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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    7500'
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    Bike days vs ski days

    Not sure what this means, but it's summer so I figure it's worthy of a discussion. I just hit more days on the mountain bike than I got on the hill this season. 32 vs 31. Before you make the comment, I know that means I had a shitty ski season. I know that, but We had a baby in December, so at least I have some sort of excuse. This is the first time ever that this has happened. I used to be a 80+ day/year on the hill guy, but with a new gig and two little kids this is the case.

    It doesn't hurt that I upgraded bikes this year and am super stoked on biking this year as opposed to years past on a shitty 26' bike.

    No real point to this thread, just had a couple of beers and though I hadn't posted on TGR for a while.


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Bottom feeding
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    10,827
    I do both in the same day. A lot.
    Well maybe I'm the faggot America
    I'm not a part of a redneck agenda

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Paradise
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    I've had a lot of years like that in the past but this is Arizona so it often just works out that way. The last three years though have been more about the skiing, I kind of burnt out on riding but being in school and broke has been the biggest influencing factor with that. Any bike that's a few years old becomes a money hole.
    dirtbag, not a dentist

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
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    none
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    A lot more people can ride from home, than can ski from home.

    When we had our first child. I got in the habit if getting up at 5am and bringing him to mom, so she could feed him in bed. They would always fall back asleep and 5-7am became , my time.

    I learned to love riding early in the morning.
    It really is the best time of the day!

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    2,036
    looks like the RFV to me. Get at me in the winter if you need someone to ski with.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2014
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    207
    "A lot more people can ride from home, than can ski from home"

    What Shredhead said. Plus, biking doesn't require buying a pass.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
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    9,300ft
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    The best ski day beats the pants off the best bike day.

    But an average bike day beats the pants off an average ski day.
    Quote Originally Posted by blurred
    skiing is hiking all day so that you can ski on shitty gear for 5 minutes.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2008
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    7500'
    Posts
    240

    Bike days vs ski days

    Quote Originally Posted by Asspen View Post
    looks like the RFV to me. Get at me in the winter if you need someone to ski with.
    It's Eagle, but not to far away. We just moved down here after living up Valley for a lot of years. I'd ridden down here before, but just a few times. Really impressed with the trails down here. A lot more cross country type riding and not as much climb for an hour, descend for 10 minutes type riding. The part about being able to ride from home is huge. Hop on the bike, get a good ride in and can be home in an hour or two. Really helps with the the sanity with two kids in diapers at home.

    Still stoked on skiing and actually was close to 50/50 this season BC to resort days as opposed to mostly resort in the past.

    These are definitely good problems to have.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
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    1,203
    also cant finish work at 5 and go for a 4 hour ski tour without headlamps.
    Last winter i did 80 days skiing which is the most in many years. Normally get close to 200 days on the bike at a guess...

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2017
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    20
    Quote Originally Posted by nortonwhis View Post
    also cant finish work at 5 and go for a 4 hour ski tour without headlamps.
    Last winter i did 80 days skiing which is the most in many years. Normally get close to 200 days on the bike at a guess...
    Yes. Plus it's harder to have a bad day on a bike.

  11. #11
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    Nov 2003
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    8,334

    Bike days vs ski days

    Just about as soon as their out of diapers, they'll start having afternoon activities.
    Git er done in the morning, cause after school, belongs to them.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    3,894
    I bike year round and the lift served ski season is only about 4.5ish months. Also, most of my buddies moved to the PNW for the biking, so I always have a shuttle truck i can jump in or a group ride to join and go ride world class spots year round. I usually ski about 40 days a year, and bike 60-70. Sometimes doubling up in the same day. I am terrible at biking compared to skiing though, and the consequences for crashing on my bike are consistently worse (though im much more likely to kill myself skiing).

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    505
    100 + days a year on bikes, many talking with friends about skiing.25-30 days a year on skis, close to zero talking about biking. I love both but one gets deeper in my head.

    Also I've been at both for decades and want more - somehow easier to enjoy mellow skiing than mellow biking. Having eaten shit on pavement I now dial it back so that's just how it has to be.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    2,248
    I get a lot more bike days, but that's because a "bike day" for me might be a 30 minute ride starting at my front door. Most of those are basically vigorous dog walking. Sadly, ski days take much more travel for me, esp. the last two winters when no nearby touring was possible.

    Edit: And if we're not just talking about mountain biking (or recreational biking in general), I'm on my bike just about every day to come into my office. I think I only got two days last winter where I skinned in. Both were largely unnecessary, but you can never been too prepared...

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    3,894
    [QUOTE=MarcusBrody;5051303]I get a lot more bike days, but that's because a "bike day" for me might be a 30 minute ride starting at my front door. Most of those are basically vigorous dog walking. QUOTE]

    True this. I take my dog for a 30 minute ride at a park near my house with a spider webbing trail system at least 2-3 times per week just before dark (its not an offleash park so I try to be respectful and avoid popular times). Only really during summer though because it sucks having to cleanup a muddy dog 30 minutes before bedtime. Its more fun and better to keep him in outdoors shape than a walk. It ends up only being 2-3 miles probably, but he gets to sprint around offleash and practice good trail manners, and I get to do something fun. So that ends up being 40+ days/year of my biking. I literally just throw on shorts, fill a waterbottle, grab my helmet and go. No packing, no prep, no big time out of my day.

    The other bigger MTB days are spent traveling 30-90 minutes one way, and require me to pack shit and carve out half a day atleast.

    Skiing is kinda the same way where I need to pack shit, and carve out at least half a day to do it. Its never a super quick hour or two long activity in part because I live an hour away from snowy mountains.

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    águila
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    1,114
    Welcome to Eagle, where your front door is the trailhead and we got 3 more months of summer than the ski towns. The Riddle reroute isn't as great as it used to be, with the barb wire hallway, but still fun. Let's ride some time. Or beer.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Jan 2013
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    Northern BC
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    2,596
    Lots of good points made. Here's a few more.

    The expense of biking has to be mentioned. So many changes, so many parts, so much obsolescence, so much cash. Top end ski gear can be had for a fraction of what a top end bike will cost you and you won't be fixing, replacing and upgrading anywhere near as much as you are for your bike.

    There's a certain facism to biking that I don't dig on as well. You're are confined to this little man made strip. And don't go on that little strip when it's too wet or you'll ruin the trail! And don't you dare go off that little strip or you'll braid the trail! The Freedom of the Hills is alive and well on skis. You have a pair of skins and you have freedom. On a bike, not so much.

    And speaking of facism, a couple bike rides ago I forgot my helmet but I went for a ride anyway. Now i'm not advocating riding without a helmet but the contempt and derision I received for this apparently grievous trespass made it abundantly clear to me that the ramrod factor is far greater amongst bikers than skiers. Bikers, far, far more than skiers, have sticks jammed up their posteriors. Go ahead and tear me apart gentlemen but I'm not afraid to day it, skiers are just way more chill and fun.

    Oh yeah....... one more thing... spandex. Case closed!
    Last edited by Angle Parking; 07-10-2017 at 10:46 PM.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    Golden, Colorado
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    5,868

    Bike days vs ski days

    Quote Originally Posted by Angle Parking View Post
    The expense of biking has to be mentioned. So many changes, so many parts, so much obsolescence, so much cash. Top end ski gear can be had for a fraction of what a top end bike will cost you and you won't be fixing, replacing and upgrading anywhere near as much as you are for your bike.
    Depends how you bike/ski. The annual ski pass alone trumps bike expenses for me, and the Epic pass is pretty cheap. I bought a $2k used bike about 5-6 years back and do my own maintenance. I'll probably be riding it for another 3 years. My only expenses are rear derailleurs/hangers, tires, chains, cassettes, and shifter cables, and a wheelset when I trashed one. The new wheelset was around $250, the rest adds up to around $200-$250/year (I go through 2 $50 derailleurs a season). I see lots of people throw all sorts of silly amounts of cash at stupid bike stuff though. Its easy to get carried away and spend money when you don't need to in biking.

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Location
    slc
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    17,889
    Quote Originally Posted by Summit View Post
    The best ski day beats the pants off the best bike day.

    But an average bike day beats the pants off an average ski day.
    Pretty much this. Biking is so much less conditions-dependent than skiing, which makes it so much easier to get good days in reliably when you have family/career obligations.

    Also, as a mostly BC skier these days, not having to worry about dying in a fucking avalanche holds a lot of appeal. Ripping singletrack beats farming flat pow, and never once on my bike have I had to obsess over slope angles, snowfall history, pit results, heuristic traps and group dynamics.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lindahl View Post
    Depends how you bike/ski. The annual ski pass alone trumps bike expenses for me, and the Epic pass is pretty cheap. I bought a $2k used bike about 5-6 years back and do my own maintenance. I'll probably be riding it for another 3 years. My only expenses are rear derailleurs/hangers, tires, chains, cassettes, and shifter cables, and a wheelset when I trashed one. The new wheelset was around $250, the rest adds up to around $200-$250/year (I go through 2 $50 derailleurs a season). I see lots of people throw all sorts of silly amounts of cash at stupid bike stuff though. Its easy to get carried away and spend money when you don't need to in biking.
    Agree with this. Buying season passes makes the money issue a wash. Even if you strictly tour, a full BC setup can easily set you back as much as a nice used bike even if you buy most of it used or on sale.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
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    3,894
    Quote Originally Posted by Lindahl View Post
    Depends how you bike/ski. The annual ski pass alone trumps bike expenses for me, and the Epic pass is pretty cheap. I bought a $2k used bike about 5-6 years back and do my own maintenance. I'll probably be riding it for another 3 years. My only expenses are rear derailleurs/hangers, tires, chains, cassettes, and shifter cables, and a wheelset when I trashed one. The new wheelset was around $250, the rest adds up to around $200-$250/year (I go through 2 $50 derailleurs a season). I see lots of people throw all sorts of silly amounts of cash at stupid bike stuff though. Its easy to get carried away and spend money when you don't need to in biking.
    I do all my own maintenance too, but shock/fork rebuilds, brake pads, drivetrain replacements, a set of new tires per season, gas money, a helmet and shoes every other year, and at least one random trashed component per year surely adds up haha. All those damn moving parts take a lot of upkeep and are damn fragile compared to a set of skis and bindings.

    Quote Originally Posted by Angle Parking View Post
    There's a certain facism to biking that I don't dig on as well. You're are confined to this little man made strip. And don't go on that little strip when it's too wet or you'll ruin the trail! And don't you dare go off that little strip or you'll braid the trail! The Freedom of the Hills is alive and well on skis.

    And speaking of facism, a couple bike rides ago I forgot my helmet but I went for a ride anyway. Now i'm not advocating riding without a helmet but the contempt and derision I received for this apparently grievous trespass made it abundantly clear to me that the ramrod factor is far greater amongst bikers than skiers.
    If you don't like the trail, build your own. There is one helluva lot of freedom building your own trail. Also, I ride in a number of spots where new trail forms from people riding the same line mulple time and rutting out the duff to create "trails" sounds like you ride in a shitty area.

    As for helmets... yeah, youre an idiot. and if you don't see why, you are the one bringing the ramrod factor to the trails.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    snow country, Japan
    Posts
    906
    I skied just over 50 days last year, which was my best year in a very long time, and I've biked just over 70 days so far this year. All in all, I'm pretty chuffed and know that I'll double that at least by the time winter rolls around.
    パウダーバカ!!

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
    Posts
    781
    I've skied about 5 days over the past 3 years. And biked 5 days in the past 2 weeks...

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Oct 2007
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    12,609
    60-70 on skis/board. Summer is short and busy for us but I get out a few times a week and take trips. Probably 30-40 days on the bike. Trails out the door help.

    Pow days are great on skis. But like Dantheman said, sure is nice to not have to worry about avalanches on the bike. Getting lost or mechanical issues are my only worry and those can be mitigated easily. It's a nice break from the amount of thought you have to put into skiing bigger lines.

    Mechanically, skis do last a while, but bindings break, boot break, shit wears out.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
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    Donner Summit
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    1,251
    Aside from bike commuting, I have pretty much the same schedule year round - ride or ski every day on weekends, holidays, and occasional weekdays when I can sneak out. If there's snow on the ground I ski, if there isn't I ride. Ski season is shorter (even this year) so I get more days on the bike, usually 70-80 vs 40-50 on skis.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    Chamonix
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    1,012
    Ski when the snow is good, bike when it's not. I biked more than I skied last winter.

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