Why Do Mountain Bikers SECRETLY Love To Suffer? | Dirt Shed Show 546

Welcome to this week's Dirt Shed Show where Rich and I are talking about type 2 fun. Yes, plus we've got caption contest, bike vault, and all the normal bits and pieces. Rich, what is type 2 fun? Type 2 fun, James. You know a lot about type 2 fun, don't you? I'm getting flashbacks. It's essentially where something seems fun after you've done it, is how I describe it to people. Miserable and horrible while you're doing it, and then afterwards, you look back on it and you think, I love that. That was brilliant. Yes, it's a sense of achievement. I've experienced type 2 fun far too many times, various 24-hour attempts or rides, crossing countries, other bits and pieces. We've got some stuff coming up together as well. Keep your eyes peeled. At the time, I'm like, I'm not enjoying life at all here. Bikes are horrible and I hate them. Then afterwards, I go, oh my God, that was insane. Yes, when's the next challenge? Yes, I think about upping it or something. Yes. I guess what I want to talk about today is why, when we hate it so much in the moment, do we keep coming back to it? It could be because the weather's terrible, because it's physically or mentally challenging. Like you say, during the moment, you're like, I can't wait for this to finish. Then once you finish, you've got amazing stories to tell all your friends. That's it. You're already on the drive home planning your next event almost. It sounds ridiculous. For me, it's a sense of accomplishment of what I've done because it's not just me. You've done some marathon racing. Obviously, XC racing is definitely type 2 fun because you're just redlining for an hour and a half, right? Yes. I think for me as well, training is type 2 fun as well. You know, during winter, you do all your long base miles. Why is it during winter, you do your long rides and then in summer, you do your short? You just sat there on a road bike riding for four hours in the cold and rain and you're like, what am I doing? You get home, you think, flipping heck, I've just been out there for four hours and you feel amazing. Fascinating because on that one, like you said, oh, you're sitting on the turbo, isn't it? The turbo is the least fun, but it's the most beneficial. You're playing the long game on that because you'll get to the first race and you'll feel great or do really good or something. You're like, oh, I'm so glad I did all that stuff. It's really addictive in a way because that then makes you want to do it, if you've had a good season, the following season to do even better. Then you go on a four and a half hour ride in the winter or something and you're like, oh, it's a vicious circle, isn't it? The whole of winter is like type two fun, isn't it? It really is. It is. It's like just getting through it and then you get to that first race and you feel amazing. Yes. Like you say, you're like, oh, all of that was worth it. What makes it so addictive or appealing to myself is pushing my bound. It's the thought beforehand of pushing my boundaries and limits of like, oh, that looks really tough. I've done something nearly that tough, but this looks even tougher. Could I do it? It's that inquisitiveness. Could I do it? Then at the time, because you forget, oh, it would be that horrible. At the time, you're then like, what am I doing? The worst decision I've ever made. Mentally, you just keep going because you don't want to be defeated. We're very competitive. You're like, I'm not giving up. I'm not going to fail it and you hate it. Then afterwards, you go, that was amazing. I did X well or whatever position potentially or complete. Straff Puffer is the biggest example to me. It was horrendous. Weather conditions as well, right? Horrendous. Oh, God. It was such an uncomfortable 24 hours of my life. For everyone involved as well. Exactly. The missus having to cook and help and watch and the camera guys. No one was having fun at the time. Then we all look at the edit after and the result in the race and we go, that was amazing. I think that is the one thing I probably wouldn't do again. I guess it's that thing of things that feel good never come easy, right? Things that are easy to do, you never feel like, you might feel satisfied at the time, but it doesn't give you that sense of achievement. The harder the challenge, the more sense of achievement you feel. It's like doing the same downer run. You'll smash your local downer runs. You're like, that was really fun, but it's not really a challenge because you just do them. You know every corner. Every time, right? Whereas getting through a new run or something like that. Yes, or hitting a new jump potentially because that's really scary. I don't know if that's quite tight too, but I think it can be for some people for sure. I think so. Actually, there's another point. I'm going to throw a curveball at you on this one because I crashed the other day on my local runs, second corner, second run. A track you've done a lot, I'm guessing. Many times, so many times. I wasn't wearing knee pads, but I'll go back and do that again. I think there's something in that that we're drawn to essentially overcoming challenges. I don't think that's maybe necessarily mountain bike specifically, that's sportsperson personality in a way. Athlete mentality, we'll call it maybe. It's addictive, that feeling, isn't it? I had it with training my whole life of 80% of training sessions I hated. Yes, the sprints and the hill reps. You're riding your bike five, six times a week and you only enjoy maybe two of them, but you still come back to it and you still go out and do the sprints. Then three, four weeks later, when you hit a better power number, you're like, oh. That's it, right? Yes, and you just keep coming back for more. I was just going to say, it's when there's a metric on it as well. When you can put a number to it, so you're like, oh, man, I held 185 beats for the whole race or my average power was this. We're getting a little bit geeky now on that front. Or I came 12th at this race last year and I came 10th this year. Potentially, I think I can do better. When you put a number on it, I think it's definitely part of that motivation behind it, especially during the horrendous effort, whatever that may be, right? Yes. Let us know if you chase Type 2 fun as well, or if you'd rather just chase Type 1 fun. Be interested to see what you guys think. Are Rich and I weird for chasing Type 2 fun, or do a lot of you chase it as well? Let us know down in the comments. What's up, everyone? This weekend saw the mid-season break come to an end and the final round of the Enduro World Cup play out in Morillon, France. It was all to play for, for every place but first. Both Ella Connolly and Slava Milukisic had tied up the series overall with a race in hand this year. Quite a unique situation to be in and Ella actually sat the round out to begin some recovery for the fatigue she felt building over the course of the year. The race was won by Ellie Hoskin, her second of the year. A great first season in the big leagues of elite for her. Rafael Arista in second spot and Simona Kucinkova in third. Alex Rudeau won the men's race, really challenging Jesse Melamed who finished second just three seconds back. Leif Rodgers slotted into third spot, another great performance from him this year. What does that do to the overalls though? Well, Simona Kucinkova secures second spot, Nadine Alacosta in third place. Insane consistency from the both of them this year, paying off. The race also secured Jesse Melamed the second spot in the men's overall, hard four after the nightmare start to his season. Charlie Murray into third spot, again, excellent consistency there. Some sad news at the end of the season though, two of the mainstays of the men's field, Matt Walker and Christian Textor, announced that this would be their last round as full-time racers. They might put in an appearance here or there, but they're hanging up the goggles as full-time pros. It's been such a pleasure to watch these two race over the years, both as fun personalities and as excellent racers. Huge shout-outs to them for retiring on a high. Before we close the racing chapter this week, there's news that RockShox are now partnering with Warner Brothers Discovery on a long-term deal, naming RockShox as the official suspension partner of the Whoop UCI Mountain Bike World Series. Industry news now, 7Anna, the company that owns Ronda Cream and most notably NS Bikes, has filed for bankruptcy. Whilst bankruptcy usually means the end, 7Anna are actually saying that it's a temporary measure due to a run of bad luck, including one of their main clients reportedly not paying for a shipment of bikes, some hackers redirecting a huge sum of money, and another client going bankrupt. They say that work to produce, service, and sell bikes will continue whilst they secure investment for the brand's future. That's all I've got for you this week. I'll round up the rest of the action from Leger next time around. Be sure to tune in and support your favorite riders. Discovery Plus and Max is where you can find all of the downhill and XC action this coming weekend. This week's biggest thing has to be a new video part from Braga Vestavik and Marzocchi called Trolldom. As always with Braga, it's madness. I'm sure most people think of Utah when they hear the word freeride, but to many, it's BC. It's the North Shore, which is the true mecca. He's really building the craziest lines and in a zone that just looks absolutely impossible to ride. As far as North Shore ladders go, I've never seen anything like this before. My favorite clips have to be that super fast skinny, super high up, that narrow shoot, the drop to flat, and that really gnarly double drop as the ender. So crazy. Right, that's my sickest thing this week. Time to go back to the shed. Thank you very much, guys. It's now time for hacks and bodges. Are we singing? I'll do a beat and then we can sing as well. All right, you do the beat, I'll do the singing. Hacks and bodges. Hacks and bodges. This is weird, James. That was weird, but poor song. It was from all involved. First up though, we have from Finley Beaton. It says he's age nine, but he's almost 10. The chain guard broke on his bike, so his dad and I looked for a cheap way to fix it. You put a new tire on and use the old one to stop the chain slap. That's a classic fix. I like it. I think that's a hack. I think that's a hack. I think that's a good hack. Actually, that tire looks like it's got some life in it as well. Yes, I was about to say. I was thinking still another few rides in that tire. Yes, nice. That's a good one. Good hack there. Next up from Caleb Wood is, what is it? Shifters above the- Upgrade into hydraulic with integrated shifters the cheap way. Bought a bike with integrated shifting braking system and wanted better brake modulation. I'm not quite- He's taken the shifter and the brake apart, so I think the shifter and brake work together. Like a one-piece kind of. Yes. Now the shifter's above the brake. I know. I was about to say- How do you reach up to- Yes. Well, I guess that's the front mech on that one, so that's probably less in use, but your rear mech, you're probably going to be a bit difficult. I guess- It's a bit bodgy to me this one. Yes, he can brake better now, but can he change gears? Hey, brake is probably more important. Caleb, that's a good bodge. I think that's a bodge, yes. That's a good bodge, buddy. Now last up, we have from Coach Kevin. Is it Coach Kevin? Kevin M, it says. Okay. Campervan bike mount. I entered last week for the quick release holding my cranks together. Yes, that was ropey. I remember that one. Good work. That was a good bodge though. Here's the answer. This week's submission, 3D printed out of ABS, a bike fork mount, basically for his van, takes the wheel out, bolts it down. I like that. That's a good hack, isn't it? You always get a van from a rental company, and then you put it in the back. You go around a roundabout, and you say, like that, don't you? Yes. You've got to screw that to the floor, mate. Yes. Well, he looks like, has he got it on a runner or something? On a rail at the back. That's pretty good going. Maybe he's even reused that quick release. He can use multiple standards, so boost, QR, and non-boost. I think that's a hack. Now, we have to choose a winner who will get a prize up to the value of £50 from the GMBN shop. James, who's it going to be, buddy? Who are we thinking? They're pretty good ones. Yes, mine's the Campervan bike mount. Oh, really? Because I purchased my dad one of those from a brand that cost a lot of money. To 3D print your own. Kevin. Yes, well done, Kevin. That one looks really smart. Congratulations. Leave your details or email us your details. Yes, email us. Yes, send us through. Email us your details. Don't put them in the comments. Crikey, no, don't do that. Goodness knows what you'll get. Right, moving on. Moving on to things we liked this week. First thing I liked this week was Fiend have released their new full-length BMX film, No Love. Nice to see full-length BMX films still coming out. Some amazing clips from Garrett Reynolds and the rest of the crew in there, definitely check it out. Rich, what do you like this week? Yes, I just want to say what scares me is no brakes on BMXs all the time. They're mental and riding street stuff is wild. The techers in that is good. Nick Tomasunas, basically, he's a steezy motocross guy. He's got to be moto in there. The whips that this guy's thrown on a stark electric bike and just the style he's got in his all-white kit, I love it. I could watch it. The slow-mo is all day long. It's crazy to think what the progression is now on these starks, how much people can do. It's pretty much doing a full 360 there. Yes, they're past 180, the whips and stuff. They're fully inverted. It's amazing. Then lastly- Yes, this is a banger. Wes Lukens, little 10-year-old kid, you might have seen him going around, going massive on some humongous jumps with some moto thrown in there again. It's basically in this new edit called Launch that's come out. I just did a video on Jackson Goldstone. I feel like he could be the next one or certainly a free ride version. Yes, by the time he's 18, he's going to be- Yes, tail whips, threes. He's pretty special now at 10, so by the time he's 18, it's going to be pretty crazy seeing his progression. I'm looking forward to following him as he gets better. Now, onto caption contest. We obviously have some great submissions from you guys in the comments down below for last week's picture. Which was a photo of Ferg and I looking at our hard rock receipts lent up against Ferg's van. As in the timing receipts, not your expenses. Not your expenses. Those are bigger. The timing receipts. See how we got on. We've got a first comment from Duncan Lloyd. He says, who ordered the virgin cocktail? We aren't on an EMBN for this shoot. If I know the EMBN boys, they're not ordering virgin cocktails. They're on full fat cocktails. CB2555 says, the look you give after buying four items at the grocery store. It costs a living. Yes, it's gone up. 50 quid for some eggs and bread now, isn't it? Then we've got Evander. It says, me and bro looking at our receipts from the bike shop after telling the missus we're just going for a look. That is relatable. I think that one is bang on, that one. Now, the winner who will get a prize up to the value of 50 pounds from the GMBN shop. You pick this one. Go for it. I quite like the last one from Evander. Me and bro looking at our receipts from the bike shop after telling the missus we're just going for a look because I know that feeling from back in the day. That's a good one. Congratulations. As always, send us your details and you can claim your prize. Here's this week's caption contest photo. Now, as always, caption contest using the hashtag in the comments down below and you too could be in with a chance of winning a prize. It is now time for the bike vault. Yes, I've sent in some absolute cracking ones and James is armed and dangerous here. First up, we've got a Trek Ross Marlin, sorry. It's a Marlin and that's from Harrison. Lovely orange number. Does it say where he is though? I don't know. I probably- It's quite a cool picture though. What are we saying? That's a nice from me, I reckon. Yes, that's a nice start, isn't it? Yes, it's a nice start. Nice start. Okay, next up. Jason McCrory specials. Oh my gosh. Not one but three bikes. Yes, these are stunning, these specialises, aren't they? Look at the size of the chain ring on that one in the middle. The middle one, yes. Have we got an XC bike, a downhill bike, or are they just all downhill bikes back in the day? I'm not too sure. Yes. I'm not too sure. There's a very iconic picture of that hardtail of him doing some tweaks and stuff like that. That's super nice from me. Oh my God, those are stunning from Sydney Retro. Unreal, what a collection. Yes, blimmin' heck. Thank you very much for sending those in. Next up is a Norco Storm from Emily Lawrenton. Vancouver Island. That looks amazing, doesn't it? Look at the backdrop as well. That's a super nice from me, I think. Yes, look at that. Green grips, purple bars. Anything in Canada is just- Super nice. Super nice. Emily, thank you very much for sending that beauty in. Okay. We've got two bikes here. We have got a Nukeproof Scout Club and a Trek Marlin again. Top Red of Hopton, which has a view for almost 50 miles. Massive. Yes, that's cool, isn't it? The thing is I can't really see the bikes well enough. James, being quite strict to me. The rules are the rules. The rules are the rules. I wouldn't do a non-drive side. It's a good picture. Yes, but it's just a little bit underexposed for me. It's really nice, but it's not super nice. Wow, Tim, we're sorry. Sorry about that. James is a savage. Miguel up next. Miguel, he says, while he was recovering from his broken collarbone, he repainted his Cube Stereo. As you do. I'm not sure the doctors would recommend doing that, but it looks amazing, doesn't it? I think this is a suit. I like the color coordination on this one. The way the yellow Michelin tires pop out with the Olins and then the yellow- The brake calipers and the decals. That is super nice from me. It looks unreal. Big old ringer there. Congratulations. Stephen Caddy up next on a Canyon Neuron. Where are you? Same day as Crankworx Joyride Finals. Does that mean he's out in Whistlerway? Must be. Looks good wherever it is, doesn't it? It does look very nice. Yes. That's super nice from me again, I think. Yes, a little saddlebag. He's in for the long haul, isn't he? There's little bits of mud on him. Nothing wrong with saddlebags on mountain bikes, is there? People hate on them. The way you're looking at me says you've got a problem with saddlebags on mountain bikes. That's a super nice. Well, we'll come back to that later, James, all right? We'll discuss that one later. What have we got here? We've got- Megan Bell. A specialized chisel. They're a really nice bike. Solid little bike there, aren't they? Aluminium full sus. What travel are they? 120s? I think they're just 100. It's pretty much like an aluminium epic. Is it? Yes, they're really cool. They do an Evo as well, right? Yes. An Evo version. Yes, I think they do, yes. I actually rate that quite a lot. I think that's a super nice. Thank you very much, Megan, for sending that one in. Then finally, Reggie Winters. What is it? A Banshee Paradox. Don't know much about Banshees. No, I don't, but it's a nice. I love that brushed, well, is it alloy? Just raw aluminium, I guess. Yes, it looks nice. Maybe lacquered. SRAM AXS with the chrome stem. It is, but it's just leaning against the bench. I feel like more effort could have been made, Reggie. It looks like he's on a monster climb because he's still in the- Still in that first gear. Yes, in the 52. Hey, fair play. What are you saying? Go on, call it out. That's nice. Reggie, that is nice. Thank you very much for sending that in. If you want your bike to be featured or the chance for it to be featured on Bike Vault, don't forget, send them into the uploader, which is linked in that description down below. You could be in with a chance of getting a nice or a super nice. Saddlebags, you're mental. Got to store something, haven't you? Right then, finally, coming up on the channel this week, we've got a couple of great videos, but first, you've been working with somebody who's never ridden before. Yes, Ollie Reid, GCN's social media guy. He has got a new bike, a mountain bike, and I'm taking him out for his first ever mountain bike ride. Wow. That's looking at everything from setup to actually teaching him to ride, right? There's a few eventful moments in there, so definitely check it out. Also, we're heading back street racing. Yes, Ferg is heading over to Genoa. Rather him than me. Yes, we're actually going to be hitting some wild things. Will he survive or wait till the weekend to find out? Hey, that's the Dirt Shed done. That was a good one. Yes, I enjoyed that. Type 2 fun though, what are we saying? Yay or nay, people? Are you up for it or are you sticking to those park laps? Let us know. Thank you very much for watching from the two of us. We'll see you later. See you in the next one.