Bike
MTB
6 reasons to get involved with MTB group rides
While being a lone wolf out on the trails can be fun, riding as a pack is hard to beat.
There’s a lot to be said for mountain biking alone. You can pick up the bike and go whenever you want, you can set your own pace, repeat sections you love to ride and get lost in the meditative qualities of the outing. But there’s a lot that only a group ride can offer, too.
Most cities will have a local bike shop, club or meet up which runs regular group outings. Riding with other mountain bikers, beyond the obvious social angle, will add a lot to the experience and ultimately, make you better at riding your bike. Here's why...
1. You’ll learn new things about your local trails
10-Rider Downhill MTB Race - Startgate
© John Koziol/Red Bull
Know the local area like the back of your hand, do you? We’re not convinced. How well do you actually know the back of your hand, anyway? There’s that vein, a few nails… anyway.
You can ride the same mountain bike spot everyday for a year and think that you know every rock, root and rut on the trails – but different riders, by virtue of the fact that they’re better and worse at different parts of riding, and enjoy different things, look at trails a different way.
There’s a good chance that if you’re riding with a group on your local trails for the first time, you’ll discover whole new routes around the hills that you didn’t know about beforehand. If you’ve been at it longer, your local area is small and you’re absolutely sure you have done every trail on the hill, you’ll gain a new perspective on certain segments, and find new lines and new approaches to familiar trails that’ll bring a refreshing outlook to your riding.
2. Riding with better mountain bikers will make you better
Say there’s a particular trail feature – a jump, drop or corner – that you’ve been struggling with or avoiding. The only way to get better at riding it when you’re mountain biking alone is by gradually build up to it, trying to work out what’s going wrong in your technique, preventing you from riding it as well as you’d like, and then thinking hard about how you can fix that.
Riding in a group can fasttrack that process tenfold. Group outings tend to be made up of varying levels of rider, and one or two of those in the group are likely to have been through the conundrum you’re currently facing and then come out the other side with the answer.
Experienced riders who have spent longer tuning their skills can give amazing tips and offer valuable insight that’ll give you something to work on while you ride, and often lead to immediate notable improvements in your mountain biking. They usually enjoy doing it, too!
3. You’ll become more confident in your abilities
You'll learn new skills on the trail
© Vitek Ludvik / Red Bull Content Pool
As you pick up tips from the top guys in the group, you'll often find yourself chatting more about your own experiences in mountain biking, how long you’ve been riding, and what your favourite kinds of trails to ride are. You’ll also probably end up parting with some words of wisdom of your own, passing down tips you’ve since received to beginner riders who’ll in turn take in that information and try their best to master it.
This, and the fact that tailing the faster riders in the group will eventually lead to you feeling gradually more comfortable with their speed or line choices, will give you more confidence in your riding, and can even add motivation and a sense of purpose to your trail time as well.
4. You can tap into a fountain of knowledge
Going on one mountain bike ride with a group can be the quickest way to learn the basics of the sport. If you are a beginner, let someone know: group leaders tend to be friendly and used to relative newbies of all levels coming along, and they’ll tailor the ride to your pace, tell you when to put your seat up for climbs and down for downhills, when to stand up on the bike and when not to, and how to fix a flat. Ok, so you might not be riding with Gee Atherton, but you will have expert advice on tap.
Likewise, if you’re a more experienced rider, but there’s something, possibly frustratingly specific, bugging you about your bike, this is a perfect time to air your concerns. Group leaders are often also great at diagnosing bike problems, and will normally be more than happy to have a look at your maintenance problem.
The more inquisitive you are, the more you’ll end up learning about mountain biking.
5. You’ll get a local bike shop
More often than not, if there’s a weekly group mountain bike ride organised in your city, it’ll involve someone who works in a local bike shop, and if not, it’ll absolutely include a whole lot of recommendations for which local bike shop you should be taking your rig for repairs.
Basically what that means is that when something goes wrong with your bike, whether it’s a quick fix you need or you have no idea what the problem is, you’ll be taking it into the right people to get it fixed. If you ride with someone who works with bikes then great, it’s a friendly face, and if you’ve been recommended the shop by someone on your ride, then tell the people behind the counter and we’re sure they’ll be chuffed to know they’re the talk of the trails.
From here, you know that you’ll be in the safe hands of bike mechanics who love to ride bikes, know their stuff, and will do their best for you and give you as good a deal as they can.
You’ll repay their tender loving care by becoming a loyal friend and customer, never cheating on them with Amazon, and having an awesome bike hub in your city you look forward to returning to and can recommend to your other mates whenever they need any kind of repair.
6. And make new friends
You might already have the best friend group in the world outside of mountain biking, or you might have just moved to a new city or not know so many people around. Either way, the more you get involved in mountain biking, the better it is to have some friends who actually love the sport like you do that you can chat to about all things two-wheeled, from the base stuff like riding tips and new purchases to the social stuff like arranging to meet up to watch the next round of the downhill World Cup or argue with about who is the best rider of all time.
This will mean that a) your non-mountain biking friends will finally get to stop hearing about how you lie in bed staring at how shiny your bike is before going to sleep each night, and b) your bike friends will be able to recommend what scrub to use to make the bike even shinier.
