Continuing a theme, I've yet again farmed out the coming-up-with-ideas part of writing. This time, my debt of gratitude is to my friend Adam Van Koeverden, who is a darn good cyclist. He's an even better kayaker, having won Gold, Silver, and Bronze over two Olympic Games and a ton of other medals at World Champs in his K1. Adam lives in Ontario, which means winter is basically 11.99 months of the year, and riding fast on clear pavement is not really an option. But even for those folks who do not call the frozen hinterland of Canada home, mountain bikes and cyclocross bikes represent two very valuable training tools. You may hearken back to my earlier post on "Why Triathletes NEED a Road Bike," which covered the importance of hip angle as an overarching determinant of biomechanics while pedaling. That same logic applies here, only it's not to say that triathletes *NEED* a mountain bike or 'cross bike (though every cyclists needs N+1 bikes, where N is the number that they have). Rather it's to say that with an appropriate fit, the miles you pedal on your MTB or 'cross bike can be very valuable for your triathlon biking, just as valuable from a physiological point of view, and more valuable from a staying safe and staying sane point of view.

Both mountain biking and 'cross work heavily on bike "skills" like balance and handling, the value of which are hard to measure, but which I personally feel offer a real benefit. I felt like I became a more confident - and thereby more speedy - descender after spending time on my mountain bike. Furthermore, both mountain bikes and cross bikes generally only punish your own bad decisions. You are not going to get into an accident on the trails because of some woman talking on her cellphone will trying to calm down her dog and finish her 7Eleven big gulp. If I sound jaded on the topic of motorists, it's because I am. I will honestly say that my goal is really to spend less and less time on the roads, while still being able to spend just as much time on my bike. And mountain bikes and 'cross bikes help to fit that bill. Depending on where you live, your training may be a lot more intense and technical singletrack or it may be more open and flowing doubletrack. If you're really lucky, you'll have access to both. Regardless of which you have access to, you can get a great training stimulus from your riding. Just be aware if your training is all Zone 1 & Zone 4/5/6 or if you can actually get in some Zone 2/3 stuff as well. The nice thing, if you're inclined to be a big spender, is that there are very good powermeters available for MTBs these days, and most road bike powermeters are more than robust enough to withstand the rigors of 'cross. Don't expect your powerfiles to look anything like your road bike files, but they can be useful for helping you track and evaluate your training. I personally just rely on my own internal gauge of "that was HARD," especially since I tend to do my dirty-wheel riding in the offseason, when just pedaling is more important than how hard you pedal.

One of the big decisions if you opt for an MTB over a 'cross bike is full-suspension vs. hardtail. Personally, I prefer a hardtail MTB, and I just got my hands on a new 29er hardtail, but I don't have any real miles on it yet to comment on it vs. my old 26er HT. There are two reasons for my preference, which may have little to no bearing on your choice. The first is simplicity. Admittedly, many rear suspension setups are set-it-and-forget-it these days, but when I first got a bike, a rear shock was another thing to worry about on a bike that I wanted to "just ride." I didn't plan on riding it enough that I wanted to fiddle with rear travel, since I knew little to nothing about it. Being overly analytical, I was paralyzed enough trying to dial in my rebound settings exactly right on my fork. If you can tolerate "good enough" suspension, this likely won't bother you, and you can enjoy all of the goodness of a full-suspension rig. The other reason I stick to riding a HT is that it keeps me from making some bad decisions. The number of things that you can ride a HT down if you are only a moderately skilled rider is less than the number of things that you can ride a FS rig down. That means that when you are tempted to ride that black diamond trail that you know in your heart of hearts is too technical for you, you probably won't make it very far on a HT. And that's if you even decide to make that decision in the first place. It's just not fun to ride stuff above your skill level on a HT. On a FS rig, you can make a lot worse decisions, because your bike will - literally - help smooth over those bad decisions, at least until you get to the point where the decision is too seriously bad for a bike to bail you out. But if you are the kind of person that is prone to getting yourself into trouble (I am), the a HT might preemptively save your behind.

One other area where your true geekiness can shine through is with tire selection. If you thought the age-old debate of tubulars vs. clinchers for road riding was bad, you haven't seen anything. There are dry hardpack, dry & loose, mud, etc. variety of tires. My best advice is to ask the locals what works best. Failing that, a good "all around" tire often really can work as well as advertised, but I will say that tires that were great all-rounders in the northwest were really lousy in the southwest. So have fun picking tires and definitely tap into local knowledge. Personally, I love choosing tires, but if you aren't so obsessed with molded rubber, let someone else make the decision for you. And while tubeless is AWESOME, remember that your spares kit needs to include a tube and boot, since if you do really badly damage your tire, a tube might be the only way you make it home without hiking a long way in shoes that weren't really meant for hiking.

Ultimately, riding a bike is about staying fit and having fun. How you balance and weigh those factors is up to you. But, especially if you aren't in proximity to a race, a MTB or 'cross bike offers a great way to keep (or develop) great bike fitness. Given the choice between heading outdoors or riding the trainer, I always prefer to ride outside. And I feel confident that I'm doing just as much good for my fitness - and a lot better for my brain - by doing it on the trails. And I hope you all will as well. Get dirty. Have fun. Stay fit.