Mountain Biking Origins of Joshman

To understand why I love mountain biking, I got to take you back to Columbia, Missouri. The year is 2001 and I just moved from Cedar Rapids, Iowa to go to University of Missouri. I decide to try my hand at something I was always curious about; Mountain Biking. All I had to ride was an old Specialized Hard Rock bike that I got when I was 12. Don’t get me wrong, I loved this bike and I knew this bike. It was what you would call a hard tail bike as well as no shocks in the front. A straight up bike with no suspension, but still my prized possession. I found out about Rock Bridge from someone at church and decided to check it out. I am an adventurous guy who needs to experience everything. Here I am with a bike going somewhere I should not even be going without a helmet and I went full throttle. I remember slipping into first gear and driving straight up an incline that was so freaking steep that my bike shot up in the front and I fell straight back on my head. That was my first experience of mountain biking. Most people who experienced something like that would turn around and bike right back to their vehicle. I did the opposite. I tried it again and again, but could not get it. I decided to take one last run at it and made it, barely, but I still made it. I have this problem of not being able to quit what I started. I always have to finish, no matter what I have to do to get there. I was addicted at the point when I made it to the top. I was out there riding 4 or 5 times a week after that doing every trail they had over and over. My prized bike was starting to fall apart and I was becoming broke repairing piece by piece that would bust. My only alternative was to buy a bike that was actually meant to be on these trails. I loved Specialized so I bought another Hard Rock, but this time with front suspension. I got to know the Bike shop people so well that I actually rode with them. The shop was named Cycle Extreme and it has my vote for an amazing shop for everything from advice to parts. I eventually bought old parts from these biking professionals off of their own top end bikes. My point is that you don’t need the best equipment out there to be good at something. You just need the will to do it, and the rest will come along the way.