Trail riding is riding outdoors on trails, bridle paths, and forest roads, but not on roads regularly used by motorised traffic. A trail ride can be of any length, including a long distance, multi-day trip. It originated with horse riding, and in North America, the equestrian form is usually called "trail riding," or, less often "hacking." In the UK and Europe, the practice is usually called horse or pony trekking.
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or a small paved road not intended for usage by motorized vehicles, usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The term is also applied in North America to accompanying routes along rivers, and sometimes to highways. In the US, the term was historically used for a route into or through wild territory used by explorers and migrants. In the United States, "trace" is a synonym for trail, as in Natchez Trace.
A mountain bike (MTB) or mountain bicycle is a bicycle designed for off-road cycling. Mountain bikes share some similarities with other bicycles, but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, which makes them heavier, more complex and less efficient on smooth surfaces. These typically include a suspension fork, large knobby tires, more durable wheels, more powerful brakes, straight, extra wide handlebars to improve balance and comfort over rough terrain, and wide-ratio gearing optimised for topography and application. Rear suspension is ubiquitous in heavier-duty bikes and now common even in lighter bikes. Dropper posts can be installed to allow the rider to quickly adjust the seat height.
Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and performance in rough terrain, such as air or coil-sprung shocks used as suspension, larger and wider wheels and tires, stronger frame materials, and mechanically or hydraulically actuated disc brakes. Mountain biking can generally be broken down into five distinct categories: cross country, trail riding, all mountain, downhill, and freeride.
Cyclo-cross is a form of bicycle racing. Races typically take place in the autumn and winter, and consist of many laps of a short course featuring pavement, wooded trails, grass, steep hills and obstacles requiring the rider to quickly dismount, carry the bike while navigating the obstruction and remount. Races for senior categories are generally between 40 minutes and an hour long, with the distance varying depending on the ground conditions. The sport is strongest in the traditional road cycling countries such as Belgium, France and the Netherlands.
Kona Bikes is a bicycle company based in the Pacific Northwest. The company was founded in 1988 by Dan Gerhard and Jacob Heilbron in Vancouver, BC. Their world headquarters are in Ferndale, Washington, with Canadian distribution offices in Vancouver, and European distribution offices in Monaco.
Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a style of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles. Jumps can be up to and including 12 meters, and drops can be greater than 3 meters.
Freeride is a discipline of mountain biking closely related to downhill biking, Dirt Jumping, freestyle motocross, and freestyle BMX. When riding a freerider one focuses on tricks, style, and technical trail features. Freeride is now recognized as one of the most popular disciplines within mountain biking.
Mount Buller is primarily a resort town on the slopes of Mount Buller in the Shire of Mansfield of the Australian state of Victoria. It is located approximately 208 kilometres (129 mi) northeast of Melbourne. It is popular with snowsports enthusiasts in winter due to its proximity to Melbourne. In the warmer months it is popular with visitors to the Victorian Alps and bike riders. At the 2016 census, Mount Buller had a population of 243.
Mountain bike racing is the competitive cycle sport discipline of mountain biking held on off-road terrain. The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) recognised the discipline relatively late in 1990, when it sanctioned the world championships in Durango, Colorado. The first UCI Mountain Bike World Cup series took place in 1988. Its nine-race circuit covered two continents—Europe and North America—and was sponsored by Grundig. Cross-country racing was the only World Cup sport at this time. In 1993, a six-event downhill World Cup was introduced. In 1996, cross-country mountain biking events were added to the Olympic Games. In 2006, cross-country mountain biking events became part of the World Deaf Cycling Championships for the first time in San Francisco, USA.
The 7stanes are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. They are all in Forestry and Land Scotland forests and are known as the 7stanes because each venue features a 'stane', created by artist Gordon Young, somewhere along the forest trails.
The International Mountain Bicycling Association (IMBA) is a non-profit educational association whose mission is to create, enhance and preserve trail opportunities for mountain bikers worldwide.
Alafia River State Park is a Florida State Park, located near Picnic in Hillsborough County in central Florida, 17 miles southeast of Tampa on County Road 39. Even before it became a park, the area, and particularly Hurrah Lake, was the center of leisure activities since the early 1880s.
Cross-country (XC) cycling is a discipline of mountain biking. Cross-country cycling became an Olympic sport in 1996 and is the only form of mountain biking practiced at the Olympics.
Trail ethics define appropriate ranges of behavior for hikers on a public trail. It is similar to both environmental ethics and human rights in that it deals with the shared interaction of humans and nature. There are multiple agencies and groups that support and encourage ethical behavior on trails.
The Levis/Trow trail system is a 34-mile network of trails in Clark County, Wisconsin, United States, west of Neillsville, used for hiking, mountain biking, and cross-country skiing. It consists of two types of trails, doubletrack and singletrack. The doubletrack is groomed for cross-country skiing in winter. The singletrack is popular with mountain biking enthusiasts in summer and autumn.
Womble Trail, located in the Ouachita National Forest in western Arkansas, United States, is a singletrack path running more than 37 miles from North Fork Lake to the Ouachita National Recreation Trail. The U.S. Forest Service trail is open for use by mountain bikers and hikers. Horses are not allowed. The nearest towns are Mount Ida and Oden.
Enduro in its most basic definition is a type of mountain bike racing where the downhills are timed, and the uphills are mandatory but not timed. Riders are timed in stages that are primarily downhill, with neutral "transfer" stages in between. The transfer stages usually must be completed within a time-limit, but are not part of the accumulated time.
Mountain biking in Australia is a mix of dedicated mountain bike parks, ski resorts with mountain bike facilities, and other parks that have become popular with mountain bikers despite lacking dedicated facilities. The peak body for the sport is Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA).
Farlow Gap is a popular trail for mountain biking and hiking, located in the western area of North Carolina. It is an expert-level trail, and considered "one of the toughest mountain bike trails in Pisgah National Forest." It is primarily a downhill trail, about 3.1 miles (5.0 km) in length. It can be combined with other trails to form a loop of about 14 miles (23 km), requiring anywhere from three to six hours to complete.
