Jam - a period of hard, fast riding.

Jeep -One of the first and biggest corporate sponsors of professional mountain biking. Perhaps a less-than-reasoned choice (remember, this is a company that also marketed super-rugged boom boxes with it's name on them), but still a good one. There's no Volvo-Cannondale or VW-Trek without Jeep having paved - or unpaved - the way.

Jester hat -Something tourists buy at races - especially races at ski areas - and wear to show how with-it they are. But hey, when we're tourists somewhere else, we buy t-shirts for the same reason. Still, every time one shows up, the irresistible temptation is to belt a few lines of "Safety Dance."

Jet - to accelerate quickly; to go very fast.

Joe -As in Breeze, Marin pioneer, stickler for accuracy and quality, and all around sweetheart. As in Murray, superstar - and still relatively unknown - bike designer (VooDoo). As in Montgomery, Papa Bear behind Cannondale. And as in Stalin, totalitarian mass-murderer, but what a moustache!

John Boy'ed - when a riders face gets covered with spots of mud, making him look like "John Boy" on the Waltons. "I hit that mudhole and got John boy'ed big time."

JRA - acronym for "Just Riding Along," a phrase universally uttered by people bringing both halves of their frame and the remains of their fork in for warrantee replacement.

Judy -The breakout suspension fork. It had - and still has - everything: great performance, good looks, and a name that gives it just enough mystique. With it, Rock Shox' Paul Turner became (more or less) the Bill Gates of the bike industry.

Jump - a quick, hard acceleration.