Things every rider will experience on their path to becoming a mountain biker

Mountain biking is something different to every person, and the experience of being a mountain biker is not the same for any one of us. Some riders like raw trails, other love flow. Some are born to climb, others don’t even have a drivetrain. Using an e-bike has finally made mountain biking fun for some riders, while it goes against everything mountain biking means to others. 

Mountain biking is not an old sport but it has evolved. From a fringe sport that found purpose in competition, mountain biking edges closer to being a lifestyle sport. So what does it mean to be a mountain biker then? Here is a list of things that you may or may not experience on your path to being a mountain biker. It is not a tick list to achieve, but you may tick a lot of these off once mountain biking has consumed your life. But as diverse as this list is, it’s barely touching the surface on how broad the definition of mountain biking is, and what makes people a mountain biker. 

Set up tubeless tyres yourself. Plan a route online and share a .gpx file – successfully. Earn a KOM or QOM. Fix a flat tyre. Stop to help another rider with a mechanical. Build a trail. Lose a KOM or QOM, and be ok with it. Understand that illegal trails have a finite life. Join a mountain bike club. Help run a club race. Take part in a trail work day. Sell a bike, and regret it. Give away equipment you don’t need, to someone who does. Go bikepacking, with none of the right equipment but all of the right experiences. Go night riding. Do a 24 hour race. Do something so hard on the bike, it brings you to tears. Have your lights fail when night riding. Make friends with new people you meet when riding. Avoid a group ride so you can find solace in trail time alone. Take a skills course to improve. Get a coach, get fit, get fast.

Call in sick to work so you can go and ride your bike. Learn how to do most of your own bike servicing. Respect and value the bike mechanics who have mastery over all the work you cannot do yourself. Find your perfect mountain biking playlist. Go gravel riding. Do a ride in spring that leaves you refreshed from the changing of seasons as much as the trail stoke. Go skinny dipping on a ride. Pack out rubbish on a ride that has been left by others. Make a repair with none of the right equipment or tools. Hunger flat so hard you question mountain biking and your life choices so far. Own a car worth less than your bike. Miss a major commitment because you would rather ride your bike. Break a bone. Do a gravel ride that reminds you that mountain biking is the best form of off-road riding.

Do a cross-country race. Help a friend or family member get into mountain biking. Take your chain off and do chainless push runs with friends. Close off cheat lines on a trail. Ride a line that scares you. Climb something you can’t descend. Descend something you can’t climb. Get caught in a storm. Ride across a mountain range. Ride in all weather conditions. Smile or wave at every trail user. Yield, even when you have right of way. Do a gravity race. Ride a singlespeed. Understand and be able to explain the difference between high and low speed compression damping. Go for a ride in lycra. Ride with the slowest rider on your group ride. Stop at a pub in the middle of a ride. Ride the Cannonball DH. Ride your bike in another country. Learn how to wheelie. Commit to riding clipless pedals. Know how to set toe in properly. Learn how to ride flats. Confidently explain the difference between Shimano Hyperglide and Hyperglide Plus. Ride an e-bike. Break a chain on a ride. Set off on a ride so challenging you can’t imagine that you will succeed. Win a bike race. Lose a bike race but genuinely feel better for having taken part. Plan a ride specifically to see the sun rise. Learn how to true a wheel. Ride technical trails without a dropper post. Ride a rigid bike – fast. Have a zen moment when underbiking. Ride in jeans and a t-shirt. Go and watch a World Cup mountain bike race.

Tell one of your mountain bike heroes how much you respect them. Consistently act in a way that you may become someone’s mountain bike hero. Commit to recycling your tyres, worn drivetrain parts and batteries. Shave your legs. Return from injury too soon, because you can’t stay off a bike. Sign up for Zwift. Be brought to tears by the beauty of mountain biking and the environments it takes you to. Ride somewhere where the wildlife can kill you. Go helibiking. Ride the Kuranda downhill. Do a hike-a-bike so long that the descent wasn’t worth it – but the ride was still good. Ride in a mountain bike mecca: Moab, Crested Butte, Mt Beauty, Morzine or Vancouver’s North Shore. Watch Mud Cows on VHS. Concoct your own tubeless sealant. Do a ride you have no interest in, because it is important to the person who invited you. Get completely lost on a ride.

Understand that while you have the perfect mountain bike playlist, the sound of dirt under your tyres is better. Explain and understand the pros and cons of both Garmin and Wahoo. Lend someone a spare tube, although you know it leaves you without one a long way from home. Plan and ride a route only with a topographic map. Learn that quick links are single use. Do $200 worth of damage trying to service or repair something worth half of that. Buy your local bikeshop staff some coffees or beers next time they get you out of a bind – or bake them a cake. Join a cycling advocacy group. Go hiking on a multi-use trail to understand what getting buzzed by mountain bikers feels like. Buy a workstand. Build a bike up from a frame. Learn how to wax a chain. Go riding with one of your mountain bike heroes. Break a bike frame. Successfully fit and remove tyre inserts. Share your trail snacks. Ride the party train. Learn how to bunny hop properly. Subscribe to a cycling media’s magazine or paid digital content because you value their independent content. Have a bike stolen and experience the deep sense of loss. Ride, don’t drive, to the trail head for a month. Realise that some of the best days of your life have occurred thanks to mountain bikes. Comment that you liked how mountain biking used to be simpler, and mean it.

Successfully setup a new frame with internal routing that is silent. Take your SRAM vs Shimano emotions to a Ford vs Holden level. Ride drop bars off drops. Do a day of shuttling at Maydena Bike Park. Spend time at a pump track. Ride the Fainters trail in the Victorian High Country. Understand that 2psi difference really does make a difference. Learn how to bleed your brakes. Lose all fitness and motivation for riding, then fall in love with mountain biking all over again. Ride singletrack so fast your eyes water. Stop when you see someone doing trail work to thank them for what they do. Watch a trials competition. Join AusCycling. Ride a rail trail. Ride every day for a month. Learn how to jump, and land. Successfully service cup and cone bearings. Plan a ride around a picnic stop. Trade your CO2 for a pump. Start a riding group that ends up being much more than just a riding group. Ride enough to understand that it’s not about what you ride, how you ride or why you ride – but that you do ride. Spend time digging dirt jumps. Build a set of wheels. Realise that you don’t need to shave your legs.

Mountain biking is many things to many people. Use this list not as a check list, but as a reminder to how extensive the mountain bike experience can be.