OPINION: What's Hot and What's Not in 2023

Words: Gracie Elvin
Photo: Nick Waygood

“New year, new me” as they say, but the same old you can have a pretty great year if you take the time to reflect on what went well last year, and what you might like to do better this time around. I could go on all day about this stuff, but instead of giving you any woo-woo advice about how to become a better person in 2023, I’ve jumped on the bandwagon of “Ins and Outs” to get you to change a few habits purely because it’s trendy. Stay cool my friends!

Out

• COVID-19 and all it’s cousins.
• Minimal funding for our elite mountain bike riders and not categorising them appropriately *cough* Bec McConnell in “Podium Ready”.
• Calorie counting and “earning” food.
• Riding on wet trails.
• Gendered language, racism, sexism, and all the isms. Take 5 minutes to Google what you don’t understand, ask questions, and just be kinder to everyone.
• Trolling. And reading the comments section for that matter. Toxicity thrives on an audience.
• Letting that niggle go away on its own. Go see a physio! (I need to take this advice now I’m in my mid 30s).
• Bagging out people that start a podcast. There IS room for every man and his dog, and you don’t have to listen to it if you don’t want to!
• Complaining about the trail conditions but never volunteering to help maintain them.
• Staycations. 
• Littering – how is this still happening?
• A lazy hose off and calling your bike clean.
• Using professional photos without paying for them or giving the right credit.
• Riding too close to pedestrians and not giving them warning if coming up behind them (but also – walkers and runners looking shocked and offended when we pass because they had noise cancelling head phones on).
• Mindless scrolling. And TikTok. And Twitter. 
• ‘gramming your food.
• Joking about other people’s body or appearance. Shame is never funny.
• The Queen (too soon?)
• Being productive all the time.
• Wet trails (is La Nina over yet?)

In

• Practicing skills in the local park when the trails are too wet to ride.
• Hardtails (but only in the n+1 kind of way – I’m obsessed with my new trail bike).
• Signing up to subscriptions and not avoiding paywalls for good journalism. Better yet, buying hardcopy mags like AMB!
• Gravel racing.
• Pride rounds to support safe and welcoming riders of all identities, and acknowledgement of country at race days.
• Getting a good old cold every now and again, and testing negative for COVID.
• Giving kudos, thumbs up, and likes to anyone that is doing something rad. Double points for leaving a positive and encouraging comment on someone’s post!
• Strength training – it doesn’t have to be CrossFit but don’t bag out those that are into it! I promise you that your riding will go to the next level with some regular time in the gym.
• Setting personal goals and sharing them with friends to keep you accountable.
• Saying hello or giving a wave or a head nod to fellow bikers, no matter what bike they are riding. 
• Volunteering a couple of hours with your local club or trail builders every now and again.
• Doing a first aid course. You never know when you might need to help someone out on the trails.
• Traveling to events and trail destinations again.
• Cleaning your bike properly and booking in a service well in advance and not expecting on-the-spot mechanics at your local shop.
• Throwback photos.
• Taking a garbage bag out on a walk or easy ride and picking up litter at your local park or trails.
• Making an appointment with a qualified nutritionist or dietician. 
• Taking a ride or two per week without earphones. Get lost in your own thoughts and the sounds of your bike and the forest.
• Reading books.
• Intentional down time.
• Yelling “yew!” whenever you damn well feel like it

I hope you can take some of these Ins and Outs to heart, but to be honest the real “out” is letting other people decide for you what is cool or not. At the end of the day I’m sure we can all agree that bikes are cool and so is just being yourself (and being kind).