The history of Mountain Biking

This was the first real mountain bike, and mountain biker, Gary Fisher. The first mountain bikes were schwinn crusiers with motocross tires laced on. In the beginning the riders wore no helmets, just their street clothes, and raced down fire roads at highspeeds on their makeshift mountain bikes. It was sketchy and dangerous, and most of the riders got cut up on a daily basis. Joe breeze, Gary Fisher, and Tom Ritchey were some of the main founders of this off road sport. They were ruthless with bikes and often broke parts. after many years, the mountain bike has progressed quite a bit! Without these men, the sport I now live for would not exist. Most of the riding they did was in the bay area, and mount Tam, the main horse trails and trails were what they rode. The roads were loose and rocky, and with only pedal back brakes, riding down these trails was very dangerous, especially at high speeds.

Mechanics

When I first started to ride bikes, I knew nothing about working on bikes, I was scared to even try and fix a flat tire. Today, I am building my own bikes from scratch. A lot has changed since, and I have learned a lot. Most of my learning was from taking things apart and rebuilding them. I learned from online and on books about mechanics. I still do not know everything and run into problems sometimes that only bike shops can fix. I think that every avid bike rider should know how to work on his bike. It makes you more knowledgeable  and keeps you away from emptying your wallet at bike shops.I personally enjoy working on bikes, and there is nothing more rewarding then riding a bike that you know you built from the frame up. I'm also very picky about how my bike is set up, so knowing how to make those precise adjustments is important to me. I have owned around 10 different bikes in the last 3 years, and so I am constantly changing my bike setup. It really helps to know how to work with the variety of bikes I get. After all, bikes are just metal and plastic, so things wear out and break, its only natural. Recently I bought a bike frame from Canada, and I built up the bike, putting all the parts on a bare frame. Riding it today is a rewarding feeling, knowing that I put my mechanical skills into creating a vehicle in which I can have fun on. The bicycle is a beautiful creation, and the improvements that have been made in the last 15 years have been phenomenal. From carbon bikes to tires that don't go flat, innovation is in the air for bikes.

Rainy day Rides

I enjoy rainy day rides because they're like nothing else, among the mist in the trees, completely soaked and completely stoked. I don't ride much in the rain but when I do it's very invigorating. I get really wet and covered in mud and exhausted but it's an experience that is unlike any other ride. It's like you are in another world. The mist and the fog make me feel like I'm in another world. I always have to strip down and get in the shower because I'm so dirty from the mud and filth. I love riding so even if the weather is bad I still try and get out on a few rides now and then, even if they end up being horrible, at least I get some miles in. I takes some motivation and determination to ride in some of the worst conditions out there, but making it down the hill in one piece is pretty rewarding. 

Behind the lens

Even though I love to ride bikes more then anything, I also enjoy taking photos and video of people riding as well. Being a mountain biker myself, this helps me get the angles I need to get the shots I'm looking for. I'm a creative person, and making videos is the ultimate expression to me. My grandfather was an avid photographer and my dad and uncle are photo peopleas well. The creative vibes passed down through them to me it seems. I've liked cameras, music, and bikes for the past 5 years, and doing what I do combines them all into a video. I wish it was possible for me to record myself riding, that would be like a dream.

This was a shot I got of myself last winter, I attached my camera to the end of a PVC pipe facing me and this is the result I got, I was super stoked on this one. I used a an empty candle container full of pennies for a counter weight for the camera. I called it the unicorn cam because it resembles the horn of a unicorn.

Another reason I take so many photos and videos is Its nice to be able to look back at all the good memories I've had. To see all my videos after one year makes me so happy I recorded what I did. I will take a photos or videos of pretty much anything. Some people think its weird but I don't really care, besides, whats the difference of taking a photo of something if you see it with your own eyes. It won't be the same obviously, but its a version of reality. You can romanticize a photo because it is only one moment in time.