Does Anyone Actually Mountain Bike Anymore?

Does anyone actually mountain bike anymore? Of course they do, but has the way people ride changed so much that they're missing out on what mountain biking was really meant to be? These days, it feels like it's all about shuttles, bike parks, and hitting the gnarliest lines possible with the least amount of effort. Don't get me wrong, I love a descent as much as anyone, but when was the last time you did a proper ride? Big climbs, big views, and a descent you had to earn. Today, I'm going to head out on a proper ride. No uplifts, no shuttles, just mountain biking the way it used to be. Cheers, mate. When I was growing up, heading out on your mountain bike just felt like you're going on a real adventure. Before we had uplifts and bike parks, you just head out in the woods, get lost, you do some climbing, descending, and everything in between. I always used to love flicking through magazines looking for those epic ride features. You'd have an OS map, a list of instructions, and just a rough idea of how long it would take. As a family, we'd cut them out, stick them in my dad's camelback, and we'd just head out for a ride. I'm not saying that following an old scrunched-up bit of magazine was better. I do love modern tech and putting roots onto my garmin, but there was something special about heading into the unknown just with a scraggly bit of paper and just getting out there. Today, I'm trying to bring a bit of that old-school mountain biking spirit back to the ride, and I'm actually not doing it alone. I've brought along a special guest. My brother, Charlie. I've done more rides with Charlie than I have done with anyone else, so he's a pretty fitting person to do this ride with me. Let's crack on, eh? Yes. Years ago, we started collecting all those old magazine rides, cutting them out and sticking them into a folder like a little homemade guidebook. Somehow, all these years later, my brother's still got it. We used to just follow a page from a magazine and hope for the best, but I've loaded the route onto my garmin this time just to keep us on track. The adventure's still there just with a little less arguing at every junction. Today, we're in the Peak District. It's a classic mountain biking destination and somewhere I grew up riding with my brother, so it's the perfect venue for today's ride. The route we've picked out is one we found years ago, one of those magazine loops that ended up in my brother's homemade guidebook. It's a big loop over 55 kilometers with a fair bit of climbing and some classic descents, so it should be a killer day out, I reckon. Now, you're looking a bit pudgy these days. All right, Charlie, we're just about to come up to an old haunt of ours, an emotional spot. This is the pub that we worked at when we both first moved to Sheffield to fund our racing, the Cheshire Cheese Inn. Charlie was a professional burger flipper and I was a professional pine puller. We did that alongside racing for about three years. Once I left, I vowed to never work in hospitality again because it put me off it for years. How have I ended up with the full rucksack on? Charlie's ended up with absolutely nothing other than a water bottle on his bike. Who paid for the sweets? Yes, and I've got my flipping massive rucksack on me with all the spare layers and gobbins. Well, what can I say? I've carried you all these years, it's time for you to carry me. Older brother duties. Go on, get the gate then. That's a dab. That doesn't count as a dab. Yes, it does. Gate's neutralized. We're not having that. That's a dab. No. That's a dab. One apiece. Whoever has the most dabs up here buys a pine, or any dabs in fact. All right, three, two, one, go. No danger of a dab happening. I hear some dabbing going on. Honestly, the power going through my legs right now. I don't have power meter on but probably somewhere around 450 watts at least. All right, this is literally it, the premium section. The men from the boys. When did pedaling get so hard? It must be easier without a rucksack on it, I reckon. I haven't even nerfed me and put 100 PSI in the rear tire. Zero dabbage. Forecast said it was going to be raining all day. We get to the north of England and the sun is out. This is like typical of the north of England, isn't it? Very much. It's always out, not like the south. It's a big Met Office conspiracy. Yes, they do it to keep the southerners out of the north. They say it's like 10 degrees and raining all the time, but literally, I think it's what, 40 degrees right now. We're only in Longs to keep up the conspiracy, but yes, it's boiling. Boiling in the bag here. Always warm in the north, remember that. Right, onwards. Build up the revs. Oh, conquer the gear. He's gone the techy way. That's the easy line. Flipping heck, slow down. Getting half-wheeled. This is the part of the ride that most people skip now, the climb. To be honest, I think it can still be a really enjoyable part of your ride. You get the views on the way up, gives you a chance to chat to your mates, and you also feel like you've really earned the descent. How are you feeling, Charlie? Oh, I reckon it's easy. Yes. I think it helps that I'm probably at least 25 kilos lighter than you right now. Yes, I've just come back from altitude, actually. I have seen one too many red blood cells in you right now. The oxygen around here just feels so thick. I'm choking on it, sad day. We're at 300 meters of elevation. I was at 3,000 last week, so I just feel like I'm drowning on oxygen. Too many O2s. Blimey, now. That wins something. Get a quick jib. See, this is what you don't get at bike parks. Not bad. Not bad at all. Sun's out. It's a nice day. You have to work for it a bit. Pretty long climb with a headwind, but it's worth it when you get to the top and when you get to the pub. No big ride would be complete without a snack stop. This is actually a bit of a running joke in our family, because our dad would always pack a massive Camelbak, which he still uses to this day. It must be about 20 years old. Always with a pack of Haribo in. To keep the tradition alive, I've packed a Happy Bears today. We're going to have a quick snack stop before we freeze up here and we'll head into the descent with some good Happy Bears. Right, let's crack on. Sections like these that I think people are really missing out on when they just go to bike parks or get shuttle vans, like these in-between moments which really make the ride, it's about the whole loop, not just hitting the climb and the descent. The world's biggest jump. Where even is it? There it is. I'm not going to get off it. Cheers, mate. Cheers. That was like a proper day out. It reminded me of really like why I got into mountain biking. A bit of climbing, a bit of descending, just a big old loop really. Makes you think like next time you head out for a bike ride, don't just head to the bike park or get on the uplift. Pull the map out, plan a loop and just head out for a ride, maybe get lost. I'd be interested to hear what you guys think. Do you just head to the bike park or are you someone who likes to do a big old loop and remember what mountain biking is all about? Cheers, guys.