Absolutely agree! I was doing the same old trails until recently, when I decided it was time to up my game just a bit by trying some new trails. Haven't made too much progress but have noticed that I'm more energized and seemingly 'on' more of the time. A wonderful feeling at 64! Thanks for this post!
I feel mountain biking, especially with friends, hits a lot of things they say are modifiable risk factors of declining brain health: learning new skills, aerobic activity and building social connections. A bit of truth to the t-shirt slogan that "you don't stop riding because you get old, you get old because you stop riding!"
I can't say that I have any knowledge of what keeps the brain healthy but I like what you are saying here. At 67 I'm starting to worry a bit about the phenomenon that occurs between 60 and 70. That being the serious reduction in people out being active at or over the age of 70.
My wife says I have an obsessive personality and for the past 6 or 7 years I have been obsessed with MTB. Not that mountain biking is new to me, just the obsession. It started when our daughter decided to be on the NICA team and I became a coach. I taught skiing for over 40 years so I knew that good coaching could seriously shorten the learning curve for our riders but no one really knew how or what to teach them. That got me going on my MTB obsession. I still coach the NICA team but now I've taken on the job of trail building and maintenance of one of our local trail systems. Now I'm obsessing over how to build trails that are even more fun and interesting to ride.
I am excited to show this post of yours to my wife so I can show her that I'm really just keeping myself young and healthy with all my obsessing. Thanks for the great post.
That's an interesting article - thanks Griff. My wife is a social worker who does a lot of work with the older population and she has a similar approach to keep her clients mentally sharp. If you are good at crosswords, switch to Sudoku or try online scrabble. If you read a lot join a book group and discuss what you read. If you paint in oils, try a charcoal sketch. The benefits are gained by pursuing related activities.
In riding that can naturally extend to 'if you like trackstands, learn to ride skinnys' or more generally if you are a mountain biker, learn a specific skill. And to be honest even a low degree of competence at a few different skills will give you much more of a benefit on the trail than the mastery of just one. I'm debating challenging myself to get a third of the way through each RLC course.
The comment about always riding the same trails also hits home. For various medical & personal reasons I've only ridden my local set of (flow) trails for the last two years - admittedly on about 6 different bikes, but still on the same 30km of trail network. I enjoy it when I get there but it doesn't excite me beforehand and I have to make myself go sometimes. I need to start looking around at other places to ride again.
Impressive reaching out for supportive information..........even for an Old Geezer.....
Again, the trick is to interpret such specialized data back into the Applied Use.......in this case MTB. Seems to me there is some good practical advice here from the specialists, who are trying to interpret themselves for us..........but, again one must beware of confusing basic intentions: our main goal is (presumably) not brain therapy but improving MTB skills. The determinants and limiting factors will come from us wanting to bike well, not from avoiding dementia. In fact, outdoor "Risk Exercise" is, by itself a good way to restore that Paleo Hunter/Gatherer physiology that will keep our mental processes functioning well...........and give us some fun.
Of course, there is a performance decline as we age, and we need to build a gradual dumbing down into our expectations. Our Risk Management should help us preempt injury and still present a way to challenge ourselves and push our current levels.
The Joy of Striving and the Exhileration of Success in our MTB should prevent the slide into contemporary idleness that our culture seems to encourage............and stave off the dreaded dementia as a useful side effect.
I need to find a more rounded rock for my own efforts..............Thanks........
“AAARRRGGGHHH! I can’t do a manual front-wheel lift more than an inch. But I’m so glad my brain loves this!”) LOL
Love this article Griff!
As always you provide some great info to ponder and help me to want to continue my skills journey - Thank you!
Absolutely agree! I was doing the same old trails until recently, when I decided it was time to up my game just a bit by trying some new trails. Haven't made too much progress but have noticed that I'm more energized and seemingly 'on' more of the time. A wonderful feeling at 64! Thanks for this post!
I feel mountain biking, especially with friends, hits a lot of things they say are modifiable risk factors of declining brain health: learning new skills, aerobic activity and building social connections. A bit of truth to the t-shirt slogan that "you don't stop riding because you get old, you get old because you stop riding!"
I can't say that I have any knowledge of what keeps the brain healthy but I like what you are saying here. At 67 I'm starting to worry a bit about the phenomenon that occurs between 60 and 70. That being the serious reduction in people out being active at or over the age of 70.
My wife says I have an obsessive personality and for the past 6 or 7 years I have been obsessed with MTB. Not that mountain biking is new to me, just the obsession. It started when our daughter decided to be on the NICA team and I became a coach. I taught skiing for over 40 years so I knew that good coaching could seriously shorten the learning curve for our riders but no one really knew how or what to teach them. That got me going on my MTB obsession. I still coach the NICA team but now I've taken on the job of trail building and maintenance of one of our local trail systems. Now I'm obsessing over how to build trails that are even more fun and interesting to ride.
I am excited to show this post of yours to my wife so I can show her that I'm really just keeping myself young and healthy with all my obsessing. Thanks for the great post.
Cheers
Ken
Yes, definitely sometimes. Many jagged rocks and and don't-look-down cliffsides. Maybe easy for some but not for me.
We don't have boulders, but we have logs. If it's high enough that my chain will scrape, I walk it.
That's an interesting article - thanks Griff. My wife is a social worker who does a lot of work with the older population and she has a similar approach to keep her clients mentally sharp. If you are good at crosswords, switch to Sudoku or try online scrabble. If you read a lot join a book group and discuss what you read. If you paint in oils, try a charcoal sketch. The benefits are gained by pursuing related activities.
In riding that can naturally extend to 'if you like trackstands, learn to ride skinnys' or more generally if you are a mountain biker, learn a specific skill. And to be honest even a low degree of competence at a few different skills will give you much more of a benefit on the trail than the mastery of just one. I'm debating challenging myself to get a third of the way through each RLC course.
The comment about always riding the same trails also hits home. For various medical & personal reasons I've only ridden my local set of (flow) trails for the last two years - admittedly on about 6 different bikes, but still on the same 30km of trail network. I enjoy it when I get there but it doesn't excite me beforehand and I have to make myself go sometimes. I need to start looking around at other places to ride again.
Impressive reaching out for supportive information..........even for an Old Geezer.....
Again, the trick is to interpret such specialized data back into the Applied Use.......in this case MTB. Seems to me there is some good practical advice here from the specialists, who are trying to interpret themselves for us..........but, again one must beware of confusing basic intentions: our main goal is (presumably) not brain therapy but improving MTB skills. The determinants and limiting factors will come from us wanting to bike well, not from avoiding dementia. In fact, outdoor "Risk Exercise" is, by itself a good way to restore that Paleo Hunter/Gatherer physiology that will keep our mental processes functioning well...........and give us some fun.
Of course, there is a performance decline as we age, and we need to build a gradual dumbing down into our expectations. Our Risk Management should help us preempt injury and still present a way to challenge ourselves and push our current levels.
The Joy of Striving and the Exhileration of Success in our MTB should prevent the slide into contemporary idleness that our culture seems to encourage............and stave off the dreaded dementia as a useful side effect.
I need to find a more rounded rock for my own efforts..............Thanks........
Great article, Griff. Good to keep my nearly 70 year old brain (and body) challenged.
Somewhat related: the stress of performing can be helpful with mitigating cognitive decline:
https://mtbpracticelab.substack.com/p/mtb-sessioning-practicing-vs-performing