T - As in Johnny. He's older now, still a cowboy, and as conservative as ever. Tomac just started his own bike company with Manitou founder Doug Bradbury. Still the major antidote to the notion that former BMXers aren't strong enough to ride cross-country. And still mountain biking's only genuine superhero.

TA -Before Shimano, TA - a French company - made this complicated (it had about 40 pieces), ungainly, and utterly versatile touring crankset. You could convert it from a double to a triple to a quad in minutes. You could have gears as low as 18 or as high as 60. A perfect example of the Euro way - over-designed, quirky, and nearly unbreakable.

Table-Top - a jump in which the rider throws the bike sideways in mid-air. Less commonly, a jump made over a hill that reaches a plateau and goes back down.

Taco - to bend a wheel over on itself, in the shape of a taco. "I taco'd my wheel, and it cost me a hundred bucks." Worse than a potato chip.

Taiwan -They make good bikes here (and bad ones, too). That's the Taiwan way. A manufacturer supplies the spec, and Taiwan builds it. Exactly. Most bikes are made in Taiwan, and many are made by the same suppliers, even if the brand name is different. Taiwan bonus: if you're hungry for dog, you can find it, 24/7/365. A-OK?

Take a flyer - to suddenly sprint away from a group. Team time trial (TTT) - a race against the clock with two or more riders working together. Technogeek - a rider who sports all the latest technical gizmos (whether he knows how to use them or not).

Tea Party - when a whole group of riders stops and chats, and nobody seems to want to ride on.

Technical - a section of trail that is difficult to ride because of rocks, tree roots, steep drops.

Techno-fad - a screwy or unique technology that a dominant company (usually Shimano) tries to foist upon the innocent cycling public. Past techno-fads include Biopace chainrings, and overly complex "thumb-thumb" or "push-push" shifters.

Techno-weenie - a rider who knows more about the newest MTB parts and techno-fads than about the trails. Someone who buys lots of gadgets to add supposed iotas of performance to the bike. Greeting a friend whom we haven't seen in a year, I might say "Hi, Marta!" A techno-weenie might say "Oooh, you got White Industries hubs on that bike now?"

Tempo - fast riding at a brisk cadence.

Thrash 1) to cause severe ecological damage to a trail, usually during the wet season. 2)a damaged trail "That trail's really thrashed after last winter."

Thrasher - a rider who goes fast but without much finesse.

Three-Hour Tour - a ride that looks like a piece of cake at the outset but turns out to be a death march. Derived from the theme song to "Gilligan's Island."

Throw the bike - a racing technique in which a rider pushes the bike ahead of his or her body at the finish line, gaining several inches in hopes of winning a close sprint.

Ti - titanium. Some riders would replace their watches, rings, glasses frames, and gold tooth-fillings with titanium if they could afford to.

Time trial (TT) - a race against the clock in which individual riders start at set intervals and cannot give or receive a draft.

Titanium - Not as exotic as it once was, but it still gets the job done with supple, bullet-resistant style - only it's Litespeed that now rules the Ti roost.

Toe clips - a clip-and-strap system that connects a rider's feet and toes to her pedals. Toe clips usually don't require special shoes.

Tombstone - one of those damn little rocks protruding out of the trail which you don't notice because you are having a heart-attack climbing the hill.

Tornado - to balance on your front wheel while turning your back wheel 90-180 degrees in either direction

Tops - the part of a drop handlebar between the stem and the brake levers.

Town bike -Cruiser, single-speed, clunker, call it what you will. The keep-it-simple movement is about the purity of pedalling - and the sheer difficulty of it if you really try to ride one of these rigs off road.

Track - a velodrome. Also, the word to yell on singletrack when a slower rider is blocking your progress and you want to pass.

Track Stand - (from road-cycling) a maneuver where the rider stops the bike and attempts to remain standing.

Trail Mix - the involuntary release of last night's dinner by the way it came in, usually with the assistance of too many adult beverages and accompanied by a long grinder.

Trail Swag - equipment or accessories dropped by other bikers and found on the trail.

Training effect - the result of exercise done with an intensity and duration sufficient to bring about positive physiological changes.

Trials - a slow-speed off-road event in which you ride through an obstacle course, trying not to dab. True value -Tools, appliances, lawn mowers, and bikes.

Tricked Out - when a bike has the latest and hottest components.

The off-road movement - with it's complex, advanced rigs - probably killed the back-of-the-hardware store bike shop. Don't you miss them?

Tubular - a lightweight road or track tire that has the tube permanently sewn inside the casing. Also called a sew-up. The tire is glued to the rim.

Turkey - an unskilled cyclist.

Turnaround - the point where the riders reverse direction on an out-and-back time trial course

Tweak - a jump during which the rider twists the handlebars back and forth in mid-air, the more times the better. v. 1) to slightly injure a part of the body or the bike in a crash. "I tweaked my wrist when I fell." 2) to make a minor adjustment. "My brake pads were rubbing but I tweaked the cable and it went away."