Originally Posted by veganbikes

This is the mountain biking thread not the road or general cycling thread. Unlikely to see much road mountain biking, that is kind of the point.

Probably the most common problems is not being prepared and that can go in so many different directions from nutrition and hydration to mechanical issues to getting lost in a bad way. However if you take care of your body, take care of your bike and get some navigation you should be fine. Also you might consider seeing a fitter and making sure the bike is set up properly for you so you can be comfortable on longer rides. If you do plan on taking a longer ride you might want to start off with short rides that get a little longer and do some loop courses so you know the area and can get used to things. However being vague won't help you in anything if you have specific questions go ahead and ask them otherwise go and read the many threads that exist on this forum (but don't post in old dead threads just read them and glean knowledge from them)