[Closed] Find a way to make the emotional space, and the physical space will follow.

I don't think that biking is the problem

I think it's more about this:

'the seemingly inevitable and reasonably persistent stream of crap provided by the rest of reality'

Though I can completely relate to it.

It's the opposite for me. Mountain biking is the first outdoor hobby I've really enjoyed, it's what gets me outside and helps me keep fit when I mostly live and work at a computer. It's worth the money I've spent on it.

The one thing that does bother me is the constant impulse to get something new (which is not limited to bikes in my case). I always struggle with motivation in the long term and go through phases of barely doing something I enjoy. Yet when I get a new bike or a new game or gadget I'll be infatuated with it for a while, so I think my brain now has this association that new stuff is fun and the shortcut to restoring my interest. It's obviously not necessary and I still have just as much fun with the old stuff but the impulse keeps coming back.

For me, it's very important to minimise the hassle of biking so that it's basically just enjoyable, or at least easy to get on with. For me, that means:

- generally only having one sport bike, keeping it for as long as reasonably possible. Making sure it's in good working order through preventive maintenance. It has to be possible to pick it up and go for a ride whenever I want, without having to think about it too much. I really don't want to be thinking "I wish I was on my other bike!" either, which is part of the reason for just having one.
- making sure I have enough, decent kit. Knowing where my kit is, and making sure that it's well-ordered and clean, again, so I can just go out when I want to.
- Having a solid system for cleaning my bike when needed so that it's not a chore and the bike can live inside without causing any grief.
- minimising time spent looking at new things to buy on the internet. I buy what I'm confident I need and don't let additional stuff pile up.
- quickly moving on stuff that I've worn out or realised isn't useful. I don't want to be storing a cupboard full of useless carp that "might come in handy".

What Bigdummy is saying.

With the caveat that it takes years by trial and error to create the perfect and practical environment for cleaning and preparedness. That in itself for me can be a source of stress.

And now with the CCTV/locks and alarms I am now awake at night waiting for a break-in.

I just ride my bike when I can and enjoy it. Love upgrading bits over time, but beyond that I don’t really think about it. I don’t get to ride as much as I’d like to. Although that just makes it more fun when I do get chance. For me the bike gives a sense of freedom and adventure that nothing else does.

I don’t think that biking is the problem

I think it’s more about this:

‘the seemingly inevitable and reasonably persistent stream of crap provided by the rest of reality’

Though I can completely relate to it.

Sure, that's the root problem, I'm just saying that biking is often an unreliable coping strategy for me, and it brings its own problems precisely as I rely on it so heavily.

Spot on BigDummy. I often find myself tinkering with geometry and tyre choice, etc. but realise that the things that'll make riding most enjoyable are largely all those mundane things that make it much easier to get out and not mess around.

A lot of good comments above. I think my relationship with MTBing borders on unhealthy: I'm lucky enough to ride most days, but when I can't I'm a (even more) miserable git. Riding invariably makes me happier. I'm trying to improve my state of mind with mindfulness (which I've been doing for a few years now) and more recently with CBT, both of which seem to be helping.
On the kit side of things, I think two bikes are essential, otherwise you find the gremlins have let your tyres down overnight and the ride you have been looking forward to is down the pan. Oh, and at least one needs to be a hardtail as there's less to go wrong.
And you really don't need to give bikes a proper clean that often.

I guess it depends on what you define as 'unhealthy'. If you're essentially self-medicating by riding then it's almost certainly healthier than many of the alternatives - drink, drugs, computer games, obsessing over coffee brewing equipment and beans - particularly that last one.

If you mean that you can't simply cordon off other tendencies in your life from your biking, then there's a certain amount of inevitability to that. It's very hard to put anything in a box without any seepage.

If you mean that you're over-dependent on riding a bike to cope with 'life' and that feels unhealthy when the dependency is effectively shoved in your face, the obvious question is what can you do to tackle the underlying causes. Counselling? Life changes?

My personal bugbear with biking is more macro. I do it partly to escape from consumerism and globalisation and commercialisation of everything, but the endless drive of the bike industry and the associated cycling media to constantly promote new stuff on the pretext that it'll somehow make riding your bike better just irks me. Riding is mostly between your ears, the idea that having a better, newer, faster, bouncier, whatever bike, is somehow important does my head in.

I think because it takes something that's simple and tries to drag into mainstream consumerism. And yes, I get that there's an inevitability about it, but I don't have to like it. Sorry, digression over.

If you mean that you can’t simply cordon off other tendencies in your life from your biking, then there’s a certain amount of inevitability to that. It’s very hard to put anything in a box without any seepage.

That's a really good point, and perhaps a large part of the problem for me.

All the stuff on consumerism is certainly an issue as well. Marketing aside, I have a tendency to want to use the right tool for the job in any context, which does lead to me changing bikes a lot, although pretty much always second hand selt-built stuff and rarely inline with industry trends (I've been riding rigid exclusively for years and have never had anything but a quick release rear wheel...)

This is why I tried to abandon biking for trail/mountain running a few years back, because it's so simple and low-consumption. But it turns out that my body just can't hack as much time running as I'd like... One full afternoon running and I'd need at least 3-days off. But of course riding a bike for a full day and doing the same the next and the next etc. is perfectly feasible.

But it turns out that my body just can’t hack as much time running as I’d like… One full afternoon running and I’d need at least 3-days off. But of course riding a bike for a full day and doing the same the next and the next etc. is perfectly feasible.

Yep, that would be my experience of running too. It's just harder on your body. On the consumerism front, like you, I don't have an issue with buying stuff that works or matches my needs, but I hate it when the industry or media tries to redefine what's necessary. The whole thing where you 'need' a six-inch travel full sus to ride trails in the Peak District that we used to do rigid and I still ride sometimes on a cross bike. Anyway... don't get distracted from the reality that riding bikes is brilliant, sometimes not riding them isn't the end of the world, and it could be worse, you could be obsessing over the sub-standard performance of the steam wand on your coffee machine. Don't ask 🙁

It sounds like you're just getting a bit fed up with biking?
I'd admit to using it to "self-medicate", but it's absolutely an effective treatment for me.
If it's feeding into your neurotic impulses, why don't you have a trial separation (or a trail separation, if you prefer) and try hillwalking or something for a bit?

Weirdly when i belonged to a large MTB club and lived riding Surrey Hills and Swinley i was a bit of a "serial upgrader", had to have the shiniest new brakes or a Santa Cruz frame, as that was part of the sport for me, i loved poring over bike magazines and the internet.

Life means that i moved to Norfolk, where my large 150mm travel full suspension US made wonder-frame was actually a hindrance, now i ride with a couple of mates where one has a Boardman from Halfords and the other a Carrera, they are both just into riding and don't care about all the shiny stuff, we just enjoy riding bikes and being mates with the occasional pub stop and bivvy nights out and it is really refreshing.

I think riding is what you want to make of it, if you are the type of person that has that personality, then you will simply replace riding a bike with something else. For a lot of my life i have accumulated loads of kit as i switched between different sports, i didn't just do that sport, i had to buy every magazine, have the shiniest kit and travel extensively. But older age and a wife and daughter have meant that i can no longer be too selfish and they come first.

Ummm.... wish you hadn't bought this up.

On reflection it appears that the last paragraph of the OP may be close to but not quite the truth.

I have been single for years, which is odd as I'm extremely handsome, kind, funny as ****, generally awesome, especially in bed and very humble.

I think it's because the moment a potential partner hints at maybe not making riding the focus of every weekend, trip or holiday I tend to turn and hardtail (errrm, I mean hightail) it out of there.

Thing is I'm generally quite happy and I still love biking and all the things that it brings.

People, places, experiences and challenges.... it's not just about the biking.

Umm, well my biking does require a bit of planning and compromise, but compared to my other coping strategy (drinking myself stupid) it's far far cheaper, more rewarding, and more effective at dealing with the stress of everyday life.

I guess I'm lucky that at the moment I do have the physical space for a few bikes - I have absolutely depended upon my escape time at points in the past, especially getting out of a pretty bad relationship about a year ago (and to be honest whilst in that relationship). Having 2 serviceable MTBs does mean that, if I pull one out of the rack and find it doesn't work for some reason, that day's ride can still happen. I guess if I didn't have more than one MTB I would have to go for a run instead, I've certainly done this in the past.

I do remember having injuries in the past and also during foot and mouth when MTBing was pretty much not possible, and I had stuff going on in my personal life, finding it a real struggle.

I don't know how much I've spent on bikes, but my best estimate is that they saved me thousands whilst I was in that relationship (saved having a second car plus fuel and parking costs to work), probably saved me a liver, and have taken me nice places. It's *really* nice at the moment that I get the escape, but don't absolutely need it, it's just nice.

So from my personal experience, although I've spent money, I've saved more than I've spent, and been able to cope with so many experiences that would have been totally crushing, and I still get positives between crises. It could be seen as an addiciton, it's certainly an obsession, but I think for me it's a healthy and enjoyable one.

Cycling keeps me sane, but it's caused friction in our relationship - mainly injuries caused by cycling to work. Had to finally pack it in (cycling to work) and now just ride off road. Wife is happier I'm not about to get mangled.

5 bikes, associated kit - yeh I've spent a fortune.

In a none emotional way (and probably lazy way) I'm convinced one of the reasons cycling has slipped out of my life is because the bikes are now in a small shed at the top of the garden - up to sets of awkward steps!

They used to be stored in a lean-to at the back of my house (before it was knocked down and rebuilt as an extension). Every day I'd walk past them, I used to repair them in there, flick the brakes as I walked past - they were just there, ready to use! I'd finish a ride and wheel them in unwashed, and walk into the kitchen.

Going the the top of the garden added a load more 'faff' - the sort of faff that kept me indoors on wet night. The new shed is too small to work in properly too.

So I can fully understand how not having proper bike storage causes you issues! 🙂

Great thread and some insightful responses, many that resonate with me too. I'm of a similar frame of mind really, and I agree with many about the battle between the lure of consumerism (with bikes) and the simple - and essential - joy of simply just riding. OP it's difficult to answer your question when i struggle with similar things but here are some thoughts that occur to me from time to time:

The joy of riding is its immediacy and immersion in the moment, so freeing your mind from the gunge of everyday life and anxieties. Most of us get this when we talk about it, but don't put it into action enough. Or it gets clouded out by other thoughts. I do it all the time. I can spend a day thinking about what is the ideal do-it-all mtb to cover my needs, what i'd need to buy for it etc., forgetting that the very thought process is probably just a symptom of not having gone for a ride for 2 weeks, which would sort me out. So I guess I mean remembering to remember that the act of riding a bike is king, the rest isn't so important.

There's an added pressure if riding becomes too much of a crutch for wider issues. This can put too much expectation on riding and bikes and kit, and if small things about your bike or ride or kit feel wrong then it's easy to get caught in a cycle of focusing on that and getting caught in other circuits of thinking that aren't healthy. So something you enjoy becomes unhealthy. I don't know the answer to this, but suspect the uncomfortable truth (for me at least) is that i need to deal with the other problems so riding is no longer a crutch. That's a way of explaining that 'just enjoy riding for what it is', is the right answer but a difficult one.

Acceptance: i've not got my own mind round this, but I think one way of dealing with anxieties, and the generally crappy bits of life and society as you see them, is finding a way to accept. Be content with your bike and tinker within the bounds of finances and curiosity, but not to the point it worries you too much. This can extend to your personal life and job and circumstance to a degree. Giving up what you like doing ends up making you feel worse.

There's nothing more wise than what BadlyWiredDog said, riding is mostly between your ears.

I agree with many about the battle between the lure of consumerism (with bikes) and the simple – and essential – joy of simply just riding.

I suppose when I'm riding, I don't tend to think about the bike (unless it's woefully hindering me in some way - which usually doesn't take that much cost to fix) but I do like to have a nice bike set up well. Not XTR air in my Chris King tubeless conversion or anything, but solid stuff that'll work well. I've had to wait a long time for some upgrades I was quite keen on due life/lack of money getting in the way though!

I think my relationship with MTBing borders on unhealthy: I’m lucky enough to ride most days, but when I can’t I’m a (even more) miserable git. Riding invariably makes me happier.

This is pretty close to where I'm at I think. Mostly, I keep it 'healthy' I think ... But it's certainly an obsession. Not the consumerism side, or the constant need to change, upgrade, add kit & equipment. But the 'need' to ride, pretty much every day. And the internal tension, and sometimes partner/family friction around negotiating this, or coming to terms with the fact that sometimes there's just too much stuff on and to do to be able to get out and ride.

And I guess it boils down to, a little bit, about balancing the selfish (my own needs/wants) with the 'giving' that is a necessary part of being a good husband and good Dad.

On top of this is that riding, and especially mountain biking, is 'relatively' new for me. Although I cycled a lot as a kid, kind of dropped it as a student, then got married quite young, had my first family, got divorced, met someone else, had second family, so 'missed out' in my 20's, 30's and only really discovered it in my 40's. Now I'm 50, there is a feeling and a need to 'make up for missed opportunities' and also to cram in as much riding as I can before older age and potential health issues starts to limit this.

Overall, I think I strike a mostly healthy balance. But it's hard work, at times, to keep it that way.

On the actual riding/bikes front, I'm pretty happy keeping it cheapish and simple. Although I have 4 bikes, only one of them (the Pickenflick) is what I'd describe as a 'nice'/expensive bike (and at £1400, that's pretty small fry compared to what, I guess, some people on here spend on bikes!). The others (commuter, 26in FS, 26 rigid SS) were purchased cheaply, or put together for less-than-cheaply.

And riding - any kind of riding (weekend in the Lakes, or a half hour commute with the rain lashing down) makes me feel good, happy, and thankful for the opportunity just to be outside and be active.

Interesting read.

My personal bugbear with biking is more macro. I do it partly to escape from consumerism and globalisation and commercialisation of everything, but the endless drive of the bike industry and the associated cycling media to constantly promote new stuff on the pretext that it’ll somehow make riding your bike better just irks me. Riding is mostly between your ears, the idea that having a better, newer, faster, bouncier, whatever bike, is somehow important does my head in.

I think because it takes something that’s simple and tries to drag into mainstream consumerism. And yes, I get that there’s an inevitability about it, but I don’t have to like it. Sorry, digression over.

I get that, 100%, and I work in the bike industry making some of that new stuff... yet without the new stuff we don't have the choice that many of us appreciate. Double-edged sword. I do wish there was greater demand or market for true durability and a lack of 'add a gear' yearly product churn/BS. The problem is the bike is simple and consumer tech will do what consumer tech can do.
Riding got sort of unhealthy for me when it became hard to separate it from work - ride a sample bike or a demo model and I was thinking about the product and thf work. I like to think about the product, understand why it does what I do/don't want it to do. That felt like working all weekend at one point. No hardship given my work but not balanced or sustainable. Time and place for that, time and place for just riding and smelling the air.
I escape a lot of the clutter that surrounds me by riding a bike in the woods. It's simple. I ride a fair bit and it follows that my bike(s) is simple and durable. That simplicity and durability in my own bikes helps me detach from the churn that is the retail world as well as have a valuable perspective on more product range. All good.
But others escape via thrills or risks so they may have a more complex bike, that's cool. As long as people aren't caught in the trap of seeing the new shiny as the thing that motivates them to get out (as said above). There's a lot of that going on and I've been there to a point. Don't ride to use new stuff / have an excuse to buy stuff, just get stuff that allows you to ride and then ride, forget the stuff.

What motivates me to get out these days is the sunshine and conditions, the escape. Places I love or I miss after not passing through for a few months, etc and I've been a far happier rider since I realised that more bikes, new XTR or posher damping does nothing for my actual enjoyment of riding (assuming I have a totally sorted simple bombproof bike, that is ...!)

OP Yes I do find my thinking around MTB becoming toxic at times but then I try to focus on what I have and the positive impact overall the sport has on my health.

FOMO is a big thing for me. I have a great newish bike but keep agonising over the other bike I had been thinking about at the time of purchase and have I made the right choice. Then I just think about the enjoyment I get from the bike I have and the guilt I would feel unjustifiably splurging on a 29er "just because".

I also feel guilty at times about the time I spend on the bike. Probably only 6 hours including travel to the trails each weekend. I question if I should be spending that time on family and career development. Then I try to focus on the way MTB clears my head and probably leaves me better placed to handle the other stuff going on in my life.

I've concluded these thoughts are not created by MTBing but rather are symptomatic of my underlying personality. I try to focus on the fact that overall MTBing is a massively positive aspect of my life and really and the small neurotic stuff around it doesn't really matter.

Great thread btw.

Really interesting insights from everyone, thanks 🙂

And now super interesting timing for me as well, as this morning I broke up with my partner of nearly 3 years and this afternoon I went riding...

Did it help? Certainly, very effective. But it also highlighted the precariousness for me, as I have a partially wrecked foot at the moment, so other physical things I would normally escape to (trail running, etc.) were out of the question. Without riding I'd likely have had a massive emotional crash.

So I agree with many above that biking as self-medication is generally far healthier than many alternatives (drink, etc.) and typically far more effective. But it seems to be slightly precarious, and I think two things complicate things a little...

One, although drink and drugs etc. are far worse escapist strategies, they're a pretty poor frame of reference. What about meditation or yoga or writing a book or something? I often wonder whether if I invested enough time in something like those so they became habit that would be much healthier for me. But it's so hard to get motivated... I don't think anything like meditation psyche exists 🙂

The other thing is that I don't think biking is always healthier than minor alcoholism or something, as you have to consider the social dimension. In my younger days, my parents were so petrified of the immorality of my generation (they were reasonably strict christians) that they systematically kept me away from anything where they thought drink-drugs-sex could be a problem. So when I was 16, could I go to Newquay with my friends? No. Could I go bike down mountains in the Lakes on my own? Yes. But I was a madman on my bike and was destined to break limbs. Yet, partially thanks to being this socially reclusive kid distanced from dangerous substances, supported instead by lone rock climbing and biking, I'm now a pretty socially anxious mid-30 year old, with a complete inability to maintain healthy romantic relationships...

Point is, I reckon social drinking as escapism, even if taken a little beyond the healthy, can potentially be better overall than a very isolated addition to some physical escape. Especially as, from a distance, unhealthy relationships to exercise almost always go unnoticed precisely as exercise is healthy, but anyone that starts to drink too much will almost certainly arose concern from friends.

Oh, and today I really valued the simplicity of biking. I have a gravel bike with full guards, so I could pick it up, roll out of the house and be on top of a moor in 2 hours with no one in sight, and on return home my bike went straight back where it came from, no attention required. I notice that when riding it's always mundane/practical/reliability things that matter to me and I don't give a crap about anything else. It's only when I'm sat at a computer in my office that I decide something absurd like my pedals are too heavy and need an upgrade...

So despite anything I've said above, what I'm certain is that I ****ing love riding 🙂

Crikey. Glad you got out and had a good ride, but sorry to hear the circumstances! Maybe join a cycling club so there is a social element to your rides? If you're unsure about meditation how about CBT?

Thanks Squirrel 🙂 Social riding is something is never really got into that much, although I was riding a lot with my partner and a housemate over the past year or so. I should make more effort, but I'm just not proactive enough tbh.

Also, I shouldn't leave my post above open to too over-dramatic an interpretation. Despite referring to myself as socially anxious, it's nowhere near as bad as it was when I was younger, or at worst it comes and goes. Worth pointing out that I live in a shared house with 8 people 🙂

CBT makes sense for sure. In the end I have a good idea of what'd be healthy for me, but I systematically choose biking or running or anything else more immediately exciting as my prefered means of dealing with stuff. Which brings me full circle to exactly why I started the thread.

My post above is stupidly long so I'll try to summarise.

Is biking (1) effective as a coping strategy/self-medication and (2) far healthier than many alternatives (drink etc.)?

From my experience I would answer:
(1) Yes, definitely, but there are potentially much better ones, they're just rather unexciting, so it's easy to systematically prioritise something like riding and develop dependency issues...

(2) In general yes, but I think there are some nuances. Addictions to any form of exercise (or physical pursuit) tend to be rather invisible compared to drink or drugs, perhaps especially if they're normally done alone. And they can be seen as positive even when they've reached an unhealthy level, purely because exercise itself is healthy.

Certainly for me, gaining fulfillment from biking can follow that familiar addiction pattern of me needing increasing intensity to feel something. And this filters into (or flows from) my experience of life more broadly, so I'm incredibly easily bored by things and quite hard to stimulate a lot of the time. To what degree biking is a cause or a symptom, I've no idea.

What I can say is that, all those people I've know and have known that are so happy to go on a weekend wander around, say, the first few miles of a route that I regularly run or ride, or some other place full of crowds of people and tame walking trails, I used to think they are really boring but nowadays I envy them!

This continues to be a thought-provoking, and at times slightly uncomfortable thread.

I too think I am over-reliant / dependant / 'addicted' to riding (and to a lesser extent, running). It is much healthier than other dependencies, and as such, I tend to excuse/explain my riding as, overall, a positive thing.

But ultimately, I think for me it is also quite a selfish and insular thing, that I fit in and around my otherwise non-selfish parts of my life that are about being a Dad, Husband, employee, manager, son, DIYer etc etc.

There is a social aspect of course, and occasionally I ride with others, but the planets only occasionally align due to both mine, and their, hectic schedules ... As such, the vast majority of my riding is solo.

And it's fine, I think, whilst I'm young and fit enough. But I do worry about the future, particularly if I get injured or when age / health issues take over, and what I will turn to or depend on when I can no longer ride or run.

I too am heavily reliant on riding for fulfillment, it's not just riding of which I do a lot of, it's also tinkering and modding, I'm an engineer by trade (which I believe is purely a result of biking), it also fulfills my social life, hate going to pubs/clubs, get me in the woods with good people vibing and it's the best thing ever.

Basically without bikes I would feel little fulfillment even though I'm a professional grown up with a good job, a family (very nourishing for the soul) and a mortgage.

I too think I am over-reliant / dependant / ‘addicted’ to riding

You're far from alone there

This is a great thread and quite timely too. @Hardtailonly and @Deanfbm have it nearly spot-on for me as well. For most of my adult life, cycling in one form or another has been my "thing", possibly to the point of it being a crutch. Recently I've tried to avoid defining myself as a cyclist and feeling I'm letting myself down if I don't get out regularly or at least cycle to work.
I do think it's largely positive though, just being out and pedalling helps empty my head and just being in the moment. This last year however, I've become increasingly conscious of the time commitment and feeling uncomfortable in taking a full day out for myself. My wife seems happy to let me do it when I want, I just feel a little guilty.
I don't consider a cycling/alcohol argument as being a fair fight tbh. Cost up, say, two or three bottles of beer a week-£250 a year? At least? It's not a new bike, but it only goes down the drain.
I think the media presentation of what MTB! is or should be can be quite harmful and we're all susceptible to it, no matter how thick you may think your skin is.

Sounds to me like the OP needs to buy a van

Sounds to me like the OP needs to buy a van

Ha! Shortest answer yet, but you've guessed what I'm intending to buy for myself this xmas 🙂

Recently I’ve tried to avoid defining myself as a cyclist and feeling I’m letting myself down if I don’t get out regularly or at least cycle to work.
I do think it’s largely positive though, just being out and pedalling helps empty my head and just being in the moment.

Yep, precisely a problem I've had, this identity thing.

And you've also captured a major positive and I don't want my moans above to gloss these over.

A few years ago I was in a rather ridiculous open relationship/polyamory situation with my partner (i.e. ex partner as of yesterday, see above...) I got in the habit of riding 30 miles out of Leeds on my road bike with a pen and paper, sitting in a ditch scribbling loads of thoughts down, then riding home. Massively therapeutic. I actually found road biking more useful for that than MTB, as the latter requires more focus. Obviously that heightened focus is precisely what makes MTB so ace, but I do find I have less space to just 'process' thoughts than on a road bike

legometeorology

Obviously that heightened focus is precisely what makes MTB so ace, but I do find I have less space to just ‘process’ thoughts than on a road bike

Funny - I find MTB relaxing precisely for that reason - it's my few hours where I don't think anything other than "don't hit that tree". Clears my mind.

That said, it's a social thing for me too, I ride with mates, almost never ride alone, which is quite a different experience to what a lot of folks here are describing.

Funny – I find MTB relaxing precisely for that reason – it’s my few hours where I don’t think anything other than “don’t hit that tree”. Clears my mind.

Yep, I completely agree with that.

I'm just saying that, for me, a mental advantage of road biking (or gravel riding or easy XC riding) is that it allows me to process with considerable clarity a particular thought or issue that I've gotten in a mental knot about. So I may find an answer to something I've been stuck with. That could be an emotional issue or even an intellectual one (I'm a uni researcher by day)

MTB doesn't allow the same thing as it tends to completely clear mind, which is excellent in its own way of course 🙂

Interesting point @hardtailonly: what happens when you're no longer young and fit? I'm approaching the age when I might have to stop riding, and just cannot see a worthwhile future beyond that. Sorry, not meant to be a hi-jack, this discussion is fascinating.

Interesting point @hardtailonly: what happens when you’re no longer young and fit? I’m approaching the age when I might have to stop riding, and just cannot see a worthwhile future beyond that. Sorry, not meant to be a hi-jack, this discussion is fascinating.

That's no hijack Squirrel, that's pretty much the crux of it!

Interesting point @hardtailonly: what happens when you’re no longer young and fit? I’m approaching the age when I might have to stop riding, and just cannot see a worthwhile future beyond that. Sorry, not meant to be a hi-jack, this discussion is fascinating.

Well. As an interim measure. Probably an e-bike! 😂

At 50 and still fit and well, am hoping an e-bike is a way off. (Not a hater, but just not for me, my type of riding, just now)

Beyond that?? Who knows. But over the next 20 years, it's something I need to put some thought into and develop some other interests. And maybe, when I'm physically infirm, that will be enough. And before that, when I'm physically limited, but not quite doddering about, a slower pace. Walking. Swimming. Yoga maybe?

But right now, from a place of physical well-being, all of those look pretty grim really ...

Trust me, they look even more grim close up!

How old are you Squirrel ... And assuming you're ahead of the curve here, let us know what your planning!

OP - just reading about how you used time on the bike for mental problem solving struck a chord and maybe a warning tone as well. As a well practiced ruminator I have been trying to learn to separate when the 'problem' I have is solvable by any action I can take and when it is not because in the latter scenario it will become nothing but a source of mental discomfort or pain. If what you do works for you then great but if you find you are trying to solve the same thing over and over then maybe its time to try and leave it alone.

@hardtailonly. 61. Pretty fit. As said above, ride most days, but it can't last forever! Yes, there is an e-mtb in my future, hopefully they won't have been banned by then. Beyond that, no idea. I've been MTBing for around 40 years and during most of that time have been trying to develop other interests as I (and Mrs Squirrel) agree that my singleminded obsession with mtb just isn't healthy. Sure, I like walking, music, blah blah, but apart from my family, nothing else matters like riding. And yes, it really is the riding, not shiny or expensive kit.