From the Desk of Ben Furbee

From Ben, picture included:

"Enduro racing. Proving bad cornering techniques don't matter if you can pedal faster than a chipmunk on crack."

Okay, so I have to agree, that's some terrible ETT there. And yes, those his and hers matching outfits/backpacks are unforgivable. But lets be totally clear about enduro.:

Anyone who thinks that enduro only rewards pedaling is crazy. Enduro guys are phenomenal bike riders, and I don't discount any of them. I've gotten my ass handed to me by enough of them climbing and descending to know that they are the real deal. Sure, I hate enduro too, but that's only because I know I'll suck at it. A few thoughts:

1. Being able to race 20 corners that you've hiked and practiced 8 times and memorizing 2-4 minutes of track is a TOTALLY DIFFERENT SKILL than practicing something between 0 and 2 times and freeballing down 20-40 minutes of track.

2. Pedaling helps, sure, but there's a big difference between A) being a horrible bike rider and making up time on the pedaling sections, and B) being a super fit rider and feeling fresh during 20-40 minutes of pinned-fully-wide-open shredding. Being fit means you can hold the throttle open in terms of pedaling AND riding.

3. French people suck.

4. If pedaling was the only factor, 29ers would be winning every race ever. They aren't.

5. Your hair looks dumb:

You're not the Fonz. Case closed.