Originally Posted by
DougG
I'm not a MTBer, but have some general advice. I did similar trail riding years ago, but on dirt bikes, and recall that in my early days of learning all the techniques, I used to crash --- a lot! Of course, I was 50 years younger back then and could pretty much shake it off and climb back on, and many's the time when I showed up at work on Monday morning limping and then was back out at it the next weekend.
Not that long ago, I took my hybrid-style "trail bike" onto some single-track trails that were established by the local MTB riders. I had no trouble with basically negotiating turns, etc., but was a bit unsteady in any place where the trail was off-camber or I had to thread a narrow line. I also wasn't sure what to do about various obstacles, such as a fallen tree across the trail. I remembered on my dirt bikes that I'd just gas it to loft the front wheel over the log and let the back end follow, but how to do it on a bicycle? So I got off and carried it over. Later, I came to where the trail crossed a ditch and I figured I could just go down into it and up the other side, but when the front wheel got to the bottom of the ditch it just stuck there and I went right over the bars! It was something that in my younger days would be something to have a good laugh about, but I've found that any fall at my age now can do some damage. I was lucky in this case, but that was my last serious off-road foray.
My point is that, regardless of your road riding experience, a lot of riding an MTB will be new to you and I'd advise you to be extra cautious with anything that makes you feel uncomfortable along the trails. Good luck and keep us posted on how you're doing!
DougG is right, you often fall, specially doing technical singletrack. difficult descents, roots, jumps, and so on. If you do fire roads, double singletrack, gravel tracks MTB bikes can be fun. Some people like difficult singletrack, and usually use double suspension bikes, with a special geometry for descents. They wear big helmets, long gloves, and some other protections. But for most of us, above 60, that can be dangerous.
This past Eastern week, I went to Vancouver and went to Burnaby Mountain, on a rental cross trail. Mostly, I was on paved roads and streets. But at that place, I tried to do a technical singletrack, and it was slippery and dangerous . So, I walked through the technical stuff. I remember, I saw a guy who was in his early 60's going without any problem....and with the right bike.
But, fireroads, double singletrack, and gravel tracks can be fun on a MTB. The position is more relaxed, and a front suspension can mitigate the irregularities on the road.