Prioritize

The best way to stop mountain biking is to create excuses such as a lack of time exists and you are doing other very important things.  While work does have a legitimate part in your life and everyone has to do errands, you should not make this a reason to skip mountain biking.  How is it that you are able to do things other than biking?  This is how you can think of it.  If you were to put mountain biking at the top of your "things-to-do" list, would you still find a reason to skip? Learn to prioritize.

Riding too much can be dangerous

Many mountain bikers who have decided to become couch potatoes and watch TV instead of going out to ride their bikes have lost interest in the sport.  This is probably due to the fact that during the first weeks they would ride as much as possible and they would immediately get tired.  You should make a schedule at least once but not more than 5 times a week.  Too much of anything is not good.  Therefore, riding a few times a week is enough to keep your interest piqued.

Upgrade slowly

Many beginners are so enthusiastic about their newly-found hobby that they go out and spend a large sum of money to buy every upgrade possible so that their bike is the best.  There is certainly nothing wrong with this.  However, there is a tendency to become a victim to your own obsession, and you lose interest right after that because there is really nothing more to do.  Why not purchase your bike and only buy one upgrade.  Enjoy that for a time before you decide to buy another upgrade.  Now you will always have something to look forward to and keep your interest and anticipation high.

Get a riding buddy or a group of riders

Riding alone is all right, but riding with another person is better yet.  If you know that someone is waiting for you on the trail, you will most likely not fail to show up.  If your group has a certain time and day to ride together, you will probably be there.  After all, you do not want to disappoint your group.

Music

If you are tired of hearing your own breathing, then try bringing your MP3 player and play some music while navigating through the mountain?  During long hours of driving music keeps you entertained.  It achieves the same goal when you are mountain biking.

Choose different trails to ride on

If you ride on the same trail over and over again, you will more than likely lose interest and get bored.  Find other trails to ride on.  Take this time to explore other areas you have not been to.  You should ride 4 or 5 trails a month or one trail each week.  If the area you live in does not have that many trails, change your riding route regularly and open yourself up to new challenges.

If you are going to be riding for over an hour, you should have a pair of padded shorts. Try to find a pair of shorts that do not have a seam running down the middle. Both of these attributes will make for a healthier ride.

You will soon find that padding will minimize sores that tend to occur at the 'sit points'. (This is a portion of the pelvis that contacts the seat). Seamless padding not only reduces chafing but maximizes comfort, particularly for women. Remember that a comfortable ride is a healthy ride. Seamless shorts will have less of a chance to split down the middle.

To make your experience of mountain bike riding as healthy as possible, you want to make body temperature another important aspect of making your ride healthy. If you ride in hot weather, you should have a pair of shorts that are loose but ones that also provide excellent wicking. What exactly is wicking?  This word refers to technical fabrics which move perspiration away from your skin and lets it go to the fabric's outer surface where it evaporates. As a matter of fact, that issue is more important in cold weather.

Overheating, even in the winter, is common particularly on cold rides. With a snug shirt and jacket, heat can easily build up close to the skin. This can often cause heat rash, an elevated body temperature and excess bacteria buildup all of which are unhealthy conditions.

When you take a ride on rainy days you should have good moisture control.  Mountain bike riding is often done in mountainous terrain. The weather can be fickle in those areas. Summer storms that can leave a valley dry will often drench a hill.

Moisture control on the outside is important during those rainy rides. Mountain bike riding is, like the name says, often done in mountainous terrain. In those areas the weather can be fickle. Summer storms that leave valleys dry will often drench a hill.

The answer is to waterproof.

If you want to have a healthy ride, then you should consider getting a windbreaker which is a perfect piece of apparel. With the windbreaker you what to get one that offers good air flow and wicking is a must. You can see that the same thermal control issues are evident, but now they are made more critical by higher external moisture level. High humidity will make the body lose more heat much slower.

Even if you are riding under perfect weather conditions, there are several items that will maximize your health.

First on the list is a heart rate monitor. All athletes, no matter what discipline they are doing, want to keep an eye on this very important number.  However, it can be tricky doing this on a moving bike rather than some other activity. You should have a large, easy-to-read display. Imagine that you are trying to read your tiny cell phone screen while your head is bouncing from the motion of your legs pumping.

Last, but not least, you should consider all of those fluids and backpacking snacks that are essential in a sport that often overlaps with mountain biking.  You should consider carb-rich granola bars, a good sports drink, trail mix and other food and drink items. These should be considered as healthy gear, too.

Optimizing your health and having fun doing it goes hand in hand. Have a great ride!

Gloves are great to have, especially for long rides over rough terrain. Your hands can get pretty messed up just from a long ride without gloves. More importantly, when you take a fall, the gloves can be the difference between badly lacerated hands and a few bruises. Mainly, gloves are a great form of protection because our hands always seem to the first thing between us and whatever we're hitting. Most of us will instinctively throw our hands out in the direction we are traveling when we have an accident. Thus, strong gloves are a necessity for your protection. Yet, they also need to be elastic enough and have enough grip to help you keep control over your mountain bike.

Your eyes are very fragile and very exposed when you are riding a bike. Everything from insects and dust to ultra violet rays and tree branches can victimize exposed eyes on a mountain bike. Good sunglasses or goggles can help the bike rider avoid eye injuries.

Not all biking apparel is centered around safety, though. For example, Lycra racing shorts help the body breath and sweat more efficiently during intense biking or racing. For rough terrain, mountain biking shorts are available with some extra padding to keep your more comfortable during your ride.

Mountain biking shoes are designed to help you keep your feet on the pedals, even when the ride gets rough. But the type of shoes you should get depends a great deal on the type of pedals you have on your mountain bike. Your shoes should easily fit on your pedals, yet maintain a tight enough hold on them as to maintain constant contact. But don't neglect the comfort of your feet when you are picking out shoes. Your feet will be very involved in the whole mountain biking experience, so they need to provide good support and a comfortable fit.

While the primary concern when purchasing a mountain biking shirt is comfort and ventilation, you may wish to consider getting a long sleeve variety with elbow patches to absorb the blow in the event of a fall. If you do go with a short sleeve shirt, you may want a set of elbow guards. Whatever type of shirt you go with, don't get one that is so tight as to slow down your movements. If you will be riding in cold areas, you may also want a mountain biking shirt that doesn't provide as much ventilation, but that still draws sweat away from the body and helps it dissipate.

Mountain Biking Helmets

Nowadays most governments prohibit youngsters from riding bikes without a helmet. But, you may not be aware that most riding trails and parks now require bike riders of all ages to wear helmets. Regardless, it just makes good sense to wear a helmet. The most serious mountain biking injuries are typically head injuries incurred by those not wearing helmets or wearing helmets that don't fit or protect the head properly. Obviously, you should buy a helmet that provides good protection and fits well. A quality chin strap is a good idea.

Mountain Biking Gloves

Gloves provide your hands with protection from scrapes and help you keep a better hold on your bike, especially on bumpy rides. If you've ever fallen off a bike, you've probably had the experience of putting your hand out as you fall and having it get all scraped up and bruised. Putting the hands out is not always the best course of action, but it is the natural one. Having high quality gloves can make a big difference in the damage done to your hands.

Mountain Biking Repair Kits

You can buy all sorts of repair kits for your bike. Ideally, you should choose one that has the tools you'll need to keep you from getting stranded in the middle of a long ride far from civilization. So your kit should include some tire patches and glue in case you get a flat. It should also include an air pump. A spare inner tube isn't a bad idea if you have the space for it. A good kit will have a chain tool to help you put your chain back together in the event it breaks. Some people also prefer to have any wrenches or screw drivers on hand that may be necessary.

Bike Water Bottles

Water bottles you can attach to your bike frame are vital. Hydration should never be forgotten when planning a mountain biking trip. Water is essential to life, but you will sweat it out of your body quickly on a long ride. You should also consider taking a hydration pack with a water bladder with you on your trips. You should have more water available on your trip than you think you will need.

Sunglasses

Sunglasses are an important riding tool. They help protect your eyes from glare, insects, and dust. Additionally, sunglasses that block harmful ultraviolet light are good for your eyes.

Mountain Biking Clothing

Mountain biking clothes are designed to keep you from getting drenched in sweat and to protect you from falls. However, some mountain biking clothing brands are excessively expensive. Padded biking shorts are really the only-biking special clothing items you need.

There are special shoes for mountain biking, but the only important things to consider when buying your shoes are comfort, fit, and grip on your pedals. You need shoes that provide proper support and don't make your feet sore that will keep your feet from slipping off of the pedals.

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Fast Riders Need Good Breaks

It may seem obvious, but just as a sports car needs a great breaking system to handle well at high speeds, if you intend to ride your mountain bike fast or down any hills you better go for a high-end breaking system. This break system will not only allow you to ride faster, but to have more control over your bike.

Understand the Purpose of Gears

Just as low gears on cars require more energy to run at a given speed and provide more power, they do the same on mountain bikes. You will have to pedal much more to move a short distance in a low gear, but you can travel against a great amount of resistance. The higher gears allow you to use a few hard pedal pushes to go a long ways, but it may be impossible for you to go up a steep hill in one of these gears. So high gears are primarily for flat lands, while low gears are primarily for tough terrain and hills.

The Difficult High Speed Turn

Perhaps the most advanced and intimidating of all maneuvers on a mountain bike is the sudden, sharp turn. If you suddenly find yourself facing a ledge, car, rock tree, or other obstacle, the quickest way to turn in the direction you want go is actually to turn your handlebars in the opposite direction. At the same time you'll need to make sure you ease up on the rear break if the rear tire starts a skid or on the front break if the rear tire comes off the ground. This is something that you'll want to really practice and get comfortable with before you go on long-distance rides so that you'll be ready when you need it.

Choose Your Speed Well

A person new to mountain biking should not be riding fast. It is that simple. When you ride fast, you have less time to react and your reactions have not yet been trained to be limbic functions. If you find yourself in a situation where you must stop quickly, shift your weight toward the back but with your body as low as possible while pressing evenly on the front and rear breaks. If you press hard too suddenly on either or both of your breaks, you may actually lose control of your bike.

Dealing With the Fall

Falling off a mountain bike is just a part of riding one. It may sound silly, but there is a technique for dealing with this. The last thing you want is a hard wipeout. When you sense a fall coming, and you often will sense it in advance, it is important to know how to respond. You want to slow down immediately to lesson the impact of the fall, but you don't want to break so hard that you go over the front of the bike or start the bike in a back over front roll. If you must go down, resist the urge to stick your hand out, and instead plan to tuck your body and do a relaxed roll off the bike. Of course, this is one maneuver you don't want to practice.

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Bikes, Equipment, Accessories

If you've never owned a bike with gears before, you'll need to get a basic understanding of how gears impact bike performance before you choose a bike. Bike performance is important because different mountain bikes are designed for different types of riding.

Many people have a certain type of terrain in mind when they think about mountain biking, but the reality is that mountain biking terrain varies quite a bit. For those new to mountain biking, an all-purpose mountain bike may be a good choice. For those who have a specific terrain in mind, better performance will be achieved with a terrain-specific mountain bike.

Regardless of terrain, you need to consider getting a good helmet. In many areas it is required by law. But in all areas, riding without a helmet is dangerous. Your brain is a fragile instrument.

Special clothing helps to enhance the whole mountain biking experience. Consider owning a few sets so that you'll always have a clean pair handy. Gloves help to protect your hands and reduce vibrations. Comfortable shoes that maintain good contact with the pedals are also important. Sunglasses are very important both to protect your eyes from glare and from airborne objects.

You may want to consider some important accessories for your bike too. A little tire pump is a popular addition. It isn't a bad idea to carry a whole portable tire repair kit with an inner tube, glue, and patches. A chain tool can also be a vital tool when your out in the woods or wilderness.

Choosing Your Mountain Biking Rides

As mentioned, you can ride mountain bikes over a variety of terrains. Some people like to stick to paved roads, which is just fine. Some people live in the city and don't have much choice about where to ride. Other people like the trail riding experience out in nature. This can be very rewarding on the right bike.

Another thing that can make mountain biking very rewarding is having a like-minded riding companion. If you don't have any friends that are already into mountain biking or that are interested in learning mountain biking with you, consider joining a biking club or group. This not only makes the experience more enjoyable, it makes it a much safer one. If you have some sort of accident, medical, or mechanical problem while you're off on a ride it is important to have someone else around. The more experienced the other mountain bikers, the better off you'll be.

Don't let safety issues scare you. Mountain biking can be relatively safe, provided you pay proper attention to safety. In addition to the safety precautions and gear already mentioned, you can also wear padding for your knees or padded shorts. Don't try to do any stunts or difficult riding procedures until you're completely ready. In particular, don't ride so fast you ever feel out of control or unable to stop in an instant if necessary. Start off on simple terrain before you move on to trail riding. Keep yourself fit between rides so that you don't find yourself gasping for air when you need to be concentrating on technique. Above all, make sure you always bring plenty of water.