Abstract
Mountain biking is an increasingly popular outdoor activity on the extreme sport continuum. Extreme and high-risk sports have been investigated using a variety of motivational theories with sensation seeking a dominant theme; however, behavioral and motivational homogeneity within these types of populations should not be assumed. Recent studies have highlighted the therapeutic potential of extreme sports and similar outdoor activities. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of mountain biking participants, their engagement methods, and perceived benefits to mental health and well-being. This was a cross-sectional survey and participants were recruited via social media. An online questionnaire specific to the domain of mountain biking was developed. Analysis of the full sample (n = 1,484) and of three independent paired sub-samples was conducted using SPSS. The sub-samples compared the results of males and females; younger and older riders; and those who have recently engaged in downhill mountain biking and those who have not. The results have succeeded in identifying some disparities in mountain biker characteristics and engagement methods. The results suggest that some riders found pleasure in higher risk engagement. The study proposes various explanations for the disproportion of women in mountain biking. Irrespective of the confounding factors related to rider characteristics or engagement methods, mountain bikers reported copious benefits to mental health and well-being related to their engagement. There was a high reported usage of mountain biking as a coping strategy. As such, this study provides insights that could inform the development of outdoor activities as interventions for mental health.
Highlights
Extreme sports are described as activities where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death (Brymer, 2005)
This study aimed to describe the characteristics of mountain biking participants, their engagement methods, and perceived benefits of mountain biking on mental health and wellbeing
Results from our study suggest that females are less likely than males to participate in mountain biking as a child; it is possible, that females are less likely to have engaged in any form of bike maintenance as a child
Summary
Extreme sports are described as activities where a mismanaged mistake or accident would most likely result in death (Brymer, 2005). Activities that bear little resemblance to one another, requiring different levels of commitment and skill (such as rope-free climbing and bungee jumping), have been described as extreme sports (Brymer, 2010). A primary consequence is that variability in motivational orientation of participants of extreme sports, and participants’ methods of engagement, have largely been overlooked (Jones et al, 2015; Clough et al, 2016; Zajc and Berzelak, 2016). Mountain biking is a modern activity consisting of various off-road cycling disciplines. Within this study mountain biking is considered an activity on the extreme sports continuum
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