| People use bicycles for many different | | | | have come into existence, it has become |
| reasons. They are a great means of transport | | | | easier to build a bike that is capable of |
| for getting to and from work, you can fit | | | | withstanding everything a rough off road |
| your shopping into the baskets available to | | | | terrain has to throw at it. Stronger lighter |
| attach to the front, and they provide a | | | | frames and better gears have made mountain |
| wonderful way to travel when on holiday and | | | | biking easier for more people to attempt. The |
| exploring different areas. People have always | | | | history of mountain biking shows that the |
| ridden off road as well as on it, but the | | | | earliest riders began to adapt their bikes to |
| history of mountain biking really begins more | | | | get the best from those downhill runs and |
| than thirty years ago, in the 1970's. Modern | | | | routes, and so the mountain bikes that we |
| bike designs have made the sport more | | | | know today began to evolve. |
| accessible to more people, and the history of | | | | |
| mountain biking certainly shows it is now | | | | At the time, the only type of bicycle you |
| even more popular than ever. | | | | could buy was intended to be ridden on the |
| | | | road. Although people did ride off road it |
| But although mountain biking is now enjoyed | | | | wasn't popular enough to warrant a bike |
| all over the world, it began life in | | | | designed specifically for that use. But the |
| California, America. A group of cycle | | | | bikers in California changed all that. The |
| enthusiasts decided to try out some downhill | | | | history of mountain biking began with them, |
| runs on bikes that would now seem antiquated | | | | and they began to rethink the way that |
| to many of us. The dirt tracks were much the | | | | bicycles were made in order to create a |
| same as many mountain bike race courses | | | | design that could handle all the obstacles |
| today, but the bikes have changed | | | | and conditions the off road trails could |
| considerably over the intervening years. | | | | throw at it. So the next time you grab hold |
| Those races became famous, and before long | | | | of your own mountain bike and go for a ride - |
| similar races were taking place along tracks | | | | perhaps across a muddy field, or down a steep |
| at locations in many different countries. | | | | slippery slope on those knobbly tires - you |
| | | | should think of the pioneers of the 1970's. |
| As new materials and ways of building bikes | | | | |