The terms MP3 and DVD have become pretty common in the past few years and having this sort of technology at our fingertips can give great advantages to a mountain biker. Here's how:
Music To Make You Faster
Before your next ride/race, whether your driving to the trails or before you scoot out the back door, play some tunes with strong beats and plenty of energy (hard rock, metal, techno etc.). This sort of music gets your heart pumping and makes you psyched for the trails, leading to that extra confidence and speed you want. You may even want to ride with an MP3 player to keep the music pumping throughout the ride.
One day riding at Mt. Stromlo, I had the song "Snakeskin" by the Australian band "Gyroscope" stuck in my head for the duration of the ride. That was one of the best rides I have ever had as my skills were flawless and I felt no pain when climbing or going hard. The song in my head was giving me enough energy and confidence to make me ride better that ever before.
You can get small MP3 players today for $50-$60 that are pretty suitable for your back pack or jersey pocket and will hold more than enough songs to get you through a ride or race. MP3 players are also really useful to keep you entertained through long sessions on the indoor trainer or on lonely commuting rides.
Some Of My Favourites
Resources
The movies you are looking for are downhill/free ride films. I wouldn't recommend dirt jumping films as they aren't exactly relevant to off road mountain biking. If you know of a good XC film that could also be useful but they aren't too common in my experience. I would not recommend a stack movie where there is nothing but people eating dirt as they may be funny but will have a negative effect on your confidence.
Some Of My Favorites
Music To Make You Faster
Before your next ride/race, whether your driving to the trails or before you scoot out the back door, play some tunes with strong beats and plenty of energy (hard rock, metal, techno etc.). This sort of music gets your heart pumping and makes you psyched for the trails, leading to that extra confidence and speed you want. You may even want to ride with an MP3 player to keep the music pumping throughout the ride.
One day riding at Mt. Stromlo, I had the song "Snakeskin" by the Australian band "Gyroscope" stuck in my head for the duration of the ride. That was one of the best rides I have ever had as my skills were flawless and I felt no pain when climbing or going hard. The song in my head was giving me enough energy and confidence to make me ride better that ever before.
You can get small MP3 players today for $50-$60 that are pretty suitable for your back pack or jersey pocket and will hold more than enough songs to get you through a ride or race. MP3 players are also really useful to keep you entertained through long sessions on the indoor trainer or on lonely commuting rides.
Some Of My Favourites
- Snakeskin - Gyroscope
- My Enemy - Cog
- My Way - Limp Bizkit
- Set It Off - POD
- My People - The Presets
- Voodoo People - The Prodigy
Resources
Movies To Make You Faster
Watching mountain bike movies are a great way to gain some extra confidence, inspiration and skill which are three vital ingredients in creating a fast mountain biker. Seeing riders rip through gnarly lines and pulling off big tricks will make you attack sections of trail with a lot more confidence. This is because you have just seen it done on a rougher trail at higher speed with a pumping soundtrack in the background. If you are going through a motivation slump, watching a mountain bike movie is a great way to get you back out on your bike tearing up the trails. You can treat a mountain bike movie marathon as a theory lesson for your riding; look at how these fantastic bike handlers rail through corners, float through rocks and land big airs. Analyse there technique and put it into practice on your next ride.The movies you are looking for are downhill/free ride films. I wouldn't recommend dirt jumping films as they aren't exactly relevant to off road mountain biking. If you know of a good XC film that could also be useful but they aren't too common in my experience. I would not recommend a stack movie where there is nothing but people eating dirt as they may be funny but will have a negative effect on your confidence.
Some Of My Favorites
- Earthed 2
- Roam (any in the series)
- New World Disorder (any in the series)
- Rise
Resources
- Youtube
- Ultimate Mountain Bike Video Bar
- Your local bike store
- Online bike stores
Become The Ultimate Audio/Visual Mountain Biker
Track down the soundtrack to your favorite mountain bike movie and play it when you go riding. You will visualise the riders in the film while you are hammering through the single track faster and smoother than ever before! Trust me, this one works!
Here's where you can find the soundtrack of your Favourite mountain bike film
Image courtesy of Mingret
Great post. Music without a doubt gets me motivated! Sometimes during a race, a song that I have been listening to enters my head and really gets me going. The other time I find music essential is during hard intervals - I like fast beat dance music for this (although never listen to it normally!)
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