Maybe the Kids are Alright

No Dabs, 7/22/22

For three decades, mountain biking has provided me all kinds of positivity: great mental and physical health, the fun and joys of how the trail rises and falls and bends and swoops, the camaraderie of friends on the trail and meeting “strangers” along the way experiencing all of that too. Recently, I had a new experience that was/is a wonderful benefit to add to the list of what MTB offers …

…riding for 3/5 days with my cousin’s son and one of his friends for 2 of the days while they were in town on vacation…they showing me the way (too).

Seeing them ride local San Diego trails was so much fun! Two thirteen year old boys riding mountain bikes on the trails of Tecolote Canyon, Lake Hodges and Penasquitos Canyon/Del Mar Mesa on July mornings was a perfect energy-filled start to those three days. They got stoked on the same sections of trails that gave me that feeling. Some sections they wanted to session. When it came time to push on or turn back, they said: let’s keep going!

We older riders shared our tips and pointers when they asked, but for the most part – they simply rode their bikes and found their groove. One popped/rode wheelies and manualed down the trail, leaving me drop-jawed. The other one challenged me to a race, putting the burn in my legs. They’d hit little bumps and rises and pull up and the next thing I knew, I was following them and trying to get space beneath my tires and the dirt, they showing me how to find more liveliness in what seemed like mundane trails.

Youthful spryness is a hoot?!

As a middle-aged rider, the teens reminded me that what matters is simply riding and having fun. Year after year on the same trails can seem like things are getting “old.” Seeing the trail through their “eyes” was a needed reminder of how to “keep it real.”

Here’s what I know: the future of mountain biking is fine. As long as there is positivity out there to be chased and found on mountain bikes, our mountain biking community will continue to grow … and grow … and grow … and maybe the kids are going to be alright!