Step 1: Get a bike.
Step 2: Get geared up.
Step 3: Find a trail.
Remember just a couple years ago when everybody had a kayak strapped to their Corolla? I’ve said for a few years that mountain biking is on the cusp of being the next big outdoor sport. Thankfully I’m still waiting on that to become truth, at least in my opinion. Maybe the cost is too big a barrier of entry for it to become mainstream like kayaking was a few years ago. However, there are still a few signs scattered around everyday life that hint mountain biking is close to breaking into popular culture.
Though I’m still on the fence on whether or not MTB going viral would be good for the sport, new people are eager to give it a shot. I get asked about it all the time and I’m an absolute nobody. So, I thought it’s worth the effort to give a nobody’s guide to testing the waters in the sport.
So, how did I start into this sport that has grown into such a passion? I’ll get into my real world approach in a few posts to follow. But before diving into the actual nuts and bolts of it, I want to start by telling you to just get out there and do it.
I got into mountain biking by accident. Long story short, I got into MTB after stumbling upon some trails while out poaching a riding area close to Lexington on my dirt bike (shh.. don’t tell anybody, I also didn’t get on the trails!). I had followed Shaun Palmer when I was younger, watched the Winter X-Games downhill MTB events and all the random clips I was exposed to while being into ‘extreme’ sports through the late 90s and early 2000s, and obviously watched Red Bull Rampage. I wasn’t new to the idea, I’d just never given it a try.
Living in a city with a dirt bike was a drag. Being from southeast KY where we grow up riding directly out of our yards into the mountains, it sucked being in a place where I had to plan and go through a process to ride. When I stumbled on those MTB trails I immediately thought this could be a solid substitution.
I hear people say regularly that they’re afraid they “don’t know how to ride”. I'm sure you learned to ride a bicycle when you were young, right? See, you're already ahead of the game.
TLDR version: Most trails outside of bike parks or Vancouver’s North Shore can be ridden as hard or easy as you want them to.
Long version: Like all other sports and activities, there’s probably a lot of apprehension about giving mountain biking a try, both emotionally and physically. It’s intimidating from a self-preservation standpoint and also intimidating from a “I don’t want to look like a goon” standpoint.
Just know that most trails you’ll encounter aren’t like those you’ll see in Instabanger edits online. However, it’s still easy enough to find, or make, trails ride as gnarly as you want [read: not boring for you B class moto heroes]. Generally speaking, you’re out there away from others so no one will be paying attention to how much you skid in a turn or push uphill or walk a gnarly section. Just go ride, it’s the only way you’ll get more comfortable.
Now, go find a bike.