Mountain Biking vs Running
I've been giving this a lot of thought lately. My wife is an avid runner, running several times a week and she also participates in the local races and events.
I on the other hand am a weekly Mountain Biker. I ride the local stuff, a few local races, and also like to travel around riding trails out of town.
So the difference is when my wife goes running, general reaction from her family and friends, and even all of MY family is - "You go girl, good job!"
When I go biking, I'm "leaving the wife at home and goofing off with friends". I go once a week (maybe) and she runs several times a week.
When I call my critics on this, they'll say "Running is different. It's exercise."
Excuse me?
What am I missing? Even when I go to the gym, which by all means is not goofing off, and I don't go with friends.... I'm not elevated to the same class as runners.
I'm not asking for more respect nor begging for more validity for biking, I'm just trying to understand why the difference in perception. Is it because of the pain?
Running is much more of a noble cause than Mountain Biking, why is that?