Jumps, hills and more. Mountain Biking is for the adrenaline junky and the adventurer who thinks road biking is too boring. Here is a list that should help you get started.

I went mountain biking for the first time a couple weeks ago and I had mixed opinions to say the least. On Sunday afternoon I headed over to Big Wheels bikes and rented myself a bike for the day. I loaded it up into the van and then my friend Sam and I drove out to Fountainhead Trails and met up with his Mountain Biking buddy, Rishi.

The only practice I had was the day before going up a makeshift ramp in his backyard, so you could guess I didn’t have the highest expectations. With no experience and a bad biking accident last summer, I was a bit nervous.

Surprisingly, I did well for a first timer, at least that’s what they told me. Maybe it was just to make me feel better about myself. We did some simple stuff for beginners and then continued to the Black Diamond trail which I almost skipped completely. It was really cool just watching the people go off huge 6 foot drops and doing tricks that made them look like they were in slow motion. After some jumps, turns and one big wipeout I have a list of do’s and don’ts of mountain biking.

-Slow down in turns or you will fly out, (literally fly).

-Don’t try to do everything your experienced friend does, especially if that includes 6 foot drops. Don’t try to feel super human because you will regret it.

-Never get scared and slow down on jumps or you’ll nose dive into the ground.

-Always skip uphill parts cause it will make you sore.

-Don’t rent from Big Wheel because their $45 per hour bikes are NOT meant for anything more than a dirt trail.

I recommend going slow for the first time and make sure not to go on the Black Diamond trail. Also try and skip as many uphill parts as possible because they suck and make you really tired, really quick. 

Overall it was a fun time but I was never so exhausted and hungry, ever, in my life. I also had two wounds on both thumbs cause I was holding the handlebars wrong and there was metal rubbing on my finger every rut I went over. I also had a huge scuff on my arm from when I fell. Self note for next time, “Bring biking gloves.” After we got back to the car we realized it said on the bike to not use for “Extreme Activities”, no wonder it hurt whenever I went over a bump. I guess you learn from your mistakes. 

I would recommend mountain biking to anyone who likes a bit of excitement. Make sure you read up on it a little first and be prepared to comeback a little bruised.