Local mountain biker Rick Excusenberg, 38, came under scrutiny Saturday after confidently telling a group of younger riders that he “would’ve hit that jump if he was younger.” Independent fact-checkers quickly rated the statement false.
Excusenberg made the comment while observing a roughly 15-foot gap Ogden Bike Park. “If I was 25 again, I’d totally send that,” he said, squinting toward the landing. “But, you know, I’ve got responsibilities now. Mortgage. Kids. Bad Knees.”
Friends and fellow riders, however, say Excusenberg has never hit anything remotely resembling a jump. “Rick once walked down a two-foot drop because he said the angle was wrong,” said longtime riding partner Frank Honestman. “He’s been making these claims since 2010. Back then, he was just saying he’d hit it ‘next time.’”
Friends and fellow riders said Excusenberg’s explanation was nothing new. “Rick’s been saying the same stuff for years,” Honestman said. “He’s never hit a gap jump in his life, but every time, it’s the wind, his knees, Mercury being in retrograde or some other dumbass excuse.”
When asked why he skipped the feature, Excusenberg rattled off a familiar list of reasons. He said his joints “can’t handle that kind of impact anymore,” that he was “leaving the big stuff to the kids,” and that he “tweaked his back mowing the lawn this morning.” He also claimed his bike “wasn’t really set up for gaps” and that he “couldn’t risk showing up to work Monday on crutches again.”
Excusenberg added that the wind, trail conditions and “energy of the jump” didn’t feel right. Witnesses report the air was calm and the dirt was ideal.
Archive searches and witness testimony revealed no evidence that Excusenberg has ever cleared anything larger than a parking lot speed bump. A review of his Strava data shows multiple pauses labeled “scoping” that end with the tag “turned around.”
Younger riders at the scene say Excusenberg’s remarks are part of a familiar pattern. “He’s like the patron saint of excuses,” said 19-year-old park rap Brody Flapjeans. “Every session, it’s something new like back pain, taxes, bad suspension setup, or planetary alignment.”
