| This business is filled to the brim with unrealistic motherf**kers. Motherf**kers who thought their ass would age like wine. If you mean it turns to vinegar it does. If you mean it gets better with age it doesn’t.” |
For those who might not know – that’s a quote from Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction”. A scene where the gangster Marcellus Wallace lectures the aging boxer Butch on “the hard motherf**king fact of life” that ability doesn’t last.
Back in October 1994 when "Pulp Fiction” was released in Norway I was 18 years old. I had raced mountain bikes for two years and was coming off a rather successful final year in juniors, placing second in DH at the national champs, and picking up my first victory at a national points series round. Fast forward a couple of years I had a stint from 1997 to 2001 where I raced a lot, including World Cups, and ultimately had to make peace with the fact that I was “one of the many”: One of the many who are quite good but not quite good enough. As opposed to one of the few who have the full package of skill, fitness, and mental ability to succeed at an international level.
By the end of those five years, I was quite burned out on racing. For about three weeks… After that, I regrouped and spent the next 8 years having heaps of fun racing the Norwegian nationals alongside studying to become a psychologist and, from 2007 on finding work as one. 2009 was my final year of racing the DH nationals, and at 33 years old I was already somewhat of an old-timer on the scene. From then on, time seems to have simply flown by with two kids, increasing job responsibilities, etc., but still ride whenever I can, and race the occasional enduro when time allows. So yeah, 46 years old now, riding and racing mountain bikes (as a privateer) for 30 years. How is my ass aging...?
Riding with your friends never gets old.
That Pulp Fiction quote, and my musings around it was the inspiration for wanting to make an edit showcasing how for my buddy Svenn and I riding as middle-aged persons is a lot about finding the balance between accepting that ability will wane while still celebrating the childish joy and pride we feel whenever we stick a tricky line, send a scary jump, or just corner that little bit faster than on our last run.
For viewers of my own age group – I hope you find elements you can recognize and identify with. For younger viewers I have the ambition to inspire and instil a “hope for the future”: Over the years I have myself encountered older riders who still ripped and through that showed me that life as an “extreme sports athlete” does not have to end at 35 or 40 or whatever age my 18-year-old self may have considered “ancient”. If through this edit I can be that older rider to someone, that’d be very cool!
Two days of riding and filming in Hallingdal Norway.
Oh – and there’s one thing that’s very different when you’re 46 and want to make an edit versus when you are – say 21: As an adult, I didn’t have a friend with a camera and lots of spare time on his hands ready to come along to film and edit just because that’s a fun thing to do. So to make it happen, I recruited the talents of Magnus Grönberg (filming/director) and Lars Storheim (filming/editing). Hallingdal Rides, Vertical Playground, Sweet Protection and Plan A Sykler all chipped in so that the guys got paid for the job. Thanks to Tveit Eiendomsutvikling for lending us a beautiful cabin for the weekend. Big shoutout to everyone involved!
In the last year or so I rode:
Moore Fun, Horsethief Dropin, Gunny Loop, PreNup, Holy Cross, and Zippidy Do Da In Fruita/GJ.
Hyper Extended Ridge, Extended Ridge, Snake Charmer, and Medicine in Durango.
Unkle Nazty in Salida,
Hiline and the Hogs in Sedona.
Jagged Ax and Chili Dog in Santa Fe.
All combined with recovering from Rotator Cuff surgery.
You don't stop playing when you get old. You get old when you stop playing.
When I came up with the idea I was pretty certain the subject matter would be universally recognizable, but wasn’t really sure what angle to put on the project. I mean - on the one hand I’m proud to be an unrealistic motherf**ker - still charging hard(ish), but I knew we’d fall flat on our faces (literally) if we set out to emulate Brage Vestavik… We’re not that hot:-D
So while this really was a team effort, I especially want to thank Magnus, our director. He’s a very accomplished rider himself (and a young buck in his mid-thirties), and someone I’d met on the Norwegian enduro scene a few years back. His creative mind and understanding for the sport was decisive in making this edit what it is! A Hallingdal local, he also scouted locations, and dragging us up to that scary drop was pure genius! Thank you, Magnus!
Oh - and on the subject of that drop: I’m a bit embarassed it doesn’t show in the movie that Svenn was the first to send it! (Cheeky bastard was supposedly «just going for a speed check»). Props to you for opening the door on that one, Svenn!!
This man!!
Pros:
* More resources to dedicate towards biking
* More confidence with who I am, less concerned about looking good or what others think
* Less pressure to be the best; just participating makes you an outlier
* More appreciation for all the indirect aspects of biking (health, exploration, travel, nature)
Cons:
* Heal WAYYYYY slower
* Progression is slower
* Understanding from experience that you are not indestructable, fear from past injuries
* Harder to maintain a social peer group
* More responsibilities to others
I played basketball competitively until my body couldn't keep up with my brain, so I quit cold-turkey in my thirties. The same brain/body decline happens with biking but the indidivual aspects and self regulating parts seem to make the decline curve less steep. I'm almost 50 now and still ticking off some fairly ambitous "firsts", so while I wish I'd started focusing when I was younger, you can definitely keep improving well into middle age and beyond.
If you can stomach some of the more "new age" aspects I recommend watching Alex Bogusky's "The Joy of Bike" YT channel. I consciously applied some of the ideas in this video and found it really worked:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uK5rwIdq8uI
Ride on!
Logically, doing rooty/rocky singletrack in the wet @40 km/h on my 120mm bike is not much less lethal than some airtime on the Stumpy
Think I'll pull the ad!
Thanks guys & kudos for a lovely piece!
Real Shock, he was super.. ultra fit an healthy. Opened my eyes to the symptom of getting older that isn't being mentioned here.
Look after your self in the late 40's kids
P.S His family had a ride out for him an thankfully we raised over £9K for East Anglia Air Ambulance
I also would rather ride 80% of what I used to for another 20 years, than 100% and risk an injury that ends riding.
Still riding most of the North Shore, and building trails.
Trail building is a great way to feel younger.
I made this comment once before:
“ I only feel old when I pass a mirror “
@woofer2609 yep. I lost most of my summer to Post Concussion Syndrome. I may get to ski if I'm lucky. Hence me saying I think next season I'll focus on exploring and adventure rather than getting air.
I would add good pads to that list also.
But I continue to ride.
Any day riding is a win!
I still like the idea of going 75% on the bike, and still able to show up for work and keep biking sans injuries. It's not always possible, but that's the rough plan.
Its similar to these folks attaining super ultimate fitness in the prime of life, it must seem like a really downhill decline all the way from your mid twenties!
Far better to just be ‘reasonably fit’ at that age then you can feel as fit as you’ve ever been at 52 (creaking joints aside!)
(Ooops; just forgot I am 3 years older than you..)
The segment about the drop and the discussion of fear really was great. When I "raced" (I was mediocre) DH, those scary sections were so stressful, but cleaning them was what really made me feel alive. I'm still doing some of that, but just riding, with an occasional Enduro race thrown in.
As an old guy now, the perspective changes, and I see my teenage daughter being scared, taking chances and clearing a drop or section, and the joy from that for her, really feels great to see for me. The same for my wife who only picked up biking a few years ago in her mid 40's.
We are lucky to be here to get to do this...
These past five years have been by far my best years riding. Not only on the enduro rig unlocking new features in the trails or the bike park, but also pushing a lot in the pump track and the dirt jumps, getting to a level i never expected to ride, confidently hitting the big lines and flowing like a champ.
Now i'm sitting on a broken collarbone due to a stupid crash and even though I can't wait to get back at it, I definitely felt for the first time what getting older means. I guess it's just a matter of time that I recover my previous level, but responsibilities (job, wifey, kids) are really pushing me back. However I am not stopping, it is just a matter of being smarter and 100% conscious of your possibilities at all times to stay safe.
This sport is no joke but it's worth all the pain and suffering. The mental wellness it brings is just unmatched (well, only matched by skiing in my case).
Riding since 2007 in dirt jumping/skatepark, freeriding and now enduro and all mountain, that article make sense to me.
I turned 50 this year and I am still spiltted between safe ride and risky riding every time I take my bike.
I ride less jump feature than before of course. Or I clear "big" jump only when I feel confortable.
I ride more natural feature and I feel still and more confortable on rock garden or steep singletrack.
Anyway pleasure is still the post important to me (more than performance or risk).
So I "go big" only when I feel fit and mentally strong. Otherwise I ride safe to return home in one piece ;o)
Keep riding everybody for a long time!
And also a few very sobering accounts of heart attacks and other more serious conditions, underlining how fortunate most of us are to be able to meet middle age with relatively healthy bodies.
Thank you everyone for sharing your feelings, thoughts and experiences! And thanks again for all the love you’ve showed for this edit!
Can't wait to dig during the week and get a quick shred in at the weekend, keeps us young at heart.
Hitting the deck on even a small fall now leaves the body sore.
While I'm still sending it I have a different appreciation and equally love taking my boy on rides on a MacRide and spending hours upon hours in the woods with him while trail building.
I just don't really feel the need to be the fastest or sendiest rider in my hood anymore ( not that I ever was but I had my moments of glory).
It is admittedly fun to still drop a your buck once in a while though LOL.
Got a family that depends on me and it's hard to perform my job with any physical Injuries. Happy that my body has remained pretty durable and flexible up to this point.
Walked away from more than one crash that should've resulted in more than a few scratches and bruises.
Despite all that.........Attempted my biggest, steepest step up. Bailed mid air, and now have a nasty ankle sprain to show for it. Ended the year on a bang! Cleaned two hits on the double black jump line before that I had never ridden before so all in all it was a good day (missing work today......)
Took me a minute myself…
Persistence, diligence, healthier diet
Mark my words, all the hardcore mountain bikers on Pinkbike will get an ebike when they get older or have injuries because they would rather buy an ebike and keep mountain biking rather than sit an home on the couch typing about mountain biking.
Why do you care so much what bikes people ride?
You have to watch what you eat more carefully, you can't skip training days for a week and expect to not see a decline and progressive overload is still pertinent to any sort of athletic improvement. More work, all around.
Get out there and challenge this philosophy!
Live in a box as you will or live outside it
and no. it wasn't just about "lean healthy body mass with endurance and strength". the comment that got you flipping your lid originally just said "it's harder to stay in shape."