XC Dead? BS!

[kennbenny667]

I entered my first race last weekend, the 24hrs of 9 mile up in Wisconsin. Rode in the 5 person open class. Team Monchichi Finished dead last, and I had a BLAST!!! I am a MOUNTAINBIKER! not a freerider, racer, etc... Racing in all/any of it's forms isn't ideal for everyone, but I will still be riding "cross country" long after it is dead and resurrected again by some company! I like to have fun riding my bike, what and how I'm riding is of no importance as long is it is fun!

[Blatz]

Hey I was up there as well with my team (Village Cycle Center aka Fully Krousand) in the 5 man open. What a blast, it was my first 24 hour race. What a great course and a well organized event. The race was just awesome. Cross Country is not dead. Professional cross country racing may be dieing in the US, it`s not the big money anymore. But "grass roots" cross country is alive and well. 24 and 12 hour races are expanding all the time.

[Scott G.]

From a professional racing stanpoint, maybe XC is not a popular as it once was. I think you can draw a similar analogy to Skiing, where the downhillers are all over the place in the press, advertising, etc. but cross county skiing remains a strickly amateur affair (although very popular and acknowledged in some countries.)

I do wonder, however, if from a recreational standpoint mountain biking is going to go the way of skiing as well. Cross country folks will be able to access a number of trails, while the downhillers will have to hit ski resorts and pay for lift tickets. Bottom line is at a recreational level, XC will probably always exist in one form or another as long as we don't F*%# up our access to public lands....has it not always since the bike has been around???:confused: