Realisation that I’m crap at mountain biking.

I’ve only been at it the last 20 years but my local trails are completly unrecognisable these days from a techy point of view. Maybe its  not you thats got worse, maybe its the level of gnarr that has gone through the roof 🙂

MTB is a broad church

And

Ride what you enjoy

sums it up nicely.

Think it helps that I avoid social media stuff and really only use YouTube for mtce tips/advice.

If you’re okay with it, carry on. If you’re not okay with it, carry on. If you don’t want to continue, stop. HTH! 😀

If you’re smiling you’re doing it right.  The rest of the shit doesnt matter

I never rode black and still don’t. Blue and wheels on the ground. On the road it seems I’m technically an excellent fast descender. Off road… I’m a happy mincer. Still fun though. I just don’t like getting hurt.

Back in 2010 by some miracle I bagged a season in Whistler at 53 years old as a chalet maid ? The number 280 has lived long in my memory, it’s how many laps I did in the bike park, It used to really  bother me that they were mostly Blues , Crank It Up Samurai Pizza Cat , Heart Of Darkness etc etc , occasionally I’d stray onto Blacks and do the smaller GLC drop but honestly they weren’t my favourite and I was crap at them .

Now looking back I think ” not bad for a bloke who a year before was diagnosed with Osteoporosis and was told never to ride off-road again “

Comparison is the thief of joy old chap.

Ride for you, it’s really that simple. That’s the secret.

Love going fast downhill, but definitely wheels mostly on the ground, have a good few KOM’s – you’d probably describe anything I’m any good at as old school mtb riding – fast with some mild tech

Rode all the Blacks in the early days of BPW, but a few of them are beyond me now – don’t do jumps and seriously steep tech scares the living daylights out of me.

As I’ve got older, the local riding groups have got younger and they go for the steepest techiest stuff that’s available – I don’t like it. There are some guys my age that ride it without batting an eyelid, but one bad crash, self employment and recently a TIA all hold me back a bit.

Love MTB, love a bit of tech, but know my levels and don’t feel the need to push them any more

I don’t think I actually enjoy the sensation of being scared riding stuff.

Feeling worried riding stuff will always affect how you ride, off road cycling is primarily a mental game. Session easier trails, riding progressively more aggressively, learn what the bike does when you push it in certain situations – corners, drops, etc. Apply the same to more challenging routes.

Don’t talk yourself down. It’s a ridiculous thing to be doing anyway. Enjoy it for what it is.

Come riding with me, I will make you look like Greg Minnaar.

Most of my riding is local trails/bridleways/byways, and whilst there is satisfaction in cleaning a technical section, I’ve always taken the view that if I don’t clean it, or I’m not ‘feeling it’, that section will still be there tomorrow. My son has adopted the same approach, which is something I’m quite pleased about.

I’ve entered my first races this year in my mid-50s (Northern Downhill) and had a blast, but that’s probably because I’m realistic about my abilities and not expecting to win. I am probably fitter than I was in my 40s though.

@relapsedmandalorian I love that ! The next time I attempt and fail The Chimney on the Quantocks in the wet I’ll remember that!

For a long time I had the Osteoporosis written large in my book of excuses ” I’d ride that but I don’t want to break any bones they’ll take forever to heal if at all ”

I have found from experience though a lot of those who claim ” they can’t ride for shit ” Are quite the opposite of you go riding with them ! So it’s me that sucks !

Maybe mountain biking has just got too gnar these days, well for me, or maybe I’m just getting older and more fragile.

You can sort this easily, Sign up for Strava, title your rides stuff like: Awesome shredding of technical trails, feeling super strong for my age’ and the new Athlete Intelligence (sic) AI feature will blow smoke up your arse accordingly. Stuff like:

‘Well done, despite your advanced age, you made a series of stronger than usual efforts and shredded a number of technical trails adding to your already aweseomez performance over the past 30 days. Keep up the good work!’

Job done! 🙂

Approaching 40. Now a dad etc. Used to love Alpine DH / bike parks and trips to Finale.

Still do a bit of mtb but now the thing that really does it for me is an off camber bank in a cyclocross race!

I can’t see myself ever going back to try sending any big jumps which was always a weak / stress point for me in honesty. Fun to consequence ratio not favourable enough!

Don’t beat yourself up @didnthurt, Black graded trails and features should be challenging/scary, that’s why they’re black. Black = expert.

I’ve always been a solid blue-dark red rider, but then decided I needed to push myself further, got lots of skills training, learnt how to tackle jumps and big drops, and technical features, but in the end I still prefer good blue and red trails, where you can have fun, without spending half the time worrying about the next risky feature up ahead.
Ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride.

P.s don’t worry about the sniper, happens to everyone, even our experienced and talented guide, on a recent trip, went down like a sack of spuds on one of those slippery little buggers!

I can second “don’t worry about the sniper”. My recent crash came on a benign section of trail, ironically as I was preparing myself mentally for a more challenging bit that was approaching.

“OK, nice and calm, relax, get low, stay loo…….”.

BANG!

“Ohhhhh shiiiiiittttt!”

“Owwwwwwwww!”

After scraping myself up of the floor I looked back up the trail. Nothing was there that should have made my back wheel try to hit me on the back of my head and my balls to ride the stem.

My current acute, accident-caused lack of confidence is purely that I can’t hold onto the bars properly as my hand hurts too much.

My chronic, long term lack of confidence is on sustained tech, usually steeper off-piste stuff.

My abilities are some what similar to the OPs. One of the things i say to myself is that walking is a popular hobby and i don’t think walkers sit around at home wondering about whether they are any good at it. They might worry about fitness but assuming you’re not on the scrambling mountaineering progression it’s just something to enjoy.

I hate to bring up the “g” word but i think the OPs post touches on one of the reasons for the rise of the gravel bike and the gravel route.

There really is nothing new in the modern gravel routes. But gravel  gravel route is a bit more appealing than old school non technical xc slog.

Lots of people here would say that most uk gravel routes would be better ridden on a hardtail. I think one of the reasons for choosing a gravel bike is that for many it’s a statement of intent. I’m here for the views but will be getting off for the obstacle. I’m not a rubbish version of the guys at Rampage…….

I realised a long time ago that I subconsciously calculate the penalty for failure of things as I approach them and so can never fully enjoy a lot of the black stuff.  I’m happy to add a bit more speed and risk to reds and off piste stuff, but my mind automatically knows the limit. it sounds like yours does too.  Its worth listening too when what you’re doing is only a hobby and doesn’t need to be pushed.

I’ve always been a solid blue-dark red rider, but then decided I needed to push myself further, got lots of skills training, learnt how to tackle jumps and big drops, and technical features, but in the end I still prefer good blue and red trails, where you can have fun, without spending half the time worrying about the next risky feature up ahead.
Ride what you enjoy and enjoy what you ride.

Same for me, I tend to stick to smaller jumps where you still get the fun addictive weightless feeling of being in the air, but I’m not stressing about being able to clear the big ones etc. I used to ride a lot of the bigger DH stuff at Woburn (worked up to the big gap that used to be before the bombhole on Transfer Line, did the big step down near Hip Line), rode every trail up to double black at Whistler Bike Park when I was there etc, but I don’t fancy taking those risks any more. I always found it weirdly stressful and felt like I “had” to do those big features every ride otherwise I’d lose my progression.

If you aren’t being paid for it.
It’s a hobby.
The only point of a hobby is enjoyment.
Do it in a way you enjoy.

After a bit of reflection, I think I’m not feeling 100% right now, physically and a bit mentally which means I’m not able to put into mountain biking what I normally would. Add this to some work & home stress along with the shorter days and more challenging trail conditions and I can see why I’m all a bit down on myself right now.

This year I’ve managed to tick off so many things off my mtb/off-road wishlist that I suppose I should expect a bit of a low after such relative highs.

There was a thread on here a while back (probably more than one) about losing your spark for mountain biking, maybe I’m just going through that at the moment.

I’ll try to improve my fitness over the winter and see if the spark returns, I’m sure it will.

Lastly, seeing the sad news about Chris Hoy (whose a similar age to me) helps me put my insignificant issues into perspective. Thanks for all the comments. Much appreciated. Ian

No one else is keeping count, so enjoy what you enjoy.

And when you’re feeling a bit low, step out of the shade and into the sun figuratively speaking. Look at some pics you took while out on the bike from earlier in the year and enjoy that moment/achievement all over again. Keep doing that and you might find you’re thinking about plans for next summer that winter training can build towards .

Good luck!

Reconciling what you really enjoy about mtb vs the marketing blurb about constant radness can be tricky, but it is all in your head.

I do wonder often when seeing MTB marketing who the heck brands are trying to appeal to.

Sometimes it helps, if you don’t enjoy a particular type of obstacle or type of trail, making yourself do it can make it easier or at least make you relax more when you’re riding it. Being comfortable and relaxed usually makes -whatever it is- easier. Practice makes perfect and all that.

This is also good for those occasions when you suddenly find yourself in something without a chance to get off. Some trail centre climbs have optional skinnies, I used to think meh not interested. Later one week I found myself doing about 15mph on a very long moss covered skinny in deep grass, I managed it but thought wouldn’t it have been good to have some practice at my own leisure.

jam-boFull Member
If you aren’t being paid for it.
It’s a hobby.
The only point of a hobby is enjoyment.
Do it in a way you enjoy.

A thousand times this!