I've given up 'trying to get better'. I've tried and I just got worse. I pushed my limits, went riding with riders who were just slightly better than me… Blah, blah, blah.. and do you know what? I fell off badly and hurt myself. Not too badly mind, but enough. I'm only too mindful of nature's fickle caprice. An over-the-handlebars here, a lost tooth there, a broken collar bone there.. da-de-da-de-da..

I've got less confidence than ever before now and I'm riding like a nervous granny with osteoporosis. My entire riding career seems to have gone along like this – in roller-coaster swoops. Feeling confident and riding like a jedi-god one moment, then eventually, inevitably, crashing and hurting myself. Followed by a pensive worrying about crashing, taking about a year or so to build up the confidence again… and then… you guessed it!

Why bother struggling to 'get better'? What does that really mean anyway? I think this is one of the reasons I eventually gave up rock climbing – the eternal struggle to 'get better' that is inherent in this sport – continually comparing yourself to manly benchmarks of risk, nerve and skill. It just wasn't fulfilling. Maybe I'm just not goal-oriented? Afterall, why not just go along and enjoy the ride?

Shall I just ride along comfortably within my limits from now on..? Avoid the sharp pointy bits..? Take up knitting..? The time will come when I'm feeling confident again – and the devil in me will inevitably dare me to repeat whole cycle all over and over again. 😉

Ride cos you enjoy it dude.

You'll get the skills you need as you go.

As Pat said, just ride. It's supposed to be fun. Some day's you are the pigeon, others you are the statue. Accept this and enjoy.

Hey NED about this time last year i was diagnosed with Osteoporosis and i'm not a granny !!!! Specialist said MTBing was a no no .I really thought it was game over .But talked to my GP and nurses from National Osteoporosis Society .I have made so much progress in that time .But like you i get days when i can't ride stuff that i used to ride and give myself such a hard time .Then i look back and tell myself that this time last year i know i would have settled for riding 95% of what i used to.
I know what holds me back all that holds you back is how you feel on a particular day .So just go with the flow buddy after all you are supposed to be enjoying yourself !Stop analysing it so much some days you own stuff other days you don't hey ho !

its bike riding not war.
ride what you're comfortable riding. stop and actually enjoy where your bike has got you during a particular ride.
you need to re-discover the joy of riding bikes.

In a similar position myself, 2yrs ago hit a tree and still suffering with left shoulder issues, last year fell off on my first lap at mayhem and broke 2 ribs, op on shoulder in July, back on bike early september, bad stack start of october, 6 fractured ribs, torn intercostals, left lung swollen and full of fluid, 6 weeks on and I am about to venture back out on the bike tonight for a few flat gentle miles around the local lanes/towpath. Had a lot of time to think about this and have come to the conclusion I can generally hold my own on the flat and downs with those that I ride with but not on the ups, therefore to improve I need to shed some weight to go uphill quicker and also get some skills training so that I am more consistant with my riding. Always enjoy riding my bike so no worries there

votchy, some many bad falls!
why are they happening, how are they happening and what could have been done to avoid them?

I think the key with progression, especially when you are getting on a bit and don't bounce very well any more, is to make sure its very gradual. I like to feel I am getting better as a rider and I think I am better now than I have ever been. I might not be faster though, and I probably take fewer risks now than ever, but as I am technically better I can do things that would have been a big risk before and not be scared by them. But I still like to get out of my comfort zone sometimes otherwise I'd get bored I think.

What I do is ride within my comfort zone but towards the upper limits. That way my 'envelope' shifts upwards and although I get better it's a very gradual progression. I've find it's (hopefully) less likely to cause me injury.

jedi

hit a tree not looking where I was going, messing with my rear light going down a lane, mayhem grassy right hand down hill bend, like many both wheels slipped from under me, landed on my right arm tucked in to my side, last one carrying lots of speed on a night ride along a flowy piece of singletrack (caravan in the wyre for those that know it) clipped a tree stump with my front wheel, wheel off ground still when I reached the next bend so hit another stump, bike flew away to my right I supermanned to the left and sixteen stone at 20+mph landed on my left side on tree roots about 200mm in diameter. easy to see how 1 and 3 could have been avoided, 2 I put down to just one of those things, think 3 would benefit from tuition by someone such as your self.

Getting better is not just about going down trails fast it is about getting up trails fast or just getting up them at all or doing some skills. I think a mixture of each is cool. I have a rooky shoot climb that nearly always defeats me but some day maybe I will do it each time (There is another one which always used to beat me but which I have now cracked). There are some drops I don't do yet on my local ride but I know I can do them, just got to do them when I am not on my own. Then I have been getting better at doing wheelies and manuals. So all in all just do something else instead of one thing. Or change your tyres.

Try concentrating on one thing you want to improve, maybe not speed but something that you're not confident with, berms, jumps etc and take it slowly.
Often if you're pushing too hard you make simple errors as you're so close to disaster it doesn't take much to push you over the edge.
Some coaching could be a good idea, I've been considering something like Jedi's courses as I'm reasonably competent but suck at gaps and anything big, currently using the excuse that I have twins and have to be responsible……as opposed to just a bit chicken.

technical climbing still requires the same skills set as technical descending geda 🙂

I'd been feeling a bit like that for a while too, not the crashing but the not really making headway feeling – especially after finding exactly where my limitations were while riding DH runs in the Alps.

But then I had a week in Wales, just riding trail centres, and found I was riding much faster and more confidently than I remember ever doing before.

Don't know what my point it really, but it seemed relevant when I started typing.

Riding on the Quantocks Tuesday i had the privilege of seeing and riding alongside a herd of 25 deer .To me thats the essence of why i do it .Not rad or gnarly but each to there own.

One thing "risk free" I have worked on and improved is pumping, its really satisfying to be able to carry speed by working undulations in the trail, and progress to getting the wheels off the ground and doubling up stuff. Its hard work so adds to fitness and also helps with progression onto jumping proper. I find that I can now do small jumps on trails on my XC hardtail with the seatpost up that I would have not attempted 5 years ago with the seatpost down. 😀

Oh BTW i have also rode scarey stuff in W histler , Morzine ,Lake Tahoe to name a few so for me it's not ALL bimbling .But more importantly it's enjoyable in it's own way and thats what we all do it for isn't it ?

I have a sort of self imposed skills refresher circuit I do up at my local woods whenever I’ve not been riding for a little while, a series of 20-30 second DH runs of varying difficulty with different types of obstacles to deal with, I always start with the same line; relatively minimal air time but with a mixture of turns; bermed and flat, some with roots some without, that gets your eye in with the brakes and judging trail conditions, I work my way through a few similar ones all with a mixture of small kickers and different turns till I’m happy to do the “Big line” which starts by taking you off a small kicker over a dug out in to a landing on some roots where you also have to turn and brake, then pumping on through a small twisty section to a 3 foot drop across the main path into a sweeping LH flat turn where you have several stumps to avoid whiles not washing out and keeping some speed, you barely have time to straighten out and you have a worn out old “do or die” kicker which tends to boot you’re back wheel higher than you’d expect, again landing into roots (hopefully not nose heavy), straight on into a narrower section where you have some unsighted turns with stumps and roots to avoid and then over a final section where you need to time pumping and pedalling to have enough speed to clear the final 4 foot double… that lot might not sound very hard but it uses most of the trail craft I know to get through it smoothly and fast and forces you to read the trail..

I think the key to trail skills is regular practise and gently building up, shock tactics just don’t work, doing a gentle ride and then expecting someone to hang it out straight away over big jumps and drops is just stupid, just like fitness training, to maintain a level of skill requires constant practise and not trying to take “Quantum Leaps” you’re not ready for and not comfortable with…

I tend to come a cropper when I’m riding something I haven’t done before (or for a long while), I’m a bit nervous and tense and while I may have a death grip and wide eyes I’m not actually concentrating or thinking properly about what I’m doing…

oldfart, that's exactly what i mean 🙂

Can we stop being nice and just all shout : MTFU

mtfu is a powerfulll thing and in the wrong hands can lead to serious injury.

and in the wrong hands can lead to serious injury.

That must be my hands then 😉

Trying to get better is overrated.

"Why bother struggling to 'get better'? What does that really mean anyway? I think this is one of the reasons I eventually gave up rock climbing – the eternal struggle to 'get better' that is inherent in this sport – continually comparing yourself to manly benchmarks of risk, nerve and skill. It just wasn't fulfilling. "

Rock climbing is only about constantly moving up the grades if you make it like that. Much like MTBing, there is an inexhaustible amount of enjoyment to be gained from just doing it and enjoying the experience.

Do it for the adventure.

Saying MTFU is all well and good, but putting pressure on a less experienced rider and the resulting stack can often result in the end of a group ride, unless your some sort of hard hearted git who merrily leaves a downed man behind…

Don't put pressure on less experience riders. Use Jedi mind tricks so they put pressure on themselves.

It seems to have worked on no_eyed_deer

Trying too hard to better yourself can be a slippery and unfulfilling slope in my experience. The guy riding 6ft drops and rock gardens isn't necessarily getting more of a buzz than someone else on some basic flowy singletrack. Riding to 80% of your limit is going to generate more of less the same amount of buzz, no matter what your limit is. Imagine your favourite bit of local trail that gives you a little adrenaline kick. Now imagine Steve Peat riding it – I bet he'd not get the same buzz from it that you would.

I used to experience this when I did a lot of track days in the car. There is always someone out there with a quicker car and more talent than you and it's easy to end up chasing this elusive goal of driving nirvana. The truth is that you'll never reach it (unless you secure an F1 drive with Ferrari) so at some point, as with MTB, you have to say enough is enough and just get on with enjoying yourself.

/soapbox

do it for the views, sunrises, sunsets, surprise sightings of wildlife, freedom, getting away from the constraints of everyday life and the rush of being outside and travelling at speed… don't even think about improving; it'll just happen if you ride enough

wot Andy say plus the chance meetings with doggers

I've just been diagnosed with osteoperosis, and I've never been what you'd call an MTB god but I've just come back from scotland where i rode just about all the big stuff (bottled the slab though 8O) Its got to be a combination of being sensible and going with the idea that your gonna do it but most of all do it cos you enjoy it!!

Hear hear Andy warner !!!!Well said that man .
Though to balance this i had a 1 to 1 with a guide in Whistler bike park .Within an hour he had me going down a black run and off one of the GLC drops !!!!! Sounds like an advert for Jedi !!!!
So with the right encouragement you can do it .(Though not sure i would now i've got Osteoporosis .)I mean i got off and walked down the Chimney on the Quantocks in the summer !!!(In my defence it had been raining and it was slippery !!)

Just to reiterate what everyone else has said. Do it for enjoyment and you'll get better anyway. Remember it's just playing. I've ridden all sorts over the years from XC to BMX, but I seem to be getting more 'rad' the older I get. If you'd told me at 20 that I'd still be improving in my mid to late 30s I wouldn't have believed it. I think a big part of it is better risk assessment coupled with more experience. Don't make yourself do anything if you're very scared, you're more likely to mess it up. If you see something you'd like to do, but can't visualise yourself doing it there and then, don't do it! Have a good look at it off the bike, then save it for another day, you'd be amazed what a bit of 'off-line' learning can do for you.

fastindian what age are you and were you told to stop riding at all ?
Specialist told me to give up riding off road because of the jarring and suggested i took up jogging instead !!!!!Because the impact would help load my bones !!!!
Anyhow off out now (riding of course ) report back later .

One more thing all the guides i've ridden with have all said the same thing .If you don't feel confident there is no shame in walking a section of trail .There's a fine line between progression and twatting yerself permanently !(I added that last bit )

oldfart,

Im 41, complete fluke i found out, wife is radiographer and just scanned me 'as practice' 🙄 . Must admit didnt mention it to speacialist as wife had already said not a problem, just dont ride anything to stupid! Joggings definately out due to the dodgey right knee, dont you just love getting older 😆

I used to say MTFU to myself, usually staring at a gap jump or some doubles, now after casing a double and 3 operations i dont anymore, spent far too much time owrrying about what people around me can do and what I should be doing.. now I just think about enjoying myself, days of dreaming about and trying daft jumps are history, ok my skills are half what they got to and I do need a lot of confidence back.. but in the scheme of things.. it does not matter!

That's it really – there is no need to risk death or injury to have fun or progress. Cleaning something really tricky, up or down, getting a really good feeling of flow from a section of trail, not stalling in the corners, hitting small jumps and drops and not going offline or casing the lips, that improves skills and does not involve much risk and is ace fun.

Plus stopping every now and then to take it all in and look around, exploring without any real aim, its all good. Why I love riding bikes off-road.

To summarise most this thread – Stop trying and just change your aspirations to something lame that you can achieve.

Go get them Tiger!

shit yeah forgot about doggers! forestry car parks rule!