden rule is no air and no rock gardens but then again accidental air is fine! need to catch up and will start posting again when I ride... fully loop is actually fun when you haven't ridden it in 8 months.
Is the chutes waterfall section at oaks considered a rock garden?? um...

I was at san clemente dog park and saw the site of my crash and thought what was I thinking doing jumps like that?
 
Mikie said:
The day of my drunk and disorderly rage rant personally offended some to the point they left, or… drove a wedge to this day. Personally… I have never recovered from that and have since felt like an outsider on my own Site.

We have lost that Group Ride vibe. :(
Click to expand...

Sweat it not - everyone goes off the deep end at least once. You were provoked!!! And drunk!!!! :thumbsup:

There's always the FLoop....we've done it before, and everyone there had a good time. Many who weren't lamented that fact. Go ahead, try to deny it folks. We have evidence. :laugh:
 
Runs with Scissors said:
Sweat it not - everyone goes off the deep end at least once. You were provoked!!! And drunk!!!! :thumbsup:

There's always the FLoop....we've done it before, and everyone there had a good time. Many who weren't lamented that fact. Go ahead, try to deny it folks. We have evidence. :laugh:
Click to expand...

The Floop group ride was a fun time! if I had been there...which I won't admit....and if I'd been there that secret Burger afterwords might have been good too....:whistling::whistling::cool:

Burger, floop 2.jpg
 
Last edited:
Lost Kiwi said:
. . .USCIS whilst they do their best to make my life a misery and try and kick me out of the country.
Click to expand...

I see the problem. You have the wrong acronym making your life harder. Shoud be CBP, not CIS. Once you realize who you're dealing with it becomes much easier....

You have my condolences and sympathy. They won't let me immigrate to Australia, for some stupid reason. :(
 
Runs with Scissors said:
They won't let me immigrate to Australia:(
Click to expand...
Whats second prize? Syphilis?

In all seriousness why Australia in particular?
Unless you're in very specific places the riding generally sucks. I mean sure you could live in Tassie but dude, they love their family more than the deep south here! Want to go to the snow? Fly to NZ it will be cheaper for a week there than a weekend in Thredbo (and the snow in Oz sucks). Cost of living is no better than here in Cali. The laws are becoming more and more draconian and punitive. Heres a good (albeit old) example: State of Victoria 2016/17 population >6million, fines from just speeding 363.2 million dollars. California 2016/17 population <39 million people, total penalty revenue (all fines) 477.9 million dollars....

Australia is an apathetic nation and imo because of that apathy they are losing everything that was good about it.

Plus they suck at rugby and cheat at cricket.
 
konakc said:
Haha, the dog and I are back! We are still riding the daughter's beach cruiser on the floop, dropping in! But adding Ripmo rides at oaks, dog park, el moro plus all of the floop again. Golden rule is no air and no rock gardens but then again accidental air is fine! need to catch up and will start posting again when I ride... fully loop is actually fun when you haven't ridden it in 8 months.
Is the chutes waterfall section at oaks considered a rock garden?? um...

I was at san clemente dog park and saw the site of my crash and thought what was I thinking doing jumps like that?
Click to expand...
Yeah @konakc way to re engage!! Know your limits and injuries aren't worth it (I don't need to tell you)!!
 
Lost Kiwi said:
Whats second prize? Syphilis?

In all seriousness why Australia in particular?
Unless you're in very specific places the riding generally sucks. I mean sure you could live in Tassie but dude, they love their family more than the deep south here! Want to go to the snow? Fly to NZ it will be cheaper for a week there than a weekend in Thredbo (and the snow in Oz sucks). Cost of living is no better than here in Cali. The laws are becoming more and more draconian and punitive. Heres a good (albeit old) example: State of Victoria 2016/17 population >6million, fines from just speeding 363.2 million dollars. California 2016/17 population <39 million people, total penalty revenue (all fines) 477.9 million dollars....

Australia is an apathetic nation and imo because of that apathy they are losing everything that was good about it.

Plus they suck at rugby and cheat at cricket.
Click to expand...
I was gonna say, isn't it an insult to bring up Australia to a Kiwi?
 
SnakeCharmer said:
I was gonna say, isn't it an insult to bring up Australia to a Kiwi?
Click to expand...
I lived there for 10 years and she who wears the pants is Aussie.
Clearly I hate myself :Roflmao

Typically the rivalry is good natured. But being a bunch of convicts they do have a tendency to steal our stuff and claim it as their own. Musicians, actors, race horses, cuisine etc, so you do have to be careful round them ;)
 
Lost Kiwi said:
In all seriousness why Australia in particular?
Click to expand...

I spent a few weeks in Fremantle/Perth & environs. 40 years ago.:whistling:

The weather was like San Diego only reversed. And I didn't get to see much else. No desire to go to Sydney. I did have a great time while I was there, though.

And it would be easier to get to NZ and mingle with the Kiwis from there, than from here. Pretty sure I'll end up in Utah instead, though.

Edit: I'm pretty sure New Zealand wouldn't let me immigrate either. They're much like Canada, Europe, Australia, Mexico - heck anywhere really - that since I didn't spend the last 40 years contributing to their health care system I'd be a drain on the economy. Funny how that works everywhere else in the world.
 
Last edited:
I’m not riding at all right now so coming here is not in my sights on a day to day basis. I couldn’t care less about e-bikers so not gonna use that excuse, I’m just busy with kids and being a “real” rider takes time and effort. I just cannot motivate to get on my mtb right now, often times I just think how stupid prices have gotten so I shy away from the sport. Same with skiing/snowboarding, just too expensive these days.

Maybe I’ll mtb again but I don’t see myself being a multi day a week trail rider anytime soon. Is what it is and when that goes away so does the passion and posting here.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top