[GuruAtma]

I surf and ride mtb. I always thought they had lots of similarities:

You do them both out in nature--usually pretty places,
You work your butt off getting to the "thrill" part (paddling out / climbing)
The funnest part is coasting down a big mountain (though with surfing the mountain then falls on you)
People who do the sport think they're cool (or maybe it's just me)
Each sport has it's own vernacular
Each sport has a competitive side as well as a strongly non-competitive side
Each has its "secret spots"
Both mountain bikers and mtb'rs sometimes get attacked by large predators
Both participants like talking about their equipment
There's always some exoctic place you'd like to ride/surf
Participants often ditch work / school to do their sport

anything else?
is there anything else that's close to yet different from mountain biking?

 

[formica]

telemark skiing

 

[kneecap]

It's the dissimilarities between the two I appreciate:
Ain't 50 dudes waiting for a set of 3 or 4 trails to appear on the horizon & everybody scrambling @ once for the same trail.
No "HEY DUDE, MY TRAIL, DON'T DROP IN!"
No one breaks into your car while you're out riding
No driving for an hr. +, only to find out the mountain went flat while you were getting there
No sewage plant overflows from the last storm, that you have to immerse yourself & your bike in to - requiring immune gobulin shots afterwards.
The best trails arn't on private land
Don't have to get rousted by the federales while gearing up for the trail
Don't have to run from the trail to the bushes after eating @ the local establishment the nite before
Don't have to do life threating trips across the channel or up the coast to the ranch in small open boat (dodging supertankers with your bike)
After the trail, you don't drip sinus fluids at the dinner table.
No toxic fumes while patching my bike after a ride.
However:
I loved surfing for thirty+ years - some wonderful experiences w/ some best friends - just like riding.

 

[Juan Speeder]

is there anything else that's close to yet different from mountain biking?

Kayaking is pretty cool. It's like liquid singletrack.

Kinda the antithesis at the same time though, since it's totally upper body/abs.

Also, it's impossible to paddle upstream, so it's like DH in that regard.

 

[windidiot]

Wow...sounds eerily and amazingly familiar

I surf and ride mtb. I always thought they had lots of similarities:

You do them both out in nature--usually pretty places,
You work your butt off getting to the "thrill" part (paddling out / climbing)
The funnest part is coasting down a big mountain (though with surfing the mountain then falls on you)
People who do the sport think they're cool (or maybe it's just me)
Each sport has it's own vernacular
Each sport has a competitive side as well as a strongly non-competitive side
Each has its "secret spots"
Both mountain bikers and mtb'rs sometimes get attacked by large predators
Both participants like talking about their equipment
There's always some exoctic place you'd like to ride/surf
Participants often ditch work / school to do their sport

anything else?
is there anything else that's close to yet different from mountain biking?

Well its windsurfing (sailing) for me.....here's some differences

With sailing going out (jump potential) is about as fun as going in (wave riding)
Sailing conditions are really really fickle....you can MTB at any reasonable time

here's some more similarities

Equipment for both is too bloody expensive and there's too much of it
Equipment requires endless tweaking
The magic of a good session lasts forever...the only thing that matters is when you get to experience the next good session
They can both be a PITA ....you can have bad/frusturating sessions
poisin ivy or cactus vs jellyfish
you can get hypothermia or dehydration from both

and...finally...and most importantly

When its ON, Nothing else matters!

 

[Tracerboy]

I do not know if they have anything in common but I love both of them.

Both photos are me doing the things I love.

 

[Kallisti]

Different for climbs and descents

For climbs, trail running. You hit a concentration zone, then you you zen out.

For descent, snowboarding.

 

[GuruAtma]

I think it's easier to improve your skills mountain biking---you can keep trying that hard section of trail over and over, but waves are never exactly the same and they're not always there when you want them to be.

 

[Tracerboy]

That's a very good observation. Surfing is the hardest sport, that I have ever been into, to master.

 

[derby]

I've nearly quit surfing

The tide waits for no one.

I've virtually quit surfing in Nor Cal since getting normal 40 hour jobs ten years ago. Surf conditions are usually poor and inconsistent up here (except Santa Cruz).

One thing different about mountain biking compared to surfing is that you can schedule rides anytime when you have time, not when the tide, wind, and swell is right. Only high wind conditions ruin mountain biking, nearly every day or night is good conditions, even when raining.

They are very complementary upper body vs. lower body aerobics. Both become full body intensive workouts.

There is no harder sport to learn and master than surfing. But mountain biking is has similar challenges in technically difficult conditions. Telemark skiing also has a lot of similarities, but is seasonal and more dependant on conditions too. I guess mountain biking is seasonal in many places too (I'm spoiled to be able to ride every day in Nor Cal).

I sure like the friendly nature of locals when mountain bike riding in strange areas compared to the low-life attitude of some high school drop-out surfers. Most surfers by far now days are very friendly and considerate in the water if you aren't in the way of the peak takeoff etiquette.

- ray

 

[airwreck]

The only known video of myself surfing and riding, my first and only attempt at editing and hosting a video.



I had a bunch of other comments but they vanished while I was screwing around with the video.
p.s. I have no idea what I'm doing and hopefully there will be no ill effects from this experiment.