[darkpuppet]

The fun in mountainbiking is much like the thrill of riding a motorbike. It comes with finding your rythm and clearing things you weren't able to before.

When I ride, I wear a helmet and gloves. A bit of road rash elsewhere doesn't really bother me (and I've learned how to roll too).

The difference is that when mountainbiking, I'm not cocooned and feeling clausterphobic... I'm wide open, and it's a lot easier to motivate a mountainbike to do what I want it to do over a 200-500lb MC. And that agility has benefited me in several situations when I would otherwise have been another traffic statistic.

That, and on top of your usual adrenaline from the actual ride, you get the "runner's high" that you get from exercise -- so it's a two for, and you can meander around places in the city you otherwise couldn't in any other type of transport.

Don't get me wrong, I love motorcycles too.. I just don't trust myself as I do have my lapses in attention (I've rearended more cars on my bike than in my car :S)...