The Gift of Singletrack Mountain Biking
I’ve always loved bikes and biking. I still remember my first road bike, a black and red Bianchi that I bought in 1989 — what a classic! My first two years of medical school I refused to buy a car so I biked everywhere in New Hampshire, even in winter. Back then there were no fat bikes or snow bikes so I put chains on my Trek mountain bike to get around. They helped a bit on icy roads but were useless in snow because I would sink down and get stuck instead of riding on top of the snow.
I still enjoy road biking and knock around on that same Trek from med school but haven’t embraced mountain biking. One reason is feeling overwhelmed by all the different types of mountain bikes, which now include downhill, enduro, trail, XC, all-mountain, hardtail, full-suspension, Cyclocross (CX) and Gravel/Adventure bikes in addition to the fat bikes mentioned above.
My oldest son, Jackson, on the other hand, is a backcountry gearhead and outdoor enthusiast who would happily give a 15-minute dissertation on gear ratios and head tube angles. He has even worked doing bike patrol at bike parks here and in Vermont.
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