Urban Mountain Biking

Our friend The Gear Junkie (aka Stephen Regenold) has written a very nice article for the Travel section of the New York Times that focuses on the rise of Urban Mountain Biking.

In a nutshell, urban mountain biking simply refers to the increasing number of mountain biking trails that are cropping up in cities throughout the country. Yep, you read that right. Mountain biking trails inside cities. In order to cater to the needs of mountain bikers everywhere, cities are creating trails in local parks that are approved and specifically designated for off-road peddling. This is a sharp turn around when you consider that for a long time, mountain biking has been banned in many city parks, so it's interesting, and wonderful, to see a change of heart.

This is great news for mountain bikers of course, as it means shorter drives to get on a trail and the ability to hit the trail more often. I have a great urban park here in Austin, Walnut Creek Park for those in the area, and it's a fantastic place to ride when you can't find the time to get out to a more remote trail. You can ride for several hours and barely notice that you are actually inside a bustling city, and it's located less than 20 minutes from where I live. The only downside, is that it can be quite crowded at times, although the further you ride from the parking lot, the less traffic you'll encounter.

Note: If you look closely at the picture above, you can tell that the guy is a "urban mountain biker". What's the give away? He's riding in blue jeans! I don't think I've actually ridden in jeans since I was 15. ;)

Update: Andrew posted a fun video on urban mountain biking in the comments section, but I thought I'd share it here. Check out the true essence of urban mountain biking by clicking here.