Can Mountain Biking Ever become Boring?

It seems inconceivable that riding a bike could be a boring thing to do. Riding a bike is always fun, but at times the motivation can wane for any one of a multitude of reasons. Trail boredom is a terrible affliction that strikes the suburban mountain biking population. Limited time and limited trail options confine the suburban singletrack soldier to a repetitive diet of the same trails. I won’t be the last to admit that my enthusiasm for the ride has been dampened once or twice simply due to feeling a little over riding that same trail again.

They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that a change is as good as a holiday. They also say that there’s no place like home, and that home is where the heart is. Whoever ‘they’ are, they seem to have no shortage of poignant advice. Fact is that it’s all true when it comes to trails.

Despite being a suburban commando, I’ve been fortunate enough to live no more than 10 minutes’ ride from decent trails for the last 15 years, despite moving five times, about various parts of Sydney’s urban gnar. Each move has plonked me near a new pocket of trails to amuse, and in time bore me. Sure, a much better scenario than not having trails at all, but still frustrating when a B-option is not practical.

Urban mountain biking is all about being ingenious. Maps, rumours, parks, forums, and a healthy dose of wrong turns and trail detective work can make for a good ride in an unexpected location. By using a few minutes of road here and there and convenient aqueduct and freeway underpasses I recently managed to join two trail networks together for a 30km one-way suburban super-adventure.

Back in the day I’d cut my teeth and earned my mountain bike stripes on the singletracks and fire roads of the second trail network. By the time I moved house I’d ridden the crap out of those trails and was ready for a new challenge. Now I’d not ridden there for at least eight years and returning was like coming home. I knew all the trail junctions and where I was going, but it was strikingly fresh and exciting to ride.

Trail fairies had been at work, as had the forces of nature. Old trails had new fallen logs, eroded lines and strategically placed rocks that let mountain bikers know that they’re not out there alone. My favourite descent, a descent that helped me fall in love with riding, was totally overgrown. In its place is a bermed and technical descent punctuated by drops and roll-ins. I could never have ridden a trail like this when I lived around the corner, but now it’s one of my favourite trails and I look forward to it each time I roll out the door for this ride. Likewise, a hated hike-a-bike is now a challenging descent that is achievable with my now-more-advanced skill set, as are a few nasty climbs that I could never have conceived that anyone would regard as ‘fun’.

I have to ride through my stale local trails to reach the old classics, but suddenly my local trails seem mysteriously more inviting with a juicy new trail carrot dangling on their far side. There’s no need to do four laps to make up the distance, and the trails are part of a bigger adventure rather than just a tease of the excitement that a juicy ride could offer. It’s all good!

Just as luck would have it, the trail fairies and powers that be have been out in force on my local trails too. A few new trails are always welcome, especially when they are as good as these. They’re only short, but the right connecting singletrack can make a fistful of other trails work together as one. Mundane fire road climbs are paired with squiggly descents that spit you out perfectly to hoon off down other choice trails. The end result is a totally new experience on kilometres of old dirt.

I’m not trying to gloat, not by any stretch, I’ve lucked out on this time in a big, big way. Riding my old trails is like riding down memory lane; V-brakes, 60mm of flexy suspension and tiny 26-inch wheels, but the same trail. But now it’s lighter, faster, more dynamic and highlighted by the realisation that I’m riding trails that I never thought that I could. These boring old trails are actually pretty exciting.

The point is, things can change and perspectives can change. Old trails can become new again, local trails evolve and so does your riding. The next time I head out with a little time up my sleeve I’ll duck down the trails that I usually skip, just to see if they’ve changed. I can’t wait to try out some other trails that I haven’t ridden for ages, even though in my memory they weren’t particularly great. Maybe I remember correctly, but perhaps I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. There’s only one way to know for sure, and it won’t be boring.