How to Start

Meeting at the Yellow House

Here is some useful information for anybody who is interested
in taking up mountainbiking. While riding off-road can be quite demanding,
it can be an exciting world of fun for all ages. Times are changing
and unfortunately there are less places for people to go mountainbiking
in Ireland. Hopefully things will improve in the future. One
of the main problems in the past that caused some trails to be closed
of to the mountainbikers, was reckless and destructive riding by a few
irresponsible people. I ask everyone that is going to go off-road
to follow the set of rules that I have laid out in the Mountain Code so
that we don’t run into any more problems that will make things worse for
mountain biking.

Information for MTB Newcomers

Where to start?

Once you have a bike, you probably have already started. Mountainbiking
can be immense fun but it is also great exercise. The more you do
the fitter you will get. However there are limits to the maximum
amount of mountainbiking you should do at any one time. This depends
on two things your age and your fitness (see guides for starting below).
It is always advisable to take things step by step (start with a little
and gradually do a bit more). Remember that it will take at least
6 weeks before you see a marked improvement. Another very important
thing is, learn to enjoy your mountainbiking first, play around and have
fun. Let the racing (if you want to race) come later, racing can
be great but it can be very hard.

Guides for starting

Age Maximum time mountainbiking
18+ 1½ to 5 hours
16 1 to 3 hours
14 1 to 2 hours
10 30 mins. to 1 hour

this should be done at a leisurely / comfortable pace

What to wear?

You don’t need cycling specific gear when you’re starting out, although
proper cycling clothing will be a lot more comfortable in the long run.
The basics are: a cycling helmet, tracksuit, cycling jersey or wicking
t-shirt and a pair of runners with grippy soles.

You should also bring a wind/waterproof jacket at all times of year,
both summer and winter - as well as keeping you dry it’ll protect you
from the wind on exposed hillsides.

Other things you might need are:

  • padded cycling shorts or tights - after a few hours
    in the saddle you’ll really appreciate a good pair of shorts
  • cycling gloves - as well a providing comfort when holding the bars
    a pair of gloves will protect your hands in the event of a crash. There
    are long and short fingered ones depending on your preferences.
  • cycling shoes - proper cycling shoes will have stiff soles to make
    pedalling easier
  • clipless pedals - some riders prefer flat pedals but clipless pedals
    and shoes can provide more power when climbing and more security when
    descending
  • sunglasses - these can protect your eyes from mud and debris thrown
    up by your wheels

What to bring?

There are a few essentials which you should have with you on every ride:

  • Water - at least one drink bottle full
  • Food - you use up a lot of energy while mountainbiking
    so it’s important to refuel regularly. Bring whatever you like to eat.
    Fig Rolls are always popular.
  • Spare tube (or two) - You’re sure to get a puncture eventually so
    it’s wise to have a spare tube with you. It’s faster to change a tube
    then to patch an old one (you can patch it at home later)
  • Pump - You won’t get far if you can’t inflate your tyre after a puncture.
    Don’t assume someone else will have one
  • Basic tools - at a mininum you should have tyre levers and allen keys
    for the bolts on your bike. If you’re unsure about working on your bike
    just ask someone in the club.

What bike do you need?

Looking at the prices over the last ten years I can tell you that mountain
bikes are getting cheaper and better. If you are to get into serious off-road
riding you need to be looking at paying over EUR400 for a suitable bike.
There is great value now in this price range, giving you 24 speed STI,
and a lot of alloy components. The way bike manufacturers are going
lately is towards weight saving. With many of the top range bikes
now weighing under 23 pounds, and the cheaper bikes under 28 pounds its
a massive improvement on the 34 pound weight bike I started on 10 years
ago.

One important thing when buying a bike is what size frame you should get.
Unlike road racing bikes mountain bike frames need to be smaller to give
you clearance when riding off-road. An approximate frame size guide
is shown below (based on your inseam measurement to the floor).

Inseam Frame Size
26″ - 28″ 15″ - 16″
29″ - 31″ 17″ - 18″
32″ - 33″ 19″ - 20″
34″ - 36″ 21″ - 22″

Allow for growth with younger people

Where to go?

I have always reckoned we are very lucky in Dublin to have a vast mountain
range at our doorstep. The Dublin / Wicklow mountains are very suitable
for mountainbiking, the mountains are not too steep and have an abundance
of trails and fire road tracks. However there are problems using
these trails, in recent years certain areas are been closed off to mountainbiking.
This is mainly due to problems with walkers and land erosion caused by
irresponsible mountainbikers in the past. I would advise any new
people taking up mountainbiking to follow the Mountain Code as listed
in this book and don’t cause any problems that will give mountain bikers
a bad name. Other than the mountains there are the Phoenix Park
and St.Annes park which are ideal for beginners starting off.

How to start mtb racing

My advice to you before you start racing is, try get between three and
six months playing around on your mountain bike first. Learn to
enjoy the fun of this sport as you build up your fitness. Some MTB
clubs have their own club races. These are an ideal way to start
racing as the races are usually handicapped and this give the newcomers
a chance. The main races are called open races and are run
by clubs all around the country.
There are several different categories of races, these are Senior Elite
/ Experts (over 18 experienced riders), Senior Sports (over
18 - newcomers), Juniors (under 18), Under 16, Under
14, Ladies, Masters (over 30) and Veterans
(over 40). To enter a race you will need to have a Racing License
(Issued by Cycling Ireland).
This can be a Day License (available at the sign-on before the race) or
a yearly license available through your club or from CI.

Once you have a license you can then sign-on, there will also be a race
entry fee, this usually ranges from £2.00 for underage up to £8
for the Senior Elites

© Peter Purfield 13/01/97