“What kind of ride is it?” Or, the Bimble-Ramble-Scramble-Shred Spectrum
the sign of a good ride
The forecast for Saturday looked like it was going to be one of the last nice days of the year. Coupled with the fact that Russ from Path Less Pedaled sent me a prototype dropper post to test, we decided we had to get out for a rip before the sun went down. But first, we had a 1 year old’s birthday party to attend.
this trail is much faster and more comfortable on an XC bike but the best part about a Monstercross bike is they’ll do just about everything decent, especially if you have a dropper post
At the party our neighbor asked us what kind of ride we had planned. The average person will have some idea of what your ride will be like when you say “road” or “mountain bike”, but what about when you’re riding some gravel roads, some pavement, some rail trail, some weird social trails, a hike-a-bike up a blown out bridle path, and a mountain bike trail? Some folks call it ATB, which I actually really like, aside from the fact that only other internet bike nerds know what you’re talking about. So I told him that we think of our rides as being plotted somewhere along the Bimble-Ramble-Scramble-Shred spectrum. Allow me to elaborate.
if you couldn’t tell, I’m about to SHRED this rock slab and following berm. 📷: Graham Bewley
When I think of shredding, I’m thinking of my full suspension mountain bike, lots of chunk and technical tread, steep terrain, berms, and jumps. When I’m shredding I probably won’t have a bag on my bike with a couple beers in it. You can shred on any bike of course, but I’m probably going to reach for my Starling Murmur. Shredding feels a lot more like conquering nature rather than communing with it, for better or worse.
The Stooge Scrambler, photo taken from the Stooge website
When I think of “scrambling”, I can’t help but think of what Andy at Stooge says about the Stooge Scrambler:
Anyone who grew up in roundabout the same era as me will know the power of imagery that the word SCRAMBLER holds. In the dawn of time, before BMX hit the shores of blighty, we used to call our cow-horned track bikes scramblers, and we didn’t just go riding, we went scrambling. To us it meant riding like a nutter through the mud and rocks, just like the big boys were doing on their scrambler motorcycles. So yep, scrambling is cool, always has been always will be, and now i’ve designed a bike so I can go scrambling all day long with a tent and flagons of ale strapped to my steed, so I don’t even have to go home for my tea!
So basically off-road cycling on terrain that wasn’t designed for mountain bikes? Rigid mountain biking on hiking trails? ATB, again? Yeah, all of that. There’s definitely going to be a little hike-a-bike, and there’s probably some mud involved.
Eliisa was definitely scramblin’ on this hiking trail. Note the lack of suspension and the smile that simultaneously conveys glee and fear.
But how about ramblin’?
In my mind a ramble is a ride that is more aimless and exploratory. You’re not out to smash PRs, shred singletrack, or really get anywhere too fast. Stopping to have a picnic somewhere with a view with some food that you packed in your handlebar bag is ideal. I prefer ramblin’ on dirt roads because there’s less traffic and you can comfortably ride next to your friends, like Eliisa and Kari above. But if you live in a post-industrial city like me sometimes you find yourself ramblin’ in overgrown alleyways, spooky industrial areas, and in the old neighborhoods that are now prairies.
I probably wouldn’t shred in Tevas but I sure would bimble, ramble, and maybe even scramble in them.
Last but not least, the bimble.
my father-in-law, bimbling about
There’s a lot less of a distinction between a ramble and bimble, but when I asked Eliisa to help me put into the words the difference she said that a bimble is even slower, often with friends who don’t ride as much as you do, with a bunch of stops at coffee shops, bakeries, bars, and the like. Norm over at Urban Dictionary seems to agree:
Bimble: To amble without real aim, yet in a friendly and harmless manner. It's not required to acheive [sic] nothing, though it is a frequent side effect. Bimbling can be made a little more business like with a slight hunch of the shoulders.
So just hunch your shoulder and all of a sudden your bimble becomes a scramble!
the ramble [on the road] before the scramble [on the mountain bike trail]. 📷: Graham Bewley
Isn’t all of this a bit tedious? I mean, yes, but that’s kind of what bicycle blogs are all about after all. The biggest thing for me is getting out there with your friends and, if like me, you’re often leading the rides, letting them know what they will probably encounter.
Saturday’s ride was the perfect ramble-scramble, and I was grateful to be on my Stooge Rambler. The ride was mostly dirt, a little pavement, and some chill but fun singletrack, complete with skidding on some leaves with a foot out. That’s bicycle bliss.