My First Time Mountain Biking

Do you remember being a kid and learning how to ride a bike for the first time? The breeze blowing against your skin, feeling like you are flying with just a few pumps of your pedals, excited feelings of being able to explore your world a little more. It is a special feeling that I thought was reserved only for childhood memories, but I was happily wrong about that when I discovered mountain biking. Over the past few years, I have explored the mountain bike scene and I am here to tell you it’s a ride worth taking.

TAKING THE ROAD LESS TRAVELED

Getting into mountain biking had always seemed daunting to me. With videos of extreme, Red Bull-sponsored bikers soaring down steep cliffs popping up on my social media, that high-risk adrenaline was never my cup of tea. I have always enjoyed taking my time on trails whether it’s hiking up Camels Hump or skiing down Sterling. So, in 2014 when a friend of mine asked if I wanted to try mountain biking with them during a college course, I was hesitant to say yes. My first experience mountain biking ended up being a 100+ mile, 7-day bike trip on the White Rim trail through Canyonlands National Park. It was intense, strenuous, and taught me exactly how not to start a new sport.

START SLOW

I took a break from riding any kind of bike for a few years after that experience. The decision to hop back in the saddle came from finding friends and coworkers who loved mountain biking. Their passion was so contagious I would be a fool not to try it out. Did I know anything about bikes beyond how to ride one? No. Did I need to know anything? Also, no. My lack of knowledge and experience did not need to prevent me from (re)trying out mountain biking. I started small, demoing bikes through the Outdoor Gear Exchange and going on relatively flat rolling terrain. Riding on local trails with friends who wanted to take their time or didn't mind slowing down made it a mellow experience. Their encouragement and patience this time around made a whole world of difference in how I saw mountain biking. A good pair of bike chamois and hand-me-down bike gloves also helped my body adjust to this new activity I was embarking on. Asking questions, talking with friends who bike, and demoing bikes are all great ways to find the bike that works for you!

BUYING YOUR STEED OF CHOICE

Once I knew that I wanted to make the leap and buy my own bike, I was overwhelmed with the options and the price tags. There were fancy full-suspension bikes that cost more than my car had ever been worth! Talking to folks at the shop and the friends I rode with really helped narrow down the selection to something that I could grow with but would not drain my entire bank account. I highly recommend going to a bike shop and asking any question you can think of to find what bike will work for you. I ended up going with a hardtail that 3 years later is still the bike I ride today.

TAKE A SKILLS CLINIC

Now that I had a bike I could call my own, I wanted to get as familiar with it as I possibly could. The best piece of advice I could ever give for building skills is whatever you do, do not slack on building your foundational biking skills. I took a mountain bike skills clinic with the Outdoor Gear Exchange and I could not recommend it enough. It is a fun, low-pressure way to establish the skills that will help you have more exciting times on your bike. The best part: everyone in the class is usually on the same level, so it is also a great way to find other beginners to go biking with and maybe even make some friends along the way.

FINDING COMMUNITY

Speaking of friends, finding people to go biking with can be one of the most daunting parts of getting out there and riding as a beginner. Through Facebook I was connected with a few different bike communities that opened up more riding experiences. As a queer person who is not what you would imagine a typical biker to be, finding a group of people to ride with in a safe encouraging environment was crucial to continuing mountain biking. ~Enter Pride Rides VT, stage left~ Pride Rides VT is a local non-profit that runs small group, no drop rides across the state for people who are a part of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies. Once I saw their Facebook event post I knew this could be a group of people I would feel comfortable riding with — Inclusive: check. Beginner Friendly: check. Light, fun oriented Atmosphere: Check. It really did check all the boxes I was looking for in a group ride setting. Pride Rides VT also opened up my world to new trails across the state that I would not have been confident enough to explore on my own. I found a great community through going to their monthly group rides and made some amazing friends along the way. Finding a biking community that fits my skills, pace, and who I am outside of biking has been the best way to grow into the mountain biker I am today.

PICKING UP THE PACE

This past summer, like most people, I found myself with a little extra time, a need to get outside, and a strong desire to connect with others without contact. My friend Kris, who runs Pride Rides VT, reached out to me with the opportunity to join a socially-distanced race team for the summer. The idea of racing mountain bikes seemed intimidating, but the more Kris talked about how participants could take it at their own pace and time themselves it seemed like-low stress way to join a race team. Throughout the summer I was able to track my progress and see real transformation in my biking skills and my overall health. I did not care too much about the rankings — most weeks I was at the bottom of my age group. For me, it was more about challenging myself each week to see if I could beat the previous week's time. It was empowering to be able to shave 10 minutes off my race time from week 1 to week 16 after all the hesitancy of joining. I am a better biker now just by having the experience, and hope that in the future there will be more race series like them.

Mountain biking has been a huge part of my life this past year. It helped me find friends, be more comfortable in my own body, and gave me something to look forward to at the end of the day. I am hesitant to say that I am a mountain biker, but when it comes to the end of the day after a good ride with friends, peeling off my socks in the parking lot cracking a cold seltzer, I wouldn’t want to be anything else.