News & Reviews
Who is Average Joe?
Date Published: 01/03/2008
Average Joe has a house, a wife, one car and a baby. He has ridden bikes all his life but got into mountain biking 15 years ago with a Raleigh Activator.He has a trail bike and a bike for more aggressive riding. You couldn't call it a DH bike (although it has some DH bits) as he isn’t good enough for full blown DH madness.
He loves his riding but isn't particularly good, dreams of being better and is inspired to get out and ride by films like the Collective and Earthed. Given the chance he would be out most days and all weekend but has to balance a family and work life with his interest to ride.
He loves to get out in the wilds but has never competed, partly because he doesn't want to come last but also because riding is the only part of his life that isn't a competition. He is in reasonable shape but still puffs up hills and will never be an xc legend.
He doesn't have the need to pedal when riding DH but loves the buzz and the challenge but only when adequately protected – he has a mortgage and a kid you know!
He looks forward to the odd days a year he can grab at Cwm Carn or similar challenging DH tracks where he hopes to progress just a little in between the arm pump and the pain of thigh burn. One week a year is a pilgrimage to a foreign mecca where he can progress with chairlifts and uplifts to squeeze as much riding in as the weather allows. He is still trying to work out a way of combining a family holiday with riding at Whistler without pissing off the wife!
He'd love to do the Mega-Avalanche but fears that he isn't good enough and would simply get trampled or still be trying to complete it by the time everyone turns up for the following event.
Average Joe has the magpie-like interest in shiny parts for his bike and loves an upgrade, but often his purchases are compromises rather than that Chris King headset he really wants. His lunchtimes at work are spent trawling the forums looking for interesting chat and debates on bikes and avoiding being ridiculed for 'average replies'; either not funny enough or too blindingly obvious for the 'regulars'.
He's regularly passed on the hill (up and down) but is happy to bob along enjoying the environment he rides in. He’s polite on the trail and respectful of other trail users regardless of how rude some can be.
Can't manual, stoppie, jump doubles or style it up in the air and while he always intends to do that 6ft drop, the brake genie always chucks the anchor out the back before he gets there. Would love to do them all and will probably manage some at some point.
He is embarrassed about using the terms 'buff' and 'sick' as it make him feel like an old bloke trying to be cool and anyway ‘sick’ brings images of carrot chunks not 'the Claw' 'pinning' something.
Some would (and will) pour scorn on the 'average' tag but Average Joe is most of us out there. We aspire to be better (and often pretend we are) but its our purchases and inputs and the days on the trails that keep it alive. You don’t have to have a house, a baby or a wife to be average (or be 33). Average Joe is just one type of average joe.
So get out there and ride, don't worry about the bike or what you can and can't do. Enjoy riding as you have always done for the fun of it, the challenge and the friendship you find along the way. Don't be afraid to ask 'how to jump' or 'how to corner', for all those that pour scorn on you, you will find someone who had the same questions to ask once.
Don’t be ashamed of average status, moredirt.co.uk and Average Joe are going to champion it! Join Average Joes army, your sport needs you!
Average Joe will be writing regularly on MoreDirt.co.uk on issues that affect all average joes. If you have a topic you would be interested in hearing about then let us know at info@moredirt.co.uk. If you don't agree with Average Joe in someway then feel free to post your comments below and start the debate,, he'll get back to you when he can fit it in to his everyday schedule (i.e. When his boss ain't looking).
Look out soon for Average Joe clothing to wear your average status with pride!
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spamjavelin said...
on (15-03-2008 11:38)
Yep, that's sounds way to close to the mark!! Very funny.
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Shredda said...
on (20-03-2008 13:29)
That's so true it is actually painful! Man I'm weeping. I want a Patriot so bad but am looking at a 5 instead because I'm "not good enough for full blown DH Madness". It's like someone has looked inside my soul and written it out in black and white.
No kids yet and have entered the 08 Mega so I'm only 90% there. However, one day I will be Joe.
PS Can't wait for the release of Seasons.........
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faceplantfeind said...
on (24-03-2008 09:17)
yea woo hoo average joe rules
i say just remember why you got into riding. not to compete at a world cup level but just to ride your bike and love every second of it
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MudSweatAndGears said...
on (05-05-2008 15:41)
Damn!!!! It feels as though you've read my mind. I'm sitting on the floor reading this, occasionally glancing out at the mountains and tracks in front of my house, while my 2 yr old boy is sleeping on the sofa behind me. I got into mtb's a long time ago and JMC did a lot for the inspiration behind the riding. But that's a different subject for another time.
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gti_james said...
on (15-05-2008 13:26)
well i'm 26, stoped riding for about 10 years but I can manual, do some doubles, poor one hands, sometimes get the odd person telling me I 'ripped that last section' or 'looked well quick thru there' and I'm rarely passed on the hills. I ride as often as poss and dont have a family so guess I could say im above average. Thank god for that!
jac114 replied...
on (16-05-2008 21:16)
OMG I am here.. thats sick i think lol .. I do things in a carefully measured way.. after being out of it for 20 years.. and woooosh there goes my 13yo past me just after I say take the first jump slowly to get used to it..lol yep I remember I was pretty much fearless many years ago..lol
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jakeymus said...
on (06-07-2008 23:52)
hello, my names average joe and im a average joe. This article is a perfect description of me. But i dont plan to be avaerage joe forever, I have only just started biking and dont plan to give up for many years. Maybe one day il change my name to 'more-than-average bob' but for now im still average joe.
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EatingDirt said...
on (21-07-2008 18:55)
Brilliant - I am still under 40 (just) with kids etc but love to squeeze in whatever riding I can. My Average Joe suit and shirt often hides a multitude of cuts and grazes where I have tried to show I am not too Average to dirt jump...
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ripyerballs said...
on (22-12-2008 12:27)
Who has been following me,overweight 51 year old,morgage her indoors,two kids,I may be crap on the trails but still go out in all weathers and give it a go,I love it, in my own little dream world.
To all of us average Joe's out there keep living the dream and get out there, see you puffing up the hills.
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ASBO OR ARMY said...
on (09-01-2009 15:53)
average joe rocks my world i feel exactly the same all the time
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callumcussen said...
on (17-02-2009 20:27)
steve peat and brendan fairclough are my peoples champions
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said...
on (08-06-2009 17:43)
I swear the writer of this has been following around my entire biking life.
This is me!
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dutty bungle said...
on (06-07-2009 20:38)
i must be below average Joe then :(
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salarsatti123 said...
on (16-12-2009 19:57)
dont like this. mountain biking is unique to people, it sets us apart, so how is he a average joe?
and its not ok to be an average joe, no one wants to be that guy, they want something better.
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greasemonkeyturbo said...
on (28-12-2009 18:59)
Get out of my head.... how do you know so much about me???
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joefreerider said...
on (13-01-2010 12:48)
sounds like a load of shit to me
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Kona_Ash said...
on (05-03-2008 13:12)
Absolutlley spot on! Im reading this at work now when the boss aint lookin! hahaha! Average Joe 'the peoples' champion! Everyones got a Joe in them! Bring on the Revo'joe'tion!
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