I lost my bottle a while ago and sold my bike.I was not doing extreme stuff mostly red routes and some black.One day i thought i don’t have the nerve to do this any more and was not enjoying the fear so that was that.I have a couple of motor bikes and quite happily trundle along at high speed but can’t do a mtb any more.Strange but true.Anyone else out there a sh*te bag like me?

Don’t put yourself down.

I am an utter utter mincer, and consider myself rad & edgy if I cycle through a puddle without stopping to put my galoshes on first. Maybe try a nice XC pootle somewhere? MTB doesn’t have to be scary, IMHO.

Buy another bike or borrow one and get yourself a riding course or two.

Oddly, I stopped riding motorbikes to ride mountain bikes. I can push past the edge on a mountain bike with less expensive/deadly results 🙂

Plus I’m sure there are still more people riding bikes for fun than testing the limits of techyness or hucking. I’m inspired by the sweary northerner stuff but if you read the threads, most folks admit that there is no way they can ride that kind of thing 🙂
And when I say inspired, it doesn’t mean I can either 😉

I’m no super rider so in my mid forties I always have to balance going to work,looking after the family etc with the risks I take. I found this year that there were things I could easily manage last year that made me think twice. I just go with the flow and don’t bother if it feels wrong. I’m sure that my time will come again. If you have the cash and are keen to get out again you could do worse than find a decent coach for a day. Jedi off here would probably be able to help you.

It happens. You have responsibilities. The ground seems to be getting harder and coming up faster. You can’t spend the time maintaining the same level of fitness, you no longer have the lighning reactions of your youth, healing takes longer. So what, riding is still fun.

Try something new: Trailquests or just exploring bridleways or simply going out for a ride with mates.

It’s a lot easier if you never had any bottle to begin with.

Depending on what local riding too have, you can also spend a little time creating lots of techy challenges to keep your skills sharp.
This way, even if a lack of time means your fitness level suffers, your skills stay sharp.

I like to find things I daren’t ride so that I have no choice but to improve. And riding with people who are braver/dafter helps too!!

houble h. At least your frank about yourself which is refreshing to read on here. You probably speak for many. Grab a bike and enjoy it again, you’ve nothing to prove.

Cheers guys.Might get back into it and hope i do because i have had some good times and made some good cycling buddies but atm braking like f#ck from 90 because some old biddy has pulled out in front of me does not fill me with the fear of going down rock steps with the risk of going over the handlebars.
Strange but true.

I can relate to doublel h as I too am a motorcyclist, and have experienced the same thing.

Though I’m younger, I wish I mtb’d more in the last 2-3yrs than I have.
Gonna be building or get built 29er rigid soon so should be smiles for miles or so the biking collective massive keep on telling me.

I have ridden a 29er step through mind in my younger days of oiking papers 15miles in 1.30mins even in full on snow drifting is achievable even with slicks and canti brakes.

Back on topic mind, it’s mainly mental vision so if you talk yourself into thinking and reasonably knowing you can handle those slippy steps or a gap jump then often enough, success will be the case.

Happy trails! 😀

I’m early thirties and I don’t have the bottle! But I have kids and a dog to think about! So they are my priority! As much as I’d love to go and do 40ft drops and massive doubles it’s not practical, but I just go out there to ride. 9times out of 10 there is a safe route around the harder obstacles so that’s what I go for!

not doing extreme stuff mostly red routes and some black

So you are just like 99.99999999999999% of all mountain bikers.The other 0.000000000001% are injured anyway,

Noone said MTFU yet?
All the rad youngsters must still be asleep after all that RedBull/Monster drinking session last night after a day of shredding ,jumps,doubles and tabletops and 360s all with added gnarr.

I’ve had the same thing in kayaking, completely lost my bottle and spend more time sh*tting myself on the harder stuff than enjoying it. My solution has been just to drop back, paddle easier water and just enjoy what I’m doing without thinking “i used to be better than this”

If you want agood read that might help, look for “Inner Skiing” by Tim Gallwey. I’ve found it to be good for sorting out the head games going on.

Surely its statistically way more dangerous riding a motorcycle? If you come off on the road your injuries could potentially be way worse too. Also if its just you riding a trail you don’t have to worry about being taken out by a third party. High speed motor bike crash or mtb over the bars… I know which I would prefer.

I first thought this thread was about losing a water bottle*. I had a big spill on a motorbike a few years ago, walked away but lost faith in my abilities for a bit. Just changed my style from ‘ride it like you stole it’ to ‘be sensible’. Just look for the easier routes and you’ll be fine. Think about what you want to get out of riding. The big drops and boulder gardens aren’t for everyone. Nowt wrong with going around.

*Which can be traumatic. Lost a bottle I’d taken round Europe twice. Was gutted.

I didn’t even start MTB’ing seriously until I was 50, so no skills or bottle. Gradually built it up to being about to handle techy rocky stuff. If I have a crash or spend some weeks off the bike the bottle/skill drops so have to work it back up again. If you’ve had it in the past you will be able to get back into it by starting simple and gradually doing more.

I gained a lot more confidence to “push the envelope” by firstly changing to flats so that if I come off I’m not connected to the bike, and secondly getting some knee and elbow pads so I know I am much less likely to hurt myself

I know the feeling my riding buddies are a lot more Gnarl than me, put me on flowy fast stuff no probs put me on loose rocky wheels off the ound stuff I don’t like it so much. Started road riding and Cx’ing enjoy that ow in the MtB I just Pootle along I can hold my own on the flat and flowy stuff and I mince on the stuff that I don’t like. It’s a hobby for me If I I want to be stressed and tense I’ll go back to work or look at my emails!! 😆

I’m 54, don’t bounce like i used to, so hold back on the
nasty bits.. Won’t be giving it up just yet tho.
Just ride how you want to, and how u you feel comfortable.

I walk sections, I don’t mind admitting. Steep corners and jumps you get on modern Dh trails are my twin nemesis.

MTFU …no sod that.
Try WGAF instead (who gives a ****)

You are , or were, out getting massive exercise and enjoying yourself. Forget the drops and gnarly bits and concentrate on the bits that give you the high, the rest might follow anyway.

I started MTBing proper a couple of years ago and had more guts then than I have now.

I thought nothing of nipping round Healey Nab on my £100 bike with plastic pedals, but now with a much better bike, I avoid it.

Think its the realism of responsibilities when you get older.

Being sef employed is always in the forefront of my mind if I had an accident that put me out of work for a few weeks. Its not so much the money, more the fears of my Students getting bored and going elsewhere leaving me to start all over again.

Dont get me wrong, I dont hang around, but I ride for me, noone else, and if im not sure about a section, I will get off the Bike.

I mainly ride the Bridleways, local woods, and its just big rocky bits and steep drops at the side that scare me.

I crashed a motorbike head on into a car at 29 and somehow survived (just 12 weeks of work). But I recognised the crash wash down to my over confidence/lack of experience so did an advanced riding lesson or two and 5 track days.

I started snowboarding at 27 with a few lessons on my first holiday. After 8 holidays (without any more lessons), I could get down most things but had ended up with lots of bad habits and no style, in fact I’m known as the teapot! I now have a lesson every other holiday.
In fact I didn’t seriously try switch riding till after my later lesson and my switch riding is way more relaxed and therefore smoother than regular.

I’ve been mountain biking for 7 yrs and I’ve now learnt my lesson. I learn much faster and better with a bit of help. And I need to feel I’m improving each year to be satisfied. Plus I hope to ride both snowboards and bikes to a grand old age.

Over the years I’ve known loads of those lucky/annoying people who can just ‘do’ any sport instantly. Sadly I’m not one of them. I need lessons and lots of practice, both of which I really enjoy.

Now where’s Jedi’s number….

just pedal out somewhere, and enjoy!

I’ve been mountainbiking for 20 years now, which is actually quite odd to see written down! I’m in my mid 30s now and I think that for the last few years I have sort of accepted thaat life has got in the way of my ability to push my limits too far. I’ve been ill or injured off the bike enough to accept that I’m lucky to just be riding, let alone doing some of the ‘crazy rad’ stuff I was doing in my 20s.
I enjoy techy stuff, fast stuff etc but the big difference now is that I find I can not do a bit that I don’t wnt to without feeling I have chickened out. Discretion is definately the better part of valour for me now and I’m happy with that.
There will always be many many people who are ‘better’ than me but as long as I’m having fun, I’m happy.
Get a bike again, go for a spin somewhere nice and quiet, you’ll soon remember what is so nice about this pastime of ours.

You don’t need bottle, get a camelbak

What are you riding? Your bike may be making life harder for you.

Riding at the edge of your comfort is something some people get off on, others don’t and there’s nothing wrong with that! Red and black are common in terms of ability, but they’re not easy riding. You sound like an everyman sort of MTBer, but you’re at the level where progress means more fully committing obstacles.

Go see a coach (Campbell Coaching in Wales was amazing, he really breaks things down and helps build confidence!) and shake those bad habits. Also stop putting pressure on yourself to this extent, fear is healthy!

As you know MTB is vast, just because you don’t feel comfortable being at your limit doesn’t mean there aren’t lots of other ways to enjoy riding.

My confidence on obstacles has improved with riding more, but also having a different bike. It’s only 1/2″ more travel than my Trance, but my Attack Trail feels far more capable in hairy situations. I trust the bike and therefore myself more to try new things, but the coaching session has me facing and landing things I’ve looked at for years but never tried.

Flat pedals, slack HA, full suss and some knee/elbow pads are far easier to confront things with than cleats, steep steering and a hardtail with your joints bare. I don’t know what you ride, but this is what I have experienced.