We reckon it’s always questionable when articles like this try and get inside “why do this stuff” but here’s a short spiel from someone called “Handwerk”. Maybe you’ll agree he’s been working his hand a bit too much but at least there some good images of some MTB guys.

Have a look at this below, some relevant stuff covered really but there’s no mention of a big part of the inescapable truth that a large reason to do all these things is unless you do this stuff, most of life is unimaginably boring and once you’ve had a taste of these things, not much else gives this level of stimulation.

Risk, skills, travel and more, these are all important elements in the mix but a low tolerance to boredom is probably the biggest part if the truth be told …

“Yesterday four men were gored during the running of bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

But if you think the risk of serious injury failed to keep hundreds more from running with the 1,300-pound (600-kilogram) behemoths again today during the city's famous multi-day festival, think again.

What it is that drives some to embrace extreme risks, while the rest of us scurrying for the safety of the sidelines?

Lester Keller, a long-time coach and sports-psychology coordinator for the U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association, says that not everyone has the mental makeup to excel in dangerous pursuits.

"It takes a certain kind of person," Keller said. He notes that most of us hit a natural ceiling that limits our appetite for extreme risk and as a result, our ability to perform well in dangerous conditions.

But others have a much higher tolerance, if not craving, for risk. For example, Keller points to Daron Rahlves, a top U.S. downhill ski racer who spends the summer off-season racing in motocross competitions. "He enjoys the challenge and the risk," Keller said.

"The high element of risk makes you feel alive, tests what you are made of and how far you can take yourself," Rahlves said in a previous interview with U.S. Ski Team staff.

"I'm not looking for danger. I'm in it for the challenge, my heart thumping as I finish, the feeling of being alive," he said. "I definitely get scared on some of the courses. It just makes me fight more. … The hairier the course the better. That's when I do best."

The fear that drives many people away from the risks of extreme sports may be the same ingredient that keeps others coming back for more.

Mountaineer Al Read has logged many notable first ascents over the course of his climbing career. Read now serves as president of the Exum Mountain guides, a pre-eminent guide service based in Wyoming. The company leads paying clients to the summits of some of the world's toughest and most dangerous mountains each year.

Having climbed for over 40 years, Read says he no longer pushes to the extremes as he once did but the feeling is still vivid.

"I can remember when I was getting into situations where I thought that at any moment I could be killed," he said "I'm not particularly religious, but I would say, Oh God, don't let me be killed here. I'll never do this again."

"But we'd get back down, and when we were safe we'd say, Man was that great!" he recalled. "You forget how scary it was, and you go back again."

Psychologists note that some people seem to have a strong craving for adrenaline rushes as a thrill-seeking behaviour or personality trait.

Like many extreme athletes, Emily Cook's appetite for risk appeared at a young age.

"I was both a skier and a gymnast," said the former U.S. aerials ski champion. "I was one of those kids who enjoyed and excelled at anything acrobatic, anything where you were upside down. It was just kind of a part of me."

Redefining Risk

Shane Murphy, a sports psychologist and professor at Western Connecticut State University, has worked with Olympians and other athletes. He says he is struck by the way they redefine risk according to their skills, experience and environment.

"I've worked with groups climbing Everest, including one group without oxygen. To me that just seems like the height of risk. But [the climbers] took every precaution they could think of," he said. "To them it was the next step in an activity that they've done for years. They weren't going out there to get hurt."

Murphy said the perspective of extreme athletes is very different from our own. "We look at a risky situation and know that if we were in [that situation] we would be out of control," he said. "But from the [athletes'] perspective, they have a lot of control, and there are a lot of things that they do to minimize risk."

As Read, of Exum Mountain Guides, is quick to note, climbing and other "dangerous" activities are statistically not as risky as outsiders would assume.