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Mountain Biking

23 Tiny Thrills That Can Brighten Any Mountain Biker’s Day

Mini-fist pump moments that set you up for a better time on the trails

They say it’s the little things that count in life, and in a world where the majority of the big things seem to be teaming up to form a poorly-scripted blockbuster disaster film, that little idiom feels particularly important.

Take mountain biking for example. Sometimes you’ll be having a bad day on the bike when out of nowhere some tiny win will come along, something insignificant to everyone but yourself, and it’ll end up transforming your mood for the rest of the day.

We’re not talking about pinning your favourite trail or taking in a sunset at the top of the mountain. We’re talking about the minor stuff; the stuff that puts you in the right frame of mind to let you hunt down those heavyweight moments and make shit jokes that you’re mates will shake their heads at.

We’re talking about the moments that have you whisper-shouting ‘yes’ under your breath and make you physically fist-pump when nobody is watching. We’re talking about, well… read the list:

1) Finding that riding jersey or coat you though was either in the wash or had been lost forever

2) Seeing that familiar marker appear on the horizon of a climb that lets you know it’s almost over

Photo: Canyon

3) When you pull up at the car park and find nobody else there

4) When you take a strangely excellent photo on your 2 megapixel camera phone

5) When you get an uplift of any kind

6) When you remember you brought a ham sandwich halfway through a trail

7) When you take a new shortcut that cuts off roughly 0.01 seconds

8) When you notice that yes, your jacket is in fact both windproof and waterproof

Photo: Callum Jelley

9) When you see a stranger smashing it in the distance on a vintage ride

10) When you turn a corner and the wind completely disappears

11) When you see a rider stop to help fix a stranger’s bike

12) When the one remaining bar on your GoPro mysteriously lasts forever

13) When you pass another mountain biker going in the opposite direction, and give each other the knowing nod

14) When you catch a glimpse of your dirt tan-lines

15) When you realise halfway up a hill that you’re not in nearly as low a gear as you thought you were

Photo: Canyon

16) When you get a flat but you actually packed all the essential items (or the puncture repair kit actually works!)

17) When you remember that most of your friends are wasting their lives indoors

18) When you notice that yes, your shoes actually are waterproof

19) When you overtake literally anyone or anything, including inanimate objects

20) When you get a bit of air where you didn’t expect to

21) When you fly through a corner you had trouble with years back

Szymon Gozdiek Photo: Red Bull Media House

22) When you accidentally ride over some horrid sharp glass or rocks and come out un-punctured

23) When you find yourself in complete and utter silence with nothing but the bike and the trails

Photo: Hunter Bryant

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