I was out on my own today (never really used to) on the XC bike (never had one of those until a year ago) winding up the road to do a trail, felt like I was going well and ended up climbing up to the upper trails as I thought I’d see how my strava for the climb was. PR ticked up and back down again 🙂

Had me thinking back that a few years ago I’d probably never have done any of that, still riding the gravity stuff, still grabbing uplifts when I can and having lots of other bike fun just the XC side seems to be kicking on at the moment.

So whats changed with you lot?

Hardly ride my mtb at all for fun, mainly for racing and events like marathons. Used to ride twice during the week and then at weekends.

Now ride mainly road for fun and run during the week due to time mainly

Up until 5 years ago it was all about riding on a Sunday with mates and enjoying Tea and Cake, with as passing interested in endurance events which were basically a lads weekend away with some riding content.

Then after accidentally doing OK in a 24, I decided to take it more seriously, as the same time circumstances causing me to move on from my riding group. I also got Jedi’d, which caused me to be thinking around a ride rather than bubmling randomly. Then I wanted to be more fit, so joined a road club in order to get fitter and stronger. Now I’m two years into the short course XC race scene doing OK with many aspects of my life being changed such as health, weight, diet etc. Gaining my first podium this year has only made me more serious.

Now my riding is still enjoyable socially, although it is hard to keep the competitive nature under wraps! I do however have an unhealthy likeness for Turbo work these days.

Used to ride XC-type stuff, focusing on riding more and more miles rather than seeking out techy riding. Time is more limited now so less riding. I now mostly ride techy trails and enjoy that challenge more than mile munching.

Toddler = a lot less time on the bike.

Definitely more about smiles than miles for me at the moment.

Used to see how quickly could get from A to B, grabbing air wherever possible, but nearly always cycled to trails wherever they were, be it 50 miles or 5.

Now it’s how long can I eke out the pootling, ie going from A to Z and back to A, stopping along the way enjoy the journey. Maybe stop for a pint 8)

Always was a frustrated tourer with an MTB

I still own a mountain bike. I used to do the odd XC race and endurance race along with just exploring for fun but have started to race more seriously and across more disciplines (mainly after I realised I was good). Also helps that I’m better paid than when I started out so can now run different bikes for different races.

I now road race, TT, hill climb and CX. I look forward to Autumn when the hills climbs and CX season starts up.

I do the odd Mtb race, did the national marathon champs this year.

Still explore and on weekends when I’m not racing I can normally be found trying to cover big distances or climb as many hills as possible. 5 years ago I would have laughed at you if you suggested a 300mile road ride or a 140mile off road ride.

Now I prefer going up hills than coming down them.

A couple of nasty falls, my age and my responsibilities mean that I’ve turned into a right mincer. However, the slower and more cautious I am, the more I fall off!

I’ve almost completed a 20-odd year full circle.

20 years ago I injured a knee at football and had issues with running. The physio suggested i get a bike instead, but after a few near misses (road cycling 20 years ago was suicidal) I heard about these things called mountain bikes, and got one.

So back then I had a pig iron mtb, fully rigid, and I rode it along lanes and up farm tracks and bridleways, and basically over the next hill to see what was there and what the view looked like.

Gradually I got into the more technical side, never proper DH or FR but finding singletrack and drops and the like. I joined a club, and explored the Surrey Hills and went to trail centres, and….

Then I did a few events – Mayhem, D2D, SiTS, and some short course XC stuff. And lead club rides, and so on.

But gradually I’ve grown tired of racing, and the cost, I’ve got a bit annoyed with some of the people I used to ride with and I don’t have the time or tolerance to spend what limited time I have with family commitments spending it doing things i don’t enjoy. So i ride with some folks I like occasionally, but mainly on my own again.

And I’ve got a CX bike too. And I ride that as much as the MTB’s now. And I ride it along lanes, and up farm tracks and bridleways, to see what’s over the top of that hill and what the view looks like from there….

And it’s great.

I mostly ride at night, Monday’s solo and Wednesday’s with a group (2 – 6 depending on commitments). I’m 50 and mostly just ride my local, Winchester, trails and once or twice a year do a long weekend away in Wales. Once in a while, maybe 3 times a year, I do a day at Swinley with my 12 year old son and maybe once a year I do a night ride at Swinley with the other middle age ‘boys’.

I’m guessing I’m fairly typical of a middle aged mountain biker whose riding has changed from every spare minute to ‘allocated’ slots so I can get enough riding in.

Next year I’m doing BPW, Afan a trip to Derbyshire and a 2 day OM event with one of my riding buddies so next year is a busy year.

Next week I have a 200km Audax, week after an enduro.
XC racing? Gave it a go again last month, but I’ll pass next time thanks

MWS

Am like you, used to be all about the downs, now have a 29er hardtail and love going xc for miles. Still love the downs on the FS, but the 29er is fav until the sun comes back

After meeting my fiancé and her two little lads a year ago I don’t ride anymore…

Never said the 29r was the best, just that I have broadened my horizons

Started out just doing a bit of gravity and jumps (BMXer), tried doing some loops, hated it, sooo much work for relatively little reward.

Carried on doing some loops just to get out, retained the distaste for climbs, that ended being put into climbing energy to get them done, suddenly found my ratio of fun to pain went up, got hooked.

Now i ride everything, xc hacks on a rigid of 50+ miles, through to hammering scary steep, hard stuff in the alps. Though what hasn’t changed is that that i’m out of the saddle messing around far more than most people i come across, im not a sit in the saddle twiddling away kind of person.

24 years of just messing around in the woods here #unenduro

Moving! Used to live near the Chilterns which is basically rolling hillside farmland with relatively short sharp climbs, but technically pretty tame, but you can do 30-50 miles on a 3-4 hour ride with no real problem going from narrow wooded singletrack, quiet roads and leafy bridleways, all very bucolic…

…to the vertiginous narrow post industrial valleys and deserted moors of West Yorkshire, where the height gain is measured in thousands rather than hundreds of feet, a 3 hour ride will see you do no more that 20 miles, and the technical riding is in places as tricky as anything the Alps has to offer.

Sort of rude awakening!

Prefer ambling, pootling & churning along these days, on the single speed hard tail with plus tyres on.
But, two/three days out at BPW a year to chuck the Five down some hills, satisfies the loony side.

Started out with edge of field bridleway XC rides on heavy homebuilt klunkers, moved on the the same on a nice hand built XC bike.

Then I saw the Spooky Metalhead in the mags and my eyes were opened. Built up a DMR Trailstar. Riding moved on to messing about in the woods.

Continued in much the same vein for a while through different iterations of the same kind of bike (Identiti Mr Hyde, Cotic BFe).

Most of this riding was done solo, but then a few years ago started riding with a local MTB club and eyes were opened again through trips out to ride in proper hills (Peak, Wales, Shropshire, Lakes, Scotland). Learned to like the ups as a means of getting to the downs. Finally took the plunge and got an FS (Orange Alpine) and my MTB horizons widened again.

Now, I still thrash around the local woods for a laugh, I still occasionally trundle around the bridleways (although now that’s usually as a means of getting to some woods rather than an end in itself), and I still drag my middle aged body up the climbs so I can have some childish fun on the way back down. Then there’s the odd uplift day at BPW or Antur and trips down to the playground at Chicksands. Finally planning a flying visit to the Alps next summer.

Long winded way of saying I guess the big change has been in the variety and scope of my riding. And I love it.

In the mid nineties I borrowed a mates rigid mountain bike to get back into cycling as the circuit training we did caused me knee problems,I then bought one from one of my other mates.I used to go exploring on it down the country lanes & Cheshire Lines cycle route in West Lancs.
In 2011 I bought a road bike & started exploring more of Lancashire,I really enjoy getting out on the road bike down quiet country lanes & the other year I only got out on the mountain bike a few times.
Over the last couple of years I appear to have been rediscovering the mountain bike again.Last year I went to Llandegla a few times, last time I visited a trail centre was 2009 & this year I finally got to Les Arcs,prior to this,the last time I was in the Alps was 2007.I also did a event this year,Tweedlove 7 hour race,prior to this the last MTB event I had done was the Isle of Man E2E back in 2006.I’ve also joined a club again,Xmas bash next weekend.
I still enjoy riding down the Cheshire Lines,I love seeing how the seasons change the landscape, only these days I ride a £250 Halfords CX bike down there,and I’m still enjoying my regular route around Rivington at least once a month and as I get older I appreciate being able to get out there more & more