VVCC Member Scott Hansen

We recently ran into Scott as we usually do, on mountain bikes, and were able to convince him to be our next 5 Minutes With victim. As you will see, Scott has an affinity for the victim especially as it applies to the true nature of mountain biking...

Hi Scott, could you tell our readers about yourself and family?

When I met my wife, Joanie, 30 years ago in Seattle, she had a mountain bike. I rode her rigid “fat” bike, told her it was too heavy and slow, and convinced her to get rid of it. A year later on a vacation to the southwest we traveled through Moab, rented mountain bikes, rode Slick Rock, and went back to Seattle. Within two weeks we had new, matching bikes and a year later started racing our mountain bikes in western Washington.

In ’95 we moved to Phoenix, rode our bikes all over Arizona, and 14 years later moved to Reno, NV. After 5 years we retired, sold our house and contents, and hit the road with our bikes pulling a small travel trailer.

Where all did you go?

We circled the US and parts of Canada for nearly two years riding lots of great trails. We then packed up the bikes and went looking for fresh dirt. We spent a year traveling to Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia and much of Europe. When we returned, we circled the west in our trailer and decided to come through Sedona for a couple of rides. We found a nice piece of dirt in the village, built a small house, and moved here this January.

What are your favorite local trails and upcoming plans?

We usually ride locally on my favorites including the Turkey Creek, Templeton, and Llama trails. We will hit the road again later this summer with our trailer and Tui – our puppy who we hope will become a mountain biking dog.

Through the VVCC we have met many other transplanted dirt heads – the most welcoming people ever. We are very happy here and look forward to many years ripping it up with our new friends.

What equipment do you recommend mountain bikers carry on long rides?

Allen wrenches, pliers, and chain tools are just too heavy and often difficult to use. I don’t bring them anymore. Energy bars are too highly processed and may attract bears. Over the years I tried lots of things and finally learned to bring only what I use most frequently. My basic pack for long rides now includes just the following: beer, bone saw, raw meat, wooden stake, embalming fluid, and a body bag. However, I usually bring two body bags on really long rides.

Tell our readers about your favorite crash...

A few years ago, I was riding way too fast down Little Horse and decided to test my front brake in a technical downhill section. During the resultant long, inverted flight I pondered the meaning of life and revisited the reasons why I had become a mountain biker.

Thankfully, I landed on my head and right shoulder so there was no blood anywhere. I was dazed and confused, my right shoulder was separated, and I couldn’t move for quite a while. My riding buddies knew the mountain biker code and dared not break it. They counted to ten, I wasn’t up yet, so they rode off leaving me to die slowly and decay or possibly live long enough to fight off the mountain-biker-consuming coyotes that are so prevalent here in Sedona.

Since I had no experience fighting coyotes and knew that they could probably smell me from a long way off, I finally got up, mounted my dented steed, and rode down the trail to the Bell Rock parking area using just one arm. I was lucky to catch them as they were driving away. Everyone wanted to know if the bike was okay. It might have been at that point when I decided to draw my comic strip and try to capture the true essence of mountain biking.

What is this Bike Comic thing you do?

After retiring I found myself with lots of free time so I thought I would try to capture the true, gruesome and very dark side of the sport of mountain biking. After all, the sport of mountain biking is simply rolling around aimlessly in the dirt until you crash, die, and get consumed by hungry wildlife.

When not mountain biking, I enjoy drawing Thin Dirt Line comic strips using my mouse and laptop. Please note that any resemblance between the characters depicted and some of the mountain bikers in Sedona is purely intentional.

Thanks Scott - VVCC Member Update readers will be able to discover more of Scott's Bike Comic thing beginning in the June 1, 2019 update. Stay tuned.