Gotta Love MMBA Forum People

Thread regarding the PLRA trail being easier to wide (flatten, roots removed, widen, etc.).  Here's an interesting statement:

It wouldn't surprise me at all if "racers" tried to short cut the trail or find a smoother section, while I can admire their cardio and overall fitness, from what I have seen their bike riding ability is pretty sad.

and

MANY times I have been stuck behind a roadie on race courses, in fact I venture to say it happens to me on EVERY race I have ever entered.....why am I stuck behind these "racer boys"? Because they have zero bike handling ability.

Sure, they ripp the trails 2x faster than I do because our trails are mostly smooth cardio trails, it's the nature of our local terrain, but I can tell you any time I ever get to a good downhill or technical section of trail locally as is being discussed currently I am stuck behind some cardio freak who can't figure out how to pedal is bike around a section of technical trail.

and

there are so many sections of trail, just because an overall lap time is faster does not mean that they are faster in all sections or are a better bike rider. furthermore, I think it's presumptuous to say that they are 2x as fast. maybe a few minutes or 1.25x faster. not everyone is interested in racing. you need licenses, free time, etc. to race. If there were some races that wern't so focused on cardio. we'd have a different (and probably younger) crowd into it. I have almost no desire to enter a race, despite having a pretty good chance. If it was like $5 or $10, I didn't need a bunch of bs qualifications, and didn't have to hang around for hours, I'd enter. so would an entirely different crowd of bikers and who knows, they might even be a whole lot faster.

The last user's quote goes into another subject matter.  Bunch of excuses why he doesn't race, but you still get the mentality of the poster.

So it appears that racers have zero bike handling abilities.  As I recall, the winners of Yankee Springs TT did sub-50 minute laps.  That's a pretty impressive time for having minimal bike handling abilities.  How about the 35 minute laps at Fort Custer?  If they have minimal bike handling abilities, one would presume they walk through the technical section. That wouldn't leave much time to finish off the trail.

The statements made by these individuals is a good example of the compete idiotic things I've read lately.  I offer up a challenge to any of those individuals.  Name your trail and let's go at it.  Or maybe just enter a race and see what it takes to be a 'racer boy'.   Seriously, the moronic statements that people type (when hiding behind a computer screen).

There is a slight exception that I will make. Roadies do struggle mountain biking, especially if there is sand.  When I do Xterra races, a lot of roadies show up.  When it comes to the trail ride, there are bodies every where.  This past weekend at Fort Custer Xterra,  people were all over the place.  The worse was the Torn Shirt Xterra.  I've never seen so many riders fall.  These riders have the fitness to go fast, just not the skills to go fast on a MTB trail.  So they go flying into a turn or between trees and end up on their face.   This is a perfect example though of the skills it takes to blaze through a trail, bouncing off trees, burning through the sand or navigating a rock garden.

I don't think all racers are the best riders, but to think it doesn't take skills to blaze a trail is completely....well, one user summed it up good:

This thread has veered into Retard-Land