It seems like an all consuming passion. Every waking moment, every nano-second of spare time, every spare synapse. Every thought gravitates towards thinking about mountain biking.

When we wake, our first action is to look out of the bedroom window, looking upwards to see what the day's weather holds in store, thinking about how we would ride in the conditions. We do this even when we're not riding.

When it rains, we think about how the weather will affect the trails. Will we be able to do the night ride this week or will it be too slippery in the dark? Will those rain-soaked roots claim the grip that your tyres offer in the dry?

When the sun shines, we wonder how much faster we'll be able to rip down the trail, almost tasting the dust kicked up by your mate's rear tyre as you follow him down a fast section, almost riding blind through shafts of light and clouds of loam particles.

When it's windy, we despair.

When we're at work, we choose to sit and eat in front of our computer, just so that we can check out some mountain biking websites and salivate over components or clothing rather than the food we're consuming.

When we lay in bed at night, sleep rolling over us, we dream of nailing that gap jump without any fear or anticipation. We're king of the hill, master of the slopes, mastering turns and forming shapes in the air as we dream the perfect ride.

MTB. We do. Do you?