| No one can contest the saying that necessity is the | | | | The Geographical Area |
| mother of invention. When looking at the history of | | | | However, the popularity did not die. The official |
| mountain biking this necessity becomes the chief | | | | birthplace of mountain biking was accorded to Mount |
| inspiration for making the sport competitive, fun and | | | | Tamalpais in California. |
| popular. | | | | In the beginning, bicyclists would race down Mount |
| The three factors that inform the history of | | | | Tam and take the bikes to the top of the mount by |
| mountain biking are the people passionate enough to | | | | other means of conveyance. Later, they not only |
| pursue the sport, the geographical terrain, and the | | | | came down but also explored uphill trails too. This |
| invention of the mountain bike. | | | | was a good thing because it stretched the scope of |
| The People: | | | | the mountain biking race - not only racing down but |
| It was in the late 1960s when a couple from San | | | | racing up as well. |
| Francisco grew tired of the grinding life they were | | | | The Equipment |
| leading. Their departure from urban life took them to | | | | The bike also went through a metamorphosis. |
| Marin County where life was calmer and less hectic | | | | Modifications began to take place on the mountain |
| with a rustic escapade. | | | | bike like tires, seat, safety arrangements. One of the |
| Over time, their passion for cycling together with the | | | | changes included the replacement of typical braking |
| mountainous prospect landed them up with | | | | system in an ordinary bike with cantilever brakes. |
| competitive bike races which were organized through | | | | This gave the bike the strength to pause quickly to |
| a 3 mile fire trail track in the city of Fairfax. Other | | | | brave extreme terrains. If you are an avid mountain |
| bikers soon joined the race with the hope for | | | | biker you must agree that a mountain bike does |
| creating new records. There was a downward slope | | | | need to brave it out on severely dangerous terrains. |
| of 1600 feet that was included in the race. Thus | | | | Another modification included more gears for the |
| began mountain bike racing. | | | | biker to enable scaling of higher mountains and hills. |
| Soon the word spread around but in the face of | | | | Because all bikers do not use their mountain bikes for |
| possible threats the sports manifested it had to be | | | | scaling mountains of the same height. A competent |
| canceled. This was because the racers failed to meet | | | | enough bike, therefore, needs to be tough enough |
| insurance requirements. This was how the race came | | | | for all kinds of heights. |
| to an end. | | | | |