Old School Trail Riding

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Trail / All-Mountain
Peter_Craig
Edited Date/Time 4/11/2017 1:25pm
Over the last 10 years there has been a explosion of great professionally built trails. Which has been great for the sport with bike parks that get the complete novice onto a trail and develop their skills to attack the most challenging trails in the future. But I believe it has taken the discovery element out of the sport. 30 years ago when I bought my first MTB as a teenager there was no purpose built trails around. We would simply go for a ride and if you saw any potential trail off the side of the road you would simply investigate.You wouldn't find beautiful sculptured berms or wooden bridge, just natural terrain with its own challengers. It seems now that this type of riding is now frowned upon in my region. Its not that ungrateful to the efforts of trail builders and local governments for quality trails. It just seems to be that the discovery element of our sport seems to be disappearing.
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bturman
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Durango, CO, USA
bturman 11/12/2016 10:22am
11/12/2016 10:22am
I can see this being very region specific. Areas that have fewer places to (legally) ride and more people likely share your sentiment the most.

That said, some of my favorite places on earth have an incredible sense of discovery to them, and I think that's a big part of what makes them special to me. Perhaps it's because everything feels new when you're traveling, or maybe because you never know what to expect around the next bend on a new trail, but I'm personally hooked on experiencing new terrain and following those "potential trails." Everyone deserves and should take a trip to a new riding area every now and again. On local trails, I love stashing my bike in a bush or behind a big rock and hiking over a hillside or to a nearby peak just to see what's there.



The incredible videos from guys like Joey Schusler and Matt Hunter always inspire me to go get really lost somewhere in the hills, and this type of big mountain adventure biking will no doubt gain a bigger following in the coming years:







zoso
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Salt Lake City, UT, USA
zoso 11/12/2016 4:19pm
11/12/2016 4:19pm
This is exactly why I get annoyed when someone says we can have a new trail center instead of the backcountry experience. Give me more Wilderness. The best rides are ALWAYS off the beaten path, so to speak.

Mike Kay
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Mike Kay 11/15/2016 4:51am
11/15/2016 4:51am
In the UK i don't really see any difference except now we have loads of trail centres as well as all the "off piste" that we used to ride 20 years ago.
The older i get the more grateful i am of trail centres due to the reduced amount of time i have to ride (family and business), it's great to be able to get up early and bash a 20-25mile loop at the nearest centre and be home for lunch or when you've got a weekend free to go to a national park and explore some new tracks.

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