Over the course of my mountain biking, I have seen two different kinds of riders hit the trail. The rider that thinks his way through riding and the rider who feels his way through riding. For some mountain bikers, it is a combination of the two as you hit the trail searching for the feeling of immortality when you rip through a section of singletrack with pure perfection.
What is a feeling rider?
A rider that feels the ride does not think about where his (or her) weight needs to be, where the bike needs to go or what he needs to do next to squeeze out that last little bit of speed. This rider just seems to know how to move the bike and his body in perfect harmony with the trail. A lot of people like to refer to this as natural talent…I like to think of it as the rider is feeling where the bike needs to be and what needs to be accomplished.
Often times, this rider completely pisses off the mechanics rider. For some odd reason, they just get it without too much thought. That obstacle or quest for flow just comes naturally and the motion between rider and bike is almost poetic. The feeling of the bike almost embodies who they are. It is part of the makeup of who that rider is as a person and that perfect harmony just seems to click…on almost ever ride.
Does this mean a feeling rider is perfect? Absolutely not. They might not even be the fastest rider on the trail that day, but they still do not have to mentally calculate every move with each pedal stroke. Their partnership with the mountain bike is based off of how things feel at that moment and not a calculated decision.
What is a mechanics rider?
Unlike the feeling rider, the mechanics rider is all about calculated decisions. Each step of the mountain biking process is a task that – when completed correctly – equals speed and flow. This mountain biker studies perfection and with every ride tries to get one step closer to their ideal skill level by methodically figuring out where the bike and rider need to be to get the job accomplished.
This rider does not feel the bike like the feeling rider. It might even take the mechanics rider a little bit longer to tackle an obstacle or find the flow, but the persistence and quest for perfection brings the speed with time. As a mechanics rider rides their mountain bike, you can almost see them thinking their way through the ride. Move my weight here…get the bike pointed there…pedal…weight back. This thought process brings the mountain bike and the rider together as they navigate the trail.
Who is faster? Mechanics or Feeling?
The answer…neither. I have seen riders with different approaches at all skill levels and speed. Most times, the feeling rider will pick up things a little bit faster on the trail because it just seems to work. However, the persistence of the mechanics rider to get it right sometimes outweighs the natural ability of the feeling rider.
Some of the fastest riders I have ever seen are mountain bikers that have a combination of both feeling and mechanics. Have you ever seen one of those feeling riders constantly session one section of trail? That is because something did not feel right, so they are now practicing the mechanics of that section until it does. Ever see a mechanics rider just clear his head and hit something dead on? That mechanics rider is trying to get his mind out of the ride and rely on instincts and feeling to get over the over-thinking.
As you ride your mountain bike, try to keep a balance of feeling out your ride and thinking your way through the day. By incorporating both aspects of riding, you are able to become a better mountain biker and exercise that section of feeling or mechanics that you do not use as often.