Richard J. Cunningham
Have you ever seen an advertisement showing a cyclist riding in a wind tunnel, perched on a bicycle just feet from the turbine blades? The image has been used at least three more times. Did you know that fans inside a wind tunnel actually sucking air through the tunnels? Yes, it is true. If the air is heated to boiling by a fan 200 horsepower, it would not be possible to use a wind tunnel to measure airflow around objects. The tunnel would turn on at 60 mph, and the cyclist would feel a tailwind of 60 mph.
Although the image is not perfect, the effect it creates will elicit the desired response from the viewer. Artistic license is the distortion of truth. Marketing professionals and photographers alike. Mountain bike magazines are fond of exaggerating the sport and using spectacular images. These white lies are often referred to as entertainment. But, what is the hype? They are better described.
It is not easy to capture real mountain biking on film or video. We are most often just cruising on dirt roads, content to escape the stresses of urban life. We do get some airtime, and sometimes we look stylish, but you don’t see mountain bikers with big faces in the backcountry wearing perfectly coordinated clothing. You can find out more by visiting your local dirt-jumping facility, getting an MBA or watching the Gravity Games on tele.
MBA is a radical organization and I am not sorry. I will be clear: I trust MBA readers understand mountain biking. We don’t want to see too many pictures of people like us so we make flashy shots of models who think that the fame and fortune of appearing in MBA is worth risking their lives. It’s great to see someone do impossible moves or speed through deep water crossings at thirty mph. However, test models don’t have to purchase broken bikes and there is always a crew to help them. These options are rare for mountain bikers.
I know where to draw the line on wantingon destruction for the sake of perfect photographs. MBA will not include a photo of a downhiller running down the Rocky Mountains’ pristine slopes. Our berm-busting shots of sand are shot on ATVs or motorcycles. We don’t tear up hiking trails to get the best image.
MBA is the longest-running Mountain bike magazine in the globe. Our master plan is for the sport (and MBA) to remain happy and healthy. Action is our first name. However, we are mountain bikers. No matter how radical a photograph is, it won’t be published in our book if it puts IMBAs land accessibility movement back a hundred decades. I can promise you that if ever we use a wind tunnel shot, he will face the right direction.
