What Other Sports Do You Enjoy? Indoor, outdoor?

[austin85]

Hey everyone! I hope you're all having a great day. I wanted to start a conversation about other sports that you all enjoy, in addition to ebiking. Personally, I'm a big fan of ping pong and love to play whenever I can. Lately, I've been having some trouble with my paddles and I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for good brands or models to look into.

What other sports do you enjoy playing or watching? Do you have any tips for improving in those sports or recommendations for equipment? Let's chat!

 

[dobbyhasfriends]

I wish I could still play.. will always be my favourite sport.. mountain biking is a decent retirement though

 

[HiFiSworks]

I love playing tennis and I wanted to share my experience of how EMTB riding has impacted this sport I'm passionate about. actually cycling contributed to significant improvement in my tennis game as well!

During my EMTB rides, I mostly keep the motor off and use it only in steep climbing conditions. This allows me to rely on my own strength and endurance to power through the trails. I've found that this approach has translated to a myriad of benefits on the tennis court: increased endurance, enhanced leg strength, sharpened focus, better balance and core strength, stress relief and mental resilience just to name a few.

I'm thrilled to have discovered this amazing synergy between EMTB riding and tennis, and I'm eager to hear if any of you have experienced similar benefits. Perhaps you've found EMTB riding to be a great complement to another sport or activity?

Happy riding and swinging, everyone!

 

[jemi11]

I can definitely relate to how cross-training can enhance your performance in different sports. I started playing PP after reading the benefits of these, 10 Best Ping Pong Paddles - Expert Reviews (Spring 2023) As a Ping-pong player myself, I've found that regular cycling has helped me with my footwork and reflexes on the table. Plus, the cardio benefits from cycling have improved my endurance during long matches.

It's amazing how different activities can complement each other and lead to overall improvements in our physical and mental well-being. Thanks for sharing your experience and happy cycling and ping-pong playing!

 

[Semmelrocc]

+1 for Table Tennis. I don't know if biking helps my TT play that much (apart from leg strenth and endurance), but it's nice to have two entirely different sports hobbies. While biking is kind of my fun sport, TT is my more serious sports "business", where competitiveness is in the foreground. I enjoy both and would never want to give up them, since both pay into my health and fitness-account.
@austin85 if you're looking for a new TT bat, I would recommend a LTTS. The staff are experienced, you can try out different materials and get something based on their recommendation for your playing style. There are hundreds of good quality brands out there; Butterfly, Donic, Tibhar, Andro ... to name a few.

 

[The Hodge]

Football was my first love ..(with the sweetest left foot that never made it big time )..been a Newcastle United fan since I was in single digits..also played squash & badminton to a reasonable standard..until the knees started shouting at me ..
Mtb for the last 25+ years and now emtb is pretty much it ..

 

[JP-NZ]

Doing: Downhill MTB/Cycling/EMTB also love playing golf and indoor cricket. Will turn my hand to most sports

Watching: Rugby, Rugby League, Golf, MMA, Cricket, Motorsport

 

[irie]

When it's windy (16+ knots) kitesurf in the Western Solent, prior to that windsurfed for 20 years. When it's not windy or wrong direction ride on the South Downs. Both are 20 minutes from home. Skied until this winter when my left ACL finally said "enough". Raced motorcycles on closed circuits (such as Brands Hatch) for 10 years.

 

[Stoffel]

Rock climbing has been my main hobby and absolute obsession for almost 15 years. Climbing outdoors whenever the weather allowed and indoors in the winter. Almost every holiday abroad was spent climbing.

Also like riding my motorbike when it’s above 15 degrees and not raining, so maybe 4-5 months of the year!

We hired emtb’s a couple of years ago and soon bought our own. Since then mountain biking has taken over most our free time and I can’t get enough of it.

As far as watching sport, the only thing I really watch is F1.

 

[Stihldog]

In any sport, when you think you’re good, you realize how much further you need to progress when you challenge or play against a professional or retired professional. They’ve reached a whole other level.

Besides my other sport adventures I’ve only dabbled in a few seriously. Lacrosse and archery. I only played semi-pro lacrosse for a short time but it takes many years to reach that level. Life seems to take some turns that are really good or really bad. Competitive archery was a bit more family-friendly and I found I was drawn towards the mechanics and science of archery. But once again life seems to put up obstacles and forces us in a different direction.

Mountian biking is no easier for me now …but I can enjoy the experience at my level. I’m surrounded by others who love eMTB’ing and I’m happy that my best friend (wife) likes to ride also. Besides hitting the trails and exploring the area, I like the mechanics and maintenance of everything associated to eMTB’s and trails. I have the time. I love the challenge. I enjoy the mental and physical therapy.

 

[A06]

I go in cycles probably influenced by my group of friends at a particular point in time. No matter what the current hobby is I tend to dive in pretty deep.

Short list; Rock/Ice/Mountain climbing, Enduro Motorcycle racing, Long range shooting (Mile+)/IDPA/HighPower which is similar to UIT in Europe, Archery/Bowhunting and with 3 kids all of their sports ranging from competitive martial arts to hockey.

 

[Stihldog]

Oh, and let’s not forget about those pub/bar/tavern/nightclub sports.

Darts, billiards, foose ball, video games, etc. Being good at any one of these skills can make for a free evening out.

 

[Hobo Mikey]

Skateboarding and surfing.

 

[D3xt3rMTB]

Kitesurfing for me. Live on the coast so actually easier to do than the MTB which always requires a bit of a journey but I still seem to ride more than kite these days. Started kiting in the late 90s when some of the kit was no where near as safe as it is today but still good fun. Also, used to enjoy a bit of landboarding and kite buggying too (think 50-60mph on a 3 wheel buggy along a beach being pulled by a kite) which was always a blast!.

Bit of a late starter on the MTB front being 44 when I got into it but it seems to have taken over.

Watching - F1 (life long fan) as well as most other motorsports (except Formula E).

 

[Shjay]

Use to play tennis in my youth, played for local club.windsurfer for years at Uni used to sail with few pros some turned to kiting. Did winter season in SA which was fun big waves out there & soo powerful, was before the days of kiting . Snowboarded a lot & did ski season in 3 Valleys. Also mountain biked a lot & now my major sport & due to health issues got an ebike.

 

[CascadianAaron]

I was formerly an ice hockey player (goalkeeper and forward) and an indoor soccer player (goalkeeper). I also did backpacking, hiking, canoeing, white water rafting, and snowboarding. Health issues took a lot of that away from me and took much of cycling away as well but the emtb has given me that back. I do enjoy camping still, though with a trailer these days.

 

[Stihldog]

…and kite buggying too (think 50-60mph on a 3 wheel buggy along a beach being pulled by a kite)

Every chance we got we’d pac up the kids and the wind toys and head to the beach. 2line, 4line, kite trains, foils and a couple of kite buggies (one I made). Those buggies were fast …and now that I think of it … probably dangerous too. But the kids (and me) loved them. We had about 14 stunt kites so we were usually a big hit for the Fathers Day Kite Festival. The ooohs and aaaahs came when my 6yr old daughter would be lifted high in the air while flying a small foil.

 

[Husky430]

Cracking cans and sucking durries...

 

[RustyMTB]

Football, cricket, hockey all the usuals when I was a kid, then something flipped & I became attracted to adventure stuff. Paragliding, windsurfing, kitesurfing, back country snowboarding, all the good stuff. It's all fallen by the wayside as various body parts objected but weirdly, the one thing I love that has run all the way through everything is Squash. I've loved Squash as long as I can remember.

It's a fantastically difficult game that uses your head as much as your body. An actually good Squash player is a rarity & a sight to see. Tough too, I've had way more injuries from Squash than everything else put together.

 

[Paulquattro]

Mountain biking outdoors
Drinking coffee in doors

 

[The Hodge]

Quote from above "An actually good Squash player is a rarity & a sight to see. "
That all depends where you play ..at the time I was a member at Durham Squash Club ..nowhere near the first team ..but went down to Edgebaston Priory to spectate when we won the national club championship in the 90's ..the former England captain & World ranked player Bryan Beeson was at the club at the time .
It's a game where there is a huge disparity between those who think they can play well ..and those who actually can ..but there were a lot of very good players at the club at the time and a lot can be learnt from just watching ..putting it into practice on the other hand is a different matter !

 

[RustyMTB]

I played at Brighton. We had Phil Ayton, former world number four, so yeah, it does depend where you play.

 

[2WheelsNot4]

Used to sail/race, and won a hell of a lot of gin.

 

[billwarwick]

Quote from above "An actually good Squash player is a rarity & a sight to see. "
That all depends where you play ..at the time I was a member at Durham Squash Club ..nowhere near the first team ..but went down to Edgebaston Priory to spectate when we won the national club championship in the 90's ..the former England captain & World ranked player Bryan Beeson was at the club at the time .
It's a game where there is a huge disparity between those who think they can play well ..and those who actually can ..but there were a lot of very good players at the club at the time and a lot can be learnt from just watching ..putting it into practice on the other hand is a different matter !

Used to be mad on squash as well. Its a great game, just you and another guy in a box. Its all on you , no team-mates to blame for mistakes! You don't have to be a world beater to play, you just need to play someone at the exact same standard as yourself. I used to play a guy in the club leagues and we had to book double court time and it nearly always went to the last point of the last game, either way. As Hodge says, it does your knees. It felt like they were on fire on the day after a tough game.

 

[valecek]

before I started cycling more often, I actively played hockey as a goalkeeper at several performance levels. it was a part of my life, but unfortunately it totally destroyed the cartilage in my knee.
I have always been somewhat overweight, but after active hockey, my weight went up drastically, even morbidly. ebike helped me keep my calorie deficit in check


At first I didn't know how I could continue to function without hockey, but the bike filled all the empty space for me.
The only thing I can still actively do is strength training in the gym and biking. over time, the e-bike became an addiction. new parts, clothes and lifestyle.

I have always been somewhat overweight, but after active hockey, my weight went up drastically, even morbidly. ebike helped me keep my calorie deficit in check

last photo - 53 kg down

 

[Barbara_Reed]

I fly. Mostly a light aircraft, but when it's nice and warm, an autogyro. A couple of weeks gliding every year and a bit of ballooning, too.

 

[ichauchtt]

Golf in summer - to keep the wife happy No, honestly, I like it, it is the total opposite of downhill/trail biking.
Skiing in winter - lots of skiing