Biking is one of my favorit sports to do outside. There are two major fields, road and mountain biking. A road bike is much lighter and build to travel most efficiently on paved roads. The tires are only half an inch wide and high pressure is applied to them to have as little rolling resistance as possible. It has a handle bar that is bend down on both sides to allow the rider to take a more aerodynamic position on the bike. These changes allow for a lower energy usage at the same speed or a higher speed at the same energy usage. The roadbike allows to travel distances of up to 200 miles a day and therefore can be seen as a mode of transportation. Multi-day or week trips along rivers, mountain ranges or across countries should be well planned through and enough slack has to be allowed for unforeseen circumstances. As for day trips the roadbike is a good vehicle to escape the day-to-day routine and get away for a few hours to experience yourself and nature. Once one has ridden on roads where the car was used before, the more intense intake of nature will be appriciated. The direct contact with the elements, the feeling for ascents and downhills connected to different intensity levels of the body are only a few characteristics that will be recognized almost immediately.
On the other hand, mountainbiking concentrates more on offroad terrain of gravel, mud or even no trails. The bikes used are build with much more stability in mind and even suspension is used in the bikes produced today. Mountainbiking is much more about balance, finding traction, technique, and controlling the bike. Therefore, one can say that mountainbiking develops more capabilities because it does not only rely on physical performance. The sport is about to separate into downhill and cross country. The former is a sport where the goal is to go downhill along a set and be as fast as possible. The bike oftentimes have long travel in their suspension to allow for more control for the rider in uneven terrain. Cross country includes going up and down the hill. Here, more tactical and technical skills on the uphills are required to find enough traction. The highly endurance oriented sport allows for great adventures in nature.
All of this is not to say that you will have to decide between road and mountain biking but both have differnt appeals to people. If you have not done them both try it out and decide for yourself what you feel like doing on a cerain day. In all the countries I have been to there are more than enough trails or routes for both sports. Especially northern Italy seems perfect for road bike trips. Moreover, there is a really well established biking infrastructure along the Donau river which allows for biking through different countries with biker-friendly hotels right next to the trail. The Alps and the Rockie Mountains both allow for great trips on the mountian bike. While there are huts which allow for tours across the Alps with the bike, in the US biking in the different national parks is an amazing experience you will never forget. As with the other sports, it would be too much to mention every trip I have done but please do not hesitate to contact me if you are planning to go to a certain area and need some insider tips.
Have fun on your bikes and fight the snake bite.
Rene Reisshauer
