Name: Michael Haines
Birthday: December 6, 1983
Occupation: Graduate student/researcher at University of Kansas
Quiver: 2006
Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Comp (for the rough stuff); 2006 Kona Jake the Snake
(dirt roads & smooth trails); Singlespeed-converted Schwinn Moab
(around town)
Favorite
Trail: Lahdahl
Park near Kansas City, Missourri, and Lake Leatherwood in Eureka Springs
Favorite
Race: Eureka
Springs Fat Tire Festival
Best
Finish: 3rd place in beginner class
at the Womble Classic in 2006
Favorite
Riding Food: Powerbar
Gels while working hard, Clif Bars while taking it easy.
What
are your riding goals? Develop the skills & endurance to ride all day on any trail in the country
Why
do you ride? It’s
hard to pin down the best part of mountain biking. Flying through the woods on
smooth singletrack is a rush, but I also love the challenge of riding a technical section or steep climb that I’m not
quite sure I can clean…
What
advice would you give to a beginner rider?
Regardless
of what kind of bike you buy, learn how to do minor mechanical procedures on your own, and keep your bike tuned up. Ride a lot of trails, but don’t be intimidated if parts of them are too difficult to ride—everybody
has to get off and push their bike sometimes.
If you could upgrade anything on your bike what would it be? The rider.
Worst
Wipeout: I was 10 years old and had just got my first bike. I tried to roll down a curb out of my neighbor’s yard, but hit my front brake while my front wheel
was dropping. My bike flipped forward, sending me flying over the handlebars. That was when I learned not to grab the front brake while going over bumps.
