Tips For Taking Up Mountain Biking in Your 40s

Words: Emma Rhymer

Photos: Element Photo Video, Russell Pitaway and Snowies MTB Festival, rideTECHNICS

There is a certain vulnerability in being bad at something and persisting, particularly when it carries the risk of injury. I know, because I started mountain biking in my forties – and when I started, I was exceptionally bad at it! Like so many others, however, I was hooked from my very first ride and persisted. Sometimes through gritted teeth and occasionally through tears, but I persisted. Fast forward eight years and mountain biking has transformed my life, with the lessons I’ve learnt going far beyond those of simply riding a bike. Here are some of my biggest lessons, so far. 

Look where you want to go

When mountain biking, as in life, there’s no point looking behind you; we need to keep looking down the trail to plan for what’s ahead. Do we need to shift our weight, preload the forks, or unweight the front wheel? With the right preparation, roots, rocks, and logs become features that help us to carry speed and find our flow. Without preparation, however, these same obstacles make it a bumpy and unstable ride. Even worse, fixating on an obstacle we want to avoid inevitably means we’ll ride straight into it. I speak from multiple experiences here! Remember to look ahead, turn obstacles into features, and enjoy your ride.

Have a goal

Mountain biking has also taught me the importance of having a goal and working to achieve it. Initially my goals were simply to ‘keep up’ and ‘crash less,’ but over time they’ve become much more specific: to ride particular trails, to master certain features, and to conquer ever-increasing distances. Most of my goals now revolve around endurance racing and increasing fitness, improving pedal efficiency and riding features cleanly. Not everyone enjoys racing, however, so it’s important to find a goal that motivates you to keep striving for success. With a goal, a plan, and some determination we can achieve much more than we ever imagined!

Invest in yourself

I didn’t grow up riding a bike, so I don’t possess the innate skills that even the youngest shredders seem to enjoy. At times this is incredibly frustrating, so I’ve invested in coaching with people I admire and respect. Finding someone who can break things down and show me how to apply skills in different contexts is, in my opinion, worth every dollar. Time is another key investment but adulting regularly gets in the way. While nothing beats spending time on trails, I try to look for any opportunity to improve my skills, even if it means refining my track stands in the driveway or practicing my manuals in the garden. I’m not sure what the neighbours think, but I certainly notice improvements when I practice regularly. Investing in yourself always pays off.

Celebrate the small wins

Progress can be exasperatingly slow when we’re older, so it’s important to celebrate our small wins along the way. I smile every time I ride trails that used to overwhelm me, when I ride features that used to scare me, and when I make it up hills that used to beat me. I regularly call out to my husband, “Do you remember when I couldn’t ride that?” Being my own private cheer squad also keeps me in a positive headspace when I struggle to master new skills and my rate of progress is slower than I’d like. By reminding myself of all I’ve achieved so far, I’m able to replace thoughts such as “I can’t do that,” with the much more powerful “I can’t do that, yet.” Next time you’re out riding, remember to celebrate your small wins and notice your mindset shift.

Learn the language

I’ve never mastered a second language, but I know that learning a few key phrases makes connecting with other cultures less confusing and more enjoyable. When I started mountain biking, I listened to other riders talking about pumping, feathering, dabbing, whipping, casing, and setting their sag: the words themselves were sometimes familiar, but the context certainly wasn’t. Acronyms were also common: the LBS is a good thing, an OTB is not. To make things even more confusing, apparent contradictions are rife. Hucking to flat is very different to getting a flat or riding in flats. Riding clipless means clipping in. Droppers help you ride drops. Bonking on a ride has nothing to do with nose bonking – and neither have anything to do with what I first imagined. I quickly realised that I needed to learn a whole new language! Take the time to Google strange phrases, remember that there’s no such thing as a silly question, and you’ll quickly find yourself talking mountain bike fluently too.

Build your community

The mountain bike community is growing exponentially, and the diversity of riders is constantly expanding. Whether we ride for fun, adrenalin, fitness, time out, connection to nature, or for any other reason, there are many likeminded riders out there. As someone who was initially self-conscious about riding with others and slowing them down, putting my self-doubts aside and joining in with social rides, club rides and shop rides has been well worth it. I’ve explored trail networks with riders who know the best loops, seen lines I never would have spotted otherwise, discovered great coffee shops and breweries, and have always been made welcome. Plus, I’ve made many friends I wouldn’t have otherwise met. Connecting with clubs, trail care groups, rider groups and bike shops in your area is a great way to build your own mountain bike community and enjoy some socialising along the way.

Ignore your age

One of the most important things I’ve learnt through mountain biking, however, is that age is (almost) irrelevant. I regularly ride with 7-year-olds who beat me down the hills and I also ride with some 70-plus year olds who can beat me up them. While we need to pay closer attention to things such as diet, recovery, strength training and mobility work than younger riders do, mountain biking remains a sport we can enjoy at any age. Good health permitting, this is something that I have every intention of doing! As a friend and mentor commented just last week, “I’m not an old lady, I’m a female mature-age athlete!” That’s exactly the attitude I want to carry forward into my coming decades, and I hope you do too.

These are just a few of the many lessons that mountain biking has taught me over the past eight years. They’ve impacted all areas of my life by reinforcing that good things happen when I’m open to possibilities, take advantage of opportunities, refuse to stop learning and, most of all, when I remember to simply enjoy the ride. While I sometimes wish I’d taken it up earlier, learning to mountain bike in my forties really has been the best midlife crisis ever. If you are also a new, older mountain biker, what have you learnt so far?