TBH ive kinda hit a plateau, dont think im as balls out fast as when I were a lad but ride bigger stuff now probably, tho less often the test pilot.

If youre the same or worse, what are you going to do next year to improve?

Im gonna finish building my DJs and learn some tricks.

Better or worse or same?

Lots better, I was about 5, 10 years again. I’m just going to carry on riding, racing and hitting bigger stuff. I’m also spending more time messing about on some sweet doubles doing whips, tables and practising scrubbing. I want a try a no hander and X-Up too.

Absolutely. I didn’t get my first “real” MTB until 2005. 😀

Haven’t got the nerve I had ten years ago, but went on a UKBike skills course with the smiley dude and came away from that, technically a better rider..

Thoroughly recommend going, combination of him and a decent bike = invincibility

Until some young scrotes dug a big hole in one of our trails without telling anyone and i fell down it that is.

No, I used to be very fast, now I just have fun and it makes up for being a slow fat old duffer

Yes – still progressing but slowly. Ridden offroad for a long time but never on a decent bike until a few years ago.

In common with some comments above a skills course seems to teach you to be smooth. In control…

Which somehow seems slower. But is way faster.

Edit – BTW with I’ve been at GT a couple of times with TJ breathing down my neck. That also makes you faster 😉

No. Have lost my ‘nads when it comes to really steep bits and jumps.

I think my skills have improved somewhat but my balls have shrank at the same time… levels me out. I think it’s a combination of always riding alone and having responsibilities = my own family. I feel I HAVE to hold back a little and that certainly hinders progression.

Yep been Jedi ed

Im with tazzy although less fat and less old

Focused on something else for time being but keeping my hand in and i will be back 😉 ( as an old slow fat duffer )

Nope…I’m utterly mince on a bike these days…on a scale of 1-10, I’d say I was a 7 and now I’m a 3…lack of time and too much on to get my head sorted…

10 years ago I rode all over the Lakes on an 80mm ht with not a care in the world.

Now I ride the same terrain on much fancier bikes, wear a wide variety of armour depending on the day/mtfu levels/route and constantly wonder if my angles are slack/gnarr enough, my forks are at the right setting and if my technique is quite right (it never is).

I lurk on forums, read mags and pester bike designers about custom builds cos no-one understands my style.

Strangely however, I certainly don’t feel like it’s made me any better!

YES! If I was better when I was 9, I would be worried. I can still see progression and I hope it continues for a few years yet

Better than 10 years ago but worse than 6 months ago. Need to go on a skills course to sort out my head and improve my skills I reckon. Or maybe I just need to (i) grow some balls and (ii) do more mountain biking.

Yes. Only started riding mtb’s 9 years ago!

Sol. Did you. When was first France 03?

02, I’d been riding for about 6 months!

Yes, better than 10 years ago….but not better than 17 years ago 😉

10 years ago I’d just spent 2 years living in Thailand working in a dive shop. No cycling for the whole time – when I got back to the UK I was fit, but very rusty.

However 17 years ago I was at a peak of fitness, winning local races, and riding at the local trails/bmx track every day.

Absolutely! I think with bikes getting better, your balls get bigger. Maybe false confidence but when I go back to my hardtail I ride things I wouldn’t dreamt of 10 year ago. 🙂

im so much better than 10 years ago! ten years ago i was 7 years old and because of my size back then i was limited to just riding trails of a similar difficulty to laggan black.

I was quite good at dirt jumping ten years ago and would huck pretty much anything up to about 15ft to flat. It wasn’t pretty though.

Nowadays I’m definitely quicker downhill and have better flow through jumps though less tricks in the bag. No more hucks to flat anymore either!

No. I ride a lot less than I did ten years ago and fitness aside I have lost the fluidity that comes from riding almost most day.

Definitely, I was only 6 ten years ago.

I never realised there were so many young’uns on here.

Sol> that explains a lot 😉

I have lost a lot of the technical ability I had as I was riding a lot of dh as well as xc. Got better endurance now though

Much faster. I rediscovered mtb’ing last year after a 15 year gap. In the last 18 months, my bike handling skills have come on loads and I can just about keep up with some guys who race downhill.

I was shite at riding when I was younger, as I had no clue about technique. Modern bikes have made a difference, but the biggest change is constantly practicing bike handling skills.

Been riding MTBs nearly 20 years.

I was crap 20 years ago.

I was crap 10 years ago.

I’m crap now.

Can’t see myself ever stopping it though, until I’m physically incapable.

gilo, are you perhaps me?

Much slower – the curse of approaching frailty and infirmity.

Reckon I’m technically better now than I’ve ever been, and think that actually makes me a bit braver than I used to be too.

Over a longer trail/route don’t think I’m any quicker or slower overall though – tend to conserve my energy now when I can so don’t ride as fast all the time as when I was younger, but am probably faster (better skills, better bike) on techier stuff than in 2001. It all balances out.

Only real difference I notice from 10 years ago is if it all goes tits up I take WAY longer to heal properly these days!

slainte ➡ rob

Most definitely.
11 years ago I moved from somewhere with mediocre trails to Hobart with awesome trails on my doorstep. Can’t help to get better, especially with the mutters I ride with.

I am with a few others here getting slower and more cautious, like to keep my wheels on the ground and increasingly wary of fast rocky fireroads/tracks – clearly need a Fat Bike to explain it! I have nicer more capable bike now, allowing me to still to have some fun

Wasn’t biking 10 years ago (but not due to being one of the young ‘uns!)

Was a better mtb’er 4/5 years ago, but balls* seem to have transferred to road riding descents.

*not sure what the girl equivalent is, but saying ‘breasts’ doesn’t seem to convey the appropriate association with gnarr …

I have more enthusiasm and spirit and UN-boredom! but, to be honest, I don’t have that “is kev coming out to play?” kindov, but not in that free and uncareing thing. maybe I just want to recapture that freedom. but I love bikes, and riding bikes. BIKE=GOODF.

Hell yes! I first started riding MTBs 8 years ago mind and the learning curve has flattened of late a tad.

I’ve asked for a lesson with Jedi for my birthday…

Dunno, can take a bike over rougher ground these days, but i’m another one that didn’t know what suspension felt like till 2007(still never rode a full sus bike for more than 30 secs!). So before then, no idea, didn’t really get into ‘mtbing’ like i do now until then. I always fancied it, and I’d fire the bike down any bit of rough ground or inner city single track and the like, but the bike was always a commuting thing for me or a play thing as a child. tbh I probably learned eveything I know on bmx as a kid, so doubtful tbh! Probably achieved my skill set around 10 years old when i was building we jumps etc and ran with that ever since!

Sue- balls makes things worse imo. You may be on a winner. Relax, think, be calmy confident. I’ve done .,.. I can do ,,,, etc.

can I rewind cos I’m a bit drunk….

blikes ar good.. and…

swiss01 – Member
gilo, are you perhaps me?

I guess it’s possible…..