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By walker on 7/3/2007 on walker's blog Do you have that one friend who can crash harder than Josh Bender? What about your skinny friend who can suffer for 24 hours on a bike in the absolute darkness? If both of your buddies were standing side by side, which one would you nominate for the "most pain tolerance" award? This question stems from a debate my downhill friend and I had a few days ago. He was on the side of the downhill riders. It wasn't that I was on either side; however, because of his strong conviction decided to play devil's advocate. I quote: Statement 1: "Downhillers have to deal with excessive speeds and incredible technical terrain. Add a race to all of this and you're talking pain, buddy." My Response: "Yeah, but you wear pads. The same goes for an XC rider, except no pads." Statement 2: "Downhillers drop some serious $&!^. We go for it and we crash. But our crashes hurt like no other because of our momentum." My Response: "Yes, you do go big! But so do a lot of XC riders in the backcountry. They ride just as hard on terrain that wasn't designed as a course, but through the unexpected flow of nature. In other words, there are no transitions." Statement 3: "Downhillers, as riders, are designed to be as tough as nails. When was the last time you saw a toothless XC rider?" My Response: "OK, you got me there." So who's right and who's wrong, who cares? It is the debate that mattered to me. Maybe you have an opinion to share. Don't be scared, post a comment... |
Who has a higher pain tolerance XC riders or Downhillers
randall says:
 does it really matter? walker, you know where i'm coming from (climbing differences). just shut up and do your thing. "careful, with that axe eugene." |
jdav0520 says:
 We used to get in this kind of debate when I ran track in college too. Who suffers more, the 800 runner or the steeplechaser, or is it the 10k runner. It's not a matter of who suffers more, but rather how unique each suffering is. The 800 runner usually only suffers the last 300m of a race, roughly 45 seconds. However that suffering is a lactic acid burn that gets pretty intense. The steeplechaser usually begins to suffer with 3 laps left (approx. 1000m), roughly 3 to 4 minutes. However, it's more of a fatigue induced pain that is more mild at first and gradually gets worse toward the end. Same thing here, the downhiller is like the 800 runner, intense bouts of pain, the xc rider gets the more mild pain that has to be suffered through for longer amounts of time. I say, if you can do both, you rule the mountain. |
walker says:
 I like this! Very good to point out the differing suffer results of other sports. So the winner is the one who suffers most :) Walker T Off the road, on the mind... |
jdav0520 says:
Or at least the one that can suffer the longest. |
whiteydebroux says:
You guys are going to hate me for this and no one wants to hear it, but roadies suffer the most. Try racing for a week straight or ripping your skin off on pavement. Don't own a road bike, jump out of your car at 40 mph and tell me what you think. |
walker says:
He's got a point here... Check out this picture: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/41/122839713_fbf36749af.jpg Walker T Off the road, on the mind... |
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