Welcome to the Mountain Bike Community

By Jay Bartlett

A mountain biker riding down a trail pulls over and stops to let a climbing cyclist go by. The climbing cyclist reaches up to his helmet’s visor, pretending a chapeau. The stopped rider quickly throws a peace sign and says, “Have a good ride!”

As one biker rides past another standing beside the trail, they ask, “Everything okay? Need anything?” because leaving someone high and dry miles from home just isn’t cool. “I’m good, just taking a break,” comes the reply, and each goes on their way.

A group of riders converge at an intersecting trail, and a conversation quickly fires up about the great weather and trail conditions and the huge amount of fun a section of trail just provided. The stories and comments flow freely with a good dose of cheer, as if these people have been friends for years when in reality they are perfect strangers.

What is the common thread that makes these strangers treat each other politely, help each other out in a jam, or literally become fast friends? They are mountain bikers. They are people who know the joy, pain, exhilaration, and fear (and did I mention joy?) that a heaping dose of adrenaline-soaked, endorphin-packed singletrack can induce. They’ve been there. They’ve felt the emotions of the body’s natural smile-inducing chemicals and know just what other bikers are feeling after they have ridden something physically daunting, swoopy fun, or intriguingly technical and come out the other side with a grin plastered across their faces.

I’ve certainly sung the praises of mountain biking many times in these articles, and many of you can totally relate to what I describe; there are universal feelings and emotions that go along with riding bikes. Everyone who rides has felt the burn and fatigue of a long technical climb that seems as if it will never end and has been turned around 180 degrees—both mentally and physically—by the other side of the hill that drops down a slope through twisting ess-turns in a creosote forest with rocks just big enough to catch a little air just before leaning the bike over a bit to plant it into the berm that’s just big enough to hold the tires through the next corner. All the sweat (and the tears?) of the climb becomes a distant memory for a few moments, and the effort from the climb feeds our brains that cocktail that makes it all worth it, renews our energy, and keeps us coming back for more.

It’s these emotional and physical sensations that bind mountain bikers together as a community. We understand what other bikers are feeling; we empathize with the effort and comprehend the highs.

People are people, and some tend to be judgy, but for the most part, the mountain biking community is a very welcoming lot. We don’t care if you’re a newbie, just learning the ropes, or a veteran of years of racing. We don’t care if you’re out of shape (unless you brag that you are) or if you have to walk the hard parts. We are all out there to have fun, get exercise (in a fun way), and enjoy being outside on one of man’s greatest fun-inducing machines!

So, welcome to the mountain bike community. Grab your bike, and let’s go for a ride!

About the Author

Mountain bike veteran, amateur filmmaker, and lover of long rides, Jay Bartlett has been riding trails in Southern Utah for over thirty years. Jay has over a decade of experience as a bike mechanic at St. George’s oldest bike shop, Bicycles Unlimited.

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