Prime time to ride

Words: Anna Beck

X-Factor often acts as a sounding board for trying to coerce more women and children into the sport of mountain biking, as I often see hordes of 20 to 40-somethings out on the trails. Another population that I see out but I believe is not properly represented or accommodated within the industry is that of the ‘mature rider’ (for want of a better term); those over-50s who are riding through middle age, away from the stereotype of a sports car or an affair with the secretary and instead embracing an expensive trail bike and sweet neon gravity gear.

I know a rider who recently became a grandma. Her daughter is the same age as me (Shaz could be my mum!), yet she lines up against the elite girls at every state race—often smoking most of the field—and she just walked away with the World Championship rainbow stripes jersey for cross country in her age group! Shredly Shaz (as she is affectionately known) may be the exception rather than the rule, but she is just one of a growing number of over-50s who are turning to the unbeatable combination of two wheels and the bush to relax, recharge and energise their recreation time.

No doubt these riders want to be thought of in a different way—not merely categorised by the number of candles on their birthday cake—but as i’m speaking about an entire population of riders  I am at a loss to find another way to describe the set than ‘mature’. These are the guys or girls keeping out of the cardiac lab by undertaking regular exercise; they’re less likely to smoke and more likely to make better nutrition choices, leading to much more positive health outcomes compared to the general population control. They’re riding away from diabetes, heart disease and other vascular disorders, mobility problems and neurological problems. In fact, sport participation is associated with a 20-40% reduction in all-types of mortality. What’s not to love about those numbers?

Typically endurance sports have been the most studied in their links to maintaining health in older age, but both sprint and resistance training have also yielded strong results in the limited studies undertaken so far on the subject. The great thing about this is that riding trails, while primarily an endurance sport, still has some benefits from resistance training and sprint training. So now there’s proof that mountain biking is the penultimate sport!

Sports participation has always been accepted as a positive way to keep physically healthy during mid-life and beyond, and the above statistics make that clear. However, the mental and social benefits of mountain biking cannot be denied either. There has been a documented reduction in Alzheimers in those that are physically active; it turns out exercising your physical muscle in turn works your brain.

Both physical and mental decline can also be slowed by maintaining strong social bonds, and mountain biking is another great way to make connections and maintain friendships with a shared love of trails. Some days, if you’re riding exhausted, the best thing about riding is the coffee and social catch up at the end.